Episode 38: Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens + Storyland; A new mythology of Britain

Miles Franklin Award winner, Shankari Chandran takes Cath to Cinnamon Gardens, an aged care home established by Tamil refugees and now run by their daughter. It’s run with love and dignity and has become an oasis for its culturally diverse residents…but the tensions of past wars and the prejudices …

Episode 37: A deep dive into the world of poetry with Peter Bakowski and Ken Bolton’s latest collections + veteran poet and broadcaster Mike Ladd on ‘why be a poet?’

Poetry seems a solitary pursuit but not for well knownAustralian poets Peter Bakowski and Ken Bolton - they recently released two new collections ‘On Luck Street’ and ‘Waldo’s Game’ in which they have collaborated from afar, co-telling stories using  a ’call and respond’ writing technique. And for…

Tsundoku Minisode 36.5

Molly Schmidt’s Salt River Road is a searing account of grief and redemption set in the big sky/small town landscapes of south west WA.. Racism, poverty and country town politics are all part of life in country Western Australia in the 1970’s. But for the Tetley family all that matters is that they…

Episode 36: “The Disorganisation of Celia Stone” + the secret life of a romance writer

Celia appears to have it all and her life is running like clockwork - and so it should because she has it planned down to the very last minute - but then along comes a challenge that could be her undoing! Celia is thrust into a process equal parts amusing and heartbreaking as she shakily charts a n…

Episode 35: Paddy O’Reilly’s “Other Houses” + The timeless Anne of Green Gables

Cath has admired the work of Paddy O’Reilly for some time but with her shortlisting for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, “Other Houses” looks sure to win O’Reilly many new admirers. It’s a tale of class, aspiration and the boundaries we will cross for love. + Michaela has an Anne of Green Gab…

Episode 34: Sarah Smith’s “12 Steps to a Long and Fulfilling Death” + Is book translation an art or science?

Sarah Smith has been successfully writing for popular TV shows such as “McLeod’s Daughters”, “All Saints” and “Love Child” for years. Now, she’s turned her hand to fiction creating a clever and quirky murder mystery set in the Los Angeles fast lane and narrated by a young, vibrant (albeit dead) wom…

Minisode 33.5 - Trent Dalton’s new novel Lola in the Mirror travels to the dark heart of homelessness and domestic violence and yet is a love story and a love letter to his home town Brisbane.

Trent Dalton’s new novel Lola in the Mirror travels to the dark heart of homelessness and domestic violence and yet is a love story and a love letter to his home town Brisbane. Lola has no name when this story begins. For 16 years she and her mother have been on the run through Brisbane’s underbel…

Episode 33: Fashion, feminism and war with Natasha Lester + a rock’n’roll mystery from Dave Warner

“The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard” is loosely based on the life of Mitzah Bricard,  a woman the world remembers as the outrageous muse of Christian Dior but who was, in fact, his First Assistant Designer and enormously talented in her own right. What follows is a compelling tale of glamour, desi…

Minisode 32.5: Discovering The Unwritten Histories of Women with Pip Williams

Leaving the world of academia when creativity came knocking has paid off for Pip Williams. She's the bestselling author of "The Dictionary of Lost Words" and "The Bookbinder of Jericho", and speaks with Sarah about the ideas that light her up and inspire her to write.  In this conversation, Pip me…

Episode 32: Justin Cronin’s latest dystopian thriller will grip you from the first page to the last + PhD candidate, Georgia Nicholls, reveals the romance titles sweeping young women off their feet.

In Cronin’s “The Ferryman” the world’s elite enjoy eternal youth and deep personal satisfaction on the archipelago of Prospera but all is not as it seems and unrest is fomenting on both sides of the social divide. + Georgia Nicholls has been writing romance since she was 14 and penned a fan ficti…