The Kill Your Darlings Podcast

Critic Raelee Lancaster joins Rebecca to discuss the final title in the series, Ellen van Neerven's extraordinary debut book. A collection of interlinking stories that dissolve boundaries and binaries with its depictions of blak queer lives, Heat and Light encourages readers to question their sense of belonging and identity, and has carved out lasting space in the queer literary canon.

Critic Nigel Featherstone joins Rebecca to discuss the iconic gay memoir, Holding the Man. It is the love story of Tim and John, who first met as teenagers at their all-boys Catholic school in Melbourne, and whose lives are torn apart by the AIDS crisis. First published in 1994, the book continues to have a profound impact on countless readers. 

Critic Dzenana Vucic joins Rebecca to discuss The Well, which won Elizabeth Jolley the Miles Franklin Award in 1986, and established her reputation as one of Australia's most celebrated writers. When ageing spinster Hester brings home orphaned teenager Kathy to her remote farm in WA, she develops powerful, obsessive and possessive feelings. One night they accidentally hit and kill a man on the road and hide his body in a well—an event that haunts both of them and threatens to destroy Hester.

Critic Sam Twyford-Moore joins Rebecca to discuss Fairyland. This book is perhaps the most old-fashioned on the list, exploring not only queer awakening but also other social issues. It was Locke Elliott’s final book, where he openly and publicly discussed his queer identity and the loneliness he experienced. The story is primarily set in Sydney from the late 1920s to the 1950s, after which the protagonist, a writer, moves to the US.

Critic and memoirist Sam Elkin joins Rebecca to discuss Danielle Laidley’s unflinching autobiography, Don’t Look Away. A powerful account of a compartmentalised life, this book follows Laidley as she reckons with her gender identity over many decades inside the deeply masculine and heteronormative institution of the AFL.  Read Sam Elkin's essay, "This Secret Valley", here. Get the best of KYD by joining as a member.

Bestselling novelist and literary critic Madeleine Gray joins Rebecca to discuss Beverley Farmer’s Alone, a lyrical, tender, sad exploration of a young woman’s heartbreak, hopelessness and obsession provoked by the ending of a passionate relationship and rejection by her female lover due to the social stigma of 1950s Melbourne.   Read Madeleine Gray's essay, Lesbians and Palimpsests here. Get the best of KYD by joining as a member.

New series from Kill Your Darlings, Australia’s leading independent literary organisation! Australian literature has a queer history. Join author and KYD publishing director Rebecca Starford as she chats with literary critics about the books that have a profound impact on our understanding of LGBTQIA+ experiences, gender and sexuality in Australia. From classic texts to hidden gems, they revisit these works with fresh eyes and uncover their lasting influence.

Editor’s note: This episode contains discussion of death and grief practices. Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For June that debut is The Eulogy by Jackie Bailey (Hardie Grant), an autofiction novel about family, death and grief that was shortlisted for the 2018 KYD Unpublished Manuscript Award. Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Nial Hosken. Further reading: Read Ellen Cregan’s review of The Eulogy in our June Books Roundup. Read about Jackie’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection. How To Be Between is available now from your local independent bookseller. (more…)

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For May that debut is How To Be Between by Bastian Fox Phelan (Giramondo), a memoir about female facial hair, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and negotiating identity for those visibly between gender binaries. Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Nial Hosken. Further reading: Read Ellen Cregan’s review of How To Be Between in our May Books Roundup. Read about Bastian’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection. How To Be Between is available now from your local independent bookseller. (more…)

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For April that debut is Hovering by Rhett Davis (Hachette), a powerful and kaleidoscopic story about three people struggling to find connection in a chaotic and impermanent world. Rhett discussed the novel with our First Book Club host Ellen Cregan at a live event at Bargoonga Nganjin, North Fitzroy Library on 7 April. Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Nial Hosken. Further reading: Read Ellen Cregan’s review of Hovering in our April Books Roundup. Read about Rhett’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection. Hovering is available now from your local independent bookseller. (more…)

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For February that debut is Son of Sin by Omar Sakr (Affirm Press), a multifaceted tale brimming with angels and djinn, racist kangaroos and adoring bats, examining with a poet’s eye the destructive impetus of repressed desire and the complexities that make us human. Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Nial Hosken. Further reading: Read Ellen Cregan’s review of Son of Sin in our March Books Roundup. Read about Omar’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection. Son of Sin is available now from your local independent bookseller. (more…)

