In this special episode, Harry and Jack recorded on location at the Qld Writers Centre (Qld State Library) Brisbane, where their guest was none other than QWC CEO Lori-Jay Ellis. If you've ever wondered how the centre can help you as a writer, this is the podcast episode to listen to. Lori-Jay explains the programs, events and workshops on offer as…

Dr Kate Cuthbert has worked in publishing for almost 15 years and has held senior roles at Pantera Press, Writers Victoria and launched the Escape Publishing brand at Harlequin Australia. A genre fiction advocate and enthusiast, she completed a PhD proposing research methodologies for the examination of book covers and book titles. She is also a co…

Jack and Harry continue their chat with author Christine Gregory about her experiences working with an agent, landing a publishing contract, expectations around author marketing and promotions, finding time to write and maintaining resilience despite setbacks. A great episode for emerging writers.Autor: Jack Roney and Harry Colfer

Melbourne-based author, Christine Gregory, is an Australian writer of crime and general fiction. An earlier version of her novel The Community was runner up for the 2022 Banjo Prize. Christine has previously been shortlisted in the Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto Awards. She is a former international aid worker and is now a director in a national…

Born in London, Brisbane-based author Kim Wilkins is Professor of Writing at the University of Queensland. She has a long list of published adult fantasy, women’s historical adventure, and young adult novels, as well as children’s books. Kim has also published academic books about genre fiction, most notably a co-written book titled ‘GENRE WORLDS –…

This week’s guest is Ky Garvey - childrens book author and host of Totally Lit! a monthly podcast celebrating reading, writing and literature. The podcast features writers, illustrators and all types of creators of books and stories. Ky discusses with Jack and Harry the inspiration for her book EASY PEASY and how her passion for creativity led her …

In this episode, Jack and Harry were joined by award winning authors Heidi Catherine and Anne Freeman. Anne and Heidi have teamed up with 10 other authors to put together a Christmas romcom anthology called 12 Tropes of Christmas: A collection of festive romcom stories. (Cover revealed in July — and the release date is 1 October.) The collaboration…

In episode 2, Jack and Harry chat with author Sarah Todman about how she uses skills learned as a strategic content specialist to help grow her author profile. She shares great tips for authors on marketing and promoting your author brand. She also discusses the key elements to writing romance with a bit of 'Aussie grit' thrown in. Finally, the con…

Sarah Todman's career as a writer spans more than 20 years. She has worked extensively as a journalist, communications manager and now as a strategic content specialist helping a range of clients to tell their brand stories. Her adventures in fiction writing took off in 2021 with the publication of her first children’s book, Bab’s Mermaid Adventure…

In this final instalment of the chat with author Peter Schinkel, he discusses the reasons why he prefers short stories over long form writing. Topics include exploring the human condition through a diverse range of stories, working on several themes and ideas at the same time, leaving the reader with something to ponder over, and benefits of releas…

Author Peter Schinkel returns for part 2 of 3 to discuss what inspires his story ideas, coming up with new ideas and retelling old themes with a fresh perspective.Autor: Jack Roney and Harry Colfer

Author Peter Schinkel has loved writing since primary school. Mainly short stories and poetry, and science fiction such as Doctor Who, Star Trek, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. His writing dream blossomed in mid-2022 when he hired an editor and dived into writing almost every day. Twisted Planet Book One, his first anthology of science ficti…

In this third and final episode with London based author Jamie West, he chats with Jack Roney and Harry Colfer about how his personal experiences working in the theatre industry influenced his stories. He also discusses marketing strategies that have worked for him as a self-published author and the technical elements that go towards designing book…

In this second episode with London based author Jamie West, he chats with Jack Roney and Harry Colfer about how his experience working in the theatre industry influenced his cosy mystery novels set in the 1930s. He discusses period research and how he has brought back to life through fictional stories long lost theatres that have since been lost to…

Here's a taste of what to expect from THE GENRE FICTION PODCAST. Light-hearted conversations about fiction writing and publishing with authors and industry experts. Featured in this highlights package are Lauren Daniels, Chris Miller, Ally Blake, Troy Henderson, Jamie Bryden and Anne Freeman. Hosted by Jack Roney and Harry Colfer.…

Jamie West is the West End's resident murder mystery author! He’s worked backstage on countless shows in London’s West End. His work covers a huge variety of shows including The Book of Mormon, Miss Saigon, Kinky Books, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton, to name just a few. A love for both theatre history and a good murde…

In part 2 of this interview, author Kate Brandes covers a number of writing themes including: different approaches for thinking about story and story sharing What is the value of writing in our society today? Can we use it as a tool to promote social justice and peace? What professions draw on storytelling skills? Can we use story sharing to make c…

