The path of true love is often bumpy,  family relationships can  be complicated , life is full of  tragedy and hilarity. Stories of human lives, whether fictional  or based on real events ,are never boring.
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DEBRA ADELAIDE - The Women's Pages
Have you ever fallen in love with a book to the point it starts to creep into your real life? Debra Adelaide’s heroine , Dove, reads Wuthering Heights to her dying mother in hospital and then becomes obsessed with writing herself.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2016
CLAIRE AMAN- Bird country
This is a beautiful collection of short stories. Here , in 'Those Gauls must be crazy'. a young boy invites himself to a wedding, and brings a special present. Along the way he encounters a woman on the bridge across the river.
Recorded at the Bellingen Writers Festival 2018
SARAH ARMSTRONG - Promise
Would you interfere if you saw a child being abused?  Sarah's book explores what happens when we become involved in another's  life through our own compassion.
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EUGEN BACON - Unlimited Data
This short scene depicts a wealth of information about a simple village woman who has been persuaded to give up her bodily autonomy to technology. It is from a collection of short stories called "Danged Black Thing"
Recorded at the Bellingen Reader's and Writers Festival 2023
INEZ BARANAY - Turn Left at Venus
A beautiful book about friendship, imagination, growing older and undreamed of futures. Two little girls meet on a boat taking them from Europe to Australia in the 30s. They remain lifelong friends, one becomes a celebrated author of the book 'Turn Left at Venus'.
Recorded at Studio 3 Bangalow 2019
BRONWYN BIRDSALL - Time and Tide in Sarajevo
Bronwyn spent more than four years living in Sarajevo and the tragic history of this beautiful city infuses her novel. Evelyn is happy to live in Sarajevo where she teaches English to high school students and then one of them is stabbed. A cover up ensues and the mood in the city changes.
Recorded at Studio 3 Bangalow 2022
EMILY BITTO - Wild Abandon
Sometimes we have to face our fears - but what if we are not ready? How many of us have gazed at lions and tigers and felt just a bit scared?
Recorded at the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2022
JESSE BLACKADDER -' 60 Seconds'
Jesse Blackadder's novel of a family trying to come to terms with a tragedy is based on her own experience of losing her sister to a pool drowning. In this opening extract a similar tragedy is hinted at then switches to the family's story.
MARK BRANDI - The Rip
Drugs are not the only addiction that human beings can fall prey to - there is also love and dependency on another person, the desire for acceptance and recognition . Mark Brandi writes searingly about the hard paths in life that some find themselves on.
Recorded at Bellingen Writers Festival 2019
NAIMA BROWN - The Shot
If you have ever watched even a few minutes of your average reality TV show you must have wondered - how much is real, how much is controlled? This is a novel from a writer who has actually seen it all up close, but it's totally fiction of course - or is it?
Recorded at Studio 3 Bangalow 2023
MICHAEL BURGE - Tank Water
Michael Burge's life experience as a journalist and as a gay man growing up in the country fills this book with genuine scenes. Here he reads the prologue that sets up the rest of the story, a father's grief at losing an adult son.
Recorded at Kyogle Writers Festival
PAUL BURMAN - The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore , The Grease Monkey's Tale
This small scene  from 'The Snowing and the Greening of ThomasPassmore ' of Thomas searching for a long lost love in a tiny English town illustrates perfectly the quiet desperation we feel when others appear unsympathetic to our quest.
' Grease Monkey 'is slang for a mechanic, that guy who is good at fixing your car , but is he any good with the mechanics of the human heart – particularly his own? Here our hero Nic first makes a date with Shivawn – a date that will result in a dangerous destiny.
HELEN BURNS - Andal's Garland
An author who has spent most of her adult life studying Indian history and literature who has highlighted a poet revered in that country but little known in the West. The story of Andal, a 16 year old poet in 8th century India is interwoven with a modern love story. But the real love story in this novel is Helen Burn's clear eyed adoration for a complex country with a noble literary heritage.
Recorded at Studio 3 Bangalow 2021
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LAUREN CHATER-' GULLIVER'S WIFE'
In this extract from 'Gulliver's Wife' read by the author LaurenChater, she details the conflict within Gulliver's family. Anne's daughter Beth has enshrined her missing father as a hero, and feels neglected by her mother, an 18th century midwife. It's a totally absorbing book which while fictional, is well researched as to the conditions of women in this period and their day to day struggle to survive in a violent society.
T.M CLARK-'Tears of the Cheetah'
Tears of the Cheetah is set in South Africa . Here the protagonist is watching TV in a shebeen when he is presented with horrifying scenes of his home village.
AOIFE CLIFFORD - All These Perfect strangers
Aoife relating how her heroine’s experience with the university ‘stud’ is not everything she had hoped for.
Recorded at Sydney Writers Festival 2016
SALLY COLIN-JAMES -One Illumined Thread
Three women, across two millennia, the thread linking them is their craftsmanship in a male world, and their desire to regain control over their lives . A story with great resonance for young women today.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2023
DANIELLE CORRIE - Teida's Story
Teida is a dog whose life changes abruptly when she is removed from the only home she has known and given to a new owner. They learn to adjust to each other and grow close and Teida's life is much happier. The Author loves animals and if you love dogs this is a charming book to read or give as a gift to a dog lover.
Recorded by the Author 2023
SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM - This Devastating Fever
The Bloomsbury Set have been well documented but Sophie Cunningham found herself fascinated by the over arching influence of Leonard Wolff on literature and social mores. His 'fever' was sexual desire, and he felt himself overwhelmed by it.
Recorded at Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2023
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DYLIN HARDCASTLE - A Language of Limbs
This novel, about a young person's awakening to their sexuality switches back from 'Limb One' to 'Limb Two', taking us from their present to past.
This opening scene depicts a scene we may have all imagined but feared in some way in our adolescence. The thrill of discovering one's sexuality countered by the discovery , in the act, by one's parents
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2024
PAUL DALGARNO - A Country of Eternal Light
A woman has died but has not died. She revisits her life searching for the meaning to her previous existence, and her current one. She recalls the feeling of being embodied , and marvels at what non existence has brought her.
