In episode #162 Veronica and Laurie have industry news, literary events, book spotlights and more. The Furphy Literary Awards 2026 are open and we chat with Robyn J Black, coordinator of the award and previous winner who shares the history of the competition, short story writing tips and so much more.

Book spotlights:
1. Lee Gordon Present by Jeff Apter - biography
2. Love Beyond Borders by Joshua Campbell - historical
3. Wending by Bel Hawley - contemporary
4. Soul Comfort by Alistair Conwell - non-fiction
5. The Maskeys by Stuart Everly-Wilson - contemporary
6. Confessions of a Minor Poet by Phil Brown - memoir

Intro - 00:57
Industry news - 16:04
Book spotlights - 21:33
Author interview - 35:54
Post interview chat - 1:07:57
Quotes - 1:09:07

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In episode 161 we're riding the coattails of three historical fiction writers into the past. We chat with authors Duncan Graham, Anne Vines and Paul Rushworth-Brown about their story inspiration, their writing process and what period in history they'd love to go back to.

Intro - 0:57
Bio Duncan Graham - 3:36
Book Spotlight - Where the Dust Settles by Duncan Graham - 4:33
Bio Anne Vines - 8:54
Book Spotlight - Flight by Anne Vines - 10:59
Bio Paul Rushworth-Brown - 16:15
Book Spotlight - Outback Odyssey by Paul Rushworth-Brown - 17:46
Research, fact and fiction - 21:54
Writing relatable characters - 33:05
Individual writing process - 45:38
Which historical period would you like to go back to? - 54:51
Advice for new writers - 1:01:05

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Visit australianbooklovers.com to learn more.

And we're back! Ep160 has Veronica and Laurie chatting author incomes, getting teens to read, Anna Featherstone's List of Australian Writers Festivals, and K.M. Allan's Writing Habits Checklist to get you into the New Year groove. So many lovely book spotlights, plus a wonderful chat with January Gilchrist about 'The Final Chapter' and a reading from The Serpent's Kiss from our very own Laurie Bell. And so much more...

Book spotlights:
1. The Serpent’s Kiss: Stones of Power Book 4 by Laurie Bell – YA Fantasy
2. Before She Killed Him by Naomi Shippen – mystery, thriller, domestic suspense
3. The Finch who lost her wing by Annie Kwan – picture book
4. The Wildflower of Asam by Gayatri Sarkar – historical
5. Moor to Sea: A journey along the Cleveland Way by Vicki Foote – memoir
6. The Tyranny of Tomorrow by Magda Mizzi – dystopian scifi
7. Grayson’s Magical Mishaps by Kevin Klehr – fantasy

Intro - 00:57
Industry news - 8:10
Book spotlights - 18:06
Author interview - 38:00
Post interview chat - 1:26:53
Quotes - 1:29:11
Author reading - 1:32:17

Support the show

Thanks for listening.
Visit australianbooklovers.com to learn more.