PODCAST · arts
Fully Lit
by Impact Studios and The Sydney Review of Books
What is Australian literature today? How does it connect to its roots in our recent and ancient pasts? And where is it headed? Welcome to Fully Lit: a podcast about Australian writing, where you'll hear a new conversation between authors, critics and readers each fortnight.Our original eight-part series, presented by Anna Funder, includes readings and conversations with John Kinsella, Nicholas Jose, Jeanine Leane, Anita Heiss and other luminaries of Australian letters as they dissect the work of Alexis Wright, Peter Carey, Patrick White, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Christina Stead and many more.Fully Lit is brought to you by the Sydney Review of Books, Impact Studios, and the UTS Writing and Publishing program.
Episodes
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41. Dorr-e Dari Artistic Group: A Journey into Theatre and Poetry
What does home feel like when you've spent your life searching for it? And how do stories help us make sense of identity, belonging and displacement? In this special episode of Fully Lit, recorded live at the Addi Road Writers’ Festival, members of Dorr-e Dari present an evening of storytelling,...
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40. We Carry Each Other's Stories: Isabelle Li with Gail Jones
What do we owe to the people we love? And how do we carry each other’s stories through time? In this episode of Fully Lit, Chinese-Australian writer Isabelle Li joins acclaimed novelist Gail Jones to discuss The Northern Tomb, a sweeping and deeply humane novel about family, memory, obligation…
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39. Writing the Life of A.D. Hope
What makes a literary reputation endure, and why do some writers disappear from view despite once standing at the centre of a nation's culture? In this episode biographer Susan Lever joins poet and critic Peter Kirkpatrick to discuss her major new biography, A.D. Hope, tracing the life of a…
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38. Afterlife Animals : Live from Addi Road Writers Festival
What remains after loss? How do we carry the people, places and versions of ourselves that are gone? And can art help us make sense of what endures? In this episode of Fully Lit, writer and broadcaster Sarah Runcie is joined by poet Vaughn Upward Garcia, musician Helen Franzmann, and writer and...
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37. What Books Know: Angela O'Keeffe
In conversation with Amy Sambrooke, Angela O’Keeffe discusses a book that asks an unusual and beguiling question: what if a book could think, feel and observe the world around it? Partly narrated by a sentient novel, Phantom Days follows a book as it moves between readers, witnessing intimate…
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36. What Makes a Writer: Live at the Sydney Writers Festival Paramatta
In this episode of Fully Lit, we bring you a live recording from the Sydney Writers’ Festival in Parramatta. Hosted by James Jiang, editor of the Sydney Review of Books, the panel brings together Maxine Beneba Clarke, Yumna Kassab and Eda Gunaydin for a wide-ranging conversation on what makes a...
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35. Looking Closely: Lisa Gorton and Bella Li
In this episode of Fully Lit, we bring you a live recording from Melbourne with two poets in conversation, Lisa Gorton and Bella Li. Gorton reflects on nearly two decades of writing, moving between history, visual art and poetry. The discussion centres on the new sequence Caesars, where the Mona...
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34. Celebrating NAIDOC week
This NAIDOC Week, Fully Lit revisits some of the standout conversations in our back catalogue with First Nations writers, critics and publishers. As a podcast about Australian literature, we believe First Nations storytelling sits at the heart of what is most vital, challenging and exciting about...
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33. Southern Connections: Live at Addi Road Writers Festival
In this episode of Fully Lit, recorded live at the Addison Road Writers’ Festival, we explore the richness and diversity of contemporary Latin American literature. Writer Yumna Kassab joins Uruguayan author and translator Rosario Lázaro Igoa in conversation with literary translator Chris Andrews…
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32. Erin Vincent: Fragments, Grief and Memory
In this episode of Fully Lit, Erin Vincent, in conversation with writer and academic Sarah Attfield, reflects on returning to a subject she once believed she had left behind in her verse novel, 14 Ways of Looking. Moving between memoir, research and constraint‑based writing, the book is a...
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31. Masculinity. Vulnerability. Growing up. Are the boys alright?