Recorded at the Bellingen Reader's and Writers Festival 2023
TRENT DALTON - Love Stories
Picture Trent Dalton on a street corner with a little table and a powder blue olivetti typewriter asking you to tell him a personal experience of love. It's not surprising people were so disarmed they opened up with extraordinary stories- all of which he duly recorded in this lovely collection. When there was no-one talking to him he observed their inter actions and made up beautiful stories around everyday gestures.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2022
RHETT DAVIS - Hovering
Three siblings navigate a touchy relationship between them , without understanding where and when the distance began. Can they come to terms with past issues and move forward as one family?
Recorded at the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2023
MARELE DAY- Lambs of God
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Three nuns live a cloistered life while the 21st century passes them by. Then one day, a change comes in the form of a priest, a mobile phone and a resort plan.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2019
TISHANI DOSHI - Small Days and Nights
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The opening chapter of this book has the protagonist returning to her childhood home , where later we will learn she has a new responsibility in her life. A sister she never knew she had.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2019
ROBERT DREWE - Whipbird
Robert Drewe's latest novel is a darkly comedic tale of an enormous family reunion - at a winery, owned by the convener, named 'Whipbird'.
Whipbird
Recorded Byron writers Festival 2017
The True Colour of the Sea
A new collection of short stories from Robert Drewe. This read takes us to a confrontation with cannibals, or at least their 21st century descendants !
Recorded at the Byron writers Festival 2018
HEBE DE SOUZA -BLACK BRITISH
The title of this book ‘Black British’ refers to a generation of those born into the Indian middle classes in the 1960’s who adopted British sensibilities and customs, discarding their traditional ways. The story of Lucy de Souza and her family is based on the authors own experience.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2016
Briohny Doyle - Adult Fantasy
Briohny Doyle blends personal experience with cultural critique to examine what it means to turn 30 in today’s world. Where are the social occasion markers , the rites of adult passage?
And are they relevant anyway in today’s society?
Recorded at the Sydney writers Festival 2017
JARRAH DUNDLER - Hey Brother
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A beautifully written tale of a young boy on the brink of adulthood , learning just how complicated the world and people can be. When his brother returns from war duty mentally wounded and his errant and vaguely menacing uncle turns up to keep his mum company, the young protagonist in this story begins to rebel.
Recorded on Arts Canvass Bay FM 99.9 2018
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NICHOLAS FARGUE - I was behind you
Nicholas Fargue wrote this semi-autobiographical account of a man falling in love with another woman 10 years ago. He is now happily married!
Recorded at Sydney Writers Festival 2016
ANGELA FLOURNOY - The Turner House
A ‘Haint’ is an American southern term for a ghost – and in the house the Turner family inhabit in Detroit ,it is the children who claim to have witnessed this aggressive materialisation.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2016
KATE FORSYTH - The Wild Girl
The Wild Girl is based on the true story of the Brothers Grimm, writers of fairytales, Â and their relationship with a young woman called Dortchen Wild. Â Dortchen and Wilhelm Grimm are in love but have been prevented from marriage by her father.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2016
ANTONY FUNNELL AND ROSS FITZGERALD - So Far, So Good
If newly introduced workplace practices have you banging your head against the wall, or dealing with government services is driving you round the bend- this is the book to read to at least help you see the funny side! This read from Antony Funnell ( also co-written with Ross Fitzgerald) focuses on a mythical university, but the scenes depicted will strike a chord with many.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2019
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ALISON GIBBS- REPENTANCE
A small logging town is 'invaded' by newcomers with new ideas and different ideologies. Clashes are inevitable, and then ultimately healing.
Recorded for 'Arts Canvass' Bay FM Bangalow 2021
ALISON GIBBS - EMILY PRESENTS
Imagine if Literary greats from the past were available to headline a Writers Festival! But a clone of Emily Bronte is not the easiest of guests to manage.
Recorded at the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2022
Published by Griffith Review #74"Escape Routes" 2022
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Sophie Hardcastle - Below Deck
Sophie Hardcastle has had a lifelong connection with the sea and it seems all her gentle, yet powerful novels feature this element. Here her protagonist ,who sees sound as colour , wakes on a ship with no memory of how she got there. This begins a journey that is both wonderful and at the same time so deeply traumatic, she only recalls the details years later.
Recorded at Studio 3 Bangalow 2021
JED HART - Block 33
This is the second book that follows Jake Hunt, a hardened Vietnam vet trained in 'Black Ops'. Jake and his girlfriend Nicole are forced to flee across the globe to avoid being murdered by a South American revolutionary. Till finally , Jake has had enough of running.
Although this series is fiction, it is all based on Jed Hart's real life experiences which give it a special edge of authenticity.
Recorded at Studio 3 Bangalow 2022
Ashley Hay - The Railwayman's Wife
A Hundred Small Lessons is set on the river in Brisbane. The ‘Lessons’ are the hundreds of small decisions and incidents that go to make up a life. This novel traces the lives of two women who occupied the same house on the river.
Recorded at Sydney writers Festival 2017
The Railwayman’s Wife is set in Thirroul, a coastal mining town in southern N.S.W at the end of the Second World war. The heroine Ani, struggles to keep her family together after her husband dies in a mining accident.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2016
ELIZA HENRY-JONES -Salt and Skin
A photographer concerned with documenting the visible evidence of climate change lands on a small island in Northern Europe with her two teenage children. In the first few moments of her landing she witnesses and records a terrible tragedy. Then the house they are given to live in is full of strange markings from the past, carved into the wood of the beams. A novel of changing social mores tangled with superstitions from the past.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2023
BEN HOBSON - To Become a Whale
Ben Hobson's debut novel takes us into the world of Sam Keogh. Motherless at 13, he struggles to form a relationship with his father, who has hitherto been almost a stranger to him. His father, decides the path to manhood is to take him to Tangalooma, then the largest whaling station in the southern hemisphere. There amongst the brutality and slaughter, he finds a path towards his father, and also his own adult identity.
