Hoops of Steel

Why do gothic and speculative stories grip young people, and what do they offer students in uncertain times?
In this episode of Hoops of Steel, Melanie Ralph is joined by Brisbane writer and academic Kim Wilkins, also known as Kimberley Freeman. Kim has published more than 30 books in over 20 languages and is a Professor of Writing and Associate Dean of Humanities Research at the University of Queensland.
Together, they explore gothic literature and speculative fiction as ways of pushing back against narrow ideas of learning, success, and creativity. Drawing on haunted houses, headstrong girls, monsters, and the Australian landscape, Kim reflects on why gothic stories endure, not as escapism, but as transportation: a way of stepping beyond the mundane and opening up space for uncertainty, imagination, and possibility.
This emphasis on possibility runs through Kim’s thinking about teaching and writing, especially at a time when creativity is often measured by outputs rather than process. As she explains:
“Writing isn’t just about outputs, it’s about process. And it’s in the process that we learn things.”
This episode invites English teachers to reclaim gothic and speculative fiction as powerful tools for imagination, defiance, and hope, and to help students imagine lives that are more than merely probable.
Shownotes:
Connect with Kim Wilkins (also published as Kimberley Freeman):  https://kimberleyfreeman.com/
Books and texts mentioned in this episode
Paradise Lost by John Milton (Books I & II)
Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings
Honeyeater by Kathleen Jennings
The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
The Well by Elizabeth Jolley
Queersland (anthology)
Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It by Cory Doctorow
Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang
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Turn closed questions into open doors: Marcus Luther shows how to fuel thinking, talking, and learning.
In this episode, Julie Arnold speaks with Oregon-based English teacher and podcaster Marcus Luther about building classrooms where curiosity crackles and every student’s voice matters. From quick wins that draw even the quietest students into conversation, to feedback moments that shift self‑belief, Marcus shares practical strategies wrapped in warmth and optimism. Along the way, Marcus champions the purpose of public education, celebrates the communities we build in our rooms, and offers a hopeful vision for what students can do when we trust them.
Marcus Luther has taught high school English in Oregon for 14 years and co‑hosts The Broken Copier, a podcast and resource hub that centres teacher voices and shares practical tools for the classroom. His work is grounded in reflective practice, inclusive culture, and keeping collaboration at the heart of English teaching.
Shownotes:
More strategies and resources from Marcus on The Broken Copier.
Kagan, S. (2013). Kagan Cooperative Learning. Kagan Publishing.
Thompson, M. Annotation processes and questioning frameworks
Gallagher, K. (2006). Teaching Adolescent Writers. Stenhouse Publishers.
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What stories shape us — and how do we learn to tell our own?
In this episode, Julie Arnold speaks with playwright, director and creative leader Wesley Enoch about the power of storytelling in education, the importance of honouring lived experience, and the joy of building spaces where students feel seen and heard. This episode is a warm, wise, and energising conversation for teachers who want to help students express identity with clarity and confidence.
Wesley Enoch AM is a playwright and director of Indigenous theatre. He hails from Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), and is a Nunukul Nuugi man of the Quandamooka Nation. Wesley has been the Artistic Director of six major festivals across Australia including the Sydney and Brisbane Festivals, and was the Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre Company from 2010 to 2015. His play The 7 Stages of Grieving, co-written with Deborah Mailman, is a widely studied and performed landmark of contemporary Australian theatre. Wesley is currently Professor of Practice (Drama) at QUT and the inaugural Indigenous Chair in the Creative Industries.
Shownotes:
📚 Recommended Reading:
 • Boas, E. & Kerin, R. (2021). Novel Ideas: Teaching fiction in the middle years. AATE.
• Shipp, C. (2023). Listening from the Heart. AATE.
• Worrell, T. (2022). Profiles of practice: Influences when selecting texts to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in English. English in Australia, 57(1), 5–14.
📦 Where to buy books:
 • Black Inc.
• Magabala Books
🛠️ Classroom Resource:
 • You Can Teach: Teaching First Nations Perspectives 
Find out more about Wesley Enoch at:
 🔗 Wesley Enoch’s page at QUT
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How does a English teacher transform professional learning into great classroom practice? How do you take a set text, pick the bits that are going to engage your students and prepare them for what comes next? From medieval Icelandic sagas to Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites, Dan joins Julie to talk about how deep reading, writing, and meaningful classroom encounters help students grow and keep teachers loving what they do. 
Dan has taught English in public schools for most of this century and long enough to know the essentials don’t change – fads, policies and strategies notwithstanding. He is trepidatious about each new syllabus and prescribed book lists (especially if they prevent him teaching Hamlet), but he’ll work with them because he loves good books and thinks we have a duty to share them with children. He also loves the way languages work, Shakespeare, and all things Icelandic.
Show notes:
Dan learnt a lot from The Secret of Literacy: Making the Implicit, Explicit by David Didau and Reading to Learn
Dan spoke extensively about teaching Hannah Kent's Burial Rites
Dan’s next read is The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams (with Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko still waiting patiently on the shelf)
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How can literature help students see history as something alive and full of meaning for our present?
In this episode, recorded at the ETAQ State Conference, Julie Arnold speaks with acclaimed author Anna Funder about the joy and challenges of writing stories that bring the past into sharp, human focus. In a conversation ranging through her best known work, they explore how literature can uncover hidden lives, question power, and spark fierce curiosity in the classroom.
Anna Funder is one of Australia's most acclaimed and awarded writers. Her books Stasiland and All That I Am are prize-winning international bestsellers, translated into many languages. Wifedom, hailed as a 'masterpiece', has been chosen as a Notable Book of 2023 by the New York Times and a Book of the Year by The Times, The Economist, the Financial Times, the Daily Telegraph and The Telegraph. Anna's novella The Girl With The Dogs reimagines love in the age of the tracking device.
Find out more about Anna Funder at:
🔗Anna Funder's website: https://www.annafunder.com/
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