In this episode of Fully Lit, we head to the Addi Road Writers’ Festival for a wide‑ranging conversation on masculinity, vulnerability, and the inner lives of men. Writer Luke Carman is joined by George Haddad, author of Losing Face, and debut novelist Jet Williams to explore what it means to…
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30. Olivia Murphy on the politics of monster-fucking
Scholar, insomniac, and accidental romantasy expert Olivia Murphy joins us to talk about the wildly popular adults-only genre that blends Mills & Boon-style romance with Game of Thrones-style world-building, and explore its cultural significance. Olivia is an expert on the popular novel of the…
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29. Vrasidas Karalis on Patrick White
In this episode of Fully Lit, recorded live at Gleebooks in Sydney, we turn to one of the most formidable figures in Australian literature — Patrick White. Nobel Prize–winning, fiercely private, and allergic to sentimentality, White remains both towering and divisive. But what does it mean to…
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28. Isolation, Place and Truth: Verity Borthwick and Judi Morison in conversation with Claire Corbett
In this episode of Fully Lit Live, UTS alumni Judi Morison and Verity Borthwick join writer and academic Dr Claire Corbett to discuss their debut novels at the 2025 UTS Writers’ Festival. Verity Borthwick’s Hollow Air is a psychological thriller set at a remote mining site in Far North…
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27. The Long Game: Felicity Castagna and writing Western Sydney
In this episode of Fully Lit Live, Felicity Castagna joins writer and producer Sheila Ngoc Pham for a wide‑ranging conversation about writing, class, place, and longevity in the arts. The evening opens with poetry by Lebanese Australian multidisciplinary artist Charnel Rizk, whose work reflects…
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26. Historical present & multilingual musicality: remembering Antigone Kefala
What does it mean to write in a language that isn’t your first — and to transform it completely? Antigone Kefala arrived in Australia from war-torn Europe and went on to reshape Australian literature with prose that was spare, luminous and unflinching. In this episode of Fully Lit Live, recorded…
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25. Multilingual homes - from 'My Language, My Country'
This episode of Fully Lit comes from our friends at the UTS Multicultural Women's Network, and features two poets, Anne Casey and Nadia Niaz, in conversation with host Elaine Laforteza. Both Anne and Nadia challenge the dominance of English in Australia by creating bold, multilingual poetry. What...
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24. Writing the Real: Fiction, Work and Witness with Gretchen Shirm and Andrew Pippos
Recorded live at the 2025 UTS Writers’ Festival, this episode of Fully Lit Live features novelists (and UTS writing alumni) Andrew Pippos and Gretchen Shirm in conversation with Delia Falconer. In The Transformations, Pippos sets a love story inside a newsroom on the brink of digital collapse.…
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23. The Critics’ Report: Freedom, Funding and ‘Social Cohesion’
In this episode of Fully Lit Live, we present The Critics Report, an event hosted by the Sydney Review of Books at the State Library of NSW in December 2025. Moderated by SRB deputy editor Tiffany Tsao, the conversation brings together critics, editors and scholars to assess a year that placed...
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22. How to Read a Poem
In this episode of Fully Lit Live, we bring you a panel discussion recorded at the Blue Mountains Writers Festival in November 2025. James Jiang, editor of the Sydney Review of Books, hosts Willo Drummond and Hasib Hourani for an exploration of how poems work - in the body, on the page, and in…
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21. Geordie Williamson on Alexis Wright
Alexis Wright’s novels are often thought of as “difficult,” but this episode of Fully Lit Live challenges that label, and asks what that word is really doing. Critic Geordie Williamson is the author of the recent On Alexis Wright, part of Black Ink’s 'Writers on Writers' series. In this...
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20. Fully Lit Live: Author, arise! Decolonising Barthes
In this episode, we return to Roland Barthes’ famous 1967 essay, The Death of the Author. This influential text is often taught as an anti-authoritarian gesture, shifting the power of meaning from the author to the reader. But what happens when we consider Barthes’ ideas alongside the voices of...
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19. Fully Lit Live: Rebel Daughters - a UTS Writer's Festival event
Recorded at the UTS Writers’ Festival on Friday, 7 November 2025, this episode of Fully Lit Live brings you Rebel Daughters, where you’ll hear acclaimed poet Anne Casey share readings from her latest collection, followed by a Q&A with award-winning poet and critic Sarah Holland-Batt, newly...
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18. Fully Lit Live: Yumna Kassab’s Dictionary of Parramatta
In December 2023, the Sydney Review of Books and Western Sydney University's Writing and Society Research Centre were delighted to announce renowned fiction writer, Yumna Kassab, as the inaugural Parramatta Laureate in Literature, a program delivered in partnership with the City of Parramatta.…
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17. Fully Lit Friends: Send for Nellie! by History Lab
In this episode, we’re bringing you a story from our friends at History Lab. Historical novelist Sienna Brown brings to life the story of Nellie Small, a trailblazing performer whose life challenged the boundaries of race, gender, and identity in early 20th-century Australia. You'll hear actor...
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16. Fully Lit Live: The Poets Speak at Parramatta's Lit
In this special live episode of Fully Lit, we head to Parramatta for The Poets Speak, an evening of powerful readings and conversation presented by Giramondo Publishing. Recorded as part of Parramatta’s Lit Festival and the Sydney Fringe Festival, the event features acclaimed poets Eunice Andrada...
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15. Fully Lit live: Gail Jones on writing at a slant
Explore the poetic, philosophical, and genre-defying world of Gail Jones’s latest novel, The Name of the Sister, in this episode of Fully Lit Live. In conversation with fellow author Debra Adelaide, Jones reflects on the difference between a crime novel and a novel with a crime in it, and asks…
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14. Critics Rejoice Live: at Parramatta's Lit
In this spirited discussion, three critics—Max Easton, Eda Gunaydin, and Lucy Van—join Sydney Review of Books editor, James Jiang, to explore the evolving role of the critic. Together, they delve into how they each came to criticism, the influences that shaped their voices, the ethics and...