Recorded on Arts Canvass Bay FM 99.9 2018
Ben Hobson - The Death of John Lacy
Ben Hobson takes us into a world now forgotten - that of male camaraderie in a frontier world - in this book it is the Ballarat goldfields. Two brothers support each other in a dangerously lawless society.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2023
CAOLINN HUGHES - The Alternatives
The Alternatives follows four , brainy sisters as they navigate a path back to a closer relationship. This read is from the first chapter of the book as they attend a lesson in the geological formation of Ireland. Caolinn told me that in Ireland, to call someone 'alternative' is not a compliment!
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2024
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LISA IRELAND - 'The Shape of Us'
The pressures on young women to conform to a bodily ideal can cause great unhappiness . Even talented and well qualified women can still feel inadequate if they think their shape is not perfect.
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ANNIKA JOHANSSON - Downstream
Annika writes so evocatively of the heartbreak of losing your treasured home in one of the worst floods in Australian history in the Northern NSW town of Lismore. But after being forced to find a new home, an unlikely friendship develops between two mismatched couples.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2024
TONI JORDAN- Our Tiny, Useless Hearts
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There's nothing lovelier than a romantic dream, until you wake up and it turns into a bit of a nightmare!
Recorded at Sydney Writers Festival 2016
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MEG KENEALLY - Free
Molly Thistle is a transported convict, fending for herself in a strange landscape while her husband is away at work. In addition to the other gangs of ungoverned men roaming in the bush, there are also the mysterious natives, attracted to their farmed grain.
Recorded at Byron writers Festival 2024
MARINA KAMENEV - Kin: Family in the 21st century
What constitutes family in the 21st century? Is it time to rethink in this post industrial, technological age how we structure our home life and relationships? And what are legal and ethical minefields some couple traverse in their desire to have children? Marina collected real case histories and confided stories for this book.
Recorded at Byron writers Festival 2024
HANNAH KENT - The Good People
Hannah Kent's imagination was stirred by a fragment of a newspaper article on an old Irish woman - 'a Faery doctoress' who was defending herself against a criminal charge involving a child by claiming she was banishing a changeling. Hannah spent time in Ireland to get the feel of a modern country, that still harks to the old ways and Faery traditions. In this read, a member of the community is found mysteriously dead.
Recorded at the Byron writers Festival 2017
HANNAH KENT - Devotion
Hannah Kent's beautifully crafted book depicts a love between two young women which transcends all obstacles - even death. Set in the historical period of European migration to South Australia, this scene depicts the meeting of the two women, Hannah and Thea, in a misty pine forest.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2022
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SOPHIE LAGUNA - Infinite Splendours
It's not often you have a novelist who can write lyrically about the process of painting and also dairy farming!
Recorded at the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2022
SHIRLEY LE - Funny Ethnics
Crossing into a new culture is a massive leap - there is language, dress , customs- you can be overwhelmed or take Shirley Le's tack and see it as a mine for comedy. For Shirley, seeing comedian Chris Lilley on television was enough to set her off on a life course.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2023
SUZANNE LEAL – The Teacher's Secret
The pressures of teaching are many, so things like the allocation of classrooms, and teaching loads create tensions for teachers. Especially when there is a change of head.
Recorded at the Sydney Writers Festival 2017
SUZANNE LEAL -The Deceptions
There's something about weddings and funerals that expose long hidden secrets and bring to the surface old betrayals and transgressions. Inspired by a true story.
Recorded at BAD Crime festival Sydney 2022
LYNETTE LOUNSBURY - We Ate the road Like Vultures
Small town, country boys, what's a girl to do? Seeking deeper intellectual stimulation that the the state of the current local dope prices, she turns to earlier heroes of the avant-garde Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg and imagines one last glorious road trip with her literary heroes!
Recorded at Kyogle Writers Festival 2022
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AMY LOVAT - Mistakes and Other Lovers
Elle is searching for meaning in her life when her workmate JD invites her to church 'just to hear the band'. Elle is apprehensive, which soon proves prescient as she finds the brilliant smiles and bonhomie begin to feel false to her. Some language in this read !
Recorded at Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2024
MELISSA LUCASHENKO- Too Much Lip
This read by Melissa is a part of the history of one of the character's in her novel, Kerry's 'Pop' who she is desperate to visit before he dies. It forms a backdrop to the character, Kerry's problems in her own life, to illustrate how trauma can repeat down through the generations . There is a good mix of comedy and drama in Melissa's novels.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2018
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ANDREW MACKIE - The Tour
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In 1954 the Queen, Prince Phillip and a vast entourage embarked upon a two month tour of Australia. Unlike today, there was a strict media protocol for coverage of this momentous event - but there were a few little glimpses into the stresses and tensions of royal public life. One of these was filmed - a small spat between the Queen and the Prince, and was promptly self censored by the crew that had recorded it. This tiny incident piqued author Andrew Mackie's interest- he began to imagine what could be going on behind the scenes on the Royal Tour. Throw in a couple of dysfunctional twin sisters, Daisie and Violet, and the perfect scenario for an entertaining and utterly fictional account of this true event is born.
FIONA McARTHUR – Mother’s Day
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Mother’s Day is a fictional tale of a midwife in a small country town . In this read ,the pregnant Jacinta , living alone, is found by her father, a man she hardly knows.
Recorded at the Bellingen Writers Festival 2018
FIONA KELLY MCGREGOR - Iris
This book is set in Sydney between the wars and is an eye opening look at what some women were driven to do in order to survive. Based on real people and events, even the locations, it is also a novel that seeks to reimagine a past reality.
Recorded at the Bellingen Reader's and Writers Festival 2023
MALCOLM McFARLANE- Leopardwood
Two men make a startling discovery while fencing in the outback bush. This presents them with a dilemma - having discovered it, what is the right thing to do?
Recorded at the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2022
CATHERINE Mc.KINNON – Storyland
Storyland is five interwoven stories traversing time . In this read Catherine takes us to the Illawarra district in a future period , where climate change has altered the landscape and devastated a community.
