Sarah Konoski

Did writing it down, Justin, into your book, into Get Up Mum, did that help shift the weight of it?

What kind of response did you get from readers after you'd published that book?

You know, you spent all this time writing about Burnie, thinking about Burnie, talking about it.

Had you spent much time in the place since you'd left all those years ago to go to university?

What led you to move back in 2019, Justin?

I see, I see.

I'm getting all these gag answers, but tell me why you moved back underneath beyond all of that.

This is conversations I actually want to know.

So it was partly out of this responsibility to your mum and partly out of having had enough of Melbourne that brought you back to this town.

You know, I began by asking you how it looked to your eyes as a kid.

How do you look at this place now?

The book Dream Bernie that emerged out of your time being back there and connecting with other creative people who call Bernie in the northwest of Tasmania home.

Who's this book for?

When you say that, it sounds like one big difference between the Justin of Bernie Mark 1 and the Justin of Bernie Mark 2 is you're in the village.

You're not trapped in a unit with your mum thinking, how the hell do I get through this?

But you're really in that village.

You've got a community of people around you.

I think Bernie is very lucky to have you back.

Bernie, we care.

Can you tell Bernie that?