Cassie McCullough

And so that was Australian writer Maria Lewis and American writer Christopher Paolini.

Before we head back to our guests, let's just hear one more person, and that's Lev Grossman, who has written a series of very contemporary urban fantasy, The Magician series, which has also been turned into a five-part TV series.

And he's talking about the way in which this genre has changed.

Okay, now I've thrown about 10 different ideas at you there, Denise Chapman and Chris Flynn.

And part of it is to acknowledge that this is a very complex way of writing, way of seeing the world.

Are there particular ideas that you heard there from those three writers that resonate with you, Chris Flynn?

So as a form, Denise Chapman, how do you respond to what you heard there?

And given that space operas, aliens, all those themes that have been around in speculative fiction and fantasy for a while, they can also be used to explore imperialism, colonialism, invasion.

It also means it's a form that's been very rich for Indigenous writers too.

And I'm thinking in Australia of writers like Clare G. Coleman, who has done some very clever things using speculative fiction as a critique.

Which is what I guess we would hope that reading can do.

Now, let's hear from some more Australian writers of speculative fiction, and two who are actually both, they're huge sellers in Australia, but they've got quite an international reach, is Garth Nix and Amy Kaufman.

So let's hear from Garth.

My name is Amy Kaufman.

I'm an author of science fiction and fantasy.

My 14th book is just out.

What if?

I guess that's the big question for speculative fiction, really, isn't it, Cassie?

There will be more Lycra here on ABC Radio Nationals Book Club.

And we should say that wearing her own Lycra there is Denise Chapman, academic, storyteller and auto-ethnographer from Monash University.