
The Garret: Writing & Publishing
The Garret: Writers and Publishing is a podcast for lovers of books and storytelling, hosted by Astrid Edwards.
Listen to Australia’s greatest writers and storytellers speak about their craft, including Tony Birch, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Trent Dalton, Michelle de Kretser, Richard Fidler, Richard Flanagan, Jane Harper, Anita Heiss, Ben Law, John Marsden, Dervla McTiernan, Scott Pape, Leigh Sales, Christos Tsolkas, Tara June Winch, Charlotte Wood, Alexis Wright, as well as many more.
Founded in 2017, it was dedicated to Australian writers and their craft. In 2023, it expanded focus to interview industry figures about what gets published (and why).
The podcast surpassed 610,000 downloads, and every interview is archived in AusLit, the definitive resource for Australian literary, print, and narrative cultures.
The Garret is on hold as Astrid completes her PhD investigating the environmental responsibility of the Australian book publishing industry.
You can follow our host Astrid Edwards at astridedwards.com.
Latest episodes

Feb 4, 2024 • 28min
Ep 264: Christos Tsiolkas on sex, middle age and the importance of criticism
Christos Tsiolkas is one of Australia's most accomplished writers. His latest novel, In-Between, is an exploration of class, family and love in middle age. Christos is the author of eight novels, including Loaded (which was made into the feature film Head-On) and the international bestseller The Slap (which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, among many other honours). His work of historical fiction, Damascus, won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Fiction. In 2021 Christos won the Melbourne Prize for Literature. He has appeared on The Garret before. Listen to Christos discuss his previous novel, Damascus, here. About The Garret Follow The Garret: Writing and Publishing and our host Astrid Edwards on Instagram. Explore our back catalogue (and transcripts) at thegarretpodcast.com.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/garretpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 25, 2024 • 28min
Ep 263: Kirli Saunders on poetry and multi-disciplinary practice
Kirli Saunders is a proud Gunai Woman, award-winning author and multidisciplinary artist. Her books include Bindi, Kindred and Returning. Her play, Going Home, is in development, as is her first novel, Yaraman. In 2022 she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her contribution to the arts. You can read the transcript of this interview here. Kirli has a lso spoken on The Garret before about her verse novel Bindi. About The Garret Follow The Garret: Writing and Publishing and our host Astrid Edwards on Instagram. Explore our back catalogue (and transcripts) at thegarretpodcast.com.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/garretpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 22, 2024 • 44min
Ep 262: LIVE | Richard Flanagan at The Capitol discussing 'Question 7'
Richard Flanagan is a Tasmania writer. Question 7, his latest work, was published in 2023 and will no doubt become that rare thing - a commercial bestseller that attracts critical acclaim. His novels Death of a River Guide, The Sound of One Hand Clapping, Gould’s Book of Fish, The Unknown Terrorist, Wanting and The Narrow Road to the Deep North have received numerous honours and are published in 42 countries. He won the Man Booker Prize for The Narrow Road to the Deep North in 2014. Richard has been interviewed on The Garret before, and you can listen to his thoughts on his previous novel, The Living Sea of Waking Dreams, here. Thanks to The Wheeler Centre an RMIT Capitol This recording took place on 9 November 2023 at RMIT Capitol for The Wheeler Centre. Thanks go to the phenomenal team at The Wheeler Centre for sharing this audio with us. About The Garret Follow The Garret: Writing and Publishing and our host Astrid Edwards on Instagram. Explore our back catalogue (and transcripts) at thegarretpodcast.com.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/garretpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 14, 2024 • 25min
#1 industry interview of 2023: Beejay Silcox on literary prize judging
Beejay Silcox is a writer and literary critic. She is the Artistic Director of the Canberra Writers Festival, and in 2023-2-24 the Chair of Judges of The Stella Prize. Her literary criticism and cultural commentary regularly appears in national arts publications, and is increasingly finding an international audience, including in the Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian and The New York Times. Read the transcript for this interview here. About The Garret: Writers and the publishing industry Follow The Garret: Writing and Publishing and our host Astrid Edwards on Instagram. Explore our back catalogue (and transcripts) at thegarretpodcast.com.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/garretpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 12, 2024 • 24min
#1 poetry interview of 2023: Maxine Beneba Clarke on banning work for kids
