Better Words

Beth O'Leary is one of the biggest names in contemporary fiction at the moment. Her debut novel, The Flatshare, has sold over half a million copies and her second novel, The Switch has been optioned for film by Steven Spielberg’s production company. Today we’re thrilled to be discussing her brand new novel, The Road Trip. Our interview starts at 21 minutes.  Michelle recommends It's a Sin Beautifu...

Claire Zorn is a multi-award-winning author of young adult literature. Her resume of awards is incredibly impressive including the Children’s Book Council of Australia awards, the Inky Awards, the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, and multiple state Premier’s awards. Today we are discussing her new novel When We Are Invisible, a sequel to her stunning post-apocalyptic debut The Sky So Heavy.  Our...

Phoebe Wynne worked as a teacher for eight years, teaching Classics in the UK and English Language and Literature in Paris. She left teaching to write and we’re delighted today to be talking about her first novel Madam, which has been described as gothic fiction with a feminist twist perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and Margaret Atwood.  Our interview begins at 26 minutes.  Mini book club: Expe...

Dawnie Walton was born and raised in Florida, but now lives in Brooklyn New York with her husband. She earned an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 2018 and has a journalism degree. She was formerly an editor at Essence and Entertainment Weekly. Her debut novel, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev has been described as a “firecracker” and an “utterly fresh take on finding one’s voice, on systemi...

Rebecca Lim is a writer, illustrator, editor and lawyer. She is the author of over twenty books and has been nominated for multiple awards. She is  a co-founder of the Voices from the Intersection initiative to support emerging young adult and children's authors and illustrators who are First Nations, People of Colour, LGBTIQA+ or living with disability, and is a co-editor of Meet Me at the Inters...

Leanne Hall is an author of and specialist in young adult and children’s fiction. Her debut novel, This Is Shyness, won the Text Prize and was followed by a sequel, Queen of the Night. Her novel for younger readers, Iris and the Tiger, won the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature at the 2017 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. This week we're diving into her beautiful and haunting YA nove...

Laura Kay is a writer and editor. She has an MA in American History from the University of Sheffield, and now lives in London with her wife and cat. In 2018, Laura was selected as one of the 10 PRH WriteNow mentees. She is based in London and The Split is her first novel. Our interview starts at 20 minutes. Mini book club: The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough We both adored this funny and he...

Sophie Gonzales is a young adult author who lives in Melbourne. When she isn’t writing, she can be found ice skating, performing in musical theatre, and practising the piano. Today we’re talking about her brand new contemporary novel, Perfect on Paper. Our interview starts at 11 minutes.  Michelle recommends:  No Shame by Tom Allen “A brilliant comedic memoir. Anyone who has felt socially awkward...

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley was the sort of kid who would skip lunch breaks to read and talk with the school librarian. She studied chemistry and worked as a research chemist after school, writing at night and on the weekends. Eventually, she realised that writing was her true passion and got her first publishing contract while pregnant with her second child. She now lives on a farm in Tennessee wit...

Abigail Mann is a Norfolk native living in London, surviving on a diet of three-shot coffee, bourbon biscuits and vegetarian sausage rolls. The manuscript which became her debut novel was runner-up in the inaugural Comedy Women in Print award in 2019. Thanks to the pandemic she has just celebrated the paperback publication of her debut, the Lonely Fajita, and will soon celebrate the publication of...

We’re sharing our favourite films, books, TV and audio of the year. Because we all know the 2020 has given us PLENTY of time to consume new content. Thanks for joining us this year and for supporting us. We can’t wait to be back in your ear holes in 2021 for Season 6. Adult fiction Caitlin: Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason ( listen to the interview ) The Lost Love Song by Minnie Darke All Our Shimmer...

Arvin Ahmadi grew up outside Washington DC, graduated from Columbia University, and worked in the tech industry prior to becoming a full-time writer. He now lives in New York City and has published three books. He’s joining us today to talk about his latest novel, How It All Blew Up.  Interview starts at 18 minutes. Note: right near the end Arvin's Airpods died so he drops out and jumps back in ag...

