Words and Nerds: Authors, books and literature.

⭐️ Episode 820 - Dani Vee and Jess McGeachin - Find Me In The Forest and getting into nature ⭐️

Dear nature loving listeners,

In this episode I chat to award winning author illustrator Jess McGeachin about his gorgeous new picture book Find Me In The Forest published Hachette.

We chat about the illustration process and how important it is to have human made art.

We also explore:
⭐️ The importance of nature in a digital world
⭐️ Whether the words or the illustrations come first
⭐️ Extensive research
⭐️ Publishing journey

Jess is an author illustrator of the Find Me series that includes Find me in the Forest and Find me on the Coast. Some of his other books include Grow, South with the seabirds, The Space Between, Deep, High and Lost.

He s the Winner of the CBCA Eve Powall Award for Deep, winner of the Environment Awards for Children's Literature for The Tree at Number 43, winner of the Environment Awards for Children's Literature for Kind and Awarded an Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship.

In 2025 he was recognised by CBCA Awards for South with the Seabirds (Honour Book), The Space Between (Notable), long-listed for the World Illustration awards for The Space Between, shortlisted for the Panda Book Awards for Kind.

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 tenth episode of series four, Nick chats with Dr Dominique Lee, the author of the powerful memoir, What's Been Broken Is All the More Sharp.

WARNING: this book and podcast contain in-depth topics of sexual assault, trauma and mental health - listener and reader discretion is highly advised. If this is something that has affected you or someone you know, help is available.
FullStop Australia: https://fullstop.org.au/ & 1800 FULL STOP
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service: 1800 211 028
1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732
Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline: 1800 497 212
Blue Knot Foundation: 1300 657 380
Lifeline: 13 11 14

Content Warning (28:57 - 36:10): we discuss Dr Dominique Lee’s sexual assault and the impact of that event.

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:

What's Been Broken Is All the More Sharp / Dominique (Yoo Young) Lee: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/4aLQDL

Additional books mentioned:

Marigold Mind Laundry / Jungeun Yun: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/yZOd3B
Voiceprint / Sally Prosser: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/MKk6xY

PRODUCTION NOTES:

Host: Nick Wasiliev
Guest: Dominique (Yoo Young) Lee
Editing & Production: Nick Wasiliev
Podcast Theme: ‘Chill’ by Sakura Hz
Production Code: 4.10
Episode Number: #68
Additional Credits: Dani Vee (Words & Nerds), Dean Publishing, Emma Pei Yin (yinfluence editorial)
FOLLOW NICK WASILIEV (+ DATE WITH A DEBUT):
A LITTLE IDEA PODCAST: Feed
NEWSLETTER: nickwasiliev.substack.com
WEBSITE: www.nicholaswasiliev.com
YOUTUBE: @NickWasiliev_Official
INSTAGRAM: @nickwasiliev
TWITTER/X: @Nick_Wasiliev
FACEBOOK: Nick Wasiliev
TIKTOK: @nickwasiliev
© 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 #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):
A LITTLE IDEA PODCAST: Feed
NEWSLETTER: nickwasiliev.substack.com
WEBSITE: www.nicholaswasiliev.com
YOUTUBE: @NickWasiliev_Official
INSTAGRAM: @nickwasiliev
TWITTER/X: @Nick_Wasiliev
FACEBOOK: Nick Wasiliev
TIKTOK: @nickwasiliev
© 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 💋