Recorded at the Bellingen Writers Festival 2018
To Sing of war
Lottie is a nurse stationed in New Guinea in the Second World War. She is escaping a traumatic event in her country town but meeting Virgil, a boy she was involved with previously, in the forest rattles her. This is a braided novel that spans across time and generations and three main characters including Oppenheimer.
Recorded at Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2024
BRUCE MEDER - Ironic Cross
The very human face of war is depicted in this novel which relates the lives of two miners, brothers Gregor and Henry who built tunnels to protect the troops. Part of the little talked about history, of World War 1, which destroyed rural communities in Australia.
Recorded at Bellingen Writers Festival 2022
ANGELA MEYER - Moon Sugar
Josh mysteriously disappears while travelling and searching for him reveals more about the relationships between his friends as the mystery surrounding his disappearance deepens.
Recorded at the Bellingen Reader's and Writers Festival 2023
SUZIE MILLER - Prima Facie
Prima Facie has been a smash hit stage play that Suzie MIller, previosly a lawyer, first wrote as a play , then turned into a novel. A process that allowed the author to expand the cast of of characters and enlarge upon scenes. A young barrister Tessa, finds herself in the victim seat and learns the limits of justice to protect women. After being sexually assulted, she finds she has become the accused rather than the accuser. In this scene, she has yet to learn the fault lines in her chosen profession.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2024
JANINE MIKOSZA - Homesickness
We all have triggers that remind us of where we grew up, or somewhere that is precious to our memory - what is it like to have many places in your past, some of them not pleasant?
Recorded at the Bellingen Reader's and Writers Festival 2023
KATE MILDENHALL - Skylarking
Harriet and Kate ,best friends, are the daughters of lighthouse keepers, and spend their child hoods on a wild windswept cape. One is braver than the other.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2016
The Hummingbird Effect
Although this extract is set in the meat works in Fitzroy in the 1923 this book spans across centuries and different characters. It covers four main characters in very different situations going from 1923 to 2020 to 2031, from an elderly woman in a care home to an unemployed singer. The link between all the characters is labour. It finishes in 2081 with Maz and Onyx, two sisters in a post dystopian world.
Recorded at Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2024
VIRGINIA MIRANDA - The Game
This is an extract from 'Flash Fiction' - a collection of short stories.Two lovers play a game to make their lives more exciting - but what is the reality?
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2016
DI MORRISSEY - Arcadia
Di Morrissey, one of the top selling authors in Australia has perfected the art of delivering complex and well researched concepts into narratives that everyone can relate to. Here she is reading from 'Arcadia', which starts out as as a girl's own adventure for two old friends and enters into the realm of the importance of old growth forests and the miracles performed in our lives by fungi.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2019
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JOANNA NELL - The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village
Author Joanna Nell had a day job working in a retirement home and collected ample material for this heartwarming and funny look at the sticky end of life
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2019
KAYTE NUNN- The Botanist's Daughter
A mysterious, engraved metal box found during a home renovation contains beautiful botanical art - who had hidden it and why? Annie sets out to solve this mystery, and return uncovers a family connection she never knew of to an artist in the previous century.
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Recorded on Arts Canvass at Bay FM 99.9 2018Â
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CHIGOZIE OBIOMA -The Road to the Country
The Biafran war is the setting for this novel that Chigozie describes as 'historical fiction'. In this scene a simple farmer is killed and his son's distress affects Kunle, who is himself a conscripted child soldier, searching for his lost brother. Mixing magic realism and brutal historical fact, this history is one the west has chosen to overlook.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2024
SOPHIE OVERETT- The Rabbits
We are all searching for personal connections - just like the characters in this book. Sometimes a little magic helps, sometimes just love.
Recorded at the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2022
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BRUCE PASCOE -Imperial Harvest
Bruce Pascoe reads the whole of the last chapter of 'Imperial Harvest' which relates the confusion a conquistador in Cortez's Spanish army feels upon returning home after decades of war in South America. Nothing is as he remembered it - what had he been fighting for? I have also included a short interview with Bruce at the end where he explains many parts of this read.
Recorded at Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2024
LIAM PIEPER-'SWEETNESS AND LIGHT'
Liam describes his own novel as a ‘tropical gothic set on the tourist trail in Western India ‘
His main character Connor, is a sleazy tour boat operator- who’s modus operandi is to lure women he is attracted to onto his boat to take advantage of them romantically and financially. In short, he is not a very nice person. This reading opens with him taking one of his customers he refers to as ‘the talent’ onto his dive boat.
AILSA PIPER - For Life
This excerpt takes us underwater with seahorses, then up in the air to watch Peregrine Falcons nesting on a ledge in Melbourne. But the person caring for the seahorses and watching the falcons is living in Sydney, alone, after her partner has died. Confined during Covid lockdown, she slowly rebuilds her life by discovering how brave she can be - like learning to swim!
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2024
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MIRANDI RIWOE - The Burnished Sun
A young Javanese girl is transported to Paris to be the subject of Paul Gaugin's studies of island girls. This story reimagines her feelings and sense of powerlessness. From a collection of short stories about belonging.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2022
Fin. J Ross - Billings Better Bookstore and Brasserie
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If you love words and historical novels this is fun book as Fin. J Ross takes us into 18 century Melbourne and the fictional life of Fedelia Knight, a young, orphaned girl whose sole possession is a Samuel Taylor dictionary. It was a time of great wealth from gold and lots of fabulous entrepreneurs sprang up around the city and this story tells the tale of a fictional bookstore and how a young girl with a passionate love of words transformed her life and other around her. Suitable for all ages over 10!
Recorded by the author.
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SARAH SASSON - Tidelines
A girl called Grub begins to notice the subtle shifts in the balance of power of relationships as she grows up. Her once brilliant brother Elijah, has fallen into a different lifestyle than his childhood promise, she feels helpless to change his course to self destruction.
Unlearning ( From the Anthology 'Signs of Life')
We are locked into the rhythms of night and day, sleep and wakefulness- so what happens when this is disrupted by working or child rearing? You can tell someone you are tired, but they can never know just how tired you are!
