The Writer and the Critic

This month The Writer and the Critic comes to you as a LIVE record from Continuum 7 -- Melbourne's own speculative fiction and pop culture convention -- with the incomparable Catherynne M. Valente as special guest podcaster. Ian, Kirstyn and Cat discuss the problems and politics involved when writers review the work of friends and the need for honesty in online opinion. Cat talks about the popular...

This month's episode of The Writer and the Critic sees your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, discuss the results of the recently announced Ditmar and Tin Duck Awards and dissect the almost inevitable Great Ditmar Controversy of 2011 that exploded onto the interwebs soon afterwards. For those interested in reading further, Kirstyn has blogged about the issue here and here . The books up for d...

And now for something completely different ... SwanCon36 was held over the Easter Weekend (21- 25 April 2011) and a whole bunch of Australian podcasters were in attendance. What better excuse do you need to record a special live MegaPodcast? Join Jonathan Strahan from Coode Street , Helen Merrick from Pangalactic Interwebs , Alex Pierce from Galactic Suburbia , and The Writer and the Critic's own...

The Writer and the Critic elects to stay at home and rest its feet this month as your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, give you a rundown on the recently announced ballots for the Ditmar and Chronos Awards . Ian grabs a shovel ad promptly digs himself a Ditmar-shaped hole. Kirstyn highlights the emergence of the podcast as a dominant form of "fan publication" on both ballots. They then discu...

This month on The Writer and the Critic, your valiant hosts, Ian Mond and Kirstyn McDermott, venture forth to the home of their special guest: Galactic Suburbian , Alex Pierce. Having been rewarded with red wine and orange cake, they discuss the origins of Galactic Suburbia as well as the future of its brand new sister podcast, Galactic Chat, then proceed to paddle about in the murky waters of gen...

This month's episode of The Writer and the Critic sees your intrepid hosts, Ian Mond and Kirstyn McDermott, pack up their gear and travel to the gothic Victorian mansionette of their special guest: Melbourne horror writer, Felicity Dowker . The three of them discuss the recent controversy surrounding Bitch Media's list of 100 Young Adult Books for the Feminist Reader and the problematic removal of...

In this episode of The Writer and the Critic, Ian Mond and Kirstyn McDermott speak briefly about listener feedback, in particular Cheryl Morgan's musings about spoilers and the lack thereof in this podcast. They summarily decide to lift the ban on spoilers to allow more open discussion of all aspects of the books they are reviewing, including ... gasp ... endings and plot twists! Ian promises not...

At the start of this episode of The Writer and the Critic, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond spend a little time addressing some listener feedback from last month concerning social media and book recommendations. They have picked a book recommended by a listener to be read and reviewed in February but they're not telling you which one because, as Ian says, there aren't enough surprises in the world a...

Welcome to the thrilling first episode of The Writer and Critic, a monthly podcast dealing with news, books reviews and the odd bit of idle gossip. After 10 minutes of rambling where your hosts Ian Mond (he would be the critic) and Kirstyn McDermott (she would be the writer) talk about the podcasts that have inspired them (and Ian mention his ego, while Kirstyn forgets something important), the po...