Compulsive Reader talks

Michael Farrell on The Victoria Principle

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The author of The Victoria Principle joins us to read from and talk about his latest book. We talk about such things what drew him to fiction and why ...

Judith Nangala Crispín on The Dingo’s Noctuary

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Judith Nangala Crispín reads from and talks about her stunning new book The Dingo's Noctuary. Purchase a copy of the book here: https://puncher...

Kavita Ivy Nandan on Through the Trapdoor

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The author of Through the Trapdoor reads from and talks about her new short story collection. We cover such things as how the collection came together...

Angela Costi on The Heart of the Advocate

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Angela Costi joins us to read from and talk about her latest poetry book The Heart of the Advocate. We talk about many things including how the book c...

Bob Rich on The Hole in Your Life

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bob Rich joins us to read from and talk about his new book, The Hole in Your Life: Grief and Bereavement. He talks about the narrative of the book wh...

Katia Ariel on Ferryman

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Katia Ariel reads from and talks about her new book Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch. We talk about her unique way of engaging with h...

Ashley Kalagian Blunt on Cold Truth

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ashley Kalagian Blunt joins us again to read from and talk about her book Cold Truth. We talk about such things as the Winnipeg climate which is such ...

Paris Rosemont on Barefoot Poetess

01 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Paris Rosemont reads from and talks about her new poetry book Barefoot Poetess . We cover such topics as how and why she began writing, the notion of ...

Terri-ann White on Finding Theodore and Brina

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Terri-ann White, founder of Upswell Publishing, reads from and talks about her own book Finding Theodore and Brina. We talk about how the book came ab...

Exploring the Poetic Journey of Phillis Levin: An Anthology of Rain

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Phillis Levin, the author of six poetry collections, offers an in-depth look at her newest book, An Anthology of Rain, published by B...

Andrea Goldsmith on The Buried Life

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Andrea Goldsmith reads from and talks about her. new novel The Buried Life. We talk about the delicate dance between death and life in the book, about...

Karen Pearlman on Breaking Plates

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Karen Pearlman, director of the new film Breaking Plates, talks about the making of her latest film, the inventive ways she engages with Cinemas Fi...

Damen O'Brien on Walking the Boundary

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Damen O'Brien reads from and talks about his latest poetry book Walking the Boundary. We talk about such things as the way the book came together as a...

PS Cottier and NG Hartland on The Thirty-one Legs of Vladimir Putin

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

PS Cottier and NG Hartland, authors of The Thirty-one Legs of Vladimir Putin, read from and talk about their new book, which won the Finlay Lloyd 20/4...

John Kinsella on Beam of Light

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

John Kinsella reads from and talks about his new short story collection Beam of Light. We talk about the use of furniture in this book, the connective...

Girls on Key 10th Anniversary Zoom

14 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This was a special zoom session of poetry to mark the 10th anniversary of Girls on Key featuring Sophia Wilson, Mikaela Nyman, Kiri Piahana-Wong, Patr...

Sarah Temporal on Tight Bindings

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sarah Temporal is a prize-winning poet, producer, and educator who runs the well-respected regional arts initiative Poets Out Loud. She joins us to re...

Patti Miller on the newly revised version of Writing True Stories

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Patti Miller joins us to read from and talk about her book Writing True Stories which has just been extensively updated and extended. She talks about ...

Julia Levitina on The girl From Moscow

24 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Julia Levitina reads from and talks about her new book The Girl From Moscow including such things as how the book came about, why fiction, how the boo...

Omar Musa on The Fullness

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Omar Musa joins us to perform from and talk about his new album The Fullness. We talk about collaboration and his amazing collaborators, pushing into ...

Kent MacCarter on Fat Chance

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kent MacCarter joins us to read from and talk about his new poetry book Fat Chance. We talk about Kent's process, about having written the "f...

Robbie Coburn on Ghost Poetry

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Robbie Coburn reads from and talks about his new book Ghost Poetry. Topics covered include the many ghosts that haunt the pages of the book, dreams an...

Marina Kamenev on Kin

18 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The author of Kin: Family in the 21st Century reads from and talks about her new book, about the many permeations of family both nuclear and otherwise...

Eugen Bacon on Serengotti

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Award winning author Eugen Bacon reads from and talks about her latest book Serengotti. We discuss such things as the books themes including notions o...

Valerie Werder on Thieves

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Valerie Werder reads from and talks about her award-winning debut novel Thieves. In this wide-ranging interview we talk about such things as represent...

Beatriz Copello on No Salami Fairy Bread

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Beatriz Copello, author of No Salami Fairy Bread drops by to read from and talk about her newest poetry book. We talk about such things as the linguis...

