Category: interview

Carolyn Layton with Laura Elizabeth Woollett

Carolyn Layton had an idyllic childhood. Daughter of a socially progressive Methodist minister father and peace activist mother, she grew up believing passionately in social justice and racial equality. After marrying Larry Layton, a conscientious objector, the two began a new life together, a life founded on their shared principles of equality, freedom and social progress. Then they found an incredible new church, that seemed to share and espouse the values they held most dear: The People’s Temple. As Carolyn became progressively more involved with the organisation and its charismatic leader, Jim Jones, she started to change, and it wasn’t for the better.

Join us as we chat to Laura Elizabeth Woollett, author of Beautiful Revolutionary, about how Carolyn became implicated in the greatest loss of American life until September 11 and the complexities of how we remember the mistress of Jim Jones.

Shirley Jackson with Reading Women

This week we teamed up with Kendra and Autumn of Reading Women to get spooky and chat all things Shirley Jackson, the queen of horror. From her unhappy childhood as the unwanted daughter of aspiring socialites, to her equally unhappy marriage to the philandering Stanley Hymen, we investigate how the demons of domesticity and anxiety (and a dose of a love for the occult) primed her to become one of the greatest gothic horror writers of all time. We then dive into her masterful short story, ‘The Lottery’, and geek out about the new adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House. So grab your favourite dog-eared Jackson paperback, and settle in for Halloween and Day of the Dead with the four of us!

Rita Walsh and Fangirls

To celebrate the release of I Used to be Normal: A BoyBand Fangirl Story, Deviant Women sat down with producer Rita Walsh to dish the dirt on what it means when your love for boybands is larger than life. From shame to empowerment, hysteria and the formation of sexuality and identity, we explore how fandom shapes the lives of young women, their passions, their communities, and why we should pay attention to them. 

Hannah Kent

In our second interview of season two we are lucky enough to be joined by multi-award winning author, Hannah Kent. Based on the true story of the last person to be executed in Iceland, Hannah’s international bestseller, Burial Rites, follows the last days of the accused murderess, Agnes Magnusdottir, while her second novel, The Good People, examines the lives of three very different women caught up in the world of Irish folklore and superstition.

Margot McGovern

In our first interview of season two, (and the launch of a new special series!) we sat down with author Margot McGovern to chat all things YA: from the emergence of ‘unlikable’ female protagonists (and why they’re so irresistible) to the power of transforming myths of masculine adventure for girls, we delved deep into the gender dynamics of the world’s fastest growing literary genre.

In Neverland, Margot’s own feisty and – let’s be honest – bratty heroine Kit must navigate her return to her island home-turned-boarding school and its troubled teenage inhabitants, the depths of lust and attraction, not to mention the treacherous waters of her family’s tragic past and her own history of self-harm. We like our heroines complicated, and Kit Learmouth doesn’t disappoint, so grab yourself a map and join us for our first dive into the waters of YA.

Patricia Cornelius

One of Australia’s most awarded playwrights, Patricia Cornelius isn’t afraid to go where other writers won’t. With titles like SHIT and SLUT, Patricia pushes her audience to pay attention to some of society’s most visceral issues. In The Club was specially commissioned for the State Theatre Company of South Australia, and it shines a blinding light on accounts of sexual violence in one of our most beloved national sports. Patricia sat down with us to discuss her life in the theatre, and just what inspired her to write this uncompromising new work.