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.
