Words and Nerds: Authors, books and literature.

⭐️ Episode #819 - Dani Vee and Andrew Upton - Krank Fuss, writing weird and moving from writing screenplays to a novel. Published by Puncher and Wattman 🎉

Dear theatre loving listeners,

In this episode I chat to the incredibly talented Andrew Upton about his wildly unique debut novel Krank Fuss and its important place in politics, fiction and philosophy.

Of course, being a Sydneysider and theatre nerd, the Sydney Theatre Company has always been important to me, so I had to ask about how he and Cate Blanchett as Artistic Directors brought sustainability and theatre together.

We nerded out about:
⭐️ The comparisons of Krank Fuss to Animal Farm
⭐️ The different process of writing screenplays and novels
⭐️ The inspiration behind the characters and setting
⭐️ Why George Eliot is the greatest writer of our time
⭐️ The collaborative nature of theatre vs the solitude of writing
⭐️ Why early readers of his draft manuscript were so important
⭐️ Why weird ideas can resonate with readers
⭐️ The helplessness of finding yourself in a political world you did not create

This was one of the most fascinating chats I’ve had about writing, theatre and the state of the world 🩷

LISTEN NOW 🎤 🎧

Dani 💋

Date with a Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication.

In our ninth episode of series four, Nick sits down with Albert Jamae, the author of self-help book Shaping Tomorrow’s Man.

WARNING: this book and podcast contains topics of mental health, self harm, domestic violence and fertility issues, listener and reader discretion is strongly advised. If this is something that affects you or your loved ones, help is available.
Movember: https://mylifepsychologists.com.au/
MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 78
Beyond Blue: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
LifeLine: 13 11 14

Shaping Tomorrow’s Man Podcast: https://albertjamae.com.au/podcast

Enjoy the show? Drop us a review, it really helps the show out!

You can also subscribe to our new monthly newsletter: https://nickwasiliev.substack.com/

Check out our brand new podcast website: https://dwad.podpixels.com/

Check out the 2026 sponsor of the podcast, Pod Pixels: https://bit.ly/4cbG1Zt

Subscribe on Podbean to never miss an episode: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/3mRME5IMoSJx
Date with a Debut is featured as part of the Australian literary platform Words & Nerds. Check out all shows on the platform here: https://danivee.com.au/podcasts/
BOOKS:

Debut:

Shaping Tomorrow's Man / Albert Jamae: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/jR51Mv

Additional books mentioned:

When Men Cry / Nick Wasiliev: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/1nNdg
The Secret of Secrets / Dan Brown: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/5kqjX9
The Resilience Project / Hugh van Cuylenburg: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/enQROD

PRODUCTION NOTES:

Host: Nick Wasiliev
Guest: Albert Jamae
Editing & Production: Nick Wasiliev
Podcast Theme: ‘Chill’ by Sakura Hz
Production Code: 4.9
Episode Number: #67
Additional Credits: Dani Vee (Words & Nerds), Hawkeye Publishing

FOLLOW NICK WASILIEV (+ DATE WITH A DEBUT):
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FACEBOOK: Nick Wasiliev
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© 2026 Nick Wasiliev and Breathe Art Holdings

‘Date With A Debut’ is a Words and Nerds and Breathe Art Podcasts co-production recorded and edited on Awabakal Country, and we pay our respects to all elders past and present.

Episode 818 - Dani Vee and Ashleigh Barton - 89 Questions for After ⭐️

Dear book lovers,

I loved chatting to Ashleigh about this brand new middle grade novel. We delve into the big questions, chat about what we are curious about, the writing process of writing what was a challenging book and how to market children’s books (coming from someone who used to work in book publicity!)

We chat about:
💫 How to explore the big questions with young readers
💫 Balancing writing light and dark
💫 Intergenerational relationships
💫 Fascinating research about the circus
💫 AI and misinformation
💫 Why this was a challenging book to write
💫 How to market your book!
💫 Switching between picture books to middle grade

Support Aussie authors and engage kids in reading!

Listen now!

Dani 💋

Dani Vee and Isabelle Li - The Northern Tomb

Dani and Isabelle have a fascinating conversation about care for the body, ageing, and intergenerational relationships.

Dani and Isabelle chat about
💫 Writing characters whose lives span different generations and historical experiences
💫 Learning about yourself during the writing process
💫 The importance of friendship
💫 Multiple narrators vs single point of view perspective
💫 Challenges of writing

Isabelle Li is a Chinese Australian writer and translator. She has published in various anthologies and literary journals. Her collection of short stories A Chinese Affair was published by Margaret River Press and her novel The Northern Tomb was published by Puncher & Wattmann. She was the inaugural winner of the Margaret Whitlam Fellowship.

Listen now!

Dani Vee and Peter Carnavas chat about nostalgia in books, creating quiet characters and his new book children's book Kid.

They talk about:
* The importance of creating quiet characters
* Identity, belonging and loneliness
* Writing process
* Balancing writing and illustrating
* How you know when a book is finished
* What writing can teach us
* The books that stay with us forever

Kid is a modern day classic about a young goat who discovers the meaning of family published by UQP.