Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For February that debut is Son of Sin by Omar Sakr (Affirm Press), a multifaceted tale brimming with angels and djinn, racist kangaroos and adoring bats, examining with a poet’s eye the destructive impetus of repressed desire and the complexities that make us human.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Nial Hosken.

Further reading:

Read Ellen Cregan’s review of Son of Sin in our March Books Roundup.

Read about Omar’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

Son of Sin is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For February that debut is The Cost of Labour by Natalie Kon-yu, out now from Affirm Press.

Natalie was nine weeks pregnant when the trembling began. Two weeks later she checked herself into a mental health unit. Rather than a woman with a health concern, the doctors saw Natalie as a vessel carrying precious cargo. This loss of agency carried on through childbirth and into her early years as a mother. Natalie discovered that she was far from alone.

In fact, her experience typifies the inequalities that weigh heavily on child-bearing women, as well as the devaluation of what is still perceived as ‘women’s work’. With bracing clarity and verve, Kon-yu tackles the outdated institutions, expectations and ideologies that hold us hostage as parents. The pressure is building and the cost on families is stacking up. Something has to give.

Drawing on personal narratives, history, social research and interviews, The Cost of Labour tackles the expectations that keep us all hostage to a dynamic unfit for contemporary society and offers hope for a way out of the trap.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt.

Further reading:

Read a review of The Cost of Labour in our February Books Roundup.

Read about Natalie’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

The Cost of Labour is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For November that debut is Permafrost by SJ Norman, out now from UQP.

This brilliant collection of short fiction explores the shifting spaces of desire, loss and longing. Inverting and queering the gothic and romantic traditions, each story represents a different take on the concept of a haunting or the haunted. Though it ranges across themes and locations—from small-town Australia to Hokkaido to rural England—Permafrost is united by the power of the narratorial voice, with its auto-fictional resonances, dark wit and swagger.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt.

Further reading:

Read a review of Permafrost in our November Books Roundup.

Read about SJ’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

Permafrost is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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Welcome to the second episode of our new interview series, Pub Talk, where we chat to some of Australia’s most experienced and influential publishers, editors and agents. During these conversations you’ll receive insiders’ information about the industry, as well as advice from experts on the many pathways to publication for new writers.

We’re thrilled to have Leah Jing McIntosh as our guest this month. She is a critic, researcher, and the founding editor of Liminal magazine, an anti-racist literary platform that interrogates and celebrates the Asian-Australian experience. Alongside editing Liminal and establishing literary prizes for writers of colour, she produces literary events, often working in collaboration with major arts organisations.

Tune in to hear KYD publishing director Rebecca Starford and Leah discuss the role of literary magazines, the politics of visibility and the power of community.

Further reading:

• Liminal’s interview with Radhiah Chowdhury.

• Collisions is available now from your local independent bookseller—read KYD’s review!

Our theme song is Johnny Ripper’s ‘Typing’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt.

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Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For October that debut is The Psychic Tests by Gary Nunn, out now from Pantera Press.

In The Psychic Tests award-winning journalist Gary Nunn investigates psychics, mediums and astrologers to understand their uncanny, under-investigated and unregulated power. Gary tries out some psychics himself, sometimes with hilarious results. He hears about their secret influence over world leaders, CEOs, news editors and the criminal justice system. Believe in them or not, psychics can impact who will date you, befriend you and even who’ll hire you.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt.

Further reading:

Read a review of The Psychic Tests in our October Books Roundup.

Read about Gary’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

The Psychic Tests is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For September that debut is Small Joys of Real Life by Allee Richards, out now from Hachette.

The night Eva shared a smile with Pat, something started. Two weeks later, lying together in her bed, Pat said, ‘You can’t live your life saying you’ll get around to doing something you know will make you happy. You just have to do it.’ Eva didn’t know how devastating those words would turn out to be. Pat dies and the aftershock leaves Eva on unsteady ground. She is pregnant. And she has to make a choice.

First Book Club host Ellen Cregan spoke with Allee about the book and the experience of writing it at a live online event hosted by Yarra Libraries.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt.

Further reading:

Read a review of Small Joys of Real Life in our September Books Roundup.

