The First Time

Katherine speaks to best selling, award winning author Pip Williams. They discuss William’s novel DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS, language, history and biases and omissions based on gender and class. Also, navigating being an author when you’re not on social media! Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter (@thefirsttimepod) or Instagram...

Kate and Katherine are reasonably joyful in this episode, which covers such topics as mini bottles of wine, mandarins and surprise surprise books.    Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter (@thefirsttimepod) or Instagram (@thefirsttimepod) .

Kate speaks to award winning Melbourne writer, Alice Pung. They discuss Pung's latest novel ONE HUNDRED DAYS, writing about class, the impact of motherhood and how her writing process has changed over time. Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter (@thefirsttimepod) or Instagram (@thefirsttimepod) . Don't forget you can support us...

Kate and Katherine talk great books, great listens and other inspiring things.      Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter (@thefirsttimepod) or Instagram (@thefirsttimepod) .

Katherine speaks to author Jane Riley about persistence and how, even if it takes a while, it does ultimately pay off. They discuss Kindle bestsellers, books coming out just prior to and during lockdown/s and how writers need to ask themselves questions.  Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter (@thefirsttimepod) or Instagram (@t...

Kate and Katherine talk about what they've been doing, which is not a lot. Kate is considering egging someone and needs a personal assistant. Katherine is reading a lot of Maeve Binchy and... No, that's it. Just a LOT of Maeve.     Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter (@thefirsttimepod) or Instagram (@thefirsttimepod) .

Kate speaks to Melbourne crime writer Iain Ryan, author of The Spiral. They discuss the rules of crime fiction, writing to the point of shame, self publishing vs traditional publishing and the Taylor Swift Theory. There is a some explicit content at the 20 minute mark, so maybe keep those earpods in! Kate also laughs. A lot. Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodc...

Kate speaks to best-selling children's author and now non-fiction writer, Ailsa Wild. They discuss Wild's latest project - a story of nursing and caring during the Covid pandemic, along with how she creates her best-selling kid's books, and her top tips for school visits. Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter (@thefirsttimepod)...

It's Kate's birthday! She's a hundred years old! Okay, she's forty. Katherine has specific questions and Kate admits she loves the word 'skitterish'. She also wants to be reincarnated as a coastal cushion bush...    Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter (@thefirsttimepod) or Instagram (@thefirsttimepod) .   Don't forget you can...

Katherine speaks to best-selling, multi-award winning writer Sarah Krasnostein. They discuss the ethics of writing about other people, how awkward it can be and ghosts.  Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter (@thefirsttimepod) or Instagram (@thefirsttimepod) .   Don't forget you can support us and the making of Season Four via...

This special episode is brought to you in collaboration with Yarra Valley Writers Festival for the series I Didn't Plan it This Way: Conversations about misguided moments, failed ideas and books that stayed in the bottom draw. In this conversation, Kate Mildenhall talks with author Meg Mason about how her latest novel SORROW AND BLISS went from broken book to international bestseller. Meg Mason is...

This special episode is brought to you in collaboration with Yarra Valley Writers Festival for the series I Didn't Plan it This Way: Conversations about misguided moments, failed ideas and books that stayed in the bottom draw. In this conversation, Kate Mildenhall talks with author Sally Hepworth (THE GOOD SISTER) about saying no, reading one star reviews and the swingers party she took her husban...

This special episode is brought to you in collaboration with Yarra Valley Writers Festival for the series I Didn't Plan it This Way: Conversations about misguided moments, failed ideas and books that stayed in the bottom draw. In this conversation, Kate Mildenhall talks with journalist and writer Rick Morton (MY YEAR OF LIVING VULNERABLY) about failure, kindness, outlaw motorcycle gangs and what h...

This special episode is brought to you in collaboration with Yarra Valley Writers Festival for the series I Didn't Plan it This Way: Conversations about misguided moments, failed ideas and books that stayed in the bottom draw. In this conversation, Kate Mildenhall talks with writer and actor Michael Veitch (HELLSHIP) about failed interviews, horror gigs, bad reviews and the failures that put him o...

This special episode is brought to you in collaboration with Yarra Valley Writers Festival for the series I Didn't Plan it This Way: Conversations about misguided moments, failed ideas and books that stayed in the bottom draw. In this conversation, Kate Mildenhall talks with author Jessie Tu about musical failures, high expectations, review culture and the idea of failure in her debut novel A LONE...

When deaf poet, author and essayist Fiona Murphy gets in touch, Kate and Katherine re-think a rant they had previously.  Check out show notes for this episode on at www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter or Instagram @thefirsttimepod. Don't forget you can support the making of Season Four via our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/user/overview?u=14470635 ! Thanks for joining us...

Kate speaks with literary translator Stephanie Smee in a fascinating conversation about wordplay, reading in translation, and Smee's latest work ON THE LINE: NOTES FROM A FACTORY by Joseph Ponthus. Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter or Instagram @thefirsttimepod.   Don't forget you can support us and the making of Season Fou...

This episode Kate and Katherine DO NOT talk about lockdown.    Check out show notes for this episode on at www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter or Instagram @thefirsttimepod. Don't forget you can support the making of Season Four via our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/user/overview?u=14470635 ! Thanks for joining us!

Katherine speaks with The Second Son author Loraine Peck. They discuss excellent bios, writing crime, magic and vision boards.  Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter or Instagram @thefirsttimepod.   Don't forget you can support us and the making of Season Four via our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/user/overview?u=1447063...

This episode Kate and Katherine go deep on a festival post mortem after Kate wearily returns from a whirlwind book trip to WA. Highlights, dolphins, fashion tips, name dropping and a story that makes Katherine lose it. This week has it al.   Check out show notes for this episode on at www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter or Instagram @thefirsttimepod. Don't forget you can suppor...

This episode Kate talks to political journalist, foreign correspondent and author Michael Brissenden. They discuss journalism, good story telling and--one of our faves--rejection. Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter or Instagram @thefirsttimepod.   Don't forget you can support us and the making of Season Four via our Patreon...

This episode Kate and Katherine discuss the nitty gritty of editing. It's been so long Kate's forgotten what it even is and Katherine has a complicated method involving printing, spreadsheets and long division (thirds?).    Check out show notes for this episode on at www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter or Instagram @thefirsttimepod. Don't forget you can support the making of Se...

This episode Katherine talks to author Victoria Hannan on the highs and lows of being a writer, and how the writing life is just one part of actual life. They discuss awards (Victoria was the winner of the Victorian Premiers Unpublished Manuscript Award 2019), retreats, massive word counts and wonderful-difficult moments. Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast...

This episode Kate and Katherine discuss first drafts... Are they always terrible?  Does anyone listen to other authors play lists? Do you like long descriptions of trees?  And other questions such as this.  Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter or Instagram @thefirsttimepod. Don't forget you can support us and the making of Sea...

In our first interview for S4, Kate speaks with Evelyn Araluen - poet, academic, co-editor of Overland Literary Journal and author of Dropbear.  They discuss Evelyn's creative practice, how she edited Dropbear with Ellen Van Neerven, why learning Bundjalung language changed the way she writes, and her advice on becoming part of the writing community. Check out show notes for this episode on our we...