Best Landfall Audio Arts Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 56: “The Slip” by Miriam Webster + a chat with new publishing duo “Pink Shorts” 43:35

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12d ago43:35

43:35

Miriam Webster makes her literary debut with a sharp, funny and often dark collection of short stories about love, loss and very modern dilemmas. With an eye for what isn’t said and that which is said by accident, the collection is named for the Freudian slip. + New publishers on the block, Margot Lloyd and Emily Hart, are publishing exciting debut…

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Episode 55: “The Oasis” by Anne Buist & Graeme Simsion + “The Body Next Door” by Zane Lovitt 45:02

1M ago45:02

45:02

Since shooting to fame with “The Rosie Project”, Graeme Simsion has formed a successful writing partnership with his psychiatrist wife, Anne Buist. Here they share with Annie why the mental health system provides such fertile ground for their creativity, the change they hope to see in that world…and the nuts and bolts of working together. + Can a m…

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Episode 54: “Chinese Postman” by Brian Castro + “Reunion” by Bronwyn Rivers 38:53

3M ago38:53

38:53

Brian Castro's “The Chinese Postman” is a meditation on old age with a central character whose life mirrors his own. The story strays into fiction when the protagonist, Abe Quin, begins a correspondence with a woman seeking refuge from the war in Ukraine. This acclaimed work of autofiction is short-listed for this year’s Miles Franklin Award. + In …

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Episode 53: “Landfall” by James Bradley & “Panic” by Catherine Jinx 38:03

3M ago38:03

38:03

James Bradley introduces his latest novel; one of crime in a time of climate crisis. The desperate search for a missing child is set against a terrifying Sydney of the future, where sea levels are rising with the temperature and the social divide has become a chasm. + Catherine Jinks, known for her children’s fiction, has turned her deft writer's h…

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Minisode 52.5: Kate Grenville and her new book “Unsettled” 18:57

4M ago18:57

18:57

Kate Grenville is best known for her book “The Secret River” published in 2005 which became an analogy for white settlement of Australia. More than two decades on, and following the defeat of the Voice referendum, Grenville has taken another journey through that same country which her ancestors settled, resulting in her latest book, “Unsettled”. In…

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Episode 52: “Delirious” by Damien Wilkins + how to style a second hand bookshop 41:59

5M ago41:59

41:59

Cath discovers the people in Damien Wilkins’ life who inspired his latest novel, “Delirious”. It’s an emotionally powerful novel about families, ageing and the surprising ways second chances come around. + Annie visits Orchard Books in the Adelaide Arcade where she receives a masterclass in styling a warm, inviting and delightfully idiosyncratic se…

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Episode 51: “High Wire” by Candice Fox + new literary journal, “Splinter” 44:00

6M ago44:00

44:00

Sarah is joined by Candice Fox who reflects how her “scrappy” upbringing in Bankstown and her Dad’s work in the local prison informed her crime writing. It still makes her a magnet for people willing to share their dark and strange story ideas. + Annie takes you to the launch of “Splinter”, a new literary journal, to meet its editor, Farrin Foster.…

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Episode 50: “The Burrow” by Melanie Cheng + “Alias Grace” by Margaret Atwood 46:56

7M ago46:56

46:56

Cath and Sarah delight in sharing what they loved about Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey’s short novel, “Orbital” + Cath then settles into a cosy chat to author Melanie Cheng. She’s created a delicate and wise novella in which a family’s grief is articulated and haltingly addressed with the adoption of a pet rabbit. + Michaela enjoys revisiting …

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Episode 49: To Sing of War by Catherine McKinnon + remembering Beryl Bainbridge 38:43

8M ago38:43

38:43

Catherine McKinnon’s tense but tender tale, “To Sing of War”, immerses the reader in the lives of three characters strung across the globe during the dying days of World War II …as the days tick towards the detonation of the first nuclear weapon on Hiroshima. + Poet Ken Bolton makes a good case for why British writer Beryl Bainbridge should not be …

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Episode 48: Robbie Arnott + Hannah Ferguson + Tsundoku’s best books of 2024 53:47

9M ago53:47

53:47

Michaela talks to one of her favourite writers, Robbie Arnott, about “Dusk”; a beautiful and beguiling tale of siblings, so down on their luck they embark on an impossible quest to slay a puma in the Tasmanian highlands and claim a life-changing bounty. Sarah chats to stand-out millennial Hannah Ferguson about her second book, “Taboo: Conversations…

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Episode 47: Markus Zusak’s “Three Wild Dogs and the Truth” + revisiting Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” 45:05

