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Irma and Karen chat about the year ahead, and dive into their first Book Chat of the year, championing Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, and Colony by Annika Norlin. Then Karen talks to Colombian writer Ingrid Rojas Contreras about how she coped with all the international attention after being a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, how the violence of the Pablo Escobar era stimulated her curiosity as a writer, caring for yourself when writing from trauma, how she uses inherited stories and hauntings in her work, how she involved her family in fictionalising her childhood, how she hid microphones to collect her mother’s stories, using dreams in fiction, and why losing her memory was the best thing that’s ever happened to her. (Karen met Ingrid at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2025) About Ingrid Ingrid Rojas Contreras was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. Her memoir,  The Man Who Could Move Clouds won the California Book Award and was a finalist in multiple awards, including the Pulitzer Prize. Her debut novel was Fruit of the Drunken Tree, and her essays and short stories have appeared in numerous literary magazines. She lives in California.

In a special series direct from the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, Karen chats to Craig Leeson (impact filmmaker) about how growing up in Tasmania made him an environmental activist, how to find a hook to capture your audience, how to tell a story in few words, the importance of character development, how to keep an audience engaged, how to avoid overwhelming people when telling tough stories, and how hitting the lowest low of his career paved the way for the highest high. Supported by the ACT Government About Craig Craig Leeson is an acclaimed Australian filmmaker, television presenter, explorer, public speaker, and entrepreneur. He is the director, narrator, and writer of the multi-award-winning documentary feature films A Plastic Ocean, and The Last Glaciers: Journey To The Extreme . He was the 2022 Tasmanian Australian of the Year and is an International Fellow of the Explorers Club. 

In a special series direct from the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, Karen chats to Indian author, winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize, Banu Mushtaq about what drives her to write about the fundamentalist Muslim community in which she grew up, how she became an activist for women’s rights, how stories can change lives and culture, the process of working with her translator, how she injects humour into dark stories, the censorship she faces, and the meaningful impact of winning the Booker. Supported by the ACT Government About Banu Banu Mushtaq is an Indian writer, activist, and lawyer from the Karnataka region of southern India. She is best known for Heart Lamp, a selection of her short stories translated by Deepa Bhasthi, which won the International Booker Prize in 2025. She has published six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection, and a poetry collection. Her work has been translated into Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and English.

In a special series direct from the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, Irma chats to German author, winner of the 2024 International Booker Prize, Jenny Erpenbeck, about the pros and cons of coming from a family of famous writers, why she mourns aspects of the German Democratic Republic and is driven to express this through writing, how she weaves the personal and political together, the translation process, the financial support available to German authors that we do not have in Australia, why the worst moment of her career was having one of her plays produced, and the best was finding out she’d won the Booker (while busting for the toilet!) Supported by the ACT Government About Jenny Jenny Erpenbeck is an acclaimed German novelist, playwright and opera director born in East Berlin. She has been translated into over 20 languages and has won many prizes, including the 2015 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for The End of Days and the 2024 International Booker Prize for Kairos.

In a special series direct from the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, Karen chats to Lech Blaine about how to shape a memoir and find a meaningful throughline within the truth, what it was like being edited by Helen Garner, how to decide what to leave out of a memoir, the ethical dilemmas of writing about trauma in relation to friends and family, how he found the voice for the ‘characters’ in his memoirs, how he scored his Quarterly essays and the way he approaches long-form essays, and what he loves and hates about the publishing process. Supported by the ACT Government About Lech Lech Blaine is the award-winning author of the two works of creative non-fiction/memoir Car Crash and Australian Gospel and two Quarterly Essays Top Blokes and Bad Cop. He was the 2023 Charles Perkins Centre writer in residence, and his writing has appeared in Good Weekend, Griffith Review, The Guardian and The Monthly. 