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2024
RAJITH SAVANADASA -RUINS
Set in modern day Sri Lanka, Ruins relates  the life of a family told by each of the family members in turn. Here we hear from Anoushka , who has just met her ultra cool American cousin.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2016
MOLLY SCHMIDT - Salt River Road
The Tetley family are a tight knit working class family who have suffered a major loss in their family. They deal with their grief in different ways after the sudden death of Elena.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2024
DOMINIC SMITH - The Last Painting of Sarah De Vos
The connecting thread in this book is a beautiful painting - first we hear Dominic read a description of this work and its provenance, and then we hear from the contemporary owner of the work who has discovered it was removed and a fake substituted without his knowing.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2016
GRAEME SIMSION -The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect
Here is Graeme Simsion reading from his trilogy of the Rosie series, he swears there will be no more!
The Rosie Effect
Graeme Simsion’s lovelorn geek Don Tillman gives a  lecture on Asperger’s Syndrome at the local school. He thinks it went well!
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2015
The Rosie Project
Don Tillman comes up with the perfect solution to finding the perfect mate - get her to fill out a form!
The Rosie Result
Don Tillman , finally happily settled with Rosie, now has a son Hudson. But Hudson was never going to be a 'normal' child- in fact this whole book questions our definitions of what is 'normal'!
Recorded courtesy of Friends of the Library Byron Bay.
The Best of Adam Sharpe
Adam Sharpe spends his days working in I.T and his evenings playing piano in a bar just so he has company. Then a girl appears who looks like more than just company.
Recorded at Sydney writers Festival 2017
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Graeme Simsion & Anne Buist - Two Steps Forward
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Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist
‘Two Steps Forward’ is based on Graeme and Anne’s own experiences of walking the Camino – the Pilgrims trail from France to Spain.
In the novel ‘Two Steps forward’ Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion write alternate chapters for the characters Zoe and Martin respectively, whose paths criss cross repeatedly on the trail.
Here Zoe, read by Anne, is fleeing the sudden death of her husband in Los Angeles, and finds herself in France looking for the village of Cluny to take up the offer of a stay with an old college friend.
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Now we hear from Graeme Simsion reading the character of Martin.
Recorded at the Sydney Writers Festival 2017
TRACEY SPICER – The Good Girl Stripped Bare
Tracey Spicer came back from a traumatic premature birth to find that her troubles were just beginning – pregnancy had demoted her! Outraged, she takes on her employers .
Recorded at the Sydney Writers Festival 2017
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BARBARA TONER- Four Respectable Ladies Seek the Meaning of Wife
Barbara Toner relishes poking fun at the pretensions of middle class hypocrisy. In this longer read we are introduced to all the major characters in the novel and the stage is set for complex web of plotting and deception in gentrified Prospect.
Recorded a the Byron Writers Festival 2019
LESLEY TRUFFLE - The Scandalous Life of Sasha Torte ; The Fabulous Hotel Du Barry
Left to fend for herself at an early age, Sasha Torte has made her way in a world full of skulduggery, scoundrels and fantastic cakes in deepest , darkest 19 century Tasmania. Then she is betrayed by a spurned suitor.
The Fabulous Hotel Du Barry is a universe of its own set in early  20 century London. The adventures of its denizens both above and ‘below stairs’ provide  us with an entertaining romp and also an sight into the harsh realities confronting the less well off in this period .
Strong language warning and adult concepts in this read.
Recorded at Rydges Hotel Melbourne 2017
JESSIE TU - The Honeyeater
Caught between two cultures a young woman drifts at university until a career opportunity presents itself in Tapei. But her mother, previously despairing of her lack of focus, is fearful of the 'Ghost month' and begs her not to go.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2024
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LEO VARDIASHVILI - Hard by a Great Forest
Leo Vardiashvilli lives in the U.K but he grew up in Georgia and his protagonist has returned to Georgia to find his missing father. He finds there have been a few unusual developments in his old home town - such as encountering exotic animals in the main street!
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2024
KAREN VIGGERS- Sidelines
Paramedics are called to rush to a sports field. But what happened at this suburban soccer game? Karen Viggers has written a novel about an increasing incident problem in children's sport - parents who can't keep themselves from defending their own child's game.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2024
MICHEL VIMAL du MONTEIL - Where there is a Will
A surfer is wiped out on a monster wave and presumed drowned. HIs family mourns and gathers for a will that encompasses global relationships, but slowly, miles down the coast, memory is returning.
Recorded at the Bellingen Reader's and Writers Festival 2023
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LISA WALKER - Sex, Lies and Bonsai
Ever been dumped by text?  Lisa Walker’s unhappy female character distils all those memories of being socially awkward and relationship inept.
MELT
Lisa's character Summer finds herself in hot water - in the coldest place on earth! Masquerading as a glaciologist she stumbles through her first meeting with fellow scientists on the Antarctic base.
TOMMY WALLACH - Thanks for the Trouble
Tommy Wallach takes us to a movie theatre , and gives us the step by step account of how to make out with a girl for the first time.
Recorded at Sydney Writers Festival 2016
BEN WALTER - What Fear Was
This evocative short story was inspired by a European fairytale but it is actually about the fires that have swept over so much of our country. Poetic and chilling at the same time.
Recorded at the Kyogle Writers Festival 2022
NOVA WEETMAN - Love, Death and other Scenes
How long does grief last? As long as you feel it. Nova Weetman lost a husband, father to their children and a creative partner. This book is presented in 3 acts like a play. she reads from Scene one.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2024
CHRISTINE WELLS- 'The Juliet Code'
The Second World War had many brave men and women working under cover on secret and covert operations. Often women were enlisted because in a more chauvinist time, it was thought no-one would suspect them! In this scene, the novel's protagonist Juliet, is quietly resisting questioning.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2018
PIP WILLIAMS - The Bookbinder of Jericho
This novel is a companion to The Dictionary of Lost Words and is a a beautiful reimagining of the lives of the people who laboured on long, sometimes tedious jobs to bring early books into being. Pip loved the research she undertook in the Bodleian Library, the world's oldest.
