The KidLit Pod

Former television producer, Ian Brown, has worked with some of the most famous people in the world, including Harrison Ford, Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, Simon Cowell, George Lucas, Gordon Ramsay, George Michael, Jamie Oliver, Jonah Lomu and several Prime Ministers and US Presidents. Now, he's fulfilling a lifelong dream of writing books. Award-winning children's author and London-base...

Best-selling creative duo, Ben Wood and Andrew McDonald, delve deep into the world of pigeons, twigs, and their new spin-off series in this jam (and bread)-packed episode. In this episode, host Shara Curlett chats with illustrator Ben and author Andrew, both Melbourne-based, whose work has been translated into 26 languages and recognized by major Australian book awards. Ben and Andrew discuss how...

Married creative collaborators Marc McBride (Deltora Quest illustrator) and Sofie Laguna (author and 2015 Miles Franklin Award winner), share the individual and joint paths that brought them to the incredible creation of Blunderbore - a new, fractured fairytale graphic novel that is truly mind-blowing. Throughout this episode, Sofie and Marc share how creativity shaped their childhoods and careers...

Tim Probert is the award-winning author-illustrator of the critically acclaimed, global sensation, the Lightfall graphic novel series. In episode 23 of The KidLit Pod, host Shara Curlett chats with Tim about his creative origins, career path, and process. With a childhood immersed in creativity, Tim describes how his love for drawing emerged early on, and how he was constantly drawing both because...

Historical children's fiction can be a critical link that piques a child's interest in both non fiction and history, and South Australian journalist and for award-winning children’s author, Catherine Bauer, this is an area that has really sparked her joy. In episode 22 of The KidLit Pod, Catherine discusses her creative childhood and how she would delight in making her own books, adding...

From creating zines to being shoulder tapped to illustrate a picture book, award-winning Aotearoa illustrator-author, Isabel Joy Te Aho-White (Izzy) comes onto The KidLit Pod to share her impressive career. In episode 21, Izzy, Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, discusses her childhood creativity and how art captured her early on, while her twin sister and older sister were more sporty. I...

With an impressive bibliography of having illustrated over 80 novels, Aki Fukuoka is a veteran of the kidlit industry, with 30 of those novels being the Billie B Brown series with Sally Rippin, which has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. In this incredible deep dive with host Shara Curlett, Aki shares how her family immigrated from rural Nagano, Japan to Whangarei, New Zealand when she was eig...

Today is a behind-the-scenes deep dive duo chat with children’s author and teacher/literacy interventionist Brooke Graham, and award-winning Australian illustrator Kristen Willis. This is a fascinating chat about how Brooke and Kristen created Family Feast, releasing 29 September and published by EK Books. As we've already heard about Kristen's creative background in episode 8 of The Kid...

During Covid, Lauren Hackney lost her aviation job, had to sell her house, and also had to navigate her husband's life threatening heart attack. And creativity is what saved them. In episode 18 of The KidLit Pod, host Shara Curlett welcomes Queensland author and screenwriter Lauren Hackney, who began writing with her children during this challenging time. Their bedtime idea became the interna...

Patience, persistence, and passion are three core elements that led Shara to writing her middle-grade fantasy novel, Protector of Beyond (Penguin Australia), which is out the day this podcast goes to air. This episode of The KidLit Pod flips the usual format, as Jennifer Ennion, a freelance travel journalist and emerging children’s author/illustrator with her first picture book slated with Thames...

When Graci Kim was young, she felt like a side character in her own life. 40 years on and Graci is now a New York Times Bestselling author, as well as most recently the 2026 winner of the Junior Fiction award at the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adult. In this episode, Graci shares how a belief that she would die young led her to live the fullest life possible, which included running away...

And we're back with another KidLit Hang! Shara Curlett hosts Bethany Loveridge and Adrian Beck for a bonus episode, where they chat about everything - and absolutely nothing at the same time. They discuss the Book Week/Book Month juggle, deadlines across multiple publishers (Adrian), and balancing school visits with parenting commitments. Shara recaps a Sydney trip where she visited the Pengu...

