Secrets from the Green Room Irma Gold & Karen Viggers

Irma and Karen discuss author websites. Then Karen chats with Kris Kneen about writing into deeply uncomfortable spaces and confronting issues like fatness and identity, how to write sex well, why they’re always switching up genres, how to deal with disappointment over missing out on awards, why they almost gave up writing entirely, and the moment that changed their life.

About Kris:
KRIS KNEEN has written erotica, fiction, short-stories, poetry, memoir, non-fiction and scripts for film and documentaries. They have previously been published under the name Krissy Kneen, and their most recent book, Fat Girl Dancing, was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Award in the non-fiction section. Their collection of poems, Eating My Grandmother, won the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize in 2015, and their other works have been shortlisted for many prizes.

Irma and Karen talk about prepping for radio interviews. 
Then Karen chats to Diana Reid about how writing scripts has informed the way she works as a novelist and her approach to being edited, what it was like to be thrown into the spotlight with her bestselling debut novel, how its extraordinary success affected her, advice on how to handle publicity interviews, why writing her second novel was so much harder, how she feels about being called Australia’s Sally Rooney, why COVID was such a positive time for her as a writer, and how the first time she met Helen Garner she was so overwhelmed she began sobbing uncontrollably.

About Diana
Diana Reid burst onto the literary scene just after COVID with her debut novel, Love & Virtue, which won many awards and earned her the title of Best Young Novelist in 2022. Diana followed up soon after with her second novel Seeing Other People. She is currently living in London and finishing her next novel. 

Karen and Irma chat about point of view and writing from multiple perspectives.

Then Irma talks to Peter Papathanasiou about his very long and convoluted journey to publication, how his debut was rejected by 100 agents and took 10 years to get published, why his goal was to get published in the UK first and advice for other writers about how to do the same, how he successfully pitched his own book for screen, the challenges of the book-to-screen process, the devastating impact of being dropped by two agents and then picking himself back up again, and how specialising in law has helped him write crime fiction.

About Peter
Peter Papathanasiou was born in northern Greece in 1974 and adopted as a baby to an Australian family. His debut book was a memoir, Little One, which he followed with three linked crime fiction novels, The Stoning, The Invisible, and most recently The Pit. The Stoning was longlisted for the prestigious UK Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards and the Indie Book Awards. Peter’s writing has also appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, Guardian UK, and The Sydney Morning Herald. 

'Irma and Karen talk about the ins and out of book marketing.

Then Karen chats with Melinda Smith about winning the Prime Ministers Literary Award for poetry, the potential of TikTok for poets, how arts grants have sustained her writing and how to write a good application (all the details), how form (or lack thereof) influences the writing of a poem, why poets are not featured much in festival line-ups, sources of inspiration, the important art of poetry editing, and advice for how to get published as a poet.

About Melinda
Melinda Smith is one of Canberra’s (and Australia’s) most famous poets. She’s also an editor, teacher, arts advocate and event curator. Melinda has had seven collections published. In 2014 she won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for 'Drag down to unlock or place an emergency call'. She is also a former poetry editor of The Canberra Times. 

Irma and Karen chat about the highs and lows of podcasting.

Then Irma talks to Niq Mhlongo about what it was like growing up in Soweto, South Africa, how sleeping in a tiny room with seven brothers got him hooked on reading, why he ditched law to become a writer, how Dan Brown made him think he’d become a millionaire from writing, how his debut novel went from being deemed ‘unpublishable’ to being accepted by the same publisher, why he is sceptical about literary prizes, why living from Berlin gives him freedom to write about Soweto, and why writing in English gives him another kind of freedom.

About Niq
Niq Mhlongo is the Sowetan-born author of four novels and three collections of
short stories. He is also the editor of a collection of essays called Black Tax:
Burden or Ubuntu, and two short fiction anthologies. His debut novel, Dog Eat
Dog, won the Spanish Literary Award, and his collection of short stories, Soweto
Under The Apricot Tree won the Herman Charles Bosman Literary Prize and the
Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award. He currently lives in Berlin.

Karen and Irma talk about ten awful publishing truths.

Then Karen chats to Daniel O’Malley about writing humour in books and how to develop this skill, how he lost the first 150 pages of his bestseller The Rook, the potential pitfalls of finding an agent, the process of his novel being made into a mini-series, how he used to tweet as one of his characters, and what it’s like to go to a fantasy book conference.

About Daniel
Daniel O’Malley is an internationally bestselling fantasy/sci fi author. He’s published 3 novels, and his fourth is on its way. His debut, The Rook, won the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and has been made into a television mini-series. He’s a rock star in the paranormal and fantasy fiction world, but most days you can find him working in the National Library of Australia.