Episodes
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We Made Our Supervisor Watch Twilight | Amy & After Dark
This week we thwarted all of Amy's attempts to pick a different movie (of which there were several) and sat her down to experience Twilight for the very first time. Join us for a post-movie discussion as we explain the plot of the remaining films in the Twilight saga to Amy (from vampire veganism...
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BOOKCLUB: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Welcome to BOTM: Interview with the Vampire. This book might be a classic but it can still give you an existential crisis! This week we dig into the Catholicism of Anne Rice's vampires, Louis' hypocrisy, the horror of a child vampire, and just why Louis is everyone's emotional support vampire. 📚...
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We're All Vampires: Patriarchy, Prions and Unhinged Academia
This week Amy, Abby & Payton get truly academic and discuss a scholarly article that they have not read; deep dive into the history of the undead and the "oops we promise we really thought they were dead"; examine themes of animalism, predation, patriarchy and violence in Twilight, Buffy, and The...
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Lauren Williams stylish suburban thriller Neighbourhood Watch + Jasmine Graetz’s self-publishd dragon fantasy Dracorian Whispers
Lauren Williams’ novel Neighbourhood Watch is set in a fictional Melbourne suburb, and the plot features a murder bizarre enough to rival British TV favorite Midsomer Murders. Among the scarecrows in the annual Scarecrow Competition is a real dead body, that of a judge. Justice is the theme and...
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Not Like the Other Girls: Teens and the vampires who love them
We're continuing Vampire month by diving deep into the world of teen vampires. Or vampires who fall in love with teens? Join us as we try to pick apart the "pick me" of it all, question why these old ass vampires are interested in teen girls, and the team once again explain how Edward got Bella...
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F*** Marry Slay: Vampires Then and Now
Welcome to vampire month! It’s now October which means Halloween which means we get spooky which means we contemplate marriage and sex with crusty dusty vampires. Well, for a little bit. But mostly, in this first episode of the month, Amy, Justina, Harry and Millie are talking about their…
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BOOK CLUB: The Treasure House by Amy Matthews
Are you in need of a cathartic cry from a novel that leaves you feeling warm, optimistic, and craving lobster rolls? This week, the '&' of Amy & kick our host, Amy, off the pod so that we can talk candidly about her latest novel, THE TREASURE HOUSE (spoiler: we're obsessed). Join us as we discuss...
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Becoming Your True Author Self: Interview with Amy Matthews
This week Justina, Abby & Millie are joined by the illustrious Amy Matthews for a conversation all about writing, publishing and The Treasure House. Join us as we delve into Amy’s writing process, hear about her journey into publishing, cry over her latest book and speculate on when all her…
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Publisher? I Hardly Know Her!
Munch on this publishing month with us as we take a peek behind the scenes of The Treasure House and trace its journey from ideation to publication. This week Payton & Amy are joined by three publishing experts: Sarah Younger, agent at Nancy Yost Literary Agency and Amy’s own agent; Anthea...
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In Conversation with the Commissioning Editor at Simon & Schuster UK: Melanie Hayes
What does publishing a novel look like behind the scenes? This month we're following the trajectory of THE TREASURE HOUSE by Amy Matthews, from idea to publication, and asking the agent, editors and publishers our burning questions about the publishing industry. This week, we interview the lovely...
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Episode 67: Lainie Anderson’s historic thriller The Death of Dora Black + Frogsong by Melissa Manning
It’s 1917, shop assistant Dora Black has been found dead on a city beach, and Adelaide’s legendary early 20th century policewoman Kate Cocks is on the case. Mixing real history, a strong sense of place, and with World War 1 as a backdrop, The Death of Dora Black is the first in Lainie Anderson’s...