Recorded at the Bellingen Reader's and Writers Festival 2023
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ARNOLD ZABLE -The Watermill
The Watermill is a collection of stories of real people Arnold has encountered in his life. The stories range from China to Cambodia to Iraq and Iran. The book is full of stories of displacement and survival written with a profound understanding of the struggles of humanity.
Recorded at Byron Writers Festival 2022
MISHA ZELINSKY - The Sun Will Rise
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This is a book of fiction but it is based on two years experience by the author in the war zone that is Ukraine. In this read . Oaxana sacrifices herself to take down the flag of the enemy.
Recorded at Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival 2024
MARKUS ZUSAK -Bridge of Clay
Clay is one of five brothers and has a rowdy , rambunctious upbringing that changes when his mother falls ill. A complex and beautiful tale from the author of 'The Book Thief'.
Recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2019
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Have you ever fallen in love with a book to the point it starts to creep into your real life? Debra Adelaide’s heroine , Dove, reads Wuthering Heights to her dying mother in hospital and then becomes obsessed with writing herself.
This is a beautiful collection of short stories. Here , in 'Those Gauls must be crazy'. a young boy invites himself to a wedding, and brings a special present. Along the way he encounters a woman on the bridge across the river.
Would you interfere if you saw a child being abused?  Sarah's book explores what happens when we become involved in another's  life through our own compassion.
This short scene depicts a wealth of information about a simple village woman who has been persuaded to give up her bodily autonomy to technology. It is from a collection of short stories called "Danged Black Thing"
A beautiful book about friendship, imagination, growing older and undreamed of futures. Two little girls meet on a boat taking them from Europe to Australia in the 30s. They remain lifelong friends, one becomes a celebrated author of the book 'Turn Left at Venus'.
Bronwyn spent more than four years living in Sarajevo and the tragic history of this beautiful city infuses her novel. Evelyn is happy to live in Sarajevo where she teaches English to high school students and then one of them is stabbed. A cover up ensues and the mood in the city changes.
Sometimes we have to face our fears - but what if we are not ready? How many of us have gazed at lions and tigers and felt just a bit scared?
Jesse Blackadder's novel of a family trying to come to terms with a tragedy is based on her own experience of losing her sister to a pool drowning. In this opening extract a similar tragedy is hinted at then switches to the family's story.
Drugs are not the only addiction that human beings can fall prey to - there is also love and dependency on another person, the desire for acceptance and recognition . Mark Brandi writes searingly about the hard paths in life that some find themselves on.
If you have ever watched even a few minutes of your average reality TV show you must have wondered - how much is real, how much is controlled? This is a novel from a writer who has actually seen it all up close, but it's totally fiction of course - or is it?
Michael Burge's life experience as a journalist and as a gay man growing up in the country fills this book with genuine scenes. Here he reads the prologue that sets up the rest of the story, a father's grief at losing an adult son.
This small scene  from 'The Snowing and the Greening of Thomas Passmore ' of Thomas searching for a long lost love in a tiny English town illustrates perfectly the quiet desperation we feel when others appear unsympathetic to our quest.
' Grease Monkey 'is slang for a mechanic, that guy who is good at fixing your car , but is he any good with the mechanics of the human heart – particularly his own? Here our hero Nic first makes a date with Shivawn – a date that will result in a dangerous destiny.
An author who has spent most of her adult life studying Indian history and literature who has highlighted a poet revered in that country but little known in the West. The story of Andal, a 16 year old poet in 8th century India is interwoven with a modern love story. But the real love story in this novel is Helen Burn's clear eyed adoration for a complex country with a noble literary heritage.
In this extract from 'Gulliver's Wife' read by the author Lauren Chater, she details the conflict within Gulliver's family. Anne's daughter Beth has enshrined her missing father as a hero, and feels neglected by her mother, an 18th century midwife. It's a totally absorbing book which while fictional, is well researched as to the conditions of women in this period and their day to day struggle to survive in a violent society.
Tears of the Cheetah is set in South Africa . Here the protagonist is watching TV in a shebeen when he is presented with horrifying scenes of his home village.
Aoife relating how her heroine’s experience with the university ‘stud’ is not everything she had hoped for.
Three women, across two millennia, the thread linking them is their craftsmanship in a male world, and their desire to regain control over their lives . A story with great resonance for young women today.
Teida is a dog whose life changes abruptly when she is removed from the only home she has known and given to a new owner. They learn to adjust to each other and grow close and Teida's life is much happier. The Author loves animals and if you love dogs this is a charming book to read or give as a gift to a dog lover.
The Bloomsbury Set have been well documented but Sophie Cunningham found herself fascinated by the over arching influence of Leonard Wolff on literature and social mores. His 'fever' was sexual desire, and he felt himself overwhelmed by it.
A woman has died but has not died. She revisits her life searching for the meaning to her previous existence, and her current one. She recalls the feeling of being embodied , and marvels at what non existence has brought her.
Picture Trent Dalton on a street corner with a little table and a powder blue olivetti typewriter asking you to tell him a personal experience of love. It's not surprising people were so disarmed they opened up with extraordinary stories- all of which he duly recorded in this lovely collection. When there was no-one talking to him he observed their inter actions and made up beautiful stories around everyday gestures.
Three siblings navigate a touchy relationship between them , without understanding where and when the distance began. Can they come to terms with past issues and move forward as one family?
Three nuns live a cloistered life while the 21st century passes them by. Then one day, a change comes in the form of a priest, a mobile phone and a resort plan.
The opening chapter of this book has the protagonist returning to her childhood home , where later we will learn she has a new responsibility in her life. A sister she never knew she had.
Robert Drewe's latest novel is a darkly comedic tale of an enormous family reunion - at a winery, owned by the convener, named 'Whipbird'.
The title of this book ‘Black British’ refers to a generation of those born into the Indian middle classes in the 1960’s who adopted British sensibilities and customs, discarding their traditional ways. The story of Lucy de Souza and her family is based on the authors own experience.
Nicholas Fargue wrote this semi-autobiographical account of a man falling in love with another woman 10 years ago. He is now happily married!
A ‘Haint’ is an American southern term for a ghost – and in the house the Turner family inhabit in Detroit ,it is the children who claim to have witnessed this aggressive materialisation.