Author Kate Brandes lives in the small river town of Riegelsville, Pennsylvania. She has also worked as a geologist and environmental scientist for more than twenty years. She currently teaches geology, creative writing and a course on Landscape, Culture and Story of Place at Moravian University. She also co-directs the Moravian Writers’ Conference…

Episode 2 of the interview between Harry Colfer, Jack Roney, and special guest Clare Connelly. In this episode, Clare breaks down the key components of her 'How to Self-Publish and Sell' workshop. A must listen episode for authors looking to embark on self-publishing. The next course starts on 1st August 2024 so check out the link above to sign-up.…

In this episode, Harry Colfer and Jack Roney interview bestselling author, Clare Connelly. Clare is the author of more than one hundred angsty, passionate romance novels. Having self-published her first book in 2014, by the end of that year, she was an Amazon All-Star in the US and UK and has since sold millions of copies of her books. She continue…

In this episode, Harry Colfer, Jack Roney, and thriller author Andy Edwards continue their chat from episode one and dissect more key elements that make up a banger thriller novel. They discuss the importance of field research, how to create relatable and flawed characters, a hero’s dark mirror, authentic dialogue and realistic human responses, tra…

Andy Edwards (A.C. Edwards) is a former policeman, paratrooper and Special Forces officer. He served in the Australian Army with operational deployments in South East Asia and retired at the rank of Major. Andy has also worked as a security adviser across SE Asia, as a bodyguard and as a security contractor in the Middle East and Afghanistan. He en…

Graham Bartlett returns for episode 3 of his chat with Jack Roney and Harry Colfer to discuss how his 30+ years policing experience influenced his fiction writing. The guys chat about common mistakes writers make when it comes to referencing police and paramedic procedures in crime fiction. Graham, Jack and Harry all offer services to writers to he…

Graham Bartlett returns for episode 2 of his chat with Jack Roney and Harry Colfer to discuss how his 30+ years policing experience influenced his fiction writing. Graham also explains the services he offers to support crime writers. See Graham's website for more information.Autor: Jack Roney and Harry Colfer

This is the first of three episodes featuring UK crime author Graham Bartlett. Graham is a former detective and now a crime fiction and police advisor to authors and TV writers as well as a Sunday Times best selling crime writer. He delivers programs to help writers create authentic plots, police characters, procedures and scenes, sharing his 30+ y…

In episode 2 of the interview with award winning author Michael Bracken, he explains the many options for getting your short stories published and ways in which you can graft out a career in writing short stories. He discusses how to find markets, turning sales into multiple sales, maintaining career momentum, moving from the slush pile to an edito…

Michael Bracken is an award winning author of novels and short stories, based out of Texas USA. In this episode he chats with Jack and Harry about the craft of writing short stories and ideas to inspire and elevate your own writing.Autor: Jack Roney and Harry Colfer

In this episode, Jack Roney and Harry Colfer continue their chat with author T.M.CLARKE about how her African upbringing influenced her writing as well as the research she did to raise the authenticity of her writing to another level. Tina also candidly discusses her decision to move away from traditional publishing to publishing under her own impr…

Zimbabwean-born T.M. Clark now calls Australia home. Tina weaves her fascination for diverse cultures, wildlife, and storytelling into her literature. She has published seven adult novels as well as three children's books and been nominated for a Queensland Literary Award and is a Children's Book Council Notable. Tina is the winner of the 2022 Kill…

Jason Fischer returns for part 2 to tell Harry and Jack all about Spectrum Writing and the programs and services available for writers who have various intellectual disabilities or challenges (such as ASD spectrum and acquired brain injury). As CEO of Spectrum Writing, Jason and his team of highly dedicated professionals have designed a program to …

In this episode (part 1), Jack Roney and Harry Colfer chat with author Jason Fischer about his love of all things speculative fiction and his publication journey. 'Jason Fischer is a writer from South Australia. He has received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, won an Aurealis Award and the Writers of the Future Contest, and received the Colin…

In this episode, authors Jack Roney and Harry Colfer chat with award winning author T.M.Clark about the CYA Writers Conference and Writers at Sea writing retreat. Aspiring writers at all levels should check these out. Find out more at: www.cyaconference.com www.writersatsea.com.au/events/WAS2024Autor: Bryn Smith, Jack Roney and Harry Colfer

Part 3 of 3. In the third and final instalment of the Ben Hobson series of interviews, Ben chats with Harry and Jack about specific elements of the writing craft including: writing from instinct and how this can aid a novel writing in a state of flow and improvising planning and pantsing at the same time the George Saunders iterative process and ho…

Part 2 of 3 The interview with Ben Hobson continues. In this episode, Ben chats with Jack and Harry about his other projects including his online book club, his side gig of interviewing high profile authors, and his podcast Burgers, Beers and Books. Ben also shares insights into the highs and lows of his publishing journey, his setbacks and his suc…