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BOOK CLUB: Morning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. Nascosta
We're so sad to say goodbye to Smut month, but we're sending it off with a truly fantastic book and a thinker of a book club. In C.M. Nascosta's MORNING GLORY MILKING FARM, our heroine Violet finds herself working an unconventional job 'milking' minotaurs in Cambric Creek. Violet is making the…
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A million and one innuendoes: Interview with Amy Andrews
This week, Amy& tackle a complicated discussion about sex in romance with the one and only Amy Andrews! Brace yourselves for an incredible chat about how sex can be written, what makes a good sex scene, and how maybe calling a penis a member might REALLY be a reference to parliament. As far as…
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Let’s Talk About Consent, Baby
This week Amy, Payton, Abby & Justina discuss Katherine Angel’s book, Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again, and deep dive into the nuances of sex, consent and desire. What kinds of social scripts have we been taught about sex and consent and why are they so dang gendered? Why is the patriarchy always…
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Episode 66: Michael Caleb Tasker’s grim and gripping Just Like the Night + Elisabeth Storr’s Fables and Lies
Michael Caleb Tasker’s grim and gripping Just Like the Night + Elisabeth Storr’s Fables and Lies Lena has only really known a life of petty crime after spending her childhood on the road with her charismatic card sharp father Ray. Now in adulthood and just out of prison she finds herself in much...
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This is Gonna Get Weird: An Intro to Monster Smut
Welcome to another Amy & Smut Month, the month where we talk about books with smut! This time we're getting to know the monstrous, the beastly, and the surprisingly sweet. We tackle what kind of monsters belong in 'monster smut', our Wills and Won'ts of monsterkind, Romantasy vs Monster Romances,...
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Episode 40: Dr Selena Fisk - Building a Data-Informed School Culture - Around the School Table by Xuno Suite
In this episode of Around the School Table (xuno.com.au/podcasts), host Steve Davis is joined by Dr Selena Fisk, a Data Storyteller and Founder of SelenaFisk.com, to explore how schools can move beyond simply collecting data and instead build a culture where evidence supports better teaching,...
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Six Covert Narcissists Log Into Zoom: The Highs and Lows of Writing
We're trying something a little different for this After Dark: a get-to-know-us episode. We've been talking zines all month, so it felt right that we get together and talk about our lives as writers. We answer the age old questions like Pantser or Plotter, do you worldbuild extensively or wing…
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BOOK CLUB: We made zines!
"It's nice to be known, I guess?" This book club episode is a liiittle bit different because it is zine month, and in lieu of a book club pick, we tasked ourselves with making our own zines. Today is the day we share them with each other and, of course, with you! From Amy & warfare to imaginary...
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Episode 39: Stephanie Doyle, Founder of The Conference Planners - Designing Conferences That Create Lasting Impact - Around the School Table by Xuno Suite
In this episode of Around the School Table (xuno.com.au/podcasts), host Steve Davis is joined by Stephanie Doyle, Founder of The Conference Planners (theconferenceplanners.com.au/), to explore how thoughtfully designed conferences can become powerful drivers of professional learning, leadership,...
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Comics are Really Cool: Interview with Georgina Chadderton (George Rex Comics)
This week Amy, Millie and Justina are joined by local Adelaide artist, zine-maker, community organiser and author of the graphic memoir Oh Brother, Georgina Chadderton – aka George Rex Comics. Join us as we chat all about making comics, shifting between zine-making and traditional publishing,...
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Episode 65 Laila’s Story told by refugee activist author and poet Mij Tanith
In 2023 Afghan single mother Laila was desperate to get herself and her five daughters out of Iran. The chances were slim, but she was willing to try anything. When she called an Afghan contact in Adelaide, Mij Tanith was in the room and decided to try and help. What ensued was a growing long...
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But it is that serious: From Zines to Metamorphoses
Welcome to week two of Zine Month! Today Amy, Justina, and Payton are joined by friends of the pod Gemma Neall and Shona Edwards. These wonderful guests are zine experts AND classicists — just about the coolest cross-section of interests a person could possibly have. So in this episode we make a...
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An Anti-Capitalist Fun Time: Intro to Zines
New month, new us! This July we’ll be drawing, writing, cutting, pasting, photocopying, folding and talking all things zines and zine-making. To kick off the month, we dove into Justina’s personal zine collection to find the answers to all our burning zine questions. What is a zine? Where do you...
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BOOK CLUB: Ida by Alison Evans
As we wrap up queer sci-fi month (😔🫶🏼) we get together to chat about our incredible book club pick, IDA by Alison Evans. This book follows Ida, who believes that she can time travel and uses her ability to amend errors in her life. From avoiding car crashes to rewinding conversational hiccups,...