Read about Allee’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

Read Allee’s short story This Version of Her from New Australian Fiction 2019.

Small Joys of Real Life is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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Welcome to the first episode of our new interview series, Pub Talk, where we chat to some of Australia’s most experienced and influential publishers, editors and agents. During these conversations you’ll receive insiders’ information about the industry, as well as advice from experts on the many pathways to publication for new writers.

We’re thrilled to have Brigid Mullane as our first guest. She is the commissioning editor at Ultimo Press. Previously, she worked at Hachette Australia as both a managing editor and a senior editor.

Tune in to hear KYD publishing director Rebecca Starford and Brigid discuss the role of a commissioning editor, Ultimo Press’s plans for finding and publishing new writers, some of the press’s publication initiatives over the coming months, and how Australian publishers need to do better on diversity in their organisations.

Do you have a manuscript you’d like published? Check out KYD’s many writing courses that help writers get their work into the hands of editors.

Our theme song is Johnny Ripper’s ‘Typing’.

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The post Pub Talk: Brigid Mullane from Ultimo Press appeared first on Kill Your Darlings.

We’re thrilled to bring you this special podcast episode celebrating the publication of our third print anthology, New Australian Fiction 2021. New Australian Fiction 2021 collects a number of brilliant short stories from authors from around the country, and in this episode you’ll hear excerpts from some of them. Tune in to hear Mykaela Saunders, Scott Limbrick, Emily O’Grady, Daley Rangi and Alice Bishop read from their work, and don’t forget to pick up a copy of the anthology to read these brilliant stories in their entirety. You can purchase a copy from our online shop.

Want to be a part of New Australian Fiction 2022? Story submissions for the anthology will open in January next year.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’.

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The post New Australian Fiction 2021 appeared first on Kill Your Darlings.

‘When you don’t understand something that important about yourself, [diagnosis is] almost a kind of cheat code to go back and understand things that you’ve been through.’

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For August that debut is Late Bloomer: How an Autism Diagnosis Changed My Life by Clem Bastow, out now from Hardie Grant.

Clem Bastow grew up feeling like she’d missed a key memo on human behaviour. She found the unspoken rules of social engagement confusing, arbitrary and often stressful. It wasn’t until Clem was diagnosed as autistic, at age 36, that things clicked into focus.

With wit and warmth, Clem reflects as an Autistic adult on her formative experiences as an undiagnosed young person, deconstructing the misconceptions and celebrating the realities of Autistic experience.

First Book Club host Ellen Cregan spoke with Clem about the book and the experience of writing it at a live online event hosted by Yarra Libraries.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt.

Further reading:

Read CB Mako’s review of Late Bloomer in our August Books Roundup.

Read about Clem’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

Clem wrote for KYD in 2015 about women screenwriters and ‘the obligation to represent’.

Late Bloomer is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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The post Clem Bastow on ‘Late Bloomer’: First Book Club appeared first on Kill Your Darlings.

Editor’s Note: This conversation includes discussion of family violence.

‘We’ve got an ongoing conversation happening about violence against women in Australia, and I felt that it was important to contribute what I had learnt from my perspective as a Muslim woman, as an Arab woman, as a daughter of someone who was murdered, and as someone who had a legal background, to that conversation.’

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For July that debut is The Mother Wound by Amani Haydar, out now from Pan Macmillan.

Amani suffered the unimaginable when she lost her mother in a brutal act of domestic violence perpetrated by her father. Five months pregnant at the time, her own perception of how she wanted to mother (and how she had been mothered) was shaped by this devastating murder.

Writing with grace and beauty, Amani has drawn from this a story of female resilience and the role of motherhood in the home and in the world. In The Mother Wound, she uses her own strength to help other survivors find their voices.

First Book Club host Ellen Cregan spoke with Amani about the book and the experience of writing it.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) offers confidential information, counselling and support services and is open 24 hours to support people impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence and abuse.

Further reading:

Read Ellen Cregan’s review of The Mother Wound in our July Books Roundup.

Read about Amani’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

The Mother Wound is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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The post Amani Haydar on The Mother Wound: KYD First Book Club appeared first on Kill Your Darlings.