From the Lighthouse

Revelation Beach - An Interview with Susan Francis

Join Michelle as she discusses Susan Francis's new novel Revelation Beach. The novel unflinchingly searches for answers to the brutal murders of the journalists known as the Balibo Five; its publication date coincides with the 50th Anniversary of their deaths. Revelation Beach is Susan Francis's second book. Her first, The Love that Remains was a Varuna PIP finalist.

Trigger warning: This podcast discusses a violent period of history, the Indonesian invasion of Timor Leste, and includes references to state-condoned torture and rape.

The Bright Sword: An Interview with Lev Grossman

Stephanie Russo talks to the bestselling novelist Lev Grossman about his 2024 novel The Bright Sword, a retelling of the Arthurian legends after the death of King Arthur.

Joans of Arc Worldwide: An Interview with Ellie Crookes

Stephanie Russo chats with Ellie Crookes about her upcoming book, Joans of Arc Worldwide.

Chloe Adams' The Occupation Book Launch

For this episode, Michelle is thrilled to interview the 2024 Penguin Literary Prize winner and recent Macquarie University Master of Creative Writing graduate on her fantastic new novel, The Occupation. This recording is part of Chloe's book launch event held at Macquarie University on 5th August 2025. 

Lost Origins: An Interview with Chris Kulp

Join Michelle as she talks with science fiction author Dr Chris Kulp about his latest novel Lost Origins: Book 1 The Majestic Chronicles, a rollicking space opera with heart and AI. Chris is a professor of physics at the University of Lycoming and the 2022 winner of the Mike Resnick Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Short Story by a New Author. His fiction has appeared in Galaxy's Edge magazine. He has also co-authored nearly 30 scientific articles and one textbook. 

Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory: An Interview with Yaroslav Barsukov

This week Michelle and Jimmy interview Nebula-nominated author, Yaroslav Barsukov, about his new novel, Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory. Join them as they explore the intricacies and intrigues of this critically acclaimed genre-defying novel.

The Master of Alternate History: An Interview with Harry Turtledove

This week, Stephanie interviews the prolific novelist Harry Turtledove, known as the Master of Alternate History. They discuss alternate history as a genre, how to do historical research when you're writing alternative history, and why alternative histories are so relevant right now.

The Other Side of Daylight: An Interview with David Brooks

Join Michelle as she discusses The Other Side of Daylight, a new and collected poetry collection by prize-winning poet, novelist and essayist David Brooks.

 

Bio

David Brooks has written numerous works of fiction, poetry, philosophy and criticism. His The Cold Front won the 1983 Anne Elder Award for the best first collection of poetry, the Sydney Morning Herald described his The Book of Sei (1985) as ‘the most exciting debut in Australian short fiction since Peter Carey’ and his collection The Balcony (2008) as ‘an electrical performance’, and he has recently been termed ‘one of Australia’s most important writers’, ‘one of the quiet masters of Australian poetry’, ‘a master of the short lyric poem’, and ‘a great contemporary poet’. From 2000-2018 he was co-editor of Southerly, and from 2000-2013 ran the graduate writing program at the University of Sydney. A long-standing vegan and animal rights activist, he lives in the Blue Mountains with rescued sheep. His latest works are The Other Side of Daylight: New and Selected Poems (UQP, 2024), Animal Dreams (essays; Sydney Univ. Press, 2021) and Turin: Approaching Animals (meditations; Brandl & Schlesinger, 2021). Three books, Ice Storm: A Slovenian Suite (Sanje [Ljubljana]), A.D. Hope: remembering a relationship (Brandl & Schlesinger), and Essay on Rights of Non-human Animals (Sanje [Ljubljana]), are forthcoming in 2025.

The Comic and Tragicomic Poetry of Francis Webb

Michelle chats with Dr Toby Davidson, editor of Francis Webb's Collected Poems, about the comic element in his poetry of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Webb (1925 - 73) is an enigma, a postwar prodigy respected by some of the loftiest names in Australian poetry - Judith Wright, Gwen Harwood, Les Murray, Robert Adamson - but largely unknown to the general public. 2025 marks 100 years since the poet's birth, and the Francis Webb Centenary will be marked with essays, podcasts and tribute readings to shine a fresh light on this North Sydney genius who astonished his contemporaries with his white-hot talent and fierce questioning of social norms, both of which are immediately evident in his character sketches, Shakespearean clowns and spiky satirical ripostes. 

 

Francis Webb Centenary homepage (hosted by UWA Publishing):

https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/blogs/marginalia/centenary-of-major-australian-poet-francis-webb?srsltid=AfmBOooROr-1QfHD21zlUOLgdi1IveEr8AHUiZBW-VA5gVwNxG3SwIU9

 

Ian Dickson's 2022 recital of 'A Drum for Ben Boyd' from the Australian Book Review podcast, introduced by ABR poetry editor John Hawke:

https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/podcast/760-the-abr-podcast/8039-on-the-australian-poet-francis-webb-the-abr-podcast-66

Apollo Rising: An Interview with Celebrated Author and Former NASA Astrophysicist Alan Smale

Michelle talks to author and NASA astrophysicist Alan Smale about his science fiction series Apollo Rising. Alan also wrote the alternate history trilogy Clash of Eagles. Lachlan Marnoch, Macquarie University PhD researcher in astrophysics and science fiction writer and reader, helps Michelle navigate the terrain of 'hard' sci-fi.