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Guest: Beth Driscoll | Host: Kat Mayo | Audio producer: Rudi Bremer | Recorded: 1/11/2015 GenreCon

At GenreCon last year, I had a chance to reconnect with Australian academic Beth Driscoll, whom I first met at the Wheeler Centre. We were on a panel to discuss feminism and romance fiction, and at the time Beth had just started working on a research project with Lisa Fletcher (featured in episode 7), Kim Wilkins and David Carter.

In this podcast Beth talks a little bit more about the project, Genre worlds: Australian popular fiction in the 21st century (2016–2019), as well as the relationship between readers and books, and the way genre is perceived by the literary establishment. Chatting with Beth has helped me form, reform and refine some of my own ideas about books and culture, and I think there’s a lot of food for thought in this episode.

Finally, I have some super exciting news. Starting from the next episode, we will be releasing a new podcast episode every fortnight. Yes! That means more podcasts! So if you’re checking for new episodes via the blog, make sure you come back every couple of weeks, or if you want the episodes to come to you, you can subscribe via iTunes, Overcast, Stitchr or through your favourite podcast app. We have so many authors and romance advocates lined up for you, and I can’t wait to share those interviews!

Guest

Dr Beth Driscoll — Faculty member in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne: @Beth_Driscoll

Books

• BT | Amz | Aud — Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

Authors

Lisa Fletcher, Kim Wilkins, David Carter, Jonathan Franzen

Links

• Stella Prize —  ‘a major literary award that celebrates Australian women’s writing and an organisation that champions cultural change’
• Miles Franklin Literary Award — ‘awarded for the Novel for the year which is of the highest literary merit and which must present Australian Life in any of its phases’
• Man Booker Prize — ‘aims to promote the finest in fiction by rewarding the best novel of the year written in English and published in the United Kingdom’

Missed a previous episode? You can find a list of all the Book Thingo podcast episodes here and catch up. You can also email your feedback and suggestions to podcast@bookthingo.com.au.