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Episode 38: Paul Matthews - Wise AI and the Future of Human Intelligence - Around the School Table by Xuno Suite
In this episode of Around the School Table (xuno.com.au/podcasts), host Steve Davis is joined by Paul Matthews, Author and Education Consultant at Paul Matthews.ai (paulmatthews.ai), to explore how educators can embrace artificial intelligence without losing the human qualities that make teaching...
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The Gay Audacity of Actively Choosing Hope: Interview with Alison Evans
This episode Amy, Justina & Abby are joined by Alison Evans, author of our June BOTM Ida, as well as a whole host of other queer YA and middle grade speculative fiction, sci-fi and fantasy. Join us as we discuss all things reading and writing queer spec fic, imagining hopeful futures in YA, zine...
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Episode 37: Dr. Gina Biancarosa - Measuring Reading Growth with DIBELS - Around the School Table by Xuno Suite
In this episode of Around the School Table, produced by Xuno, host Steve Davis is joined by Dr. Gina Biancarosa, Ann Swindells Chair in Education, Professor in the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences, and Director of the Center on Teaching and Learning at the University of…
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Episode 64 Sarah Bailey’s techno-thriller Click + the amazing and tragic life of Charmian Clift
A serial killer is on the loose in Melbourne in Sarah Bailey’s ‘Click’. Three women, a journalist, a cop and a politician are on the case. The approaching pandemic is a dark hovering presence in this gripping story which also shows how modern technology has become a force for good and for evil. +...
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Soul Horny for Queer Sci-Fi: Fanfiction, AI, and Human Creativity
For the second week of Pride Month we're tackling fanfiction, all the way back to the Kirk/Spock community that started it all. There's something for everyone this episode: the history and fundamentals of fanfic, the community and passion of the craft, the social implactions of ladies reading...
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Jurassic Park Dinosaurs Are Gay: Welcome to Queer Sci-Fi
Hi Gay, Happy Pride Month! Today we're kicking off the month of June with a festive introduction to Queer Sci-Fi. There are some big Sci-Fi heads in Amy &, so get ready for a journey through all of our favourite books, authors, and films in the beloved genre. We consider if and why Sci-Fi is on…
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BOOK CLUB: To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
We’re sad to say goodbye to dragon month, but happy to send it off with a book club chat about Moniquill Blackgoose’s incredible first installment of the Nampeshiweisit series, To Shape a Dragon's Breath. This book follows the journey of Anequs, who bonds with a dragon hatchling and becomes the...
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Episode 63A - Poet Michael Farrell switches to prose in The Victoria Principle
Award-winning poet Michael Farrell’s latest book is a foray into storytelling through the medium of the short story. In “The Victoria Principle” his playful fictions, some autobiographical, deal with everything from the concept of ornithophobia to a nude writers’ retreat in Nova Scotia. His…
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Cozy Fantasy and Queer Abundance: An Interview with Rebecca Thorne
Join us for our hilarious interview with USA Today, Indie, and Sunday Times bestselling author Rebecca Thorne. Rebecca talks us through her life-long love of dragons, retrospective worldbuilding, the phenomenon of cozy fantasy, and the joy of writing established lesbian couples. We had an…
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Episode 36: David Loader OAM - Rethinking Student Engagement in Australian Schools - Around the School Table by Xuno Suite
In this episode of Around the School Table (xuno.com.au/podcasts), host Steve Davis is joined by David Loader OAM, Chair of the Institute of Education Reform (IER) (educationalreform.org.au), to explore one of the most urgent challenges facing Australian education: Student Disengagement. With...
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Does Wingspan Matter? Dragon Mythology Then & Now
This week, Justina & Payton have diligently done their homework on dragon mythology to share with us the history of dragons across time and culture. This includes their connections to colonialism, Christianity, creation, harvest, life, nature and more . . . and then Amy asks us what we would…
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How to Horse Your Dragon: Unraveling the complex world of dragon lore
It's dragon month, which means we're talking fire, scales, and flying. To kick off the month, we dive headfirst into all the dragon lore we know and try to figure out what we consider True Dragon Lore (hint: none, it's all valid). We talk about what we'd like to shoot from our mouths, whether our...