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13. Surveying the scene: poet tasting, poet eating and poetry criticism today
Poetry month has been and gone, but we have plenty more to say about poetry and poetry criticism! So we're bringing you a 2024 episode of 'Poetry Says,' wherein host Alice Allan reflects on Ben Etherington's 2015 essay 'The Poet Tasters' - a forensic and statistical critique of Australian poetry...
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12. Fully Lit Live: The Poet in the Public Arena
Hear what poet and critic Sarah Holland-Batt has to say about Australia's as-yet-uncrowned Poet Laureate. She takes a close look at the tradition and explores poetry's relationship to power, highlighting the potential pitfalls and possible benefits of such a figure. Can a poet laureate bring…
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11. Fully Lit live: sound and fury as we talk podcasting in the pub
This special edition of Fully Lit Live was recorded at the Abercrombie Hotel in Sydney, on beautiful Gadigal land. It was a night of celebration, conversation, and creative sparks, as we launched the podcast with a vibrant discussion on the power of audio as a medium for literary criticism - one...
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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...
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9. 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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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Introducing... The Secret Life of Books podcast
If you're enjoying this podcast, here's a podcast we think you'll like too! The Secret Life of Books is made by Sophie Gee, an academic and a writer, and Jonty Claypole, broadcaster and producer. Sophie and Jonty tell the story behind the story of the literary classics that everyone wants to…
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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,...
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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…
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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 Lynda Ng to tackle these questions. With readings from Australian fiction that reveals a...
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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 Lynda Ng—Oz Lit scholar and literary critic—for a deep dive into the Australian novel and its shifting place in global literature. Through powerful readings...
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0. Welcome to Fully Lit: a podcast about Australian writing
What is Australian literature today? How does it connect to its roots in our recent and ancient pasts? And where is it headed? Welcome, or welcome back, to the Sydney Review of Books podcast - now known as Fully Lit: a podcast about Australian writing, presented by Anna Funder. Over eight…
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Blackfulla Bookclub on Fire Front
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...
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Pat Grant on getting The Grot to readers
In this episode, graphic novelist Pat Grant explains what happened during the seven years it took him to make his second book, The Grot. We’ll also hear about the challenge of getting hard copies of your own book in the midst of a global pandemic. - - - - Pat’s website is patgrantart.com where…
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Climbing the Hill – poet Eileen Chong on writing and place
This episode of the SRB podcast is an audio essay: ‘Climbing the Hill’ by Eileen Chong. We are fascinated by the ways the places we live shape the poems, books and essays we write. When poet Eileen Chong was invited take up this theme she wrote an essay with roots in three places: Singapore…
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An Introvert’s Guide To Surviving An Arab Family of Extroverts
‘It’s not a document that anyone can see or get hold of, rather, it’s the way I’ve broken things down to guide me and my anxiety along. The extroverts are a loud, 25-strong Lebanese clan – all of us living in three houses side-by-side on the same street in Punchbowl, south western Sydney, roaming...
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Award Rate – Andrew Brooks and Laura Elizabeth Woollett on writing, money, work and prizes
In recent years there’s been a trend of writers publicly giving away prize money to charity or sharing it with other shortlisted writers. But when novelist Laura Elizabeth Woollett was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, she was working in a call centre. The $80,000 prize would...
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Welcome to the Sydney Review of Books Podcast
Welcome to the Sydney Review of Books podcast, a show about Australian books and writers. Each week we publish criticism and essays by Australia’s best writers on our website – and now we’ve got a podcast to match. It’s about what writers do to make books, essays and poems – and what they do to...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
What is Australian literature today? How does it connect to its roots in our recent and ancient pasts? And where is it headed? Welcome to Fully Lit: a podcast about Australian writing, where you'll hear a new conversation between authors, critics and readers each fortnight.Our original eight-part series, presented by Anna Funder, includes readings and conversations with John Kinsella, Nicholas Jose, Jeanine Leane, Anita Heiss and other luminaries of Australian letters as they dissect the work of Alexis Wright, Peter Carey, Patrick White, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Christina Stead and many more.Fully Lit is brought to you by the Sydney Review of Books, Impact Studios, and the UTS Writing and Publishing program.
HOSTED BY
Impact Studios and The Sydney Review of Books
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Fully Lit have?
Fully Lit currently has 49 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Fully Lit about?
What is Australian literature today? How does it connect to its roots in our recent and ancient pasts? And where is it headed? Welcome to Fully Lit: a podcast about Australian writing, where you'll hear a new conversation between authors, critics and readers each fortnight.Our original eight-part...
How often does Fully Lit release new episodes?
Fully Lit has 49 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Fully Lit?
You can listen to Fully Lit on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Fully Lit?
Fully Lit is created and hosted by Impact Studios and The Sydney Review of Books.
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