the bookish types
meet some of australia’s newest fiction authors.
MADELEINE RYAN
Have you always been into writing? I’ve kept journals on and off since I was really young.
I still have a picture book I made of The Little
Mermaid, including hand-drawn illustrations of Ariel and Flounder. I studied literature and creative writing at school, because those subjects didn’t have exams! Writing has always been part of my life, but I didn’t see myself as a writer until
recently. Tell us about your debut novel. A Room Called Earth is an adventure inside the mind of a dynamic, sensual, observant young woman as she prepares for – and attends – a party in Melbourne on Christmas Eve Eve. It takes place over less than 24 hours as she encounters all different kinds of people and has all different kinds of experiences. It’s a celebration of what it means to truly connect with ourselves and each
other. How did it feel to write an autistic main character? I was diagnosed as autistic while writing the book. It took me a while to realise she was autistic too, though. I was sitting outside one day with a cup of tea and it occurred to me. I was like, well, if her story is in the first person, and if I’m using the way I process thoughts and feelings to give shape to her reality, then is her reality neurodiverse like mine? Then I felt really special. It was as if she’d chosen me. And I find her astonishing, and multidimensional, and
courageous in so many ways. What do you want readers to take away from the story?
A sense of belonging. An understanding that all their thoughts, feelings, experiences, sensations, relationships and memories are
sacred. How did your work get published? It took continuous leaps of faith and many periods of waiting. Then stars colliding, and presto, a novel! Throw in a literary agent who rejected me here, here and here, then one who saw value in the story there, and her connections here, and
that pretty much sums it up. What surprised
you about the publishing process? It’s hugely collaborative and requires tons of communication with others. Beautiful things can only happen when many minds and hearts are involved. What
is writing a book actually like? I found it deeply nourishing and exciting. Scary, too. I didn’t know how it was going to turn out, or if I was going to be proud. I didn’t know how the book would change me or my life. I just had to trust, which is what made the process so exciting. How did
you deal with writers’ block? I don’t believe in writers’ block. Sometimes the block is the answer. The human mind is way too multidimensional and magical – beyond our comprehension, even – for writers’ block to be a real thing.
Three books you’ve recently loved? Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Super Attractor by Gabrielle Bernstein, and I always have Madame Pamita’s Magical Tarot on hand.
ROBERT LUKINS
Tell us about your debut novel. The Everlasting Sunday is set in England during the catastrophic winter of 1962 that came to be known as The Big Freeze. The story takes place in a manor house that’s been repurposed by the government as a kind of warehouse for young people ‘found by trouble’. It’s inspired by a real facility of the time and a crumbling mansion I discovered when working as a postman in rural Shropshire. The novel is about finding a way to love and survive.
You’ve written other stories in the past though,
right? I’ve written a novel every year since I was 14. I had no intention of getting any of them published; The Everlasting Sunday was the first I sent out into the world. I was just convinced
I was teaching myself how to write. Some were never printed, just deleted from my computer the day they were finished. Do you have any
other writing habits? I write on the train to work, in the lunchroom and on the train ride home. I’ve always had to squeeze it into the folds of the day; I can’t wait to be inspired or for all the conditions to be ‘right’. How did you get your
first book published? It was all dumb luck. I had no connections or track record – I just picked the publisher I wanted and the agent I wanted to represent me, printed off the book and posted it to them. I didn’t hear a word for 18 months. Then they both stumbled across my manuscript in their slush piles. What other jobs have you had?
Dishwasher, library assistant, rubbish auditor at a tip, taste-tester at a chip factory, art researcher, manager of a poetry peak body, music journalist, band manager, busker, postman. It’s impossible to have that many odd jobs and not accumulate a few story or character ideas for future use.
Is book-writing a lonely pursuit? The moments of writing are necessarily solitary, but publication is an inspiring and fun conversation with a whole cast of people: agents, publishers, editors, cover designers, booksellers, readers. Plus, the gang of weird and neurotic writers you inevitably find yourself part of. Who is your literary inspiration?
Adrian Mole. I read Sue Townsend’s The Secret
Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 when I was too young to realise Adrian was supposed to be a pretentious prat. Any tips for emerging writers?
If you feel like you have no idea what you’re doing or how you’re supposed to go about this whole odd game, you’re not alone and you’re probably on the right track. Every writer I’ve met has, after a glass of wine, admitted to having no idea what they’re doing. Three books you’ve recently loved?
New Animal by Ella Baxter, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth by Avi Loeb and She is Haunted by Paige Clark.
ELIZABETH TAN
What are your books about? My first book, Rubik, is made up of interconnecting short stories about digital afterlives, fan fiction, conspiracies and consumer culture. The main narrative thread is about a woman who dies in a car accident after purchasing a pie. My most
recent book, Smart Ovens for Lonely People, is a collection of short stories about mermaids, cats, things going missing in the laundry, utopias, dystopias and the things we do to console
ourselves when the world is ending. Why are short stories your preferred format? I like the way they can be suggestive – you can imply a whole world or life with a few shrewdly chosen scenes and details. Plus, short stories are a little easier to set aside and pick up again, or to work
on alongside other projects. What surprised you about the publishing process? One of the loveliest surprises was when I saw the draft of my first book’s cover – that’s when I got a fresh sense of what it was about; how it felt and breathed to someone who hadn’t been caught up in the writing and editing of it. It hit me that the book was leaving my hands, and soon other readers were going to make their own meaning of it.
