Bruce Nash and Malcolm Knox's latest novels tell very different stories by deftly wielding dark humour and satire, skating that line between drama and comedy as a way into complex and challenging subjects. They speak with Dr Joshua Lobb.

Buy The First Friend:⁠ https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Malcolm-Knox-First-Friend-9781761470431

Buy All the Words We Know: https://www.thenile.com.au/books/bruce-nash/all-the-words-we-know/9781761472695

ⓘ South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026 info + tickets

The South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026 is on in Thirroul on 25 & 26 July. For more info go to⁠ ⁠https://southcoastwriters.org/festival ⁠⁠

Early bird tickets are available now at:⁠ https://events.humanitix.com/south-coast-readers-and-writers-festival-2026

Credits

Recorded by Peter Frankis

The South Coast Writers Centre acknowledges the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work, and we offer our respect to elders past, present and emerging.

Nikki Gemmell is one of Australia's bestselling authors. Her latest novel, Wing, is a searing examination of what it means to be female today. She sits down with author Meredith Jaffé to talk about writingwomen from memoir to thriller and everything in-between.

Buy Wing: https://www.booktopia.com.au/wing-nikki-gemmell/book/9781460761564

ⓘ South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026 info + tickets

The South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026 is on in Thirroul on 25 & 26 July. For more info go to⁠ ⁠https://southcoastwriters.org/festival ⁠⁠

Early bird tickets are available now at:⁠ https://events.humanitix.com/south-coast-readers-and-writers-festival-2026

Credits

Recorded by Peter Frankis

The South Coast Writers Centre acknowledges the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work, and we offer our respect to elders past, present and emerging.

Ryan Butta's The Bravest Scout at Gallipoli is a history that recovers lost perspectives and people, bringing them back into light. He discusses Australian history and how it is lost and found, with Jeremy Lasek.

Buy The Bravest Scout at Gallipoli: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Bravest-Scout-at-Gallipoli/Ryan-Butta/9781922992086

ⓘ South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026

The South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026 is on in Thirroul on 25 & 26 July. For more info go to⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://southcoastwriters.org/festival⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

Early bird tickets are available now at:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://events.humanitix.com/south-coast-readers-and-writers-festival-2026⁠

Credits

Recorded by Peter Frankis

The South Coast Writers Centre acknowledges the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work, and we offer our respect to elders past, present and emerging.

Isobelle Carmody's latest book, Comes the Night, is set in a dystopian Canberra. Helena Fox's award-winning second novel, The Quiet and the Loud, explores coming of age against the backdrop of the 2019 bushfires. They sit down with Dr Christine Howe to talk about writing YA fiction in an uncertain climate future.

Buy Comes the Night:⁠⁠ https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Isobelle-Carmody-Comes-the-Night-9781760294762

Buy The Quiet and the Loud:⁠ https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781760983024/

ⓘ South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026

The South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026 is on in Thirroul on 25 & 26 July. For more info go to⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://southcoastwriters.org/festival⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

Early bird tickets are available now at:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://events.humanitix.com/south-coast-readers-and-writers-festival-2026⁠

Credits

Recorded by Peter Frankis

The South Coast Writers Centre acknowledges the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work, and we offer our respect to elders past, present and emerging.

Zahid Gamieldien's All the Missing Children is a literary mystery-drama novel with creeping supernatural elements. In Jessie Tu's Honeyeater, it's ghost month in Taiwan and in translation, all is not as it seems. Myoung Jae Yi discusses the layers in these works of literary fiction with their authors.

Buy All the Missing Children:⁠ https://publishing.hardiegrant.com/en-au/books/all-the-missing-children-by-zahid-gamieldien/9781761153181

Buy Honeyeater: ⁠https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Jessie-Tu-Honeyeater-9781761470745⁠

ⓘ South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026

The South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026 is on in Thirroul on 25 & 26 July. For more info go to⁠ ⁠https://southcoastwriters.org/festival ⁠⁠

Early bird tickets are available now at:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://events.humanitix.com/south-coast-readers-and-writers-festival-2026⁠

Credits

Recorded by Peter Frankis

The South Coast Writers Centre acknowledges the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work, and we offer our respect to elders past, present and emerging.

Dr Debra Dank and Jodi Edwards are the holders of First Nations knowledges that predate colonisation, from the living languages to the deep intellectual traditions of First Nations Australians. They talk about storytelling before colonisation with Lillian Rodrigues-Pang.

ⓘ South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026

The South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026 is on in Thirroul on 25 & 26 July. For more info go to⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://southcoastwriters.org/festival⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

Early bird tickets are available now at:⁠ https://events.humanitix.com/south-coast-readers-and-writers-festival-2026

Credits

Recorded by Peter Frankis

The South Coast Writers Centre acknowledges the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work, and we offer our respect to elders past, present and emerging.

Poetry is both a personal and social act. Meet Eileen Chong and David Stavanger-two esteemed poets whose new works are deeply personal but also social and political. In conversation with Peter Frankis they speak about their work, non-linear time, and what poetry is good for in times of loss and erasure.

Buy We Speak of Flowers:⁠ https://www.booktopia.com.au/we-speak-of-flowers-eileen-chong/book/9780702268625

Buy The Drop Off: ⁠https://www.thenile.com.au/books/david-stavanger/the-drop-off/

ⓘ South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026 info + tickets

The South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2026 is on in Thirroul on 25 & 26 July. For more info go to⁠ ⁠https://southcoastwriters.org/festival ⁠⁠

Early bird tickets are available now at:⁠ https://events.humanitix.com/south-coast-readers-and-writers-festival-2026

Credits

Recorded by Peter Frankis

The South Coast Writers Centre acknowledges the Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work, and we offer our respect to elders past, present and emerging.