Maxine Beneba Clarke is the author of the short fiction collection Foreign Soil, the memoir The Hate Race and the poetry collections Carrying the World and How Decent Folk Behave. Her children's picture books include the CBCA Honour book The Patchwork Bike and the illustrated poem When We Say Black Lives Matter, which was longlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Her latest poetry collection is It's the Sound of the Thing, which was nominated for The Guardian's Best Australian Children's Books of 2023 and shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards in 2024. In 2023 she was Poet in Residence at The University of Melbourne. Read the transcript for this interview here. About The Garret: Writers and the publishing industry Follow The Garret: Writing and Publishing and our host Astrid Edwards on Instagram. Explore our back catalogue (and transcripts) at thegarretpodcast.com.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/garretpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 9, 2024 • 26min
#1 fiction interview of 2023: Pip Williams on recreating the past in fiction
Pip Williams was born in London, grew up in Sydney, and now lives in the Adelaide Hills. Her debut novel was the wildly successful The Dictionary of Lost Words (2020), which was based on her original research in the Oxford English Dictionary archives and became an international bestseller. The Bookbinder of Jericho (2023) is her second work of historical fiction, and exists in the same world as The Dictionary of Lost Words. Read the transcript for this interview here. About The Garret: Writers and the publishing industry Follow The Garret: Writing and Publishing and our host Astrid Edwards on Instagram. Explore our back catalogue (and transcripts) at thegarretpodcast.com.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/garretpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 7, 2024 • 22min
#1 nonfiction interview of 2023: Debra Dank on writing memoir
Debra Dank is a Gudanji/Wakaja writer and educator. Her 2023 memoir We Come With This Place - a book she never intended to publish - won the ALS Gold Medal and four NSW Premier's Awards, and was also listed for many other prizes. An educator, she has worked in teaching and learning for many years – a gift given through the hard work of her parents. She continues to experience the privilege of living with country and with family. Debra completed her PhD in Narrative Theory and Semiotics at Deakin University in 2021. Read the transcript for this interview here. About The Garret: Writers and the publishing industry Follow The Garret: Writing and Publishing and our host Astrid Edwards on Instagram. Explore our back catalogue (and transcripts) at thegarretpodcast.com.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/garretpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 18, 2023 • 24min
Ep 261: Lucy Treloar on writing about the hard things well
Lucy Treloar is a novelist. Her debut, Salt Creek, won the Dobbie Literary Award among others and was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the UK's Walter Scott Prize. Wolfe Island, her second novel, won the Barbara Jefferis Award and was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's and NSW literary awards. Lucy's essays and short fiction have appeared in publications including Meanjin, The Age, Overland and Best Australian Stories. You can read the transcript of this interview here. About The Garret Follow The Garret: Writing and Publishing and our host Astrid Edwards on Instagram. Explore our back catalogue (and transcripts) at thegarretpodcast.com.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/garretpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 13, 2023 • 24min
Ep 260: Brigid Mullane on how to be a publisher
Brigid Mullane is a publisher at Ultimo Press, and in this interview she discusses her career and her path into publishing. She was previously Managing Editor at Hachette, Editor of Kill Your Darlings, and Communications Manager at Writers Victoria. She has also worked in a variety of roles at Melbourne Writers Festival, National Young Writers’ Festival, Emerging Writers’ Festival, the Sun Bookshop and the Brunswick Street Bookstore. You can read the transcript of this interview here. About The Garret Follow The Garret: Writing and Publishing and our host Astrid Edwards on Instagram. Explore our back catalogue (and transcripts) at thegarretpodcast.com.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/garretpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 10, 2023 • 32min
Ep 259: Tony Birch on working class storytelling in Australia
Tony Birch is an activist, historian and essayist. In this interview Tony reflects on his most recent novel, Women and Children. His works include The White Girl (winner of the 2020 NSW Premier's Award for Indigenous Writing and shortlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Prize), Ghost River (winner of the 2016 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing), and Blood (shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award). Tony has appeared on The Garret several times before, including for one of his first recorded discussions of The White Girl and reflections about creativity during the Pandemic. You can read the transcript of this interview here. About The Garret Follow The Garret: Writing and Publishing and our host Astrid Edwards on Instagram. Explore our back catalogue (and transcripts) at thegarretpodcast.com.Support the show: https://linktr.ee/garretpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.