Cirrus@Austlit

'Kate Torney is the CEO of the State Library of Victoria, where we are fortunate enough to conduct most of The Garret interviews. Seeing as libraries have long played a significant role in the lives of writers and readers and researchers, I thought it'd be great to find out how those in charge of such institutions see this role today and into the future.' (Introduction)

'Alexis Wright is the only person to have won both prizes named in honour of Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin, the Stella Prize and the Miles Franklin Award. She won the Miles Franklin Award in 2007 for her magnificent novel Carpentaria, and the Stella Prize in 2018 for her extraordinary biography of Bruce ‘Tracker’ Tilmouth, Tracker.'  (Introduction)

'Gideon Haigh is one of the country's most prolific and highly regarded non-fiction writers. He's written extensively about cricket and business, though all of his writings shows the craft that comes from training and practising as a journalist.'  (Introduction)

'Charlotte Wood is the author of five novels, among them, The Natural Way of Things, which won the 2016 Stella Prize, and the Indie Book of the Year, and was the joint winner of the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction. Her non-fiction includes The Writer's Room, in which she interviewed writers about how they think and work and what drives them. So she's the perfect guest to have on The Garret.'  (Introduction)

'Omar Musa is an Malaysian-Australian rapper, poet, author. In his writing and his music he confronts the dark realities of Australian history and culture. He does so in a way that both entertains and demands attention. He's published an acclaimed novel, Here Come The Dogs, several collections of poetry, hip-hop albums, TV scripts and he won both the Australian Poetry Slam and the Indian Ocean Poetry Slam. ' (Introduction)

'Melanie Cheng's collection of short stories, Australia Day, has been lauded by critics and public alike. In just 18 months, or so, it went from winning the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript to being published and winning the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Fiction. Success can't be that easy, can it? Let's find out. ' (Production Introduction)

'There are few family homes in Australia that don’t have at least one Graeme Base picture book on their shelves and probably several: Animalia, The Eleventh Hour, The Worst Band in the Universe, The Water Hole, Uno’s Garden, just a few. His latest, The Amazing Monster Detectoscope, is as intricate as any beforehand.' (Production Introduction)

'Terri-ann White is the Director of UWA Publishing. Prior to that she was the Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Western Australia. She is also the author of a collection of short stories, a novel and many, many articles. So, she also understands the publishing business from both sides. Most excitingly UWA Publishing are the publishers of the 2017 Miles Franklin Award winning novel, Extinctions by Josephine Wilson.' (Introduction)

'George Megalogenis is one of Australia's foremost economic and political commentators and analysts. He has the knack of being able to analyse and distil often complex ideas and information into considered, intelligent, yet easily digestible pieces and I want to find out how. ' (Production Introduction)

'Hannie Rayson is one of Australian’s most lauded playwrights. Her works include Hotel Sorrento, Life after George, Inheritance, Two Brothers, and Extinction. Life After George remains the only play to be shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. Hannie has also written screen plays, most noticeably Sloth, for the ABC series Seven Deadly Sins, and episodes of Sea Change.' (Introduction)

'Michael Webster has had a long and distinguished career in the publishing industry, and is the recipient of the George Robertson Award for Services to the Book Industry. He's been a publisher, academic, board member of the Melbourne Writers Festival and The Copyright Agency, and perhaps most importantly for today's chat, introduced Book Track (now Nielsen Book Scan) into the Australasian Marketplace. It revolutionised the electronic data collection and analysis of book sales. If you want to know what's selling or what isn't, he is the person to ask.' (Introduction)

'Jason Steger is the literary editor of Fairfax Media, and was, until its recent axing, a regular on the ABC's Book Club. Few people are as well-placed as Jason to provide an objective overview of the Australian publishing industry, as well as perhaps more subjectively, the art of reviewing.' (Introduction)

'Ursula Dubosarsky is one of Australia's foremost writers for children and young adults. Her list of awards is almost as long as her list of published works and very well deserved. Her most acclaimed work The Red Shoe was included in the International title ‘1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up’. She's won the Premier’s Literary Award for New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, and Victoria (and most or more than one occasion). Everyone loves Ursula. Her most recent book The Blue Cat is an exquisite addition to her body of work. ' (Introduction)

'Erik Jensen is a journalist, screenwriter, playwright, the author of the award-winning biography Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen, and a book on the writings of Kate Jennings, and he is a founding editor of The Saturday Paper. And he’s only twelve years old… Well, not quite, but he’s still remarkably young to have achieved so much.' (Introduction)

'Kaz Cooke is a cartoonist, most notably is the creator of Hermoine, The Modern Girl, as well as the bestselling author of several guides for girls and women, including The Modern Girl's Guide to Everything, Up the Duff, The Baby Book, and Girl Stuff for both teens and preteens. Her latest work is the novel Ada about Ada Delroy and her bizarre vaudeville troupe.' (Introduction)

'Warren Mundine is one of Australia’s most recognised, respected and revered Aboriginal activists. And one of the most outspoken. What I love most about Warren is that you can never second guess his response. He doesn’t allow himself to be pigeon-holed or his opinions to be predictable.
'I thought that the release of his memoir, In Black and White, provided an opportunity to talk about the importance of storytelling to Indigenous peoples, the lack of Indigenous voices in mainstream Australian culture, words and politics, and how he felt about laying his life bare in his memoir.' (Introduction)

'Alex Miller is one of Australia's most celebrated authors, twice winner of the Miles Franklin Award, winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Melbourne Prize for Literature, among others. Every new release by Alex creates a sense of excitement among Australia's writing community. ' (Introduction)