Don Watson began his literary career an academic historian, but soon moved on to political satire and speechwriting. He wrote political satire for the comedian Max Gillies, and then became speechwriter for Prime Minister Paul Keating.

Since 2003 Don has been documenting the viral spread of management-speak and the decline of public language on weaselwords.com.au. He is a regular contributor to Australian public debate, including in The Age and The Monthly.

His published long-form works include:
Rabbit Syndrome: Australia and America (Quarterly Essay #4, 2001), awarded the inaugural Alfred Deakin Prize in the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: Paul Keating Prime Minister (2002), awarded The Age Book of the Year and Non-Fiction Prizes, the Brisbane Courier Mail Book of the Year, the National Biography Award and the Australian Literary Studies Association's Book of the Year
Death Sentences: How Cliches, Weasel Words and Management-Speak Are Strangling Public Language (2003), awarded the Australian Booksellers Association Book of the Year
Watson's Dictionary of Weasel Words: Contemporary Cliches, Cant and Management Jargon (2004)
American Journeys (2008), awarded The Age Book of the Year and Non-Fiction Book of the Year, the inaugural Indie Award for Non-Fiction and the Walkley Non-Fiction Award
Bendable Learnings. The Wisdom of Modern Management (2009)
The Bush: Travels in the Heart of Australia (2014), awarded won the Indie Book of the Year and the NSW Premier's Literary Award, as well as the Non-Fiction Award in the Queensland Literary Awards and the FAW Non-Fiction Prize
Worst Words: A compendium of contemporary cant, gibberish and jargon (2015)
Enemy Within: American Politics in the Time of Trump (Quarterly Essay 63, 2016)
A Single Tree (2016).

Don has also written feature films, including The Man Who Sued God and Passion. In 2010 Don was awarded the Phillip Hodgins Memorial Medal for Australian Literature.

About The Garret

The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Don's interview are available at www.thegarretpodcast.com/don-watson.

Don Watson began his literary career an academic historian, but soon moved on to political satire and speechwriting. He wrote political satire for the comedian Max Gillies, and then became speechwriter for Prime Minister Paul Keating.
Since 2003 Don&nbsp;has been documenting the viral spread of management-speak and the decline of public language on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.weaselwords.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">weaselwords.com.au</a>. He is a regular contributor to Australian public debate, including in&nbsp;The Age&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Monthly.
His published long-form works include:
<ul>
<li>Rabbit Syndrome: Australia and America&nbsp;(Quarterly Essay #4, 2001),&nbsp;awarded the inaugural Alfred Deakin Prize in the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards</li>
<li>Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: Paul Keating Prime Minister&nbsp;(2002), awarded The Age Book of the Year and Non-Fiction Prizes, the Brisbane Courier Mail Book of the Year, the National Biography Award and the Australian Literary Studies Association's Book of the Year</li>
<li>Death Sentences:&nbsp;How Cliches, Weasel Words and Management-Speak Are Strangling Public Language&nbsp;(2003), awarded the Australian Booksellers Association Book of the Year</li>
<li>Watson's Dictionary of Weasel Words: Contemporary Cliches, Cant and Management Jargon&nbsp;(2004)</li>
<li>American Journeys&nbsp;(2008),&nbsp;awarded&nbsp;The Age Book of the Year and Non-Fiction Book of the Year, the inaugural Indie Award for Non-Fiction and the Walkley Non-Fiction Award</li>
<li>Bendable Learnings. The Wisdom of Modern Management&nbsp;(2009)</li>
<li>The Bush: Travels in the Heart of Australia&nbsp;(2014), awarded&nbsp;won the Indie Book of the Year and the NSW Premier's Literary Award, as well as the&nbsp;Non-Fiction Award in the Queensland Literary Awards and the FAW Non-Fiction Prize</li>
<li>Worst Words: A compendium of contemporary cant, gibberish and jargon&nbsp;(2015)</li>
<li>Enemy Within: American Politics in the Time of Trump&nbsp;(Quarterly Essay 63, 2016)</li>
<li>A Single Tree&nbsp;(2016).</li>
</ul>
Don has also written feature films, including&nbsp;The Man Who Sued God&nbsp;and&nbsp;Passion. In 2010 Don was awarded the Phillip Hodgins Memorial Medal for Australian Literature.
About The Garret
The Garret is committed to accessibility and education. The transcript and interactive show notes of Don's interview are available at <a href="https://thegarretpodcast.com/don-watson/">www.thegarretpodcast.com/don-watson</a>.

The Garret is a podcast for lovers of books and storytelling.

Always about Australian writers and their craft, in 2023 The Garret expanded focus and also interviews industry figures about what gets published (and why).

The Garret is educational in outlook. A defining feature of The Garret is our transcripts. Each interview is published with a complete transcript (so you don’t have to write anything down while you listen).

The Garret is a labour of love on behalf of all emerging writers. It does not operate for revenue or profit. If you would like to support The Garret, simply subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts and join the conversation on Instagram or Twitter.

You can also follow our host Astrid Edwards at astridedwards.com.

The Garret is a podcast for lovers of books and storytelling.
Always about Australian writers and their craft, in 2023 The Garret expanded focus and also interviews industry figures about what gets published (and why).
The Garret is educational in outlook. A defining feature of The Garret is our transcripts. Each interview is published with a complete transcript (so you don’t have to write anything down while you listen).
The Garret is a labour of love on behalf of all emerging writers. It does not operate for revenue or profit. If you would like to support The Garret, simply subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts and join the conversation on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/garretpodcast/">Instagram</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/garretpodcast">Twitter</a>.
You can also follow our host Astrid Edwards at <a href="https://astridedwards.com/" data-wpel-link="external">astridedwards.com</a>.

🎧 Interviews with writers about craft and industry figures about what gets published and why.

Advertisement