The Writer and the Critic

The Writer and the Critic

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The Writer and the Critic episodes

  • Episode 57: Get in Trouble | What is Not Yours is Not Yours

    This month on The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, plunge straight into discussing two short story collections, Get in Trouble by Kelly Link [1:30] and What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi [40:10].

     Listeners might like to check out the following links mentioned during the podcast:

    • Get in Trouble reviewed by David Ulin in the Los Angeles Times
  • What is Not Yours is Not Yours reviewed by Nina Allan in Strange Horizons
  • What is Not Yours is Not Yours reviewed by Kate Clanchy in the Guardian

    • If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:33:30 for final remarks. Up for discussion on the next episode - which will be the first episode of 2017! - are two more  short story collections:

    • Bødy by Asa Nonami
  • Ghost Summer: Stories by Tananarive Due

    • Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

    1 hr 36 min
  • Episode 56: Experimental Film | Aickman's Heirs
    This month on The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, have decided to look at two books honoured in the recent Shirley Jackson Awards. After some brief words about the Awards themselves, the discussion moves stealthily on to the books themselves: the winner of the Novel category, Experimental Film by Gemma Files [8:45] and the winner of the Edited Anthology category, Aickman's Heirs edited by Simon Strantzas [49:25].




    Listeners might like to check out the following links mentioned during the podcast:


    • Nina Allen's review of Experimental Film at Strange Horizons
  • "The Strange Horrors of Robert Aickman" by Matthew Cheney at Electric Lit


    • If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:33:40 for final remarks. Up for discussion on the next episode are two collections of short stories:


    • Get in Trouble by Kelly Link
  • What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi

    • Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

    1 hr 37 min
  • Episode 55: Savage Season | The Pillow Friend

    On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, start things off with a discussion about cultural appropriation, bouncing off a now infamous keynote speech given by Lionel Shriver at the Brisbane Writers Festival. Pertinent links are as follows:


    • Full transcript of Lionel Shriver's speech in The Guardian
  • Response to Shriver speech by Yassmin Abdel-Magied in The Guardian
  • Repsonse by festival volunteer Yen-Rong
  • Nike Sulway on Shriver, straw men and writing about others
  • Jim Hines on Shriver and cultural appropriation
  • Joe Aston in the Financial Review with an article that could be more accurately titled "How To Be A Dick: A Performance Piece".


    • The actual theme for the podcast this month was First Read/Re-Read. Kirstyn and Ian have each selected a book they read and loved a long, long time ago but which the other had never read before. Up for reminiscing and dissection are Savage Season by Joe R. Lansdale [33:40], chosen by Ian, and The Pillow Friend by Lisa Tuttle [1:04:00] which was Kirstyn's pick.



    If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:37:50 for final remarks. Up for discussion next month are two recent Shirley Jackson Award winners:

    • Aickman's Heirs edited by Simon Strantzas (Winner: Edited Anthology)
  • Experimental Film by Gemma Files (Winner: Novel)


    • Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

    1 hr 41 min
  • Episode 54: Quicksand House | A Head Full of Ghosts

    It's Patron's Choice this month on The Writer and the Critic where your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, spend the episode discussing two books as voted on by their lovely supporters on Patreon. But first, they quickly go through the list of other nominated titles that were pipped at the post:


    • The Dead Lake by Hamid Ismailov    
    • Borderline by Mishell Baker         
    • Defying Doomsday edited by Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench    
    • Heat and Light by Ellen Van Neervan    
    • Arms Race by Nic Low        
    • Planetfall by Emma Newman         
    • The Testimony by James Smythe    
    • Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A. S. King        
    • Affinity by Sarah Waters


      • The discussion then moves on to the two books that garnered the most votes: Quicksand House by Carlton Mellick III [5:50] and A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay [45:00]. This review of Quicksand House was mentioned in passing.



      If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:27:30 for some brief final remarks. Next month, the theme will be First Read/Re-Read, where Kirstyn and Ian each select a book they have read and loved a long, long time ago but which the other has never read before. The two novels up for discussion will be:

      • Savage Season by Joe R. Lansdale - chosen by Ian
      • The Pillow Friend by Lisa Tuttle - chosen by Kirstyn


        • Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

        1 hr 34 min
      • Episode 53: All the Light We Cannot See | The Girl on the Train

        On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, spend a few minutes talking about the New York Times Bestseller lists before jumping straight into the discussion of two novels which have been on the lists in some form for, oh, about a squillion weeks: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr [11:45] and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins [46:45].




        Here are the links for various items mentioned during this episode:

        • On Blindness and the Portrayal of Marie-Laure in All the Light We Cannot See by Sheri Wells-Jensen  (The Toast)
      • "There Was Darkness" by Martin Livings from Living With the Dead
      • NYT Book Review podcast featuring Megan Abbott

        • If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:32:00 for final remarks, including which books will be discussed next episode.

        Next month is the inaugural Patron's Choice episode, wherein Kirstyn and Ian read two books nominated and voted on by some of their lovely supporters on Patreon. Ian won't let Kirstyn put the titles in the shownotes, because he wants them to be a surprise for listener's of this month's episode. Seriously, blame Ian. Then go to 1:32:00 to find out what they'll be discussing.

        Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

        1 hr 37 min
      • Episode 52: The Fifth Child | The Parable of the Sower

        On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, spend a mercifully few brief minutes talking about kittens and stolen skeletons before diving straight into the two books which are up for discussion: The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing [9:00] and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler [55:40].