10M ago45:05

45:05

Markus Zusak uses words like “challenging” and “ complex” to describe his three dogs, Reuben, Archie and Frosty. In this interview Zusak recounts the joy of remembering his hounds in all their unvarnished glory for this, his first memoir. Also, the challenge of recording his own audio books, the old favourites he likes to read and re-read “forensic…

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Episode 46: Sean Williams; guru of speculative fiction and fantasy + Kylie Cardell dissects the “gloriously unhinged” work of Miranda July and Rachel Yoder 50:28

11M ago50:28

50:28

Sean Williams, author of 5 million words, is famous for his hugely successful forays into the worlds of Star Wars, Dr Who, the Marvel Universe, but did you know he also writes ghost stories for young readers? ”Honour Among Ghosts” and “Her Perilous Mansion” are exciting, mysterious, witty and clever reads, officially for 8-12 year olds, but really …

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Episode 45: The Romance Edition 40:17

12M ago40:17

40:17

As Mills and Boon Australia celebrates 50 years of taking readers on journeys of love and lust, Annie speaks with Barbara Hannay about her latest novel, "The Wife's Secret", and Michaela discusses medical romance with Amy Andrews, author of "The Outback Doctor's Surprise Bride". Guests : Barbara Hannay, author of "The Wife’s Secret" Amy Andrews, au…

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Episode 44: Amy Stewart’s tales of arboreal obsession in “The Tree Collectors” + Don Binney, New Zealand’s favourite bird artist remembered in “Flight Path” 43:22

1y ago43:22

43:22

Amy Stewart paints a powerful portrait of the human passion for plants in “The Tree Collectors” with fifty different tales of people who, for one fascinating reason or another, devote their life to trees. The book is illustrated with Amy’s vibrant watercolours of the trees and their idiosyncratic owners. Compared in his heyday to Brett Whitely, pai…

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Episode 43: “The End And Everything Before It” by Finegan Kruckemeyer + “Don’t Tell Alfred” by Nancy Mitford 47:31

1y ago47:31

47:31

A story that is difficult to pin down to a narrative, playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer’s debut novel explores arrivals and departures, time and space, through the experiences of a curious cast of characters. + Annie Warburton explores why we read the works of old writers, dissecting the work of Nancy Mitford in the context of her era and the happenin…

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Episode 42: “This Devastating Fever” by Sophie Cunningham + The Jewish Men’s Book Club 28:17

1y ago28:17

28:17

Cath carries this episode with two great chats; the first with author Sophie Cunningham and the other with self-professed “book snob”, Ron Hoenig. = Ostensibly a novel about Alice, a woman who’s spent the last 20 years writing the biography of Virginia Woolf’s husband, Leonard, “This Devastating Fever” is an insightful, moving and witty tale of wha…

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Episode 41: “The Work” by Bri Lee + “The Radio Hour” by Victoria Purman 44:47

1y ago44:47

44:47

Peeling back the veneer of the New York art scene, Bri Lee takes readers into the background world that fuels the industry. ‘The Work’ follows the lives of two protagonists from vastly different backgrounds: gallery owner, Lally, and antiquities dealer, Patrick, as they each follow a path to success, but at what cost? + Victoria Purman takes reader…

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Episode 40: “The Accident” by Fiona Lowe + “Suddenly Single at Sixty” by Jo Peck 42:22

1+ y ago42:22

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When a car veers off the road with devastating consequences, the small wheatbelt town of Garringarup is left reeling, but no one's worlds are more shattered than those of Hannah and Freya, the partners of the passengers. On a day when wedding bells should have been ringing, their lives are torn apart by the web of lies the accident has exposed. Thi…

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Episode 39: Tension builds in Miranda Darling’s "Thunderhead" + Bel Schenk portrays teen angst in "The Most Famous Boy in Town" 40:00

1+ y ago40:00

40:00

The outwardly comfortable life of mother and wife, Winona Dalloway, has dark currents running beneath. "Thunderhead" is her interior monologue as she navigates the everyday acts of collecting the children from school, shopping and preparing for a dinner party when in fact she is a woman in peril. A homage to Virginia Woolf’s "Mrs Dalloway", "Thunde…

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Minsode 38.5: Thrilling Australian crime with debut novelist Louise Milligan 25:16

1+ y ago25:16

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In a move away from investigative journalism and her previous deep diving non-fiction titles, Louise Milligan delves into crime fiction with debut novel, Pheasants Nest. It tells the story of Kate Delaney, a journalist who finds herself bound and gagged and being driven somewhere by a strange man. As someone haunted by the crimes she has had to rep…

