In The Book Cave Jennifer Kloester

Helen MacDonald deals with the dead. Fascinated by the macabre history of anatomy and dissection, her books trace the origins of industry from the villainous bodysnatchers, Burke and O’Hare, to the modern-day antics of the gruesome showman, Gunther von Hagens. Helen is intrigued by people’s response to the dead and to the bodies they leave behind and this interview was mesmerising. Helen raises many questions about death and its physical aftermath and brings to light several awful episodes in both British and Australian history. A great guest In the Book Cave.

Graeme Kinross-Smith has spent over forty years in the Australian literary scene. An award winning writer of short stories, poetry, fiction and non-fiction, Graeme has also been a pioneer in teaching creative writing having founded the first tertiary level creative writing course in Australia. Graeme has interviewed dozens of famous Australian authors, including luminaries such as Patrick White and Judith Wright and he has many wonderful stories to tell about his life on the Australian literary scene. Engaging and provocative, Graeme was an inspiring guest In the Book Cave.

From a background of successful romance writing with more than thirty novels to her credit, Fiona Lowe has recently become a bestselling author of Australian family sagas. With her novels Daughter of Mine and Birthright, Fiona has won accolades for her insightful portrayals of people and relationships. It was fascinating to hear Fiona’s story of making the shift from writing genre fiction to longer ‘single-title’ novels. There’s an art to all writing and different forms place different kinds of demands on authors. Fiona’s also a passionate believer in doing her research – whether it’s making goat’s cheese or skiing in the High Country or gourmet cooking, she’ll do it all!

A modern woman for modern times, Delwyn Jenkins has plenty of first-hand experience with today’s fast-paced publishing industry. As a writer of erotic romance, which she usefully distinguishes from erotica, erotic fiction and porn, Delwyn has been published by Momentum Books, Ellora’s Cave and Evernight Books. As an e-book author, Delwyn has plenty of insight into digital publishing and the highs and lows of writing in the digital age. With a wicked wit and a talent for the quick comeback, Delwyn is hugely entertaining and we loved having her In the Book Cave.

Claire Saxby’s favourite word is ‘try’ – an interesting choice for an author who has achieved so much in her career as a successful children’s book author. A lyrical writer with a love of unusual words, Claire has written poetry, fiction and non-fiction for young people on subjects as diverse as Weary Dunlop, the Anzacs, koalas, emus and the Rajah Quilt. A compelling interview which looks at how she writes, what inspires her and the challenges attached to writing books for children, Claire Saxby was a welcome guest In the Book Cave.

Best known as a prize-winning poet and academic, David McCooey is also a critic, editor, musician and sound artist. Described as having ‘a remarkable power to draw the reader in’ David was a fascinating guest In the Book Cave. Speaking about poetry and its power, David explains why poetry remains important to so many people in the modern world. Here is a writer who understands the power of words and how poetry can help us to make sense of our lives.