Samuel Lucas Allen on CUT

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Award winning filmmaker Samuel Lucas Allen talks about their new short film CUT. We talk about how the film came together as a project, the extraordin...

Esther Ottaway on She Doesn't Seem Autistic

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Esther Ottaway talks about and reads from her new book She Doesn't Seem Autistic. Through a number of poems, Esther talks about many of the key th...

Richard James Allen on Text Messages from the Universe

01 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Richard James Allen joins me to read from and talk about his latest book Text Messages from the Universe. We talk about many things including the book...

Alisa Bryce on Grounded

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Soil scientist Alisa Bryce reads from and talks about her book Grounded. In this conversation we cover such things as how the book came about, Alisa&#...

Alan Fyfe on T

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alan Fyfe joins us to read from and talk about his latest novel T, which shortlisted for the T.A.G Hungerford Prize (Australia) and the Chaffinch Pres...

Ashley Kalagian Blunt on Dark Mode

04 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ashley Kalagian Blunt joins us to read from and talk about her new thriller Dark Mode. We talk about such things as her research, the Dark Web, her ...

Oisín Breen on Lilies on the Deathbed of Étaín & Other Poems

04 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this wide-reading and humorous interview, Irish poet, academic and journalist Oisín Breen reads from and talks about his new poetry book Lilies on...

A conversation with Meera Atkinson

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meera Atkinson reads from her book Traumata and talks about her work, the ongoing relevance of Traumata, the difficulty and the necessity of the hybri...

Kateryna Kazimirova on Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing From Ukraine

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of the two editors of Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing From Ukraine reads from and talks about her new anthology.  Kateryna Kazimirova tal...

Hazel Smith on Ecliptical

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Poet, performer, emeritus professor, and new media artist Hazel Smith reads from and talks about her new book Ecliptical. We talk about metapoetry, mu...

Sara Kidd on The Vegan Cake Bible

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sara Kidd joins me to talk about her new cookbook The Vegan Cake Bible. We cover such things as how Sara became the vegan cake queen, why she's drawn ...

Bastian Fox Phelan on How to Be Between

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bastian Fox Phelan reads from and talks about their new memoir How to Be Between. We talk about such things as speaking about the self with all of its...

Beth Spencer on The Age of Fibs

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Beth Spencer talks about and reads from her new book The Age of Fibs.  Beth talks about how the book came come together, about the transformation...

Michelle Cahill on Daisy & Woolf

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle Cahill, author of Daisy & Woolf, joins me at Woollahra Gallery to read from and talk about her new book, writing through Virginia Wo...

Talking poetry with Yilinhi/Lorna Munro

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lorna Munro or Yilinhi is a Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman, multidisciplinary artist, poet, performer, radio and podcast host. She joins me today in th...

Nick Courtright on The Proofs, the Figures: Walt Whitman and the Meaning of Poems.

19 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kristina Darling interviews Nick Courtright about his new book The Proofs, the Figures: Walt Whitman and the Meaning of Poems. In “Song of Myself,”...

Jessica Au on Cold Enough For Snow

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jessica Au’s first novel, Cargo, was published by Picador in 2011 and was highly commended in the Kathleen Mitchell Award for a writer under 30. She...

Charles Freyberg on The Crumbling Mansion

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Charles Freyberg reads from and talks about his latest book of poetry The Crumbling Mansion and chats with me about performance and the power of memor...

KA Rees on Come the Bones

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

KA Rees is a writer of poetry and short fiction. She has been published by Margaret River Press, Cordite, Australian Poetry, Overland, Review of Austr...

James Bradley | Author of Clade - on climate fiction

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On its one-year anniversary, we've re-aired, with permission, James Bradley's wonderful conversation with Beth Spencer from Climactic's ArtBreaker. &n...

Beth Spencer in conversation with Kit Kelen

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Beth Spencer in conversation with Kit Kelen about his creative practice as poet, artist, publisher, collaborator, academic, mentor, musician and blogg...

Lillian Avedian on Journey to Tatev

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Lillian Avedian is an Armenian American journalist and poet from Los Angeles. In this episode she reads from and talks about her debut book of poetry,...

Adam Aitken on One Hundred Letters Home

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Adam Aitken reads from and talks about his memoir One Hundred Letters Home.  We talk about the book's multi-genres structure, the limits of memor...

Michael J Leach on Chronicity

23 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Australian academic, writer, and poet, Michael J. Leach reads from and talks about his latest poetry book Chronicity.  We talk about such things ...

Emily Maguire on Love Objects

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Australian writer Emily Maguire's new novel is a clear-eyed and compassionate novel about love and family, betrayal and forgiveness, and the thin...