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Episode 38: Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens + Storyland; A new mythology of Britain 43:36

1+ y ago43:36

43:36

Miles Franklin Award winner, Shankari Chandran takes Cath to Cinnamon Gardens, an aged care home established by Tamil refugees and now run by their daughter. It’s run with love and dignity and has become an oasis for its culturally diverse residents…but the tensions of past wars and the prejudices of present day Australia which have long remained a…

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Episode 37: Dive into the world of poetry with Peter Bakowski and Ken Bolton + veteran poet and broadcaster Mike Ladd on ‘why be a poet?’ 50:49

1+ y ago50:49

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Poetry seems a solitary pursuit but not for well known Australian poets Peter Bakowski and Ken Bolton - they recently released two new collections ‘On Luck Street’ and ‘Waldo’s Game’ in which they have collaborated from afar, co-telling stories using a ’call and respond’ writing technique. And former ABC Radio National broadcaster Mike Ladd has mad…

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Minisode 36.5: Molly Schmidt’s "Salt River Road" 16:18

1+ y ago16:18

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Molly Schmidt’s "Salt River Road" is a searing account of grief and redemption set in the big sky/small town landscape of south-west WA. Racism, poverty and politics are part of life in country Western Australia in the 1970’s. Yet, for the Tetley family all that matters is they have lost their beloved mother Elena. They're falling apart and are in …

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Episode 36: “The Disorganisation of Celia Stone” + the secret life of a romance writer 42:02

1+ y ago42:02

42:02

Celia appears to have it all and her life is running like clockwork - and so it should because she has it planned down to the very last minute - but then along comes a challenge that could be her undoing! Celia is thrust into a process equal parts amusing and heartbreaking as she shakily charts a new path. + From falling for the boy next door to ro…

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Episode 35: Paddy O’Reilly’s “Other Houses” + The timeless Anne of Green Gables 45:37

1+ y ago45:37

45:37

Cath has admired the work of Paddy O’Reilly for some time but with her shortlisting for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, “Other Houses” looks sure to win O’Reilly many new admirers. It’s a tale of class, aspiration and the boundaries we will cross for love. + Michaela has an Anne of Green Gables doll that her mother bought on a pilgrimage to Pr…

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Episode 34: Sarah Smith’s “12 Steps to a Long and Fulfilling Death” + Is book translation an art or science? 38:03

2y ago38:03

38:03

Sarah Smith has been successfully writing for popular TV shows such as “McLeod’s Daughters”, “All Saints” and “Love Child” for years. Now, she’s turned her hand to fiction creating a clever and quirky murder mystery set in the Los Angeles fast lane and narrated by a young, vibrant (albeit dead) woman, hellbent on finding her killer. + Mireille Vign…

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Minisode 33.5: Trent Dalton’s new novel "Lola in the Mirror" 36:47

2y ago36:47

36:47

Trent Dalton’s new novel Lola in the Mirror travels to the dark heart of homelessness and domestic violence and yet is a love story and a love letter to his home town Brisbane. Lola has no name when this story begins. For 16 years she and her mother have been on the run through Brisbane’s underbelly, dodging dangerous men. Sit down with journalist …

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Episode 33: Fashion, feminism and war with Natasha Lester + a rock’n’roll mystery from Dave Warner 42:27

2y ago42:27

42:27

“The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard” is loosely based on the life of Mitzah Bricard, a woman the world remembers as the outrageous muse of Christian Dior but who was, in fact, his First Assistant Designer and enormously talented in her own right. What follows is a compelling tale of glamour, desire and intrigue. + “Summer of Blood” is set in 1960s…

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Minisode 32.5: Discovering the unwritten histories of women with Pip Williams 51:40

2y ago51:40

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Leaving the world of academia when creativity came knocking has paid off for Pip Williams. She's the bestselling author of "The Dictionary of Lost Words" and "The Bookbinder of Jericho", and speaks with Sarah about the ideas that light her up and inspire her to write. In this conversation, Pip mentions two books that were references for her writing…

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Episode 32: Justin Cronin’s latest dystopian thriller will grip you from the first page to the last + PhD candidate, Georgia Nicholls, reveals the romance titles sweeping young women off their feet. 42:11

2y ago42:11

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In Cronin’s “The Ferryman” the world’s elite enjoy eternal youth and deep personal satisfaction on the archipelago of Prospera but all is not as it seems and unrest is fomenting on both sides of the social divide. + Georgia Nicholls has been writing romance since she was 14 and penned a fan fiction tale about One Direction’s Harry Styles…her writin…

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Episode 31: Meet Leslie Bird, fiction’s most abrasive woman + the First Nation men who started an arts movement 46:47

