Mel is joined in the studio by Madelaine Lucas to discuss her New York Times’ Editors’ Choice debut novel, Thirst for Salt, a love story set in an isolated Australian coastal town. Madelaine has come across the globe from New York, where she is a musician, writer and teacher at Columbia University.

Plus, how does a literary festival come together? We’re staying coastal with Jane Finemore, Program Director of the Queenscliffe Literary Festival. Jane discusses the 2023 Queenscliffe Literary Festival theme Time to Think, the literary festival boom, and her own journey from behind the scenes to festival programmer.