Alison Treat interviews Leslie K Barry about Newark Minutemen

10 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this guest episode, author and podcaster Alison Treat interviews Leslie K Barry about her book Newark Minutemen. Note that this is a re-pod from Al...

Chris Mansell on Foxline

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Mansell is one of Australia’s notable powerhouses in the poetry world.  Chris was one of the founders of Five Islands Press and now runs ...

Zacchary Bird on Vegan Junk Food

10 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Does being vegan mean having to miss out on burgers, jalapeno peppers and deep-fried banana fritters? No way, according to Melbourne writer and vegan ...

Paul Rabinowitz on The Clay Urn

16 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Rabinowitz talks to Tinfoil Crowns author Erin Jones about his novella The Clay Urn. They talk about the inspiration for his story, on working wi...

Angus Gaunt on Black Rabbit

06 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The author of Black Rabbit and co-owner of Sappho Books reads from and talks about his latest novel and its quirky characters, about the impact of 202...

Denise O'Hagan on The Beating Heart

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Denise O'Hagan reads from and talks about her new poetry book The Beating Heart.  We cover such things as how the book came about, the relationsh...

Lee Kofman on Imperfect

27 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Author, mentor, writing teacher and speaker Lee Kofman reads from about talks about her memoir Imperfect.  In this brief but far-reaching convers...

Nicola Redhouse on Unlike the Heart

21 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Nicola Redhouse reads from her book Unlike the Heart and talks about the way her research grew from her own postnatal anxiety to something much b...

Maria Tumarkin on Axiomatic

08 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Maria Tumarkin reads from her award-winning book Axiomatic and talks about language and accents,  the many different representations of time in A...

Sophie Hardcastle on Below Deck

17 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sophie Hardcastle reads from her latest and much lauded novel Below Deck. We also talked about many things including her Provost scholarship at Oxford...

Gillian Swain book launch My skin its own sky

10 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Following the cancelled Newcastle Writers Festival, Gillian Swain and I decided to launch her new poetry book, My skin its own sky,  online. &nbs...

Virtual launch of Morgan Bell's Idiomatic, for the people

21 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As the Newcastle Writers Festival had to be cancelled this year due to Coronavirus, we did a virtual launch for Morgan Bell's  poetry chapbook Id...

Jim Reese on Bone Chalk

13 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this guest episode, Daniel Flahie of the Die Healther podcast shares a recent interview with Dr Jim Reese on his new book Bone Chalk.  &n...

Roslyn McFarland on All the Lives We've Lived

04 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Roslyn McFarland reads from and talks about her new novel All the Lives We've Lived, and discusses such things as her transition from English teacher ...

Jessica Mehta talks with novelist and poet Nina Murray

03 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this wide-reaching and warm conversation, novelist and poet Jessica Mehta talks with novelist and poet Nina Murray, who reads some of her poems and...

Jenny Blackford on The Girl in the Mirror

20 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Multi-talented polymath Jenny Blackford reads from her new middle-grade novel The Girl in the Mirror and talks about her attraction to different genre...

Interview with Sarah Myles

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The author of The Wolf Hour reads from and talks about her latest novel, its origins and her research, her characters, writing about Uganda, the micro...

Peter Valentine on World heritage Sites of Australia

18 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Valentine reads from and talks about his new book World Heritage Sites of Australia.  In this wide-ranging discussion, we talk about the bo...

Eliana Gray on Eager to Break

02 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Eliana Gray reads from and talks about their new poetry book Eager to Break.  In this candid interview we talk about such things as writing ...

Interview with Richard James Allen

24 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Richard James Allen reads from and talks about his new poetry book, The Short Story of You and I, exploring topics such as his book's themes and uniqu...

Bram Presser on The Book of Dirt

06 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bram Presser drops by to read from The Book of Dirt and we chat about many things including the Holocaust, the origins of his novel, the research he’...

Anne Casey on Where the Lost Things Go

11 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Anne Casey drops by to read from and talk about her debut poetry collection Where the Lost Things Go, including the poem that started it all (fifth mo...

Ali Whitelock on And My Heart Crumples Like a Coke Can

10 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ali Whitelock reads from and talks about her latest poetry book And My Heart Crumples Like a Coke Can.  We cover such topics as Ali's particular ...

Steve Armstrong on Broken Ground

06 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Poet Steve Armstrong joins us to read a number of poems from his new poetry book Broken Ground. We also talk about the healing power of poetry and th...

Jill Jones on Brink

28 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Jill Jones joins us to read several poems from and talk about her latest poetry book Brink.  We discuss some of the key themes in the book (what does...

