StoryFest

Christian White , Candice Fox & Michael Robotham . Hosted by Meredith Jaffé . One of the most well-attended sessions at StoryFest 2019 was Criminal Minds. With three hugely successful crime authors – Michael Robotham, Candice Fox and Christian White – it’s not hard to see why. Meredith Jaffé spoke to the crime-writing trio about what goes on inside their minds when coming up with their storyli...

Freedom of expression is often touted as the right of individuals to espouse publicly views that were once held privately. No more so than in times where social media has dominated the public conversation on everything from sexuality, race, religion, politics and monarchy. But what responsibilities are inherent in the phrase ‘free speech’ and how hard is it to put the truth at the centre of the pu...

The Golden Maze - Richard Fidler in conversation with Nicole Abadee Richard Fidler first visited Prague in 1989, the moment in history when the decrepit police state was being overthrown by its people in what became known as the Velvet Revolution. The experience never left him. Thirty years later, Fidler returned to Prague to uncover the glorious and grotesque history of Europe's most instagrammed...

If you had asked most people before covid hit our shores, they would have told you there was no way that school children could shift overnight to online learning; that it was impossible for banks to offer mortgage holidays; impossible to double unemployment benefits; impossible to house rough sleepers or put a hold on evictions; impossible to offer wages subsidies and definitely impossible to get...

In a live version of his popular 2017 TedX talk, The Art of Forgetting, David Hunt argues that in order for Australia to understand who we are, we must embrace the good and bad in our history. David is the author of the bestselling, award-winning, Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia and the sequel, True Girt. He writes regularly about Australia’s past for the national newspapers and talks...

Naturalist, poet and seasoned bushwalker John Blay worked for over a decade to uncover the Bundian Way, a 380-kilometre ancient pathway from Mount Kosciuszko to the New South Wales far south coast, used by both the Aboriginal people of the area and the earliest British arrivals. John collaborated with the Eden Aboriginal Land Council to survey and researching the history of the ancient pathway. Th...

They call it the Sandwich Generation. Adult children juggling children of their own, work and ageing parents. In her latest book, journalist Amal Awad reveals society’s discomfort with the stark realities of ageing, disease and death in a culture that celebrates eternal youth. As a GP, Joanna Nell knows only too well what ageing looks like. Drawing on personal experience, these two writers share i...

So often, we talk about landscape as character and how setting informs the story. Join Candice Fox , Robert Hollingworth and Karen Viggers as they discuss how place is central to their storytelling and is so much more than a mere location. Hosted by Inga Simpson . SHOWNOTES: Storyfest https://www.storyfest.org.au Facebook / Twitter - @storyfestinc Candice Fox https://www.candicefox.org Facebook @c...

Female highwaywomen and the Estonian underground may not sound like they have much in common but each reveals a story of women tested by adversity. One when transported to Australia where she must forge a new life and a new identity. The other when Stalin’s brutal red army crushes everything in its path. Join Lauren Chater , author of the bestseller The Lace Weaver and Meg Keneally with her debut...

Natasha Lester swapped a career in marketing to become a writer. Her first two novels were works of literary fiction but Lester found her passions lay in writing historical fiction. Since 2016, she has published a string of novels but it is The Paris Seamstress that rocketed Lester to international acclaim. She chats with Suzanne Leal about the journey, the surprises, the joys and the secrets to h...

David Hunt ’s narration of Girt is one of Audible Australia's bestselling audio books of all time. Rolling Stone declared his Australian history podcast, Rum, Rebels & Ratbags, one of 2016’s hottest podcasts. Katherine Collette documented her path to publication in The First Time Podcast. Allison Tait is co-host, of the top-rating podcast So You Want To Be A Writer. Join them as they discuss w...

In this chat with Caroline Baum, Emily Maguire talks about love and family, betrayal and forgiveness, and the things we do to fill our empty spaces. About Love Objects... Nic is a forty-five-year-old trivia buff, amateur nail artist and fairy godmother to the neighbourhood's stray cats. She's also the owner of a decade's worth of daily newspapers, enough clothes and shoes to fill Big W three times...

Born in the 50s and 60s, they faced the future armed with the pill, free education and the chance to earn their own paycheque. But it's been a long row to hoe and there's still plenty of work to do to make this a better, fairer world. Join Jane Caro in conversation with Meredith Jaffe as they discuss Jane’s book "Accidental Feminists" -  the story of a generation of women who unintentionally...

The Opening Night event at StoryFest 2021 featured the inaugural Garry Evans Memorial Address, delivered by StoryFest patron and international bestselling author, Markus Zusak. In the spirit of the late, great Garry Evans - South Coast bookseller, publisher, and booklover extraordinaire - Markus spoke about and read from the books that opened up entire new worlds, and made him want to be a writer....

Welcome to the Storyfest Podcast where you can hear recordings of the thought-provoking, inspiring and sometimes hilarious sessions from StoryFest, a biennial storytelling festival held in the Milton-Mollymook-Ulladulla region on the NSW south coast.  In this episode, literary superstar Markus Zusak chats with Suzanne Leal about his career, love of the south coast and writing his most recent...