Talking Aussie Books

It's been a couple of years since I last interviewed Tania Blanchard. But every time I do, I am gobsmacked by her capacity to write stories that are both heartfelt and compelling. Books that give readers a glimpse into a bygone era, but also quietly document women’s histories - those women whose stories disappear from the history books or who are forgotten by the passage of time. Tania is an international bestselling author and powerhouse in the historical fiction space with titles that include the 'The Girl From Munich', 'A Suitcase of Dreams', 'A Woman of Courage' and 'An Undeniable Voice'. And this year, in her first predominantly Australian set novel, ‘The Paris Prize’ , Tania has delivered a sweeping story of life on the land through the difficult years of the second world war to the post-war years where demand for southern hemisphere wool put Australia’s wool growers front and centre of the international stage of haute couture. An absolutely fantastic read that I’m certain you will love as much as I did.

Kit Haley is a queer author who describes himself as an obsessive tennis fan and an obsessive romance fan. Which in the case of their new book ‘In Your Court’ published by Hachette Australia and released in paperback on the 1st of September 2026 makes a successful and highly readable combination. ‘In Your Court’ follows tennis players Matteo Russo - an underdog from Australia whose once bright future was derailed by a car accident and superstar Miles Callahan from America- currently ranked world number three. When their paths cross in a preliminary round at Roland Garros in Paris, sparks fly. But falling in love with a superstar is not going to help Mat get his career back on track - even if Miles seems to bring out the best in him. Playing each other again in another match means difficult decisions must be made. A thoroughly enjoyable read. This is was a fascinating discussion and one not to be missed.

Monica McInerney is the international bestselling author of 14 novels. Titles that include ‘The Alphabet Sisters', 'Lola’s Secret', 'Hello from the Gillespies' and 'Those Faraday Girls'. All published internationally and have been translated in more than 12 languages. Last month, Monica's new book 'When Sullivan Met Lola' was released by Penguin Books Australia. It's the fourth book featuring eponymous character Lola Quinlan and the second featuring delightful 12 year old , Sullivan Farrington. A beautiful book filled with warmth and humour I just know you’ll all love. I had a wonderful time chatting with Monica about her new book for the podcast recently. Happy listening!

Bridie Jabour is the Head of Multimedia at Guardian Australia who previously worked as a journalist reporting on social affairs, politics and regional issues. Bridie is the author of a book of essays - Trivial Grievances: On the contradictions, myths and misery of your 30s as well as the 2018 novel The Way Things Should Be. And this year Bridie has a new novel out. Called ‘Ordinary Funny Tragic’ (published by HarperCollins Australia) it’s an exploration of family and grief - but specifically about what it means to be a good mother. Something that resonated with me on a deep level. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Bridie for the podcast recently.

Award-winning journalist, former television presenter and author Whitney Fitzsimmons who is best known for her work at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has just released her debut novel. ’The Rising’ published by Ventura Press is set in a small northern NSW town plagued by floods. When the flood waters recede and the cleanup begins, a decades old mystery is unearthed and a journalist’s desire to solve the mystery is met with resistance by the townspeople she has come to know and whom she call friends. 'The Rising' is a twisty, compelling rural noir novel that has captured the attention of some of Australia’s best known authors - people like Matthew Spencer, Fiona Lowe, RWR MacDonald and many more. I was delighted to welcome Whitney to the podcast recently to talk about her journey from journalist to published novelist and the many twists and turns along the way.

I was thrilled to welcome the uber talented Karen Brooks back to the podcast recently to discuss her brand new novel. Called ‘The Extraordinary Florence Stoker’ this book is both fascinating and enthralling in equal measures. A book that follows the life of Dubliner Florence Balcombe, a witty and beautiful woman, who marries Bram Stoker - the man who would become best-known for his gothic horror novel ‘Dracula’. With impressive attention to detail and underpinned by extensive research, what Karen has done with this novel is to give us an intimate glimpse into the life of this woman who it becomes clear was indeed extraordinary for so many reasons. Not the least of which was her marriage to a man who was to all intents and purposes an enigma as well as her fight to ensure copyright in her husband’s work was protected against unauthorised adaptations. From the moment I began reading this book, I knew I was in skilled hands. I simply couldn’t put it down. Out in Australia from the 1st of September, if you are a fan of historical fiction, you will not be able to resist this book. Happy listening!