The Wild Girl is based on the true story of the Brothers Grimm, writers of fairytales, Â and their relationship with a young woman called Dortchen Wild. Â Dortchen and Wilhelm Grimm are in love but have been prevented from marriage by her father.
If newly introduced workplace practices have you banging your head against the wall, or dealing with government services is driving you round the bend- this is the book to read to at least help you see the funny side! This read from Antony Funnell ( also co-written with Ross Fitzgerald) focuses on a mythical university, but the scenes depicted will strike a chord with many.
A small logging town is 'invaded' by newcomers with new ideas and different ideologies. Clashes are inevitable, and then ultimately healing.
Imagine if Literary greats from the past were available to headline a Writers Festival! But a clone of Emily Bronte is not the easiest of guests to manage.
Sophie Hardcastle has had a lifelong connection with the sea and it seems all her gentle, yet powerful novels feature this element. Here her protagonist ,who sees sound as colour , wakes on a ship with no memory of how she got there. This begins a journey that is both wonderful and at the same time so deeply traumatic, she only recalls the details years later.
This is the second book that follows Jake Hunt, a hardened Vietnam vet trained in 'Black Ops'. Jake and his girlfriend Nicole are forced to flee across the globe to avoid being murdered by a South American revolutionary. Till finally , Jake has had enough of running.
Although this series is fiction, it is all based on Jed Hart's real life experiences which give it a special edge of authenticity.
A Hundred Small Lessons is set on the river in Brisbane. The ‘Lessons’ are the hundreds of small decisions and incidents that go to make up a life. This novel traces the lives of two women who occupied the same house on the river.
A photographer concerned with documenting the visible evidence of climate change lands on a small island in Northern Europe with her two teenage children. In the first few moments of her landing she witnesses and records a terrible tragedy. Then the house they are given to live in is full of strange markings from the past, carved into the wood of the beams. A novel of changing social mores tangled with superstitions from the past.
Ben Hobson's debut novel takes us into the world of Sam Keogh. Motherless at 13, he struggles to form a relationship with his father, who has hitherto been almost a stranger to him. His father, decides the path to manhood is to take him to Tangalooma, then the largest whaling station in the southern hemisphere. There amongst the brutality and slaughter, he finds a path towards his father, and also his own adult identity.
The pressures on young women to conform to a bodily ideal can cause great unhappiness . Even talented and well qualified women can still feel inadequate if they think their shape is not perfect.
Molly Thistle is a transported convict, fending for herself in a strange landscape while her husband is away at work. In addition to the other gangs of ungoverned men roaming in the bush, there are also the mysterious natives, attracted to their farmed grain.
What constitutes family in the 21st century? Is it time to rethink in this post industrial, technological age how we structure our home life and relationships? And what are legal and ethical minefields some couple traverse in their desire to have children? Marina collected real case histories and confided stories for this book.
Hannah Kent's imagination was stirred by a fragment of a newspaper article on an old Irish woman - 'a Faery doctoress' who was defending herself against a criminal charge involving a child by claiming she was banishing a changeling. Hannah spent time in Ireland to get the feel of a modern country, that still harks to the old ways and Faery traditions. In this read, a member of the community is found mysteriously dead.
It's not often you have a novelist who can write lyrically about the process of painting and also dairy farming!
Crossing into a new culture is a massive leap - there is language, dress , customs- you can be overwhelmed or take Shirley Le's tack and see it as a mine for comedy. For Shirley, seeing comedian Chris Lilley on television was enough to set her off on a life course.
The pressures of teaching are many, so things like the allocation of classrooms, and teaching loads create tensions for teachers. Especially when there is a change of head.
Small town, country boys, what's a girl to do? Seeking deeper intellectual stimulation that the the state of the current local dope prices, she turns to earlier heroes of the avant-garde Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg and imagines one last glorious road trip with her literary heroes!
Elle is searching for meaning in her life when her workmate JD invites her to church 'just to hear the band'. Elle is apprehensive, which soon proves prescient as she finds the brilliant smiles and bonhomie begin to feel false to her. Some language in this read !
This read by Melissa is a part of the history of one of the character's in her novel, Kerry's 'Pop' who she is desperate to visit before he dies. It forms a backdrop to the character, Kerry's problems in her own life, to illustrate how trauma can repeat down through the generations . There is a good mix of comedy and drama in Melissa's novels.
In 1954 the Queen, Prince Phillip and a vast entourage embarked upon a two month tour of Australia. Unlike today, there was a strict media protocol for coverage of this momentous event - but there were a few little glimpses into the stresses and tensions of royal public life. One of these was filmed - a small spat between the Queen and the Prince, and was promptly self censored by the crew that had recorded it. This tiny incident piqued author Andrew Mackie's interest- he began to imagine what could be going on behind the scenes on the Royal Tour. Throw in a couple of dysfunctional twin sisters, Daisie and Violet, and the perfect scenario for an entertaining and utterly fictional account of this true event is born.
Mother’s Day is a fictional tale of a midwife in a small country town . In this read ,the pregnant Jacinta , living alone, is found by her father, a man she hardly knows.
This book is set in Sydney between the wars and is an eye opening look at what some women were driven to do in order to survive. Based on real people and events, even the locations, it is also a novel that seeks to reimagine a past reality.
Two men make a startling discovery while fencing in the outback bush. This presents them with a dilemma - having discovered it, what is the right thing to do?
Storyland is five interwoven stories traversing time . In this read Catherine takes us to the Illawarra district in a future period , where climate change has altered the landscape and devastated a community.
The very human face of war is depicted in this novel which relates the lives of two miners, brothers Gregor and Henry who built tunnels to protect the troops. Part of the little talked about history, of World War 1, which destroyed rural communities in Australia.
Josh mysteriously disappears while travelling and searching for him reveals more about the relationships between his friends as the mystery surrounding his disappearance deepens.
Harriet and Kate ,best friends, are the daughters of lighthouse keepers, and spend their child hoods on a wild windswept cape. One is braver than the other.