When author Sharon Giltrow found herself at her book launch with no books available from her overseas publisher, she knew something had to change. Now, she's regained her rights and taken back control. In episode 14 of The KidLit Pod, Sharon Giltrow, children’s author, shares how she grew up as the youngest of eight on a South Australian farm and spent 30 years working in play-and language-ba...

The foundational building blocks of language are essential for setting a child up for success. And tackling this, one book at a time (including those pesky homophones), is Jess Galatola. In episode 13 of The KidLit Pod, Jess shares how she always wanted to be a teacher, and she always loved storytelling, but she never made the connection between the two until later in life - that she could bring t...

Tenille Seow is an Australian author passionate about creating accessible fantasy stories for younger readers, despite challenges with dyslexia. In episode 12 of The KidLit Pod, Tenille describes a childhood immersed in books, how her mother encouraged reading, and how when they couldn't afford to attend certain events, that her mum would create little gift bags with a book to make it feel li...

Carla Salmon is one of the authors in Australia paving the way for a brand new age group of books that nestle right in between middle-grade and YA, called 'New Teen'. We're seeing more and more feedback that YA spans too great an age group, and overseas we're seeing New Adult (18-25) become more popular, but that leaves a YA group (12-18) that still spans a huge growth period i...

Are bookshops dead? Hardly! One business in Auckland that has experienced exponential growth has shown quite the opposite. Lizzy Lockhart, “Bookshop Hero” at the fast-growing independent online (and physical) bookshop Book Hero, shares the secrets behind this small business' success. And they've achieved this during a time where retail is tricky and reading is declining. Or is it? Book H...

And we're back! It's time for our monthly chat with Australian kidlit legends Bethany Loveridge and Adrian Beck, accompanied by our host, NZ author Shara Curlett. The team joke about Zoom call distractions (including Bethany’s dog, Sugar Plum),  before introducing their recent and upcoming books and launches, including Shara's Protector of Beyond launch plans in Brisbane, Bethany’s...

Kristen Willis lives a life full of creativity, from her graphic design work to children's book illustration and her brand new venture, Piccolo Prints. If you love art and creativity, then this is the episode for you! Host Shara Curlett welcomes award-winning Australian children’s book illustrator and author, Kristen Willis of Tondo Creative. Kristen is a Brisbane-based creative with a Fine A...

Having been part of the Debut Crew 2024 for her memoir, Ariane Beeston is a debut once more with her new YA contemporary novel, Don't Forget to Smile. Host Shara Curlett welcomes author Ariane Beeston to The KidLit Pod. Ariane is a former child protection caseworker and psychologist who now works in perinatal mental health and also teaches dance. Ariane shares how her childhood creativity was...

After signing a three-book deal as a debut, Tina Strachan has launched onto the Australian kidlit scene in a big way, becoming a wonderful advocate for children's literature, a popular emcee for events, and co-host of the The Book Deal podcast. Shara and Tina share recent updates, including Tina drafting a new project and Shara finishing final edits for Protector of Beyond, before discussing...

Published at 19, Jack Heath had an early introduction to being an author, and shares the knowledge and insights he's learned over the past twenty years. In this episode of The KidLit Pod, host Shara Curlett delves deep with Jack Heath, an Australian author known for writing action-driven books for reluctant readers, including the Minutes of Danger series and his latest 12+ thriller, I Know Wh...

A children's author who has published 67 novels, Jacqueline Harvey has turned her passion into a career, and shares wise insights on being an author. In this episode of The KidLit Pod, host Shara Curlett chats with Jacqueline Harvey about growing up around stories. Jacqueline describes growing up in a family of strong storytellers, valuing intergenerational stories, and her love of talking wi...

Host Shara Curlett introduces a monthly “KidLit Hang” format with Bethany Loveridge (Betty Love) and Adrian Beck, where a few authors hang out and chat. In their first hangout, they banter about deadlines, school visits, teaching, and do a rapid “Would You Rather” game, before discussing recent reads / listens / watches. They talk about author-work balance, procrastination, and scheduling around f...

Helen Farch is a high school librarian and Instagram influencer who shares how her hustle has turned a passion for books into success for both her school, and herself. In this episode of The KidLit Pod, host Shara Curlett chats with Helen Farch about her role as librarian at Forest Hill College, a secondary school in Melbourne. Helen is an advocate for school libraries, reading for pleasure, and A...