Part 1 of 3 - interview with author Ben Hobson Ben Hobson is a Brisbane based author. To Become a Whale, his debut novel, was released in 2017. It was longlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards Debut Fiction award and shortlisted for the Courier-Mail's People's Choice Award. His second novel, Snake Island, a literary thriller, was released …

In part 2 of our chat with Khaiah Thompson, we discuss blurring the lines between heroes and villains, how conflict drive stories and develops characters, and what it is about the morally grey that readers love.Autor: Bryn Smith, Jack Roney and Harry Colfer

Our special guest for this episode is Khaiah Thompson from Perth, Western Australia. Khaiah is the author of the Welcome to Blackwood (Young Adult, Paranormal Fiction) series. The first book in the series, titled Welcome to Blackwood, won the Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize in 2020. Khaiah was a finalist in the Qld Writers Centre AD…

In this episode we have a colourful chat with multi-award winning author Professor Gary Crew where he discusses his writing processes and tips for conducting research for your manuscript. A very candid chat and one not to be missed.Autor: Bryn Smith, Jack Roney and Harry Colfer

In part 2 of our chat with show-runner, producer, screenwriter and novelist, Stephen M Irwin, we discuss his experiences creating the reimagining of the classic Australian tale 'Wake in Fright'. Stephen also gives advice for budding screenwriters on how to get your screenplay before someone who could turn it into a screen production. An unmissable …

Stephen M Irwin is a show-runner, producer, screenwriter and novelist. He was co-creator, co-executive producer and head writer of the forensic crime drama series Harrow. Stephen also wrote the original crime drama Secrets & Lies (remade in U.S. by ABC Network), the award- winning miniseries Wake in Fright, the feature film Australia Day, and co-cr…

Part 2 of 'Writing Spicey Scenes' with Anne Freeman. In this episode Jack, Harry and Anne have a laugh about the more cringey aspects of using cliche language when writing sex scenes. Anne also provides sobering insight regarding toxic masculinity and gender equality issues. The conversation moves back into lighter conversation around puppet sex, t…

Author Anne Freeman puts Jack and Harry in a bit of a headspin as she explains how to write non-cringey sex scenes. We had an absolute ball chatting about the dos and don'ts when it comes to writing spicy scenes and strategies to keep your reader engaged. As Anne explains, don't 'plonk a bonk' into your story just for the hell of it. Well written s…

Former journalist, marketing professional and author Kylie Fennell joins Jack Roney and Harry Colfer in discussing marketing strategies and tips for building your author profile. Kylie shares her expertise and marketing experience to provide 5 specific strategies and tools to help authors with their promotions to gain greater exposure for their boo…

This episode is a must for writers of fantasy and speculative fiction. Join Jack Roney, Harry Colfer and Kylie Fennell discussing all the components that make for a great fantasy short story, novella, novel or series of novels. Kylie shares her experiences in writing and publishing with important advice for emerging authors. They also chat about th…

Having your manuscript read and assessed by someone with knowledge of the craft and industry experience is an invaluable way to elevate your story before submitting it. In today’s extremely competitive industry, agents and publishers are looking for manuscripts that are structurally-sound and publication-ready. A manuscript assessment reveals what’…

In this episode we chat with award winning author Camille Booker about writing historical fiction. Camille is a manuscript assessor and creative writing teacher at the University of Wollongong. This episode will be of particular interest to authors embarking on recreating historical events into fictional narratives. You can find out more about Cami…

Jamie Bryden is an author and podcaster hailing from Hawkesbury, NSW. He is a sucker for a good story and loves chatting with all sorts of storytellers on his podcast ‘ Stories: the true and the fictional.’ Based on true events, his new book Letters from the emu war tells the story of the Great Emu War of 1932 from the unique perspective of those w…

In this episode, we thought we’d share with you a one-on-one interview Jack Roney had with Former federal politician, and now full time author, Richard Evans. Richard was elected into the marginal seat of Cowan in Western Australia in 1993 where he served 3 years in opposition and then 3 years under the Howard Government. Since leaving politics Ric…

Lauren, Harry and Jack discuss genre specific editing issues. Specific topics include: For spec fic, not enough spec/world, weak magical or supernatural systems For historical, too much historical research, weak drama/char arcs For romance, not enough tension For sci fi, not enough dramatic action too much info dumping For literary, too vague. Afra…

Editor Lauren Daniels returns to discuss story structure. Specific topics include: How can we make a prologue WORK? Structure; centre of gravity opens with a question, closes with some form of answer Info dumps Telling emotional states The saggy middle; pacing Everything that rises must converge. Foreshadowing Does your story deliver?…