Writer's Book Club Podcast

Anita Heiss talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel Dirrayawadha. Anita shares her insights about weaving research, backstory and Wiradyuri language into the narrative, emphasising the importance of authors trusting themselves and their stories. We discuss Anita’s meticulous planning when it comes to her novels, which involves chapter breakdowns, character profiles, and using butcher's paper to keep organised. She talks about the importance of pre-manuscript consultations, sensitivity reads, and the editorial process with her First Nations editor, Grace Lucas-Pennington. Anita highlights the necessity for writers to remove themselves from their work to avoid burnout and gain a fresh perspective, as well as tips for keeping your writing authentic and managing the emotional labour of tackling heavy historical content.ABOUT DIRRAYAWADHA'Dirrayawadha is full of heart and hope, truth-telling and history – and shimmers with language too' Guardian'A story from the past given vivid life for new understanding’ Kate GrenvilleBathurst, 1820sMiinaa was a young girl when the white ghosts first arrived. She remembers the day they raised a piece of cloth and renamed her homeland 'Bathurst'. Now she lives at Cloverdale and works for a white family who have settled there.The Nugents are kind, but Miinaa misses her miyagan. His brother, Windradyne, is a Wiradyuri leader, and visits when he can, bringing news of unrest across their ngurambang. Miinaa hopes the violence will not come to Cloverdale.When Irish convict Daniel O'Dwyer arrives at the settlement, Miinaa's life is transformed again. The pair are magnetically drawn to each other and begin meeting at the bila in secret. Dan understands how it feels to be displaced, but they still have a lot to learn about each other. Can their love survive their differences and the turmoil that threatens to destroy everything around them?From the bestselling author of Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) comes another groundbreaking historical novel about resistance, resilience and love during the frontier wars.ABOUT DR ANITA HEISSDr Anita Heiss is an internationally published, award-winning author of 23 books; non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction and children’s novels. She is a proud member of the Wiradyuri Nation of central New South Wales, an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the GO Foundation, and Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland. Anita is also the Publisher at Large of Bundyi, an imprint of Simon & Schuster cultivating First Nations talent, and a board member of the National Justice Project and Circa Contemporary Circus. As an artist in residence at La Boite Theatre, she adapted her novel Tiddas for the stage. It premiered at the 2022 Brisbane Festival and was produced by Belvoir St for the Sydney Festival in 2024. Her novel, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, about the Great Flood of Gundagai, won the 2022 NSW Premier’s Indigenous Writers' Prize and was shortlisted for the 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize and the 2022 ABIA Awards. Anita’s first children’s picture book is Bidhi Galing (Big Rain), also about the Great Flood of Gundagai. Anita enjoys running, eating chocolate and being a creative disruptor.Website: https://www.anitaheiss.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dranitaheiss/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnitaHeissAuthor/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@anitaheissBuy Dirrayawadha by Anita Heiss here.REFERENCES MENTIONED BY ANITA HEISSThe Artist’s Way by Julia CameronAnita Heiss interview with Richard Fidler on ABC ConversationsBundyi Imprint (a division of Simon & Schuster) - A First Nations ImprintBuy The Too-Tall Tales of Alma T. Best by Katherine Collette here.BUILD AN AUTHOR WEBSITE COURSETo receive notifications about course dates, the free author website workshop and early bird discounts, sign up here - https://www.freshwebdesign.com.au/course This podcast is recorded on the beautiful, unceded lands of the Garigal people of the Eora nation.Full show notes available at writersbookclubpodcast.com

Jock Serong talks about the writing craft and process behind his novel Cherrywood.Jock tells us how this novel started with several image fragments and a variety of influences, from Peter Carey’s Oscar & Lucinda and Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, to Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree, and the Narnia Chronicles, with a little Dickens and Austen thrown in.Jock’s explanation of how a handful of ideas became a story is one of the best I've heard. He also tells us his thoughts on writing place as character, how to describe minor characters so they stand out, how the structure of the novel changed, breaking the ‘show don't tell’ rule, and why the editing process should be considered cooperative rather than corrective. ABOUT JOCK SERONGJock Serong is the author of Quota, winner of the 2015 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction; The Rules of Backyard Cricket, shortlisted for the 2017 Victorian Premier's Award for Fiction, finalist of the 2017 MWA Edgar Awards for Best Paperback Original, and finalist of the 2017 Indie Book Awards Adult Mystery Book of the Year; and On the Java Ridge, which won the Colin Roderick Award and, internationally, the inaugural Staunch Prize (UK), and was shortlisted for the 2018 Indie Awards. He has won praise for his trilogy of historical novels Preservation; The Burning Island, which earned him the ARA Historical Novel Prize and the Historia Award for Historical Crime Fiction (France); and The Settlement, which was shortlisted for the Voss Prize and the ARA Historical Novel Prize.Website: www.jockserong.comBuy Cherrywood by Jock Serong here.Buy Dirrayawadha by Anita Heiss here.BUILD AN AUTHOR WEBSITE COURSETo receive notifications about course dates, the free author website workshop and early bird discounts, sign up here. This podcast is recorded on the beautiful, unceded lands of the Garigal people of the Eora nation.Full show notes available at writersbookclubpodcast.com