In a special series direct from the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, Irma chats to travel writer Nina Karnikowski about why she no longer wants to do a five-day trip to Paris and would rather opt for longer more immersive travel, tips for how to get started as a travel writer, why a luxury trip to Bali was one of her worst experiences, and how a moment with a polar bear in the Arctic changed her life, how she organises the various tasks that make up freelance travel writing, tips on how to pitch travel articles and why writing her memoir so quickly had huge benefits. Supported by the ACT Government About Nina Nina Karnikowski is a writer exploring how travel can help solve social and environmental problems. Having reported from over 60 countries, her work weaves together storytelling, systems thinking and a deep respect for place. She is the author of three books about travel and creative living, and a deck of writing prompt cards. Based in Byron Bay, she also mentors purpose-driven creatives.

In this episode Irma and Karen chat about the 2025 Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, painting a picture of the festival atmosphere and sharing some of the highlights.  Then they ask six authors at the festival – Clare Wright, Jenny Erpenbeck, Lech Blaine, Yves Rees, Craig Leeson and Virginia Haussegger – to share a green room story. They uncover Bryan Brown’s funny festival request, Thomas Keneally's unwitting green room 'theft', Jenny Erpenbeck’s props room catastrophe, Annabel Crabb’s near miss, David Attenborough's pub oration, and how Virginia Haussegger burnt a hole in a green room floor. Supported by the ACT Government

Karen and Irma chat about early drafts and tips for gaining momentum again after a break. Then Irma talks to Sophie Cunningham in her role as Chair of the Australian Society of Authors about the impact of AI, the closure of Meanjin, the ASA’s role with industry issues, the ways in which authors need to change their expectations around publishing, how the Stella Prize changed the literary landscape, but also why prizes can be devastating for the majority who don’t make the lists, why we need to rethink the acquisition of independents by multinational publishing houses, and why seeing writing as a job helps her avoid the destablising effect of career highs and lows. About Sophie Sophie Cunningham has written 10 books, was co-founder of The Stella Prize, is a former editor of Meanjin, and a Member of the Order of Australia for her contributions to literature. She is currently a non-executive director of the Copyright Agency and the Chair of the Australian Society of Authors, which is the capacity in which we are chatting with her today. 

Irma and Karen chat about the upcoming Ubud Readers & Writers Festival at which they will be recording interviews with several international writers, as well as some of the books they've been reading recently. Then both Karen and Irma chat to Craig Cormick about the pros and cons of big versus small publishers, how he’s got author gigs on cruise ships and what they’ve involved, how he’s managed to be such a prolific writer while having a full-time job as a science communicator and responsibilities as a carer, the ways he’s seen the publishing landscape change over the last three decades, how to prevent the shiny new idea from derailing your current project, advice for writers wanting to include First Nations characters in their books and how to go about it the right way, the industry differences between writing for adults and kids, how he has landed multiple Antarctica residencies, and why the highest moment of his career was also his lowest. ABOUT CRAIG Dr Craig Cormick is an award-winning author and science communicator. He writes books for children and adults, and stopped counting them somewhere after 30, but by our count he’s published 46 over the last xxx years. He is drawn to stories of people whose voices have been hidden from history, and his most recent book is Warra Warra Wai: How Indigenous Australians Discovered Captain Cook and What they Tell about the Coming of the Ghost People, which is co-written with Gunditjmara - Gunai-kurnai author Darren Rix. 

Irma and Karen chat about small regional writers’ festivals. Then Karen talks to Emily Maguire about how a high school teacher initially crashed her dreams of becoming a writer, how she became a feminist without realising it, how she avoids putting her own opinions into the heads of her characters, how she has learned to focus her anger when writing about feminist issues, how much joy she gains from teaching creative writing, the impact of AI on the writing world, and some very important lifestyle questions you should consider if you want to be a fulltime writer. About Emily Emily Maguire is the author of seven novels and three non-fiction books. Her novel An Isolated Incident, published in 2016, was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Her 2022 novel Love Objects and latest book Rapture have also been shortlisted or long listed for several awards. Emily has a Master of Arts in literature, and works as a mentor to young and emerging writers. 

