Simon Graham — University of Washington

How do you write about the climate crisis without becoming didactic? On this episode, Simon Graham describes their approach to activist writing, guided by their experiences growing up on the beaches of Australia and working in environmental policy. Plus, they talk about queering the crime fiction genre, the financial realities for international students living in Seattle, and remembering who you’re writing to, for, and with.

Simon Graham is an Australian writer, educator, and climate change worker living in Seattle. They are an MFA Candidate in Prose Writing at the University of Washington, where they won the Eugene Van Buren Prize in Fiction and teach a class on activist writing. Simon is also a 2023 Climate Corps Fellow with the Environmental Defense Fund, and prior to moving to the US they worked on climate policy in Australia and lectured on climate change at Monash University. They are currently working on a queer crime novel set in the shadowy world of Australian climate politics. Samples of their writing can be found at simongraham.me.

This episode was requested by Sarah Blood and Rorie Newman. Thank you both for listening!

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

BE PART OF THE SHOW

— Donate to the show at Buy Me a Coffee.

— Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

— Submit an episode request. If there’s a program you’d like to learn more about, contact us and we’ll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience.

— Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out our application.

STAY CONNECTED

Twitter: @MFAwriterspod

Instagram: @MFAwriterspodcast

Facebook: MFA Writers

Email: mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com