James and Ashley Stay at Home

Ashley's got some exciting news she's been bursting to share, and you're just going to have to listen to this episode to find out what it is! 

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This special episode is a recording of Denizen’s online launch, which was live-streamed on Thursday July 21, two days after Denizen’s release. It was one of a series of launch events, alongside in-pe…

'Denizen,' the Penguin Literary Prize winning novel from James McKenzie Watson is finally out in the world! In this episode, Ashley asks James about the experience of taking 'Denizen' from idea to pu…

In this bonus episode, James and Ashley share an episode from a brand new podcast series called Queer Writes Sessions (QWS), a Words and Nerds Podcast spin-off series in partnership with Blarney Book…

After a broken finger brought on a debilitating illness, author Rae Cairns lost two years as her doctors searched for the right treatment. A bad reaction to drugs caused her hair to fall out. When he…

In her exploration of life in rural Australia, author Yumna Kassab draws on horror, crime and gothic inspiration to craft a thematically linked experiment in form and style. She speaks to us about he…

'If he wants to follow me, I can't stop him.' After a random encounter with poet and author Ellis Gunn at an auction, a stranger decides to stalk her. Years later, she sits down to write about the ex…

If you've ever dreaded public speaking, this episode is for you! Author and podcaster Katherine Collette speaks about her charming new novel The Competition, which satirises the world of competitive …

38,000 people go missing every year in Australia, yet only a small number of these cases garner public interest. In 'The Missing Among Us,' author Erin Stewart explores the issue of missing persons f…

Fiona Robertson lived with migraines for years, writing short stories as a creative pursuit. Now she's free from migraines and the award-winning author of the debut short story collection, If You're …

Lech Blaine is the author of the memoir 'Car Crash' and the Quarterly Essay ‘Top Blokes’. Here, he speaks to James and Ashley about the challenge of writing and releasing these two publications back …

When Dinuka McKenzie first sat down to write a novel, she had no dreams of publication or experience in the craft of fiction. She was the working mother of two young kids, feeling like everyone wante…

It's our 50th episode! Author Sarah Sentilles joins us to talk about her new memoir, Stanger Care. She discusses coping with unexpected loss, who counts as family, and how at heart, all of us are bab…

***Warning! Spoilers for Earthlings by Sayaka Murata in this episode*** After arguing about the intense and disturbing ending to Earthlings by Sayaka Murata in episode 45, James and Ashley rope pas…

How do we build community and a sense of self after loss, especially the kind of loss that echoes for generations? James and Ashley speak with Australian Sri Lankan author Shankari Chandran about her…

The last episode for 2021 is a special bonus interview with Michelle Tom, who James and Ashley first spoke to in episode 38 (the most downloaded episode of the year). As part of Avid Reader's Festiva…

The best (and most!) book recommendations of the year! We share the 'What Are You Reading?' highlights from a wide range of our 2021 guests, including Nardi Simpson, David Vann, Kavita Bedford, Luke …

James and Ashley speak with Melbourne-based author Jacinta Dietrich about her debut book 'This Is Us Now', which explores a young couple's relationship as one of them faces a cancer diagnosis and tre…

CSI: TASMANIA, the Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival, is happening 27 & 28 November 2021, and it's entirely online! In this bonus ep, James and Ashley speak to festival director and autho…

James is back! He and Ashley chat about his recent CIDP relapse and ongoing recovery, and how his perspective on living with chronic illness has shifted. Thankfully, the steroids haven't affected his…