Irma and Karen talk about copyright, and the productivity commission’s recent recommendations regarding AI.  Then Karen talks to Pip Williams about how she shifted from academic research to writing novels, how COVID lockdown inadvertently boosted sales of The Dictionary of Lost Words, how a genius promotions idea for The Bookbinder of Jericho turned into stunning window displays in bookshops, the process of watching her book become a stage play, how writing might be easier than reading for people with dyslexia, how parents can support the writing of children with dyslexia, and how mentorship from other writers has supported her creative journey. About Pip Pip Williams first book was a memoir, One Italian Summer, and her first novel, The Dictionary of Lost Words, was one of Australia’s most successful debuts. It became a New York Times bestseller and was the first Australian novel to be selected for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. It also won several major Australian literary awards and was shortlisted for the international Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Her second novel The Bookbinder of Jericho was also very successful. 

Karen and Irma chat about book to film adaptations, and recommend recent reads in their new Book Chat segment. Then Irma talks to Upswell Founder and Publisher Terri-ann White about the current state of the publishing industry and what needs to change, why she thinks too many books are being published, why she believes there is not enough risk-taking happening, the cult of the writer and its impact on the publicity demands placed on authors, how shame and guilt pervade the industry, the devastating experience of discovering her first book with Upswell contained plagiarism and the subsequent high of publishing an award-winning book by Josephine Wilson, and why booksellers are magic. About Terri-ann Terri-ann White was Director and Publisher at UWA Publishing for 14 years until 2020. Prior to this, she founded and directed a cross-disciplinary research centre at UWA, taught literature and writing in universities, was a bookseller for 16 years, and organised ‘ideas’ festivals. In 2021 she founded independent publishing house Upswell in Perth. 

Karen and Irma chat about foreign rights deals, and Irma shares some shocking stats. Then Irma chats to Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist about how a conversation between them on their first wedding anniversary was pivotal in Anne’s career, the low of splitting with Graeme’s publisher after the three Rosie Project books, how they manage the process of planning and writing books together, why they think their book tour to 400 bookshops made no difference to sales, what does impact sales and tips for how to secure publicity that works, the ups and downs of The Rosie Project movie, and the most meaningful reader feedback. About Graeme & Anne Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist are partners in both life and writing. Together they have written four books, the latest being The Oasis, which is the second Menzies Mental Health novel. And separately they both have established individual careers. Graeme is a screenwriter, playwright, and former IT consultant, and his debut novel, The Rosie Project, was an international bestseller. He followed it up with two sequels, and the standalone The Best of Adam Sharp, a collection of short stories, two data modelling books and the writing guide, The Novel Project. Anne has published five psychological thrillers – four in the Natalie King series, and the standalone The Long Shadow. She also has over 40 years of clinical and research experience in perinatal psychiatry.

Irma and Karen chat about how a two-book deal was secured via an explosive Booktok profile. Then in a new occasional segment, Book Chat, they share recent reads they’ve enjoyed. Next Karen talks to Markus Zusak about his family of storytellers, how he used his writing heroes to develop his own voice, how The Book Thief arose from three separate ideas that came together like a volcanic eruption, how the success of that book impacted his life and future work, finding the right spark in writing, and the highs and lows of writing Three Wild Dogs and the Truth. About Markus Markus Zusak is the award-winning internationally bestselling author of six novels, including The Book Thief, Bridge of Clay and The Messenger. His books have been translated into more than fifty languages, and two of them have been adapted to film, television and theatre. 

Karen and Irma chat about BookTok and book publicity. Then Irma talks to school librarian Helen Farch about how she became an Instagram superstar, why so many schools no longer have a teacher librarian or even a library, the issues faced in determining what is appropriate to buy in for kids, what kind of budgets government schools are working with, the controversies around books on sex and LGBTQI+ themes, how to engage reluctant readers, the gaps in children’s publishing, and the broad spectrum of issues school libraries are facing. About Helen Helen Farch has been a Library Technician at Forest Hill College, a government co-educational school in Melbourne, for over 11 years. Her role includes managing the school library, as well as marketing for the school. Helen is passionate about advocating for school libraries, promoting Australian authors and illustrators, and promoting the value of reading, all whilst keeping the library a vibrant and relevant part of the school community. Her efforts are showcased through the library’s Instagram account that has over 16,000 Followers.