        If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:36:25 for final remarks, including some corrections regarding the Aurealis Awards as well as information for Patreon supporters about how to vote for the upcoming Patron's Choice episode.

        Next month, Kirstyn and Ian will be looking at pair of novels which have spent a loooooong time on the New York Times Bestseller list:

        • The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins      
      • All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

        • Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

         

        1 hr 44 min
      • Episode 51: In the Skin of a Monster | A Single Stone

        This month on The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, turn their attention to the 2015 Aurealis Awards which were announced in late March 2016. Sadly, there was no shortlist for the Best Horror Novel this year, although the category was won by Trent Jamieson's most excellent Day Boy, a book which was previously discussed on this podcast. There is much lamenting and some gnashing of teeth as Kirstyn and Ian spend a little time talking about Australia horror fiction and the ramifications of juried awards like the Aurealis failing to produce a shortlist. You can read the judges' report for the Best Horror Novel category, along with reports for all the others, in the Aurealis Awards program booklet.


        The two books up for discussion this month are both Aurealis Award winners: In the Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker which won Best Young Adult Novel [24:50] and A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay [56:00] which took home the award for Best Children's Fiction.



        If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:29:20 for final remarks, including information for Patreon supporters about how to nominate and vote for the upcoming Patron's Choice episode.

        Next month, Kirstyn and Ian will endeavour to fill a couple of large holes in their literary lives by finally getting around to reading novels by two beloved and critically acclaimed authors who have somehow slipped by them. Don't worry, they are currently hanging their heads in shame.

        • Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
      • The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

        • Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

         

        1 hr 38 min
      • Episode 50: The Writer and Critic Fab 50
        It's the 50th Episode of The Writer and the Critic and to celebrate, your hosts Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, have made a list of 50 of their favourite books. This is not a Best Books list or even an Important Books list ... it's simply a bunch of beloved books that have made an impact on them over their lives.


        But first ... some feedback. Bouncing off a most excellent email from one of their listeners, Kirstyn and Ian discuss the issue of systemic bias in the publishing industry, of which the last episode of this podcast inadvertently provided a problematic example, and the need for more diversity in all aspects of publishing, including the forms we preference. Novels are not the be all and end all, people, and it's good to be reminded of this.


        Discussion of the Writer and Critic Fab 50 begins at 19:20. No spoilers!



        Next month Kirstyn and Ian will be chatting about the recently announced Aurealis Awards and discussing two of the winners:

        • A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay
      • In the Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker
        • Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!



        1 hr 43 min
      • Episode 49: 'Afro SF' and 'The Sea Is Ours'

        This month on The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, offer some brief words of gratitude to the lovely and generous folks who have so far supported the podcast on Patreon. Ian and Kirstyn love you all to bits and pieces!


        They then dive straight into a meldy - but definitely not moldy! - discussion of both the books at hand Afro SF: Science Fiction by African Writers edited by Ivor W. Hartmann and The Sea Is Ours: Tales from Steampunk Southeast Asia edited by Jaymee Goh & Joyce Chng [5:20]. Because the books are both anthologies, there are precious few, if any, spoilers of individual stories so you may listen without fear!


        (The cat anthology that Kirstyn couldn't remember the name of during the discussion was Twists of the Tale edited by Ellen Datlow. Purry, furry fun!)


        If you did skip ahead, please come back at 1:23:50 for final remarks. Next month will be the 50th Epsiode of The Writer and the Critic. Who knew they would make it so far? (Ian. Ian knew.) To celebrate, Kirstyn and Ian have decided to each make a list of 25 of their favourite books which will hopefully combine without overlap to form a Writer and Critic Fab 50. Don't fret, dear listeners, they will only be spending a minute or two on each book. You won't need to set aside a whole weekend to listen. ;-)


        Please join us for some 50th Episode spoiler-free shenanigans!

        1 hr 31 min
      • Episode 48: 'House of Small Shadows' and 'Slade House'
        *** Breaking news! The Writer and the Critic is now on Patreon! There are all sorts of exciting milestone goals and rewards for patrons with pledges starting at just $1.00 per podcast. If you enjoy the podcast and can spare some change, Ian and Kirstyn would be immensely grateful for your support. They might even be able to afford to upgrade the increasingly unreliable equipment which would be lovely. All episodes will continue to be published monthly free of charge to the public ... though there might be some special behind-the-scenes moments made available to patrons only from time to time. Many heartfelt thanks in advance! ***

        This month on The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, briefly discuss an article by Damian Walter that served as inspiration for the "literary vs genre" theme of this episode before moving on to the featured books: House of Small Shadows by Adam Nevill [12:10] and Slade House by David Mitchell [44:10].



        During the course of the discussion, mention is made of the following reviews: 
        • Review of House of Small Shadows by Jeff VanderMeer in The Guardian
      • Review of House of Small Shadows by Niall Alexander on Tor.com
      • Review of Slade House by Sarah Thomas in the New York Times
      • Review of Slade House by Liz Jenson in The Guardian
      • Review of Slade House by Brian Finney in the LA Review of Books
        • If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:11:25 for some possibly controversial final remarks plus more details about how you can support The Writer and the Critic via Patreon.

        Next month, there will be two anthologies up for discussion:
        • The Sea Is Ours: Tales from Steampunk Southeast Asia edited by Jaymee Goh & Joyce Chng
      • AfroSF: Science Fiction by African Writers edited by Ivor W. Hartmann
        • Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

        1 hr 23 min

      About The Writer and the Critic

      From the publisher's feed

      A monthly podcast devoted mostly to speculative fiction books, reviews and the odd bit of idle gossip. Hosted by Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond.