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

In this episode of Fully Lit, we bring you a live recording from Melbourne with two poets in conversation, Lisa Gorton and Bella Li.

Gorton reflects on nearly two decades of writing, moving between history, visual art and poetry. The discussion centres on the new sequence Caesars, where the Mona Lisa opens out into questions of looking, perception and meaning and how images continue to speak across time.

It's a rich conversation about poetry, visual art, and the creative tension between history and invention.

Voices

Lisa Gorton is a poet, novelist and essayist whose work has won major Australian literary awards, including the Prime Minister’s Prize for Fiction and the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Poetry. Her recent poetry collection is Mirror Landscape (2024).

Bella Li is the author of Argosy, Lost Lake and Theory of Colours. A winner of the Victorian and NSW Premier’s literary awards for poetry, her work has appeared in HEAT, The Saturday Paper and Australian Poetry Journal.

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 Michelle Ransom-Hughes

Further reading

Mirror Landscape by Lisa Gorton (2024)

Hotel Hyperion by Lisa Gorton

Mirabilia by Lisa Gorton

The Life of John Donne by Izaak Walton (discussed through Gorton's doctoral work on Donne)

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari

Works by Emily Dickinson (discussed in relation to Gorton's use of the dash)

Works by Salvador Dalí and the Surrealists (referenced in discussion of the Mona Lisa)

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

This NAIDOC Week, Fully Lit revisits some of the standout conversations in our back catalogue with First Nations writers, critics and publishers.

As a podcast about Australian literature, we believe First Nations storytelling sits at the heart of what is most vital, challenging and exciting about writing on this continent. Stories have been told here for tens of thousands of years, and First Nations writers continue to reshape how we read, write and think about literature.

This special NAIDOC Week message is a reminder of just a few of the First Nations writers, critics and publishing leaders featured across the Fully Lit catalogue. We encourage you to revisit the original episodes to hear these ideas explored in depth, from cultural rigour and criticism, to genre and representation, and sovereignty in publishing.

Together, these conversations challenge accepted narratives, expand our understanding of Australian literature, and remind us of the power of stories to shape the national conversation.

Voices

Graham Akhurst is a Kokomini writer and the author of Borderland (UWAP).

Melanie Saward is a Bigambul and Wakka Wakka woman, author, academic, and publishing all-rounder

Anita Heiss is an internationally published, award-winning author of 25 books across genres.

Credits

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

Fully Lit 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.

Produced by Regina Botros.

Further Listening

Episode 3: Cultural Rigour – First Nations Writing and Its Critics

A conversation with Jeanine Leane and Graham Akhurst on First Nations literary criticism, reading practices and cultural authority.

Episode 4: Cognitive Imperialism – Losing the Colonial Baggage

Melanie Saward discusses genre fiction, representation and the freedom to tell stories beyond colonial expectations.

Episode 7: Sovereign Stories – First Nations Publishing

Anita Heiss explores sovereignty in publishing and the need for First Nations-led editing, publishing and storytelling.

For more conversations with First Nations writers, critics and thinkers, explore the Fully Lit back catalogue.