Kathryn Fry on Green Point Bearings

18 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Poet Kathryn Fry reads a number of poems from her latest poetry collection Green Point Bearings and talks about the book's inspiration, how many of ...

Holly Ringland on The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

18 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Holly Ringland, author ofThe Lost Flowers of Alice Hart joins us to read a little from the book and talk about the wonderful language of flowers she ...

Tracy Sorensen on The Lucky Galah

27 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy Sorensen drops by Compulsive Reader Talks to read from and chat about her new book The Lucky Galah. The conversation is wide ranging but we tal...

Jennifer Maiden launches her poetry book Appalachian Fall

14 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The wonderful Jennifer Maiden joins me at Macleans Booksellers in Hamilton NSW for a launch of her new book Appalachian Fall, including a Q&A, 3 po...

Interview with Jessica Townsend

24 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Jessica Townsend, the author of Nevermoor: the Trials of Morrigan Crow drops by to read from and chat about her book, which has been had the biggest...

Gerry Orz talks about Lucky or Not Here I Come

16 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Gerry Orz is an award winning actor, director, producer, youth activist, and author of the book Lucky or Not, Here I come, released this month.  He d...

Patti Miller on Writing True Stories

24 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Award-winning author Patti Miller reads from and talks about her new nonfiction book Writing True Stories. Patti reads from chapter one, and we discu...

Interview with Melinda Smith

19 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The award-winning author of Goodbye, Cruel, reads from her new book and talks about how it came together, the structure, her linked suites, the influ...

Jennifer Maiden on Play With Knives

12 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Poet and novelist Jennifer Maiden drops by to read from her latest novel Play With Knives: Three: George and Clare and the Grey Hat Hacker, and to ta...

Dr Joanna McMillan talks about Get Lean, Stay Lean

08 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Nutritionist Dr Joanna McMillan talks about her new book Get Lean, Stay Lean, including how the book came together, why people are still struggling w...

Interview with Michele Seminara

29 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Michele Seminara drops by to read from and talk about her poetry book Engraft and how it came together, the variety of forms and how she uses the pag...

Interview with Michelle Cahill on Letter to Pessoa

27 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle Cahill reads "Aubade for Larkin" and talks about her new book Letter to Pessoa, including the book's genesis, its shifting genres (and gende...

Tim Elliott on Farewell to the Father

25 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Elliott joins us to read from and talk about his memoir Farewell to the Father.  He discusses how the initial article and book came about, the re...

Joel Deane on Year of the Wasp

01 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Joel Deane reads from and talks about his new poetry book Year of the Wasp.  Joel discusses a number of the themes and motifs throughout the book ...

Hazel Smith on Word Migrants

28 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Poet, performer, professor and new media artist Hazel Smith drops by to read from and talk about her latest book of poetry Word Migrants. Hazel is an ...

Jane Caro talks about Plain-Speaking Jane

06 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Author, novelist, journalist, broadcaster, columnist, advertising writer and social commentator Jane Caro, chats about her memoir Plain-Speaking Jane,...

Vivian Gornick reads from and talks about The Odd Woman and the City

23 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In this special "on location" Sydney Writers Festival show, Vivian Gornick reads from and talks about the writing of her latest book The Odd Woman and...

Dimitrios Ikonomou reads from and chats about The Diary of Norman K

18 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Author and scultor Dimitrios Ikonomou reads from his new novel The Diary of Norman K, and chats with Justin Goodman about his book and its origins, hi...

Rebecca Starford on Bad Behaviour

15 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In this special Newcastle Writers Festival episode, Rebecca Starford, the author of Bad Behaviour, reads from and talks about her memoir and how it ca...

Mark Flanagan on David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest and Infinite Winter

03 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Flanagan is the founder and editor of Run Spot Run, and the instigator behind Infinite Winter, an online book club of hundreds of readers who ha...

Christine Evans on Cloudless

10 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The author of Cloudless reads from and talks about her new verse novel Cloudless, her unique characters, the way the book came together, why she used ...

Martin Langford on his new book Ground

27 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Martin Langford reads from his new poetry book Ground, and talks about his overarching principle of spaces places and the evolution of the book as a c...

Jean Kent talks about The Hour of Silvered Mullet

13 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode held live (complete with rich sound effects) from Lake Macquarie Pub, acclaimed poet Jean Kent reads from her new book The Hour of Sil...

Carolyn Martinez talks about Finding Love

17 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Carolyn Martinez, author of Inspiring IVF Stories and Finding Love: 7 Things you Need to Know Before You Date Again  reads from and talks about her n...