29. Vrasidas Karalis on Patrick White

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 long 18th century. In this conversation she draws a direct line from the forgotten, formulaic, novels that formed the trashy foundations on which Jane Austen's masterpieces were built to the dragon-shifter billionaires and tiger-men with unusual appendages dominating today's bestseller lists — and makes a compelling argument for why we should take them seriously. Olivia Murphy is the author of Jane Austen, the Reader and is currently working on an edition of Pride and Prejudice for an American publisher. You can read her essay "Who Did This To You? Olivia Murphy on BookTok and the Politics of Monster Fucking" at the Sydney Review of Books. Voices Olivia Murphy [https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-murphy-b1a6388a/] is the author of Jane Austen, the Reader [https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781349450909/9781349450909] and is currently working on an edition of Pride and Prejudice for an American publisher. Sarah Gilbert is a writer and producer based in Sydney, and the author of Unconventional Women: the story of the last Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Australia [https://www.mup.com.au/books/unconventional-women/9780522880397]. She is executive producer at UTS Impact Studios. Credits This episode of Fully Lit was made on Gadigal land in Sydney. Fully Lit podcast is brought to you by Impact Studios [https://impactstudios.edu.au/] at UTS, the Sydney Review of Books [https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/], and the UTS Writing and Publishing Program [https://www.uts.edu.au/for-students/communication/writing-and-publishing], and is produced by Regina Botros. Executive Producers: Sarah Gilbert and James Jiang. Recorded and mixed by Regina Botros. Further reading 'Who did this to you? Olivia Murphy on Booktok and the politics of monsterfucking [https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/essays/who-did-this-to-you]', published by the Sydney Review of Books [https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/].

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 read him now? Writer and translator Vrasidas Karalis joins journalist and biographer Helen Trinca for a searching conversation about White’s life, art and legacy. From the quiet, enduring presence of his lifelong partner Manoly Lascaris to White’s metaphysics, irony and suspicion of tidy plots, the discussion traces both the intimate and intellectual worlds that shaped his work. They revisit the war years, White’s complicated “salvation” in Australia, his artistic obsessions, and the enduring challenge of adapting his novels for the screen. Along the way, they reflect on why Voss, Riders in the Chariot and The Vivisector still feel urgent — and unsettling. Patrick White distrusted comfort. He rejected easy narratives. He believed the novel should disturb rather than console. So how do we read him in an age that prizes clarity, speed and reassurance? Voices Hosted by Giramondo publisher and friend of Antigone, Ivor Indyk [https://giramondopublishing.com/authors/ivor-indyk/], the event brought together: Professor Vrasidas Karalis [https://profiles.sydney.edu.au/vrasidas.karalis] is a writer, translator and Professor of Modern Greek Studies at the University of Sydney. A prolific scholar of modern Greek literature, culture and cinema, he has published extensively on migration, identity and modernism. Karalis is also a leading interpreter of Patrick White’s work. Helen Trinca [https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/helen-trinca] is a journalist and literary biographer. She is the author of Madeleine: A Life of Madeleine St John [https://stella.org.au/book/helen-trinca-madeleine-a-life-of-madeleine-st-john/] and Looking for Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Harrower [https://gleebooks.com.au/p/looking-for-elizabeth-the-life-of-elizabeth-harrower]. Credits The live event was presented by Giramondo Publishing [https://giramondopublishing.com/]. This episode was recorded on Gadigal land at Sydney's Gleebooks - for more literary events see the Gleebooks events page [https://gleebooks.com.au/pages/13876-Events]. Fully Lit is brought to you by Impact Studios [https://impactstudios.edu.au/] at UTS, the Sydney Review of Books [https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/], and the UTS Writing and Publishing Program [https://www.uts.edu.au/for-students/communication/writing-and-publishing], and is produced by Regina Botros. Edited and mixed by Siobhan Moylan & Regina Botros. Executive Producers: Sarah Gilbert and James Jiang. Find more episodes of Fully Lit wherever you get your podcasts. Further reading Karalis' On Patrick White's Dilemmas: A Personal Essay [https://www.brandl.com.au/books/on-patrick-whites-dilemmas/], is available at Gleebooks [https://gleebooks.com.au/p/on-patrick-white-s-dilemmas-a-personal-essay] and other good booksellers. Commemorative editions of the Poetry and Prose: https://giramondopublishing.com/books/poetry-antigone-kefala/ [https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/mDqXCK1D6kHqP43ZBcMf4U5l21U?domain=giramondopublishing.com/] https://giramondopublishing.com/books/fiction-antigone-kefala/ [https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/QJtUCL7EPlFPVQElmFqhkUyDZZf?domain=giramondopublishing.com/]

