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Guest: Anita Heiss | Host: Kat Mayo | Audio producer: Rudi Bremer | Recorded: 23/08/2015 RWAus
Last year, I caught up with Australian chicklit author Anita Heiss, who was one of the keynote speakers at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Melbourne. I was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been going into an interview, because of all the authors I’ve interviewed for this podcast and for Heart to Heart, I think Anita has the most experienced in dealing with media. And I’m only, like, junior barely-media, so it was difficult to keep my composure!
We talk about Anita’s books, Indigenous writers, popular fiction (you might be surprised to know what book inspired her to write commercial fiction!), and some of the challenges that authors face when it comes to penetrating the US market. And even though Anita doesn’t write within the romance genre, I hope you find her insights on writing and Australian commercial fiction as interesting as I did.
If you’re in Sydney, Anita will be at Hyde Park today as part of the NAIDOC week celebrations. The City of Sydney library network is also hosting readings from Anita’s book from Monday, June 27 to Friday, July 1. These are all free events. Click here for more info.
Guest
Anita Heiss — Author, academic, poet and social commentator; ILF Lifetime Ambassador: anitaheiss.com, @AnitaHeiss
Books
- BT | Amz | Aud — Tiddas by Anita Heiss
- BT | Amz | Aud — Not Meeting Mr Right by Anita Heiss
- BT | Amz | Aud — Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
- BT | Amz | Aud — Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington
- BT | Amz | Aud — Who Am I? The Diary of Mary Talence by Anita Heiss
- BT | Amz | Aud — Am I Black Enough For You? by Anita Heiss
- BT | Amz | Aud — Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
Authors
Melissa Lucashenko, Kim Scott, Bruce Pascoe, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Wanika Fazekas (this is an educated guess because Anita doesn’t specifically mention her name; Rudi is 98% confident in her factfinding/person-hunting skillz), Alexis Wright, Philip McLaren
Links
- NAIDOC week — Celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples
- Indigenous Literacy Foundation — Not-for-profit organisation that aims to support children’s literacy in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
- Romance Writers of Australia
- Melbourne Writers Festival
- First Nations Australia Writers’ Network (FNAWN) — Peak body for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Island writers, poets and storytellers
- Frankfurt Book Fair
- London Book Fair
- ‘The Shire’ — Anita mentions the Cronulla riots. You can watch a documentary on the SBS website.
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.