In this episode of Fully Lit, we bring you a live recording from the Sydney Writers’ Festival in Parramatta.

Hosted by James Jiang, editor of the Sydney Review of Books, the panel brings together Maxine Beneba Clarke, Yumna Kassab and Eda Gunaydin for a wide-ranging conversation on what makes a writer.

From early reading habits and first attempts at writing, to questions of craft, the discussion moves across the genres of fiction, memoir and poetry — exploring how writers navigate the realities of sustaining a writing life on and off the page. Fittingly, given its setting, the conversation also centres Western Sydney as both place and influence. Thoughtful, candid and often funny, this is a rich discussion about storytelling and the impulses behind writing itself.

Voices

Maxine Beneba Clark is an award-winning writer, poet and artist whose work explores race, identity, family and belonging.

Yumna Kassab is a writer whose fiction explores memory, migration, identity and the complexities of human connection.

Eda Gunaydin is a writer, critic and researcher whose sharp, insightful work examining class, culture, migration and identity in contemporary Australia.

James Jiang is a writer, editor and critic, and the editor of the Sydney Review of Books

Credits

This episode of Fully Lit was made on Gadigal land in Sydney.

Fully Lit podcast is brought to you by Impact Studios at UTS, the Sydney Review of Books, and the UTS Writing and Publishing Program, and is produced by Regina Botros.

Executive Producers: Sarah Gilbert and James Jiang.

Recorded by the City of Parramatta