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 Queensland, using isolation and an often-unseen industry to explore power, fear and uncertainty. Judi Morison’s Secrets is a family saga spanning six decades, centred on a matriarch facing the end of her life — and a truth she has carried for sixty years — illuminating histories of incarceration, racism and intergenerational trauma. The authors reflect on the importance of place in their storytelling, on isolation and truth-telling, and on the role UTS played in helping them develop their voices and navigate the path to publication. The episode also features readings from both novels. Voices Dr Claire Corbett [https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Claire.Corbett] is a writer, critic and lecturer in Creative Writing at UTS, where she teaches fiction and creative nonfiction. Her work spans literary criticism, essays and teaching, with a focus on contemporary literature, feminism and narrative form. Judi Morison [https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Secrets/Judi-Morison/9781761636073] is a writer and UTS alumna whose debut novel Secrets is published by Bundyi, Simon & Schuster’s First Nations imprint. Verity Borthwick [https://publishing.hardiegrant.com/en-au/books/hollow-air-by-verity-borthwick/9781761154195] is a writer and UTS alumna whose debut novel Hollow Air is published by Ultimo Press. Recorded at The UTS Writers' Festival held on November 7, 2025, to celebrate books by UTS Creative Writing staff, alumni, and students. Credits Fully Lit podcast is brought to you by Impact Studios [https://impactstudios.edu.au/] at UTS, the Sydney Review of Books [https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/], and the UTS Writing and Publishing Program [https://www.uts.edu.au/for-students/communication/writing-and-publishing], and is produced by Regina Botros. Executive Producers: Sarah Gilbert and James Jiang. Mixed by Siobhan Moylan & Regina Botros. Fully Lit is made on Gadigal land. Further reading Critical/Mineral - Roslyn Jolly on the Australian Mining novel [https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/reviews/criticalmineral], a review of Verity Borthwick's Hollow Air.

27. The Long Game: Felicity Castagna and writing Western Sydney

In this episode of Fully Lit Live, Felicity Castagna [https://www.felicitycastagna.com/] joins writer and producer Sheila Ngoc Pham [https://www.sheilatakeabow.com/] 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, [https://www.instagram.com/alltherizk/] whose work reflects on heritage, land, and survival. What follows is an expansive discussion tracing Felicity Castagna’s journey from early short story writing to award‑winning novels, teaching, and cross‑disciplinary creative work. Together, Felicity and Sheila reflect on Australian literature, the decline of literary study in universities, and the changing role of reading communities outside academia. They explore the idea of “Western Sydney literature” — who it serves, where it falls short, and how writers can resist being pigeonholed while still honouring place and specificity. The conversation also touches on class mobility, migrant identity, writing in dark political times, adaptation for stage and screen, and what it means to sustain a creative life over decades. Felicity shares insights into her upcoming novel Peaches, as well as her approach to teaching, collaboration, and staying creatively engaged beyond the book industry alone. The event was hosted by writer Yumna Kassab [https://yumnakassab.com/]. The episode concludes with audience Q&A, considering creativity across disciplines, writing through rage and despair, and the value of slow, sustained artistic work. This event was recorded at the Parramatta Literary Salon #4 on Wednesday 11 March, 2026, an Arts & Cultural Exchange, Parramatta event. [https://aceinc.org.au/whats-on/parramatta-literary-salon-4-felicity-castagna/] Voices Felicity Castagna [https://www.felicitycastagna.com/] is a Sydney novelist, essayist, critic and teacher of creative writing. Her essays on books, art, suburbia, home and place are published both here and internationally on platforms such as The Sydney Review of Books, Electric Literature, LitHub, and ABC radio and television. When she’s not writing she spends most of her time talking about books and helping other people to write them. She’s taught everywhere from schools to festivals, art galleries and correctional centres and she has helped to establish, promote and run many writing and storytelling programs, particularly in Western Sydney. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing with The Writing and Society Research Centre at Western Sydney University. Felicity has published four novels for adults and young adults including her most recent book, Girls In Boys’ Cars, which received The Victorian and Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards and is on its way to becoming a film. She is also the author of No More Boats, a finalist in the 2018 Miles Franklin Literary Awards, and The Incredible Here and Now, which won a Prime Minister’s Literary Award. Her next book, Peaches, will be released in 2027. Sheila Ngọc Phạm [https://www.sheilatakeabow.com/] is an independent Sydney writer, producer and researcher. She writes for a wide range of Australian and international publications, and her work has been recognised with listings in the 2023 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize, 2021 Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism and 2021 Woollahra Digital Literary Award. She has produced radio and podcasts for Monocle, ABC Radio National and SBS; worked on screen-based projects and series; and curated exhibitions for the State Library of NSW and Fairfield City Museum and Gallery. Sheila was the inaugural Imago Fellow at the State Library of NSW, examining Australian speculative fiction in the late 20th century, and is currently a researcher of refugee health at the University of Technology Sydney. Charnel Rizk [https://www.instagram.com/alltherizk/] is a Lebanese Australian multidisciplinary artist working across poetry, music, performance, theatre, and writing. She is the co‑owner of Parramatta Artists Studios and founder of the creative platform All The Rizk. Her writing has been featured on SBS and has received international attention. Charnelle is also a practicing speech therapist and is passionate about storytelling, identity, and community‑focused creative collaboration. Credits Fully Lit is made on the Gadigal lands of the Eora nation. Sevan Dermelkonian recorded this episode at the Parramatta Literary Salon #4 on Wednesday 11 March, 2026 and is an Arts & Cultural Exchange, Parramatta event. [https://aceinc.org.au/whats-on/parramatta-literary-salon-4-felicity-castagna/] Fully Lit is brought to you by Impact Studios [https://impactstudios.edu.au/] at UTS, the Sydney Review of Books [https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/] and the UTS Writing and Publishing Program. [https://www.uts.edu.au/for-students/communication/writing-and-publishing] Producer: Regina Botros Executive Producers: Sarah Gilbert and James Jiang Find more episodes of Fully Lit wherever you get your podcasts.