This is an extract from 'Flash Fiction' - a collection of short stories.Two lovers play a game to make their lives more exciting - but what is the reality?
Di Morrissey, one of the top selling authors in Australia has perfected the art of delivering complex and well researched concepts into narratives that everyone can relate to. Here she is reading from 'Arcadia', which starts out as as a girl's own adventure for two old friends and enters into the realm of the importance of old growth forests and the miracles performed in our lives by fungi.
Author Joanna Nell had a day job working in a retirement home and collected ample material for this heartwarming and funny look at the sticky end of life
A mysterious, engraved metal box found during a home renovation contains beautiful botanical art - who had hidden it and why? Annie sets out to solve this mystery, and return uncovers a family connection she never knew of to an artist in the previous century.
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The Biafran war is the setting for this novel that Chigozie describes as 'historical fiction'. In this scene a simple farmer is killed and his son's distress affects Kunle, who is himself a conscripted child soldier, searching for his lost brother. Mixing magic realism and brutal historical fact, this history is one the west has chosen to overlook.
Bruce Pascoe reads the whole of the last chapter of 'Imperial Harvest' which relates the confusion a conquistador in Cortez's Spanish army feels upon returning home after decades of war in South America. Nothing is as he remembered it - what had he been fighting for? I have also included a short interview with Bruce at the end where he explains many parts of this read.
Liam describes his own novel as a ‘tropical gothic set on the tourist trail in Western India ‘
His main character Connor, is a sleazy tour boat operator- who’s modus operandi is to lure women he is attracted to onto his boat to take advantage of them romantically and financially. In short, he is not a very nice person. This reading opens with him taking one of his customers he refers to as ‘the talent’ onto his dive boat.
A young Javanese girl is transported to Paris to be the subject of Paul Gaugin's studies of island girls. This story reimagines her feelings and sense of powerlessness. From a collection of short stories about belonging.
If you love words and historical novels this is fun book as Fin. J Ross takes us into 18 century Melbourne and the fictional life of Fedelia Knight, a young, orphaned girl whose sole possession is a Samuel Taylor dictionary. It was a time of great wealth from gold and lots of fabulous entrepreneurs sprang up around the city and this story tells the tale of a fictional bookstore and how a young girl with a passionate love of words transformed her life and other around her. Suitable for all ages over 10!
A girl called Grub begins to notice the subtle shifts in the balance of power of relationships as she grows up. Her once brilliant brother Elijah, has fallen into a different lifestyle than his childhood promise, she feels helpless to change his course to self destruction.
Set in modern day Sri Lanka, Ruins relates  the life of a family told by each of the family members in turn. Here we hear from Anoushka , who has just met her ultra cool American cousin.
The Tetley family are a tight knit working class family who have suffered a major loss in their family. They deal with their grief in different ways after the sudden death of Elena.
The connecting thread in this book is a beautiful painting - first we hear Dominic read a description of this work and its provenance, and then we hear from the contemporary owner of the work who has discovered it was removed and a fake substituted without his knowing.
Here is Graeme Simsion reading from his trilogy of the Rosie series, he swears there will be no more!
The Rosie Effect
Graeme Simsion’s lovelorn geek Don Tillman gives a  lecture on Asperger’s Syndrome at the local school. He thinks it went well!
This site is wholly designed and maintained by Fine Artist Karena Wynn-Moylan. View more of her paintings by clicking on the image here. Paintings, books, prints for sale and commissions accepted through her website .
(Image shown: ''The Strangler Fig' - Prints only available - ) 
Tracey Spicer came back from a traumatic premature birth to find that her troubles were just beginning – pregnancy had demoted her! Outraged, she takes on her employers .
Barbara Toner relishes poking fun at the pretensions of middle class hypocrisy. In this longer read we are introduced to all the major characters in the novel and the stage is set for complex web of plotting and deception in gentrified Prospect.
Left to fend for herself at an early age, Sasha Torte has made her way in a world full of skulduggery, scoundrels and fantastic cakes in deepest , darkest 19 century Tasmania. Then she is betrayed by a spurned suitor.
The Fabulous Hotel Du Barry is a universe of its own set in early  20 century London. The adventures of its denizens both above and ‘below stairs’ provide  us with an entertaining romp and also an sight into the harsh realities confronting the less well off in this period .
Strong language warning and adult concepts in this read.
Caught between two cultures a young woman drifts at university until a career opportunity presents itself in Tapei. But her mother, previously despairing of her lack of focus, is fearful of the 'Ghost month' and begs her not to go.
Paramedics are called to rush to a sports field. But what happened at this suburban soccer game? Karen Viggers has written a novel about an increasing incident problem in children's sport - parents who can't keep themselves from defending their own child's game.
Ever been dumped by text?  Lisa Walker’s unhappy female character distils all those memories of being socially awkward and relationship inept.
MELT
Lisa's character Summer finds herself in hot water - in the coldest place on earth! Masquerading as a glaciologist she stumbles through her first meeting with fellow scientists on the Antarctic base.
Tommy Wallach takes us to a movie theatre , and gives us the step by step account of how to make out with a girl for the first time.
This evocative short story was inspired by a European fairytale but it is actually about the fires that have swept over so much of our country. Poetic and chilling at the same time.
How long does grief last? As long as you feel it. Nova Weetman lost a husband, father to their children and a creative partner. This book is presented in 3 acts like a play. she reads from Scene one.
The Second World War had many brave men and women working under cover on secret and covert operations. Often women were enlisted because in a more chauvinist time, it was thought no-one would suspect them! In this scene, the novel's protagonist Juliet, is quietly resisting questioning.
The Watermill is a collection of stories of real people Arnold has encountered in his life. The stories range from China to Cambodia to Iraq and Iran. The book is full of stories of displacement and survival written with a profound understanding of the struggles of humanity.
This is a book of fiction but it is based on two years experience by the author in the war zone that is Ukraine. In this read . Oaxana sacrifices herself to take down the flag of the enemy.
Clay is one of five brothers and has a rowdy , rambunctious upbringing that changes when his mother falls ill. A complex and beautiful tale from the author of 'The Book Thief'.