2y ago46:47

46:47

Let author Catherine Therese introduce you to Leslie Bird, a fictional character so caustic she’ll make your eyes water. Yet, as Michaela discovered, the story behind Leslie’s creation is more likely to bring a sympathetic tear to your eye. + The course of Australian art changed in 1971 with the formation of the Papunya Tula art movement. John Kean…

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Episode 30: Chris Hammer thrills in “The Tilt” + Aldous Huxley; perennially prescient 43:14

2y ago43:14

43:14

The fates of three people from the 1940s, ‘70s and today collide in Chris Hammer’s thrilling new mystery, “The Tilt” - you won’t see it coming! + Prolific 20th century writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley wrote everything from witty and malicious novels about the British literati to his still famous Utopian dystopia Brave New World, and later in hi…

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Episode 29: Three successful authors share their tips on How to Get Published! 1:17:12

2y ago1:17:12

1:17:12

Best-selling Australian authors, Sean Williams, Victoria Perman and Tricia Stringer, talk to Tsundoku’s Sarah Martin and Cath Kenneally about their very different paths to literary success - Tricia dabbled in self-publishing, Victoria succeeded in speed dating a publisher and Sean tried the splatter gun approach with short stories. Victoria identif…

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Episode 28: Crack the case in Garry Disher’s “Day’s End” + The distinct style and tone of literary journalism 43:23

2y ago43:23

43:23

Best selling Australian author of “rural noir”, Garry Disher hopes to be seen as novelist first and crime writer second. American Academic Saar Shahar discusses what sets literary journalism apart from the pack. Paul Gough shares the books that first made him fall for sci-fi . Three great minds in this week’s episode, determined to rise above the t…

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Episode 27: “The Sun Walks Down”, an Australian classic in the making + the curious legacy of Barry Humphries 38:24

2+ y ago38:24

38:24

In September 1883, the South Australian town of Fairly huddles under strange, vivid sunsets. A child has gone missing and the whole town is intent on finding him. More than a mystery, Fiona McFarlane explores the varied townsfolks’ relationship with the complex landscape and unsettling history of the Flinders Ranges. Tsundoku’s Annie Hastwell loved…

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Episode 26: Troubled love in Louise Kennedy’s “Trespasses” + the 18th Century “cancelling” of Captain Cook 38:23

2+ y ago38:23

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At first drawn to short stories, Louise Kennedy couldn’t resist expanding this ill-fated love story set at the peak of the Irish Troubles into a full and vividly depicted novel, “Trespasses”. + Is it too much to say that the author of Captain Cook’s “Voyages” was “cancelled” by his contemporaries and the sexual exploits of Joseph Banks “went viral”…

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Episode 25: Shannon Burn’s literary salvation + Greek myth-busting with “Pandora’s Jar” 40:41

2+ y ago40:41

40:41

“I’ve discovered an important truth and it’s all I care about, all I can depend on, the only thing that means anything, the one sure thing that will help me survive. No one can be trusted. I am on my own.” This devastating truth lies at the core of Shannon Burn’s memoir, “Childhood”. + Pandora, Jocasta, Aphrodite and Medea; these are just some of t…

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Episode 24: Vikki Wakefield’s thrilling adult debut + a brilliant memoir of Andy Warhol 39:30

2+ y ago39:30

39:30

Hugely popular author of gritty young adult fiction, Vikki Wakefield, has turned her hand to a psychological thriller in ‘After You Were Gone’ …with resounding success. and Associate Professor Dr Kylie Cardell gives a fascinating synopsis of Blake Gopnik's mammoth biography of Andy Warhol…all 900 pages of it!. so Curl up on the couch, go for a walk…

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Episode 23: How to be Stoic in Modern Times + "The Bloody Chamber" 36:11

2+ y ago36:11

36:11

Author, Brigid Delaney, considers whether ancient philosophers can guide us in how to live a good life, and has found the Stoic school may have the answers. and Our classics experts consider the grim power of Angela Carter’s adult fairytales that celebrate the dark and the macabre. Guests Brigid Delaney, author of “Reasons Not To Worry – How to be …

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Ep 22: The Last Days of Roger Federer + Unforgettable Iris 42:37

2+ y ago42:37

42:37

Literary raconteur, Geoff Dyer, isn’t getting any younger and it’s got him contemplating The End; not death so much as “last times”, the likes of which can strike at any time in a person’s life. “The Last Days of Roger Federer and other endings” skilfully ducks and weaves through the life and creative work of writers, painters, philosophers, musici…

