Words and Nerds: Authors, books and literature.

Date with a Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication. The main show will return next week for the final two episodes of the main series before we finish 2026 with three Debut Revisited specials, but to bridge the gap please enjoy a sneak peek of my newsletter show exclusive, Second Date, where authors return for a second round of rapid-fire questions. Check out a historical fiction/romance special as I go spoiler heavy with Lenny Robinson and Bryony McGuinness, and if you like it, sign up below! WARNING: this episode contains coarse language. I have a special deal currently where if you sign up to the newsletter, you can have 50% off a monthly or yearly VIP subscription for the next twelve months. That's $3 a month, or $25 a year! Sign up to the newsletter here (you can also get a free version too!): https://nickwasiliev.substack.com/ Get 50% off a paid VIP subscription here: https://nickwasiliev.substack.com/subscribe?coupon=651cc6fe Enjoy the show? Drop us a review, it really helps the show out! Check out our brand new podcast website: https://dwad.podpixels.com/ Check out the 2026 sponsor of the podcast, Pod Pixels: https://bit.ly/4cbG1Zt Subscribe on Podbean to never miss an episode: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/3mRME5IMoSJx Date with a Debut is featured as part of the Australian literary platform Words & Nerds. Check out all shows on the platform here: https://danivee.com.au/podcasts/ MAIN EPISODES: Lenny Robinson: https://dwad.podpixels.com/ep/series-4-episode-13-and-in-the-morning-by-lenny-robinson/ Bryony McGuinness: https://dwad.podpixels.com/ep/series-4-episode-17-violet-town-by-bryony-mcguinness/ BOOKS: Debut Features: And in the Morning / Lenny Robinson: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/JkWKNE Violet Town / Bryony McGuinness: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/QYv6Ba Other Books Mentioned: Land / Maggie O’Farrell: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/m4J737 Middlemarch / George Eliot: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/L0yQqV Mansfield Park / Jane Austen: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/4axb51 The Scarlet Letter / Nathaniel Hawthorne: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/m4JARD The Handmaid’s Tale / Margaret Atwood: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/5kD6bn Villette / Charlotte Bronte: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/rEqZnB David Copperfield / Charles Dickens: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/VOvEyk Crown of Midnight / Sarah J. Maas: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/VOvEyk Crescent City / Sarah J. Maas: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/OYvgRG The One Remaining / Paula McLean: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/yZP02y Alchemised / SenLinYu: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/qWLJ4O The Book Thief / Markus Zusak: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/gRej10 The Iliad and The Odyssey / Homer, Samuel Butler (Translator): https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/WOvnqn PRODUCTION NOTES: Host: Nick Wasiliev Guests: Lenny Robinson & Bryony McGuinness Editing & Production: Nick Wasiliev Podcast Theme: ‘Chill’ by Sakura Hz Production Code: 4:X2 Additional Credits: Dani Vee (Words & Nerds), Jean Smith, Siena Johnstone, Sarah Valle (UQP Press), Bakers Lane Books, Julia Ferracane (Righteous PR) FOLLOW NICK WASILIEV (+ DATE WITH A DEBUT): A LITTLE IDEA PODCAST: Feed SUBSTACK: nickwasiliev.substack.com WEBSITE: www.nicholaswasiliev.com YOUTUBE: @NickWasiliev_Official INSTAGRAM: @nickwasiliev TWITTER/X: @Nick_Wasiliev FACEBOOK: Nick Wasiliev TIKTOK: @nickwasiliev © 2026 Nick Wasiliev and Breathe Art Holdings ‘Date With A Debut’ is a Words and Nerds and Breathe Art Podcasts co-production recorded and edited on Awabakal Country, and we pay our respects to all elders past and present.

⭐️ Episode 832 Bridie Jabour - Ordinary, Funny, Tragic and creativity ⭐️ Published by Harper Collins Dear book lovers, This week I talk to Bridie Jabour about her new book Ordinary, Funny, Tragic 🩷 I love, love, love Bridie’s work! We chat about ✅ The challenge of writing comedy ✅ The important relationship between siblings ✅ Complexity of mother daughter relationships ✅ Parenting ✅ Scheduling creativity ✅ Writing process ✅ Publishing journey ✅ Leaning into her voice Support the industry by hitting play and reading books 💫 Dani 💋

⭐️ Episode 831 Carla Fitzgerald - How to Make the World Cup and writing middle grade ⭐️ Published by UQP. Dear middle grade readers, This week I talk to Carla Fitzgerald about her third book in this series. We chat about ✅ Being inspired by women’s sport ✅ Writing middle grade stories to engage kids ✅ Interesting research ✅ Writing process ✅ The challenge of the editing process ✅ Switching from middle grade to picture books Support the industry by hitting play and reading books 💫 Dani 💋

QWS S5E6 Thomas Vowles and Troy Hunter TEXT 🎙️ New QWS Podcast Episode! 🌈✨ In QWS S5E6, Troy talks to Thomas Vowles, author and screenwriter, whose incredible debut psychological thriller OUR NEW GODS came out last year While discussing OUR NEW GODS, Tom and Troy also talk about crime and thriller tropes, about how Tom’s screenwriting helped inform his novel, about moving to a new city, about writing sex, and about the joy of being queer, among heaps of other things. Books and authors discussed in this episode: - Dead Ends by Samantha Byres (see the ep with her QWS S5E1) - A Fairly Honourable Defeat and The Sea The Sea by Iris Murdoch - James Baldwin - Garth Greenwell - Brandon Taylor You can find Tom on the Gram at @thomasvowles and at www.thomasvowles.com and via his substack thomasvowles.substack.com You can find Troy on the Gram @troyhunterwriter and at www.troyhuntwriter.com Troy is the author of Gus and the Missing Boy and Gus and the Burning Stones and the upcoming Gus and the Climate Killer #Gayauthor #Queerwriting #adultfiction #WordsandNerds #LGBTQIABooks

⭐️ Episode 830 - Dani Vee and Amy Coomer - Ravensbourne, teen life and writing process ⭐️ Published by Bakers Lane. *Please note this episode discusses drug taking Dear music festival lovers, In this episode I chat to Amy Coomer about her brand new YA novel Ravenbourne. A mystery, a tragedy and a music festival that changes everything. We chat about: 💋 The risks of being a teenager, 💋 How the book changed since Amy started writing it when she was a teenager herself, 💋 Empowering teenagers, 💋Writing process and the lens of maturity, 💋 Exploring dark themes, 💋 How screenwriting informed the book, Support Aussie books, authors and publishers. Hit play and grab this book 🔥 Dani 💋