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 at Gleebooks, writers, scholars and close friends reflect on her life, her exile and her modernism — and on the fierce clarity of a voice that refused to belong neatly anywhere. For some of the speakers, Kefala was a literary influence. For others, she was a close friend — someone whose wit, irony and indomitable spirit they continue to miss deeply. Together, they consider her historical present, her multilingual musicality, and her lasting impact on Australian letters. Antigone was a literary original. Voices Hosted by publisher and friend of Antigone, Ivor Indyk [https://giramondopublishing.com/authors/ivor-indyk/], [https://giramondopublishing.com/authors/ivor-indyk/] the event brought together: Mireille Juchau [https://giramondopublishing.com/authors/mireille-juchau/] — award-winning novelist, essayist and critic, and Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney. Her novels include Machines for Feeling, Burning In, and The World Without Us, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction. She wrote the introduction to Antigone Kefala: Collected Fiction. Anna Couani [https://www.annacouani.com/] — writer, visual artist and co-director of The Shop Gallery in Glebe. A long-time friend of Kefala, she has written and spoken extensively about her life and work. Brigid Rooney [https://profiles.sydney.edu.au/brigid.rooney] — Professor of English at the University of New South Wales and co-editor (with Elizabeth McMahon) of Antigone Kefala: New Australian Modernities. Her biography of Shirley Hazzard was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Award for Non-Fiction. Lauren Aimee Curtis [https://laurenaimeecurtis.com/About-1] — novelist and short story writer, author of Dolores and Strangers at the Port, longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and selected for Granta’s Best of Young Australian Novelists. Nikos Papastergiadis - [https://giramondopublishing.com/authors/nikos-papastergiadis/] is the Director of the research unit in public cultures, and a Professor in the School of Culture and Communication at The University of Melbourne. Alex Wells [https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Alex-Wells/241369587] — Berlin-based writer and editor, literary editor of The Berliner, whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Paris Review and elsewhere. A long-time advocate for Kefala’s international readership. Vrasidas Karalis [https://profiles.sydney.edu.au/vrasidas.karalis] — professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies at the University of Sydney, translator and scholar, and an early academic supporter of Kefala’s work. Jim Provencher [https://www.bigbendliterary.com/issues/issue-four/porch-time] — poet and long-time friend of Kefala, who reflects on her craft, musicality and uncompromising standards. Credits Fully Lit is brought to you by Impact Studios [https://impactstudios.edu.au/] at UTS, the Sydney Review of Books [https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/], and the UTS Writing and Publishing Program [https://www.uts.edu.au/for-students/communication/writing-and-publishing], and is produced by Regina Botros. This episode was recorded at Gleebooks in Sydney - for more literary events see the Gleebooks events page [https://gleebooks.com.au/pages/13876-Events]. Executive Producers: Sarah Gilbert and James Jiang. Edited and mixed by Regina Botros. Find more episodes of Fully Lit wherever you get your podcasts. Further reading For those who can’t get enough of Kefala, we recommend Wells’ extended homage, ‘Alien Nation [ https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/essays/alien-nation]’, recently published in the Sydney Review of Books. Ranging across Kefala’s poetry and fiction, Wells argues for the lasting impact her writing left on Australian literature. Through its attunement to migrants’ sense of displacement, Kefala’s work brought new intensities of poetic vision as well as a heightened sensitivity to the alienating effects of time and language.