Come visit the Territory with Laura Jean McKay. Hear how a visit to community on Australia's fringes and a real – stranger than fiction – experience inspired this story, how giving voice to the voiceless has become part of Laura's practice, and why the voice we gave her story caught her off guard. Listeners are advised that this episode of Unfolded comes with a language and content warning. About Laura Jean McKay Laura Jean McKay is the author of The Animals in That Country which won the 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award and The Victorian Prize for Literature. Her latest collection is Gunflower. She is the 2025 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellow and teaches Creative Writing at Massey University. Unfolded is produced with support from the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative, on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Eastern Kulin Nation. The producers would like to pay their respects to the traditional owners, to their Elders past and present, and to acknowledge their storytelling history, which goes back tens of thousands of years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Chapter 2: Territory, by Laura Jean McKay
A pig hunt doubles as a first date. Territory by Laura Jean McKay read by Ben de Pagter SynopsisTerritory takes listeners inside an Australia that few of us ever get to see: from the dried creek beds of the Northern Territory, to a Sunday afternoon at the pub unlike any other. It's a visceral story, that captures a sense of heat, violence, and tension of a place, that makes us reconsider the relationships with have with animals, and each other. Listeners are advised that this episode of Unfolded comes with a language and content warning. About Laura Jean McKay Laura Jean McKay is the author of The Animals in That Country which won the 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award and The Victorian Prize for Literature. Her latest collection is Gunflower. She is the 2025 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellow and teaches Creative Writing at Massey University. Unfolded is produced with support from the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative, on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Eastern Kulin Nation. The producers would like to pay their respects to the traditional owners, to their Elders past and present, and to acknowledge their storytelling history, which goes back tens of thousands of years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Chapter 1: In conversation with Chris Flynn
Chris Flynn takes us inside the world of Kitsune, discussing the scattered moments that gave life to the story, his literary inspirations, why he's sceptical of the term 'speculative fiction', and how it's best to write short stories like mini-novels. Listeners are advised that this episode of Unfolded comes with a language and content warning. About Chris Flynn Chris Flynn is the author of four novels, the most recent of which is Orpheus Nine, a collection of short stories Here Be Leviathans and three books for children in association with Museums Victoria. He lives in regional Victoria. Unfolded is produced with support from the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative, on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Eastern Kulin Nation. The producers would like to pay their respects to the traditional owners, to their Elders past and present, and to acknowledge their storytelling history, which goes back tens of thousands of years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Chapter 1: Kitsune, by Chris Flynn
A fox bite changes a life. Kitsune by Chris Flynn. Read by Harry McGee. Synopsis Plans change for Christmas morning when a bite from a fox sends a man to the emergency room, but a rabies shot is only the beginning. Soon, strange dreams of nine-tailed foxes, a sensory overload, and a sex drive he can't contain push him to the brink of his reality. Kitsune is a story of vulpine velocity that is equally parts hilarious and compelling. Listeners are advised that this episode of Unfolded comes with a language and content warning. About Chris Flynn Chris Flynn is the author of four novels, the most recent of which is Orpheus Nine, a collection of short stories Here Be Leviathans and three books for children in association with Museums Victoria. He lives in regional Victoria. Unfolded is produced with support from the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative, on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Eastern Kulin Nation. The producers would like to pay their respects to the traditional owners, to their Elders past and present, and to acknowledge their storytelling history, which goes back tens of thousands of years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A gardener seeks solace in the earth. A pig hunt doubles as a first date. A young mother wrestles with what’s possible. A man is bitten by a fox. A table speaks. A navigator finds her destiny amongst the stars.
We’ve all read stories that changed our lives. We’ve all imagined places that feel like home. We’ve all met characters who feel like family.
Now, we’ll hear the stories, then go to the source. We’ll speak with the authors, to find out what makes a story great, where they come from, and why they connect.
These are stories: Unpacked. Understood. Unfolded.
Join us for season 1 of Unfolded as Seth Robinson and Tony Birch speak with authors Chris Flynn, Claire G. Coleman, Frankey Chung-Kok-Lun, Miriam Webster, Paige Clark, and Laura Jean McKay.
Unfolded is produced with support from the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative, on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Eastern Kulin Nation.
The producers would like to pay their respects to the traditional owners, to their Elders past and present, and to acknowledge their history, which go back tens of thousands of years.
Hosts: Seth Robinson and Tony Birch
Creator and Executive Producer: Seth Robinson
Recording: Gavin Nebauer, Horwood Recording Studio, University of Melbourne
Editing and Sound Design: Nick King and Courtney Carthy, Nearly Media
Artwork: Tim Baker
Australia