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For February that debut is The Cost of Labour by Natalie Kon-yu, out now from Affirm Press. Natalie was nine weeks pregnant when the trembling began. Two weeks later she checked herself into a mental health unit. Rather than a woman with a health concern, the doctors saw Natalie as a vessel carrying precious cargo. This loss of agency carried on through childbirth and into her early years as a mother. Natalie discovered that she was far from alone. In fact, her experience typifies the inequalities that weigh heavily on child-bearing women, as well as the devaluation of what is still perceived as ‘women’s work’. With bracing clarity and verve, Kon-yu tackles the outdated institutions, expectations and ideologies that hold us hostage as parents. The pressure is building and the cost on families is stacking up. Something has to give. Drawing on personal narratives, history, social research and interviews, The Cost of Labour tackles the expectations that keep us all hostage to a dynamic unfit for contemporary society and offers hope for a way out of the trap. Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt. Further reading: Read a review of The Cost of Labour in our February Books Roundup. Read about Natalie’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection. The Cost of Labour is available now from your local independent bookseller. (more…)

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For November that debut is Permafrost by SJ Norman, out now from UQP. This brilliant collection of short fiction explores the shifting spaces of desire, loss and longing. Inverting and queering the gothic and romantic traditions, each story represents a different take on the concept of a haunting or the haunted. Though it ranges across themes and locations—from small-town Australia to Hokkaido to rural England—Permafrost is united by the power of the narratorial voice, with its auto-fictional resonances, dark wit and swagger. Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt. Further reading: Read a review of Permafrost in our November Books Roundup. Read about SJ’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection. Permafrost is available now from your local independent bookseller. (more…)

Welcome to the second episode of our new interview series, Pub Talk, where we chat to some of Australia’s most experienced and influential publishers, editors and agents. During these conversations you’ll receive insiders’ information about the industry, as well as advice from experts on the many pathways to publication for new writers. We’re thrilled to have Leah Jing McIntosh as our guest this month. She is a critic, researcher, and the founding editor of Liminal magazine, an anti-racist literary platform that interrogates and celebrates the Asian-Australian experience. Alongside editing Liminal and establishing literary prizes for writers of colour, she produces literary events, often working in collaboration with major arts organisations. Tune in to hear KYD publishing director Rebecca Starford and Leah discuss the role of literary magazines, the politics of visibility and the power of community. Further reading: • Liminal’s interview with Radhiah Chowdhury. • Collisions is available now from your local independent bookseller—read KYD’s review! Our theme song is Johnny Ripper’s ‘Typing’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt. (more…)

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For October that debut is The Psychic Tests by Gary Nunn, out now from Pantera Press. In The Psychic Tests award-winning journalist Gary Nunn investigates psychics, mediums and astrologers to understand their uncanny, under-investigated and unregulated power. Gary tries out some psychics himself, sometimes with hilarious results. He hears about their secret influence over world leaders, CEOs, news editors and the criminal justice system. Believe in them or not, psychics can impact who will date you, befriend you and even who’ll hire you. Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt. Further reading: Read a review of The Psychic Tests in our October Books Roundup. Read about Gary’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection. The Psychic Tests is available now from your local independent bookseller. (more…)

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For September that debut is Small Joys of Real Life by Allee Richards, out now from Hachette. The night Eva shared a smile with Pat, something started. Two weeks later, lying together in her bed, Pat said, ‘You can’t live your life saying you’ll get around to doing something you know will make you happy. You just have to do it.’ Eva didn’t know how devastating those words would turn out to be. Pat dies and the aftershock leaves Eva on unsteady ground. She is pregnant. And she has to make a choice. First Book Club host Ellen Cregan spoke with Allee about the book and the experience of writing it at a live online event hosted by Yarra Libraries. Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt. Further reading: Read a review of Small Joys of Real Life in our September Books Roundup. Read about Allee’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection. Read Allee’s short story This Version of Her from New Australian Fiction 2019. Small Joys of Real Life is available now from your local independent bookseller. (more…)