'All Her Beautiful Deaths' is the new historical gothic mystery by author extraordinaire Allison Rushby. Allison is the author of more than 30 books across junior, middle age and YA fiction as well as adult fiction. 'All Her Beautiful Deaths' published by HQ Fiction in Australia this year is a dual timeline novel centred around Victorian death photography - a macabre, yet popular practice of memorialising dead people in photos. It comes hot on the heels of another of Allison's novel, 'Slashed Beauties' which was released in 2025 and inspired by another unsettling phenomena - 18th century wax anatomical models known as 'Anatomical Venus'. In this wide-ranging chat, guest host Cassie Hamer talks to Allison about both these books and their inspiration, her incredible 25 year career, the creative pillars that underpin her writing process and what it takes to bring up a new generation of readers. A wonderful interview!

Nicola Marsh could be one of Australia’s most prolific and successful authors. With 90 books to her name, Nicola is a USA Today bestselling, multi-award winning author whose books traverse a range of genres that include romance, domestic suspense, women’s fiction and fantasy - netting Nicola millions of sales across the globe. Her books have been translated into 25 languages and this year alone listeners, Nicola has or will have 5 new releases. One of which I had the pleasure of talking to Nicola about for the podcast recently. 'The Orchard at Rosevale' was published by HQ Fiction here in Australia at the end of July and while it was the first of Nicola’s books I’ve read - it definitely won’t be the last. Hope you enjoy this fabulous chat as much as I did.

Much loved Aussie author crime author Dinuka McKenzie has a brand new novel out. 'She Lied First' (HarperCollins) is Dinuka’s first stand alone novel after the highly successful Detective Kate Miles trilogy which included her award-winning debut novel ‘The Torrent’. This twisty psychological thriller takes Dinuka’s writing in a new, but exciting direction. Exploring sibling relationships, secrets, betrayal and trauma this book provided plenty of fascinating material for Dinuka's in-depth discussion with Cassie Hamer in this new episode of Talking Aussie Books.

Emma Babbington's second novel 'The Gardens' (HQ Fiction) was released in Australia at the end of July. A stunning follow-up to her gripping 2025 debut 'The Neighbours'. Talking Aussie Books co-host Cassie Hamer recently chatted to Emma about her childhood home in Hampstead in London and how this place became the inspiration for 'The Gardens', about cults and intentional communities and why this intrigued her enough to include in the novel as well as the prevalence of teenagers/issues affecting teenagers in her work. Such a wide-ranging terrific chat between great friends and talented writers. I thoroughly enjoyed listening in and hope you will too.

Back in 2021 I was privileged to interview the 2018 winner of the prestigious Richell Prize - Ruth McIver - about her thrilling novel ‘I Shot the Devil’ and today I have the honour of talking to the 2023 winner , Alex Sawyer. Alex is a psychologist, a volunteer firefighter, father, short story writer and now published novelist. Alex’s award-winning novel ‘Rat Daniels’ was published at the end of June and I have to tell you listeners, the book is unforgettable. A beautifully written, thoughtful and heartfelt coming of age story about friendship and loyalty that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.

Shannon Kelly-White is a former nurse who made her claim to fame as an irreverent, hilarious, often potty-mouthed blogger, then cookbook, parenting and lifestyle writer. She wrote four non-fiction books -books that included the bestselling, award-winning breakout ‘Shannon’s Kitchen’, as well as Shannon Does Dinner, Parenting for Legends and the hilariously titled account of outrageous medical stories - 'The Bum Hole Diaries'!! But somewhere along the way, Shannon’s attention turned to fiction writing and the result has been nothing less than spectacular. Shannon's debut novel 'Billie King ' (HarperCollins Australia) is a story of three courageous women: a bushranger, a woman on the edge and a young girl desperate to find her missing mother. An incredibly entertaining heartfelt tale that had me absolutely gripped from its opening pages and didn’t let go until its thrilling end. And I was delighted to welcome this legend author to the podcast recently.

Lillian Telford's debut novel 'Lovesick' was published by HQ Fiction recently and is, in every sense of the word, a labour of love. More than ten years in the making, 'Lovesick' is the culmination of not only Lillian's hard work and determination, but an array of experiences that she has been able to funnel into this intense story about a couple falling in and out of love and the impact of this on their other significant relationships. I thoroughly enjoyed this in-depth discussion of the book between guest host Cassie Hamer and Lillian Telford about its characters and themes along with the issues Lillian is concerned to explore in her writing. Hope you enjoy it too!