Stephanie Yeboah has been part of the fat acceptance and body positivity movement since 2014. She has since then written for multiple publications and her own blog about intersectionality in the body positivity movement, Beauty standards within the community and self-love. Today we are discussing her brilliant debut non-fiction memoir/self-help guide Fattily Ever After.  Interview starts at 30 min...

 Frances Chapman was born in Henley-On-Thames in England and she spent her childhood pinballed between continents before settling in Sydney. She worked as a journalist and social researcher for several years before she became a freelance writer in 2015. Her debut novel, Stars Like Us, was published by Hardie Grant Egmont in July 2020 after winning the Hardie Grant Egmont Ampersand Prize in 2018, a...

Alison Booth was born in Melbourne, brought up in Sydney and has worked in the UK and in Australia as a professor as well as a novelist. She holds a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics and has written five novels, including The Philosopher’s Daughters which was published in April 2020. Interview starts at 20 minutes. Mini book club: Cow Girl by Kirsty Eyre We enjoyed reading this...

Meg Rosoff spent 15 years working in advertising before writing her first novel. That book, How I Live Now , has since sold over one million copies in 36 territories, won prestigious awards and been adapted into a film. Her subsequent novels have been awarded or shortlisted for multiple awards including the Carnegie Medal. Although she was born in Boston, our guest now lives in London with her hus...

Kalynn Bayron is an author and classically trained vocalist. She grew up in Alaska, which apparently means skiing and ice-skating in PE class. She studied opera in college, trained in ballet and can play the clarinet. As if all of that isn’t talent enough, she’s recently published her debut novel, Cinderella Is Dead. Interview starts at 20 minutes Mini book club: Read with Pride (Paper and Hearts...

Our guest this week is an award winning writer, she has a PhD in Creative Writing and Literary Studies, her work has been published in Overland, Griffith Review, The Big Issue fiction edition and more. She has won the Josephine Ulrick Prize for Literature, the Margaret River Short Story Competition, the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize and the Fair Australia Prize for Fiction. Her first book was a...

Ireland is a land known for its literary exports and our guest this week is certainly adding to the country’s reputation for impeccable fiction. Louise O'Neill is from West Cork and has been described as a feminist powerhouse. Her first two novels, Only Ever Yours and Asking For It, were written for young adults but tackled very tough topics including sexual assault and consent. Her books have won...

Meg Mason started her career at the Financial Times and The Times of London - definitely not too shabby! Since then, she’s been published in major Australian newspapers, The New Yorker, Sunday Style, GQ, Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire. She has written a memoir and a novel, but this week we are discussing her second novel, Sorrow and Bliss . Caitlin recommends Splitting Up Together A two-season US si...

Alice Oseman is a formidable young writer.  Alice's first book was published when she was just 19. Now at 25, our guest has already published four celebrated novels and written and illustrated a much loved graphic novel series. Alice's latest novel, Loveless, is a celebration of friendship and coming out as asexual and aromantic. Interview starts at 12 minutes. Mini-book club: Heartstopper by...

Nydia Hetherington grew up in Leeds in the north of England and moved to London in her twenties to start an acting career. She studied at a renowned French theatre school and went on to create her own theatre company. Her debut novel, A Girl Made of Air, was published in September. Interview starts at 12 minutes.  Caitlin recommends Love Struck by Bronwyn Sell Perfect for pretending you were allow...

Kay Kerr is a former journalist and community newspaper editor from Brisbane. She now lives on the Sunshine Coast with her husband and daughter and works as a freelance writer. Her debut young adult novel, Please Don’t Hug Me, was inspired by her own autism-spectrum diagnosis.  The interview starts at 17 minutes. This week, we started the episode with a mini book club discussion of Olive by Emma G...

Laura Jane Williams is an incredibly talented storyteller who has written columns for numerous magazines, published two non-fiction books and has just celebrated the release of her second fiction novel. Her debut fiction Our Stop was a smash hit in the UK summer in 2019 and The Love Square is set to be just as popular, having been described as “clever, hilarious and a total unbridled joy to read"....

We apologise for the audio quality of some parts of this episode. It was originally published in December 2018.  When we spoke to Zoya we discussed her memoir No Country Woman and the experience of writing the memoir.  In this episode, we discuss: How Zoya’s family responded to her writing a memoir about her cultural and religious experiences growing up in Australia (and why this has helped them c...