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Ep 21: Gracie Flynn may be dead, but she’s not gone + Louise Adler’s Adelaide Writers’ Week 34:37

2+ y ago34:37

34:37

The highest compliment any reader can pay new crime fiction writer, Joanna Morrison, is “I couldn’t put it down” or “You moved me”. Both epitaphs apply equally to “The Ghost of Gracie Flynn”. It’s a non-linear unravelling of two compelling mysteries; a literary ghost story with a bittersweet twist. and Louise Adler is a warm and witty conversationa…

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Ep 20: A female mortician meets a bloke from the bush in Fiona McIntosh’s “The Orphans” + why an Excel spreadsheet is invaluable when writing historical fiction 44:51

2+ y ago44:51

44:51

Prolific British author Fiona McIntosh faced the challenge of setting her latest two novels in an Australian landscape when Covid kept her from her usual European haunts. The result is “The Orphans”; a tale of love, murder and treachery set between 1930s Adelaide and the Flinders Ranges. In her other post-Covid release, “Dead Tide”, McIntosh had to…

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EP 19: Black comedy in aged care in “The Castaways of Harewood Hall” + Are librarians romance snobs? 44:39

2+ y ago44:39

44:39

What are the odds of an author penning not one, but two, debut novels - and of BOTH being fabulous?! Newly retrenched from a career in aged care, Karen Herbert wrote “The Castaways of Harewood Hall”, a not so gentle comedy featuring elderly people and animals. She quickly followed that with “The River Mouth”, a dark drama set in a small WA town sim…

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Minisode 18.5: A Personal Journey Of Spiritual Discovery in 'Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here' 33:47

2+ y ago33:47

33:47

Heather Rose has spent her life saying yes and pushing the boundaries of physical and spiritual experience. She tells of love, loss, and discovery in her memoir, "Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here". Music composed by Quentin Grant Heather Rose Insta - @thelightawritersees Web - https://heatherrose.com.au Allen & Unwin @allenandunwin See omnystudio.com/…

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Ep 18: Holiday reads 40:53

3y ago40:53

40:53

Detective Cato Kwong gets mixed up in dirty politics between Timor and Australia in “Crocodile Tears” by Alan Carter+ We’ve got your summer reads completely covered The fifth and final installment in the award-winning Cato Kwong series, “Crocodile Tears” sees Cato’s life on the line with someone from the past as his only hope. A thriller rich in po…

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Ep 17: Grace Chan’s speculative fiction “Every Version of You” + the shocking genius of Philip Roth 38:44

3y ago38:44

38:44

Are there times when you wonder what sort of world our children and grandchildren will inherit? Grace Chan has created an online world called Gaia in which the people of 2080 take refuge from the climate ravaged earth. Gaia is clean, beautiful and exciting and it’s just announced the opportunity for citizens to shake off their bodies entirely and p…

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Ep 16: Adventures in Paris in "My Sweet Guillotine" + 20th century women writers get their own showcase 33:38

3y ago33:38

33:38

When Jayne Tuttle fell in love with Paris she had no idea its quaint charm would be indirectly responsible for almost killing her. In her first Paris memoir "Paris Or Die" we meet her as a young aspiring actor dizzy with the joy of life in the City of Light. Her new memoir "My Sweet Guillotine" confronts and explores the terrifying incident that ch…

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Minisode 15.5: A world quest for a religion where women have power in "Holy Woman" 30:46

3y ago30:46

30:46

When Pentecostal preacher Louise Omer started to question her devotion to a religion run by men to keep men in power, she decided to break free. "Holy Woman, A Divine Adventure" is the story of her wandering world pilgrimage looking for a religion that lets women share the power. Music composed by Quentin Grant Louise Omer Insta - @/shahouley/ Web …

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Ep 15: Victoria Hannan’s Marshmallow + John Wyndham’s 1950’s novel The Midwich Cuckoos 34:22

3y ago34:22

34:22

An innocuous little marshmallow shatters the life of a group of friends. As the anniversary of the horrible event looms, each must come to terms with their altered selves and address what their lives can now be. And How might we deal with alien life forms determined to destroy us if they were to enter our lives disguised as beloved children? We com…

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Ep 14: Chilling out with crime writers new and old; Vikki Petraitis + Agatha Christie 37:08

3y ago37:08

37:08

After a “reading slump” Sarah was delighted to be swept away by a powerful new detective, Antigone Pollard; she isn’t afraid of the dark and won’t take no for an answer as she hunts down a sexual predator in the small seaside town of Deception Bay. And… Far from being spooked, Cath and Sarah find re-reading Agatha Christie’s crime novels strangely …