Kayte Nunn is the internationally bestselling author of 8 novels - novels that include 'The Botanist's Daughter', 'The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant' , 'The Silk House' and 'The Palazzo' just to name a few. This year Kayte is back with a twisty, locked room style thriller that had me totally hooked from start to finish. A book which lovers of the reality show ‘Below Deck’ will absolutely eat up. It’s called ‘The Yacht’ (published by HarperCollins a short time ago) it highlights Kayte’s skill as a writer - her deft handling of multiple characters in a fluid setting along with a killer plot line. I absolutely devoured this novel and I know many crime fiction fan listeners will too. Hope you enjoy this chat as much I did.

Ayesha Inoon was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and worked as a journalist in Sri Lanka before migrating to Australia in 2013. Her debut novel, Untethered, which draws partly on her own journey as a migrant muslim woman won the 2022 ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize and was awarded a Highly Commended in both the 2024 ACT Book of the Year and the ACT Literary Awards for Fiction. This year listeners, Ayesha has a new book out and I’m in love with this story. Called ‘The Sisters of Serendib’ it is the story of three sisters separated by tragic circumstances and the fractured lives they lead in search of the missing pieces of their identity. Beautifully written, this book is both tender and shocking in its portrayal of the kind of suffering these young women endured. A quiet novel that will have you reaching for the tissue box more than once. I loved chatting with Ayesha for the podcast recently.

Many avid readers and authors both here and abroad are familiar with Australia’s largest online reading community - Better Reading. Launched by Cheryl Akle back in 2014, Better Reading has become a staple feature of the Australian literary landscape - reaching over 1 million readers each month. A testament to Cheryl’s passion and dedication to reading and her standing in the Australian book industry. This year, Cheryl has capitalised on that passion and dedication by launching an Australian reading app. Described as ‘if Goodreads and Storygraph had a baby, but the baby was raised in Australia’ . An app that is focussed on Australian titles for Australian readers with a whole lot of brilliant features to help readers find their next book, connect with other readers and learn more about the authors they’re interested in. And it’s called ‘What Are You Reading’ the App. I was amongst some of the first in Australia to get a look at the app at an exclusive launch party earlier this year and in this episode I welcome Cheryl to the podcast to talk about the app and how this fantastic development all came about. Happy listening!

In part 2 of this special collaboration episode, Nick Wasiliev and I chat about challenges for the Australian publishing industry and what challenges in particular writers themselves are facing and what the future holds. We also discuss some of the trends we're seeing (and loving) especially relation to debut novels We wrap up the conversation with a quick fire round of questions for each of us - the answers to which you may find surprising! Such a joy to work with Nick on these episodes . If you want to learn more about Nick and the podcast, check out the Date with a Debut website at: https://datewithadebutpodcast.podbean.com Or find Nick on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/nickwasiliev/ Happy listening!

Tune into this special episode with Talking Aussie Books friend Nick Wasiliev and host of the wonderful podcast Date with a Debut. Like me, Nick is a seasoned podcaster as well as an author and facilitator. Date with a Debut is currently in it’s fourth season of production and in it, you may know, Nick interviews debut authors, shining a light on their books and journey to publication. And in Part 1 of this special episode, I get the lowdown on Nick's decision to start up a new book podcast and his own writing before we discuss some of the brilliant debuts we've been reading recently. So whether you’re an avid reader or just want to get the lowdown on what’s new and hot in publishing, then this is the episode for you.

Lawyer-turned author Sarah Clutton was last on the podcast back in 2020 when we were discussing her second novel ‘The Daughter’s Promise’ - a thrilling drama dealing with a deep family secret set in the rugged wilds of Tasmania. Since that episode was recorded, Sarah’s star has blazed even brighter with the publication of two further novels with Allen & Unwin. The first, published in early 2025 was called ‘The Remarkable Truths of Alfie Bains’ and the second published a mere year later and currently gracing bookshelves around the country is called ‘The Bookshop of Buried Pasts’. A beautiful, quiet novel about a woman and her antiquarian bookshop in the southern highlands of NSW and the secret past she has kept hidden for over 50 years.

**Discussion of mature/explicit themes.** The idea that we should grow old gracefully - particularly that women should grow old gracefully - is a theme that often appears in contemporary fiction. A theme which - now that I’m in my mid-fifties - I’m more and more intrigued by. It's also something Rachel Fox McLeod has explored to great effect with her brilliant, insightful and highly entertaining debut novel ‘Disgraceful’. Published by Simon & Schuster, ‘Disgraceful’ is the story of devoted wife and mother 49 year-old Grace Miller whose marriage unexpectedly implodes and the unorthodox manner in which she chooses to reclaim herself in the days, weeks and months that follow. It’s messy, funny, complicated, raw, unflinching and a bloody good read. And I was thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Rachel about it on the podcast recently.