Donna M Cameron talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel The Rewilding. Donna and I discussed what inspired the novel, the importance of trusting your gut, how choosing the right point of view and tense can bring the writing alive, how she raised the stakes and why she dislikes dialogue tags. We also talked about her beta readers and the editing process for The Rewilding, and Donna does three fabulous readings from the novel to illustrate how she differentiates the voices for her characters.ABOUT DONNA M. CAMERONDonna M Cameron is an AWGIE nominated radio dramatist, award-winning playwright and short film writer. Her first novel, Beneath the Mother Tree, (2018) was listed as one of 2018’s top Australian fiction reads by the Adelaide Advertiser, was a finalist in the Screen Queensland/QWC’s Adaptable program and longlisted for the Davitt Awards. The manuscript of her second novel – The Rewilding, won her a 2020 KSP Fellowship, was runner up in a 2020 Writing NSW Award and gained her a 2021 Varuna Fellowship. It has just been published in ANZ by Transit Lounge.Website: https://www.dmcameron.com/ Buy The Rewilding by Donna M Cameron here.Buy Cherrywood by Jock Serong here.BUILD AN AUTHOR WEBSITE COURSETo receive notifications about course dates, the free author website workshop and early bird discounts, sign up here - https://www.freshwebdesign.com.au/course This podcast is recorded on the beautiful, unceded lands of the Garigal people of the Eora nation.Full show notes available at writersbookclubpodcast.com

Terri Green talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel An Unsuitable Pursuit. Terri and I discussed writing and self-publishing an historical fiction series. Terri gave lots of wonderful advice about how and where to research, how to balance action, interiority, dialogue and description, how to use chapter headings for structure and how to balance humour with serious subject matter.Terri also has some absolute gold to share in this episode about how and when to make the decision to self-publish, along with some of the important things you need to think about before and after hitting publish.You’ll find links to buy An Unsuitable Pursuit by Terri Green here.RESOURCES MENTIONED BY TERRIThe data base Terri referred to is called JStor.org. It contains mostly journals which cover the humanities, particularly history and English. You can access it through your local library or State Library. There is also a free account you can register for and read up to 100 articles every 30 days but not all articles are in the free access area.For sword-fighting, HEMA Historical European Martial Arts. Their website shows local clubs and they are very welcoming to new members. https://www.aushistoricalfencing.com/www.english-heritage.org.ukThe Shakespeare Birthplace Trust www.shakespeare.org.ukThe Globe Theatre - shadespearesglobe.com.Royal Palaces Trust (for Hampton court, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace and Kew Palace). www.hrp.org.uk They have regular exhibits and produce a lot of useful booklets you can order.V&A museum- great for looking at artefacts, furniture, clothing. They have a good online resource as does the British Museum.For writing craft, Terri recommends James Scott Bell "Write Great Fiction-Plot & Structure" and "Write Your Novel From the Middle".Maggie Lawson’s colour coded editing systemAtticusWrites4Women with Pamela Cook - RWA 2024 Conference Round UpKindlepreneurNorthern Beaches Readers FestivalABOUT TERRI GREENTerri is the author of 3 novels The Swordmaster’s Daughter, An Unsuitable Pursuit and The King’s Jewels which make up her Sisters of the Sword series. Terri has a PhD in creative writing and has won several prizes for her short stories. She loves a bit of history, mystery and romance, prefers laughter over misery and is a sucker for stories that tug at the heart. She shares her backyard with a lot of frogs and a colony of lyre birds, and her house with her husband and a dog called Mabel. When she isn’t writing you might find her sword-fighting, hula hooping or falling off a stand-up paddle board because life is too short to stay sitting down.Website: terrigreenauthor.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrigreenauthor/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terrigreenauthorBuy The Swordmaster’s Daughter and An Unsuitable Pursuit by Terri Green here.Buy The Rewilding by Donna M Cameron here.BUILD AN AUTHOR WEBSITE COURSETo receive notifications about course dates, the free author website workshop and early bird discounts, sign up here - https://www.freshwebdesign.com.au/courseThis podcast is recorded on the beautiful, unceded lands of the Garigal people of the Eora nation.Full show notes available at writersbookclubpodcast.com