Do you have any writing rituals? I mostly like to write on my laptop in bed right after I wake up, when I’m a bit sleepy and dreamy. If that’s not
working, I try to change the scenery. What’s it like seeing your books out in the world?
I feel a bit shy; I can’t quite bring myself to look directly at them. Perhaps it’s like encountering a clone of yourself, or yourself from a different timeline – you don’t want them to notice you or to disturb the fabric of the universe, so you just kind of watch your other self nervously out of the corner of your eye. Why do you write? I just really like playing with words; I like the pleasure of being able to describe something precisely. Also, making connections with other people and finding common ground. Do you have any other
jobs? I’m a university tutor in creative writing and professional writing. It can be a struggle to balance teaching and writing; I try not to glance at emails or the class discussion board during the mornings I’ve set aside for writing. What types
of books do you like reading? Books that are committed to emotional honesty, where you feel like the author has had to reckon with themself in some way in order to have written it. Even if the book is not about them, they’re writing from a position of humility and curiosity rather than smug judgment. Three books you’ve recently loved? New Animal by Ella Baxter, The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love by Davina Bell, and Echoes by Shu-ling Chua.
VICTORIA HANNAN
Have you always been interested in writing?
My mum claims she knew I was going to be a writer from age five, but it took me a bit longer to work it out. As a kid, I’d write dark, open-ended stories where all the characters were named after my friends. Later, I discovered I could use writing to make people laugh. Very little about my writing practice and motivations has changed.
Tell us about your debut novel. Kokomo begins in London with Mina. One day she gets a phone call from her best friend back in Australia informing her that her mother has just left the house for the first time in 12 years. So she rushes home to find out why. It’s a story about grief, desire, disconnection, but most of all, it’s a love letter to friendship. Where did the idea come
from? It came to me at a karaoke party. A friend sang “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys and I started wondering where the tropical island of Kokomo is. After some googling, I discovered The Beach Boys made it up. It got me thinking about how often we readily believe the things we’re told. How did you get your work in front of the publisher? I spent two years drafting and redrafting Kokomo, then entered it into the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award (VPLA) for an Unpublished Manuscript. When I found out I’d won I cried on the street. Off the back of the VPLA, I signed with my dream agent who helped me navigate the submissions
process. What was the hardest part of writing a novel? Sitting down every day to get the work done. I have a note above my desk that says ‘do the work, you big baby’. I respond well to tough talk. I also employ a beefed-up Pomodoro Technique where I’ll set a timer and write for 50 minutes, take a break for 15, then start
again. I need routine. And the best part? I never imagined I’d make so many new friends by writing a novel. I used to think the Australian writing scene was scary and impenetrable, but it turns out most people are lovely and the community is
very supportive. Why do you write? I legitimately have no other skills. Unless someone out there is willing to pay me to look at expensive LA real
estate? What types of books do you like reading?
I try to read a diverse mix of writers across fiction and non-fiction. Reading widely and from outside your own experience will make you a better and more informed writer (and maybe a better and
more informed person, too). Three books you’ve recently loved? Inferno (a poet’s novel) by Eileen Myles, Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen and Love and Virtue, a forthcoming debut novel by Sydney writer Diana Reid.
NARDI SIMPSON
Have you always been into writing? I’ve always been fascinated by the way words work, how combinations can evoke bodily responses, and how strings of words melt together to create their own momentum. My first foray into the world of writing was transcribing song lyrics. I’d tape radio shows then listen back and write
the lyrics down. What’s your book about? Song of the Crocodile follows three generations of a family in an outback country town. It’s a story told above, upon and below the land and focuses on the relationships the land fosters, creates
and tears apart. What do you want readers to
take away from it? I wanted to examine how people, black and white, relate to ‘place’; how the forces in its creation affect relationships, and in turn, how relationships affect the spirit of the landscape. I hope people can brush against First Nations language, relationships and worldviews and see a bit of themselves within them. How
did you get your first book published? I entered the manuscript into the black&write! Indigenous writing fellowship with the State Library of Queensland. It was mainly for feedback, but
I was lucky enough to win. That led to a year of editing with two First Nations editors, then six months with my publisher, Hachette. I feel so grateful to everyone for the support and love they showed my words. Hardest part of writing
a book? Settling on a plot I was confident in. I have a lot of things I want to say, and in the past I’ve done that through songwriting. Writing a novel, at times I felt lost and overwhelmed, but when I just let the narrative develop and unfold, the story showed me what it wanted to be. And
the best part? I loved the editing process – with guidance from others, really digging down deep into the concepts and construction. Why do
you write? I have a lot of things to say about First Nations history, culture, language and connection. I want to put that on the page for my family and community so we can see ourselves and our stories in the things we read. Do you
have any other jobs? Oh man, I do heaps of jobs to keep afloat. I teach a choir at the Sydney Conservatorium, I’m a writer-in-residence at a school, I do regular gigs with my band and take any performance, speaking, workshopping and project work I can. When I write, it’s calming and good for my soul. Will you write another
book? Definitely, and I want to do it completely differently. I want to push myself to write in a style I normally wouldn’t; engage with plot, language and characters in a way that challenges me; and connect to a story I have to search for and shape.
Three books you’ve recently loved? Throat by Ellen Van Neerven, The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott and Love Objects by Emily Maguire.