Posted on 18 Aug 2022 under Arts and LiteratureInterviews
Tasmania’s Parliament House is a graceful Georgian sandstone building facing the Hobart waterfront. It is here, on the steps of the parliament, that Amanda Lohrey suggested we meet for the interview, so that I could see at firsthand the docks and backstreets of the waterfront that constituted the setting of her first novel, The Morality of Gentlemen. Lohrey has a frank, straightforward manner and a penetrating gaze. There is a steadiness about her, as though others can flap about all they like and she’ll wait until they have finished. She has a remarkable voice, deep and sonorous, which holds a calm authority but is very ready to register a wry humour.
Posted on 17 Dec 2020 under Interviews
Read a Q & A with Noah Riseman and Shirleene Robinson, authors of Pride in Defence. They talk about why they wrote the book, the highlights of their research and writing process and what they are currently reading.
Posted on 23 Jul 2020 under Interviews
As president of the Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs advocated for the disempowered, the disenfranchised, the marginalised. She withstood relentless political pressure and media scrutiny as she defended the defenceless for five tumultuous years. How did this aspiring ballet dancer, dignified daughter of a tank commander and eminent law academic respond when appreciative passengers on a full airplane departing Canberra greeted her with a round of applause?
Posted on 17 Jul 2020 under Interviews
"As a journalist I’ve long understood the importance of holding truth to power"
Posted on 19 Jun 2020 under Interviews
"Dark times, eventually, will pass. But hope endures."
Posted on 9 Jun 2020 under Interviews
‘Tiger parents explained!’
Posted on 11 May 2020 under Interviews
Mark Moran talks about fieldwork, travelling in dinghies and the chaos of writing.
Posted on 6 May 2020 under Interviews
A Networked Community: Jewish Melbourne in the Nineteenth Century by Sue Silberberg explores the cultural diversity the made up colonial Melbourne. It gives a new slant to Melbourne's development and connects Melbourne Jewry into wider historical themes and experiences such as space and place, urbanisation, imperial networks and diaspora. We spoke with Sue about what she's currently reading, why she wrote A Networked Community and the message she would like to leave with readers.
Posted on 14 Aug 2018 under Interviews
"Jim taught me one of the toughest and best lessons...to put my notebook down, and to listen, and look at the country and culture. He said to stop being a researcher. That was when I really began to learn." - Rebe Taylor on what we can learn from Aboriginal Tasmania.
Posted on 2 Aug 2018 under Interviews
"When technology is affecting so much of our lives, and driving so many new inventions and interventions, this language barrier is inexcusable. This is a conversation everyone needs to be part of – the price of entry shouldn’t be a computer science degree or an IT career," says Ellen Broad, author of Made by Humans: The AI Condition.
Posted on 25 May 2018 under Arts and LiteratureWritingInterviews
"The moment I realised my children were not just delightful, but that they had grown into excellent human beings." – James Jeffrey on his proudest moment as a father.
Posted on 9 May 2018 under Interviews
"There are common myths and stereotypes about single people. They include that single people are lonely, unhappy, selfish, unhealthy and their kids are worse off. These assumptions just aren’t true." Clare Payne on being single and living life to the fullest.
Posted on 4 Apr 2018 under WritingInterviews
"You don’t need to be a scientist to read the book; you just have to have an open mind." – Joëlle Gergis, author of Sunburnt Country, invites you to be part of the biggest cultural revolution taking place across the planet right now.
Posted on 23 Mar 2018 under Interviews
"It was really comforting to be able to support each other through it and to be able to “vent” to each other rather than to our respective exes. Sisters can often be the only one who can tell you when you are being foolish!" – Rebekah Mannering, co-author of Surviving Your Split.
Posted on 22 Mar 2018 under New releasesWritingInterviews
'Setting the table is one of those jobs I recall from my childhood that used to make me wince. I got it out of the way as quickly as I could and had a list in my head: placemats, plates, napkin, knife, fork, pudding spoon, glass, jug, salt and pepper.' – Chloe Shorten on her tradition of the family table.