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FULLY LIT: A podcast about Australian writing

Brought to you by the Sydney Review of Books, Impact Studios,
and the UTS Writing and Publishing program.

Available to listen now, wherever you get your podcasts

Welcome, or welcome back, to the Sydney Review of Books podcast – now known as Fully Lit.

Fully Lit is a must-listen for anyone interested in the past, present, and future of Australian writing. Across eight episodes, you’ll hear many luminaries of Australian letters, from Anita Heiss to John Kinsella, Nicholas Jose, and Jeanine Leane, discuss topics including the evolution of the Australian novel, the poet’s sense of responsibility, and the critical culture around First Nations writing. The podcast also features readings from old and new classic works by Peter Carey, Alexis Wright, Patrick White, Iwaki Kei, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Natalie Harkin, and more.

This podcast series aims not only to ignite interest in Australian writers and writing; it also aims to illuminate the complexities and oversights in the way that Australian literature is talked about. Through longform discussions, richly sound designed readings, and a wealth of archival material, listeners will come to appreciate Australian literature as they’ve never done before: with a deeper sense of its history, cultural and political contexts, and place in the global publishing landscape.

Join us on this unique journey through the many stories and voices that have helped shape what Australian writing is today.

Fully Lit is brought to you by the Sydney Review of Books, Impact Studios, and the UTS Writing and Publishing program.


Episode 1. The Australian novel and the world

What makes a novel uniquely Australian? How do our stories stack up on the world stage?

Writer, critic and former diplomat Nick Jose joins Oz Lit scholar and literary critic, Lynda Ng, for a deep dive into the Australian novel and its shifting place in global literature.

Through powerful readings from literary giants like Patrick White, Peter Carey, Alexis Wright, and Christina Stead, we ask:

  • How has fiction shaped the idea of ‘Australia'?
  • How has that idea changed from the nineteenth to the twentieth century?

Episode 2. The Australian novel now

What is the Australian novel today? Is it even a novel?  

And what remains of the idea of a national literature once we eschew nationalistic clichés of Aussieness?  

Writers Mykaela Saunders and Yumna Kassab join host Lynda Ng to tackle these questions. 

With readings from Australian fiction that reveals a literature deeply engaged with the world and with writing beyond our shores.

Episode 3. ‘Cultural Rigour:’ First Nations writing and its critics

What does it really take to read and review First Nations writing with integrity?

Wiradjuri poet and critic Jeanine Leane joins Graham Akhurst for a powerful conversation that turns the spotlight on the critics themselves. With sharp insight and deep cultural knowledge, Jeanine unpacks the idea of “cultural rigour” — and why it’s essential for anyone engaging with Black writing in Australia.

Whether you're a reader, reviewer, or writer, this episode challenges you to rethink what it means to read responsibly — and to listen deeply.

Episode 4. ‘Cognitive Imperialism:’ losing the colonial baggage

Who gets to critique First Nations literature — and how should it be taught?

Novelist Melanie Saward and critic Ben Etherington join writer and academic Graham Akhurst to dive into the complex world of reading, teaching, and evaluating First Nations writing.

From the classroom to the review page, they explore the responsibilities that come with critiquing Indigenous stories — and what’s at stake when they’re misread or misunderstood.

Plus, a powerful intervention from the archive by Alexis Wright.

Episode 5. The Poet and the Bulldozer

How can poetry act upon the world? Hear John Kinsella hold up a bulldozer with a poem, and take a tour through his life as a reader, poet and activist as he and Lisa Gorton delve into the people and poets who influenced him. They discuss the challenges and responsibilities of being a poet, reflecting on the growing threats to our ecosystems and long-postponed colonial reckonings. In this context, what can poetry do, and what are the possibilities and limitations of a future Australian poet laureate? 

Episode 6. The Language of Poetry

Award-winning poets Bella Li and Ellen Van Neerven join fellow poet Lisa Gorton for a discussion on poetry, responsibility and poetry’s place in Australian public life. With readings from each poet's work, along with other poems from Australia and beyond, our panelists explore the balance between poetry as a private practice and its public impact, attending to the ways in which poetry can unsettle language, shaping and reshaping our sense of history. 

Episode 7. Sovereign Stories: First nations publishing

 

Anita Heiss, Wiradjuri woman, author and editor at large at Bundyi, a First Nations imprint at Simon & Schuster, shares her insights into the Australian publishing industry with Alice Grundy, managing editor at Australia Institute Press. They take a close look at the way First Nations writing has affected and been affected by the prevailing practices in the industry, from author-editor relationships to marketing. What would sovereign publishing look like for First Nations writers in Australia? 

Episode 8. Behind the paper curtain: the business of books

 

Writer, editor and producer Charle Malycon (Penguin Random House and Overland literary journal) and co-founder and director of Amplify bookstore, Jing Xuan Teo, join Alice Grundy to dissect the current state of the industry. What goes on behind the scenes? What is the work of publishing today and who is doing it? Our guests share their personal experiences in publishing and bookselling, taking the listener through the complex process of getting a book from manuscript to reader and highlighting the many hands that shape the reader’s experience.  

Special Episode: Fully Lit Live: the 2025 Miles Franklin Award 

In an engaging, though-provoking and moving conversation, Winnie Dunn, Julie Janson and Siang Lu - all shortlisted for the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award - discuss their nominated works, the ideas that shaped them, and the questions they raise about Australian life, literature and identity today, with writer and broadcaster Sunil Badami.  

The Miles Franklin Literary Award is Australia’s most prestigious literary prize, awarded each year to a novel of the highest literary merit that presents Australian life in any of its phases. 

This special episode of Fully Lit is presented by Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and Gleebooks, Sydney’s premier literary events program. Go to gleebooks.com.au to discover more great literary events featuring some of Australia’s best and best known authors. 

Episode 10. Blackfella Book Club on Firefront

On this episode Teela Reid and Merinda Dutton, the co-founders of Blackfulla Bookclub, talk about the online community they’ve built around First Nations storytelling and discuss their experiences of reading Fire Front, an anthology of poetry and essays curated by Alison Whittaker. It’s about seeing, and hearing, and reading the world through powerful First Nations perspectives. Listen up. 

We are republishing this episode from the Sydney Review of Books' very first podcast season, to mark this month's NAIDOC week celebrations.

Please note that this episode contains names and references to deceased persons.