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Dennis Hearts Draco: Dragonheart Revisited
It's our first After Dark of the season, and we're revisiting a childhood classic, Dragonheart, as a bridge between April's YA month and our upcoming theme for May: dragons! We reflect on the movie, discuss the lore behind the original script, lament at the lost potential for a romance between...
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Episode 63 - Meet Vikings and murderers in two very different books
Cath is entertained by Penny Tangey’s tale of murder, motherhood and caffeine as a group of unlikely sleuths solve a crime at the local library. + Michaela talks to Lisa Hannett about the fierce and fantastical women of Norse mythology who star in her riveting new book “Yet She Lives”. Guests:...
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Episode 35: Kerry Williams - Closing the Literacy Gap - Around the School Table by Xuno Suite
In this episode of Around the School Table (xuno.com.au/podcasts), host Steve Davis is joined by Kerry Williams Director Teaching and Learning at SPELD SA Inc (speldsa.org.au), to unpack one of Australia’s most pressing education challenges. Together, they explore how literacy instruction has...
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BOOK CLUB: Eggshell by Olivia De Zilva
Eggshell is a young adult novella set in 2000s Adelaide that tells the story of Kira, a sarcastic, cynical teenager living in a council house with her Cantonese grandmother (Apoh) and her rebellious older cousin, Jake. As Kira navigates her experience of Year 12, the novella grapples with themes…
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A Literature of Transformation: Interview with Amie Kaufman
Join us in conversation with New York Times bestselling author, Amie Kaufman, as we continue Young Adult month! We discuss the novels that shaped Amie as a young adult herself, the YA genre as a literature of transformation, what it's like to write in conversation with teenagers, how to find the...
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The hidden passion of Rove McManus SPECIAL
Did you know that Rove McManus is an accomplished voice actor? You probably recognise Rove as one of Australia's most famous personalities. From his successful career as a standup comedian, long-running TV host, producer, children's author and overall cool guy, Rove has seen and done it all. Rach...
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'I Just Wanna Be Sad': What teenagers read ft. author Olivia De Zilva
Can you remember what it was like to be a teenager? This week, author Olivia De Zilva joins us again to recall the feelings and stories that shaped us when we were young. As an ex-teenager and current writer for teens/young adults, Olivia has much wisdom to share about the whimsy and grittiness...
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You Can Turn Anything Into Drugs*, and Other Things I Learnt from YA Fiction
Welcome to YA month! We're starting off the month talking about the fundamentals of the genre: what is it, why is it, and is it even a real genre? We get into the politics of ratings for books, letting kids pick their own reads, the YA author's obligation to hopefulness, and we name more books…
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BOOK CLUB: How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson
It's our first LIVE BOOK CLUB of 2026 !! Join the Amy & team (minus Payton, who was missed) to catch up on recent events before we dive into our BoTM, How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson. Would you survive being locked in a night club by a serial killer? Would you be caught dead on…
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Minisode 62A - Poet Miriel Lenore’s final poetry collection ‘Driving to Mulberrygong’
Adelaide poet Miriel Lenore didn't take to poetry until two thirds of her way through an adventurous life. She was over her many years a botanist, researcher, traveller, student, teacher, activist, feminist, mother and grandmother. Miriel spent twenty years in Fiji, forty years in the Australian...
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How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates: Interview with Shailee Thompson
This week, we interviewed the author of our latest favourite, and Book Club book of the month, 'How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates.' We chat all about the witty new slasher romance, the anxieties it feeds off, how to plot a book that spans over only a few hours, and the horniness of horror. What…
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The Power of Making Your Own Lover: Sentient Object Romance
Continuing a banger month of unconventional romance (Bad ra-ra ah-ah-ah), this week we're digging into the phenomenon of Sentient Object Romance. What initially seems like a silly, goofy genre is revealed to have hidden depths as we get into the topics of women's pleasure, consent, being seen…
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Hor-Rom-Com, Ho-Mance & Rom-Hor: Serial Killers in Romance Fiction
Oh it is good to be back for Season 2! This month’s theme is Bad (ra-ra, ah-ah-ah) Romance and today we’re kicking the year off with a discussion of serial killer Romance Fiction. The episode begins with a very reasonable conversation about the ethics of True Crime entertainment and then … well....