Writing Podcast Episode 709: Derek Pedley shares his true crime story 'The Postcard Bandit'

Derek Pedley was a young newspaper journalist in the 1990s when bank robber Brenden Abbott became well known throughout Australia as escaped prisoner ‘The Postcard Bandit’. One capture, break out and recapture later, Derek gained exclusive access to Abbott and wrote an account of his story. Now, 20 years later – with Abbott still in prison – a Warner Brothers documentary and six-part drama series have put the story back into the spotlight, and Derek has released an updated version of his book, The Postcard Bandit. In this episode, Derek shares the timeline and why it made sense to update the story now. 00:00 Welcome06:03 Writing tip: Breaking down a novel into sessions08:28 WIN!: Iluka by Cassie Stroud10:08 Word of the week: ‘Stochastic’12:54 Writer in residence: Derek Pedley15:27 The story of Brenden Abbott – the ‘postcard bandit’18:30 Brenden’s bank robbing style19:51 How Derek became involved in Brenden’s story23:00 Frustrations writing the first account24:10 Gaining access to Abbott26:16 Frustrations publishing the second account28:59 20 years later – returning to the project30:30 A new angle to the story32:10 Turning it into a TV series and documentary36:45 Updates with the new book40:55 Finally meeting Brenden42:10 Why change the book’s name?43:23 Derek’s tip for writing crime stories46:30 Future book projects47:43 Final thoughts Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.