Welcome to the first in a new monthly series covering the best episodes of the month on our podcast, Tell Me What to Read. I’m Nick Wasiliev, producer and host of the show, and content creator here at Booktopia HQ.
Didn’t know we had a podcast? Surprise, we do! You can head over and check it out right here, where we chat with the hottest personalities about their favourite reading habits, as well as the biggest authors from Australia and around the world! If you enjoy it, drop us a like or review, and subscribe to keep up to date with when our latest episodes drop!
Now without further ado, let’s dive into the juiciest episodes of June …
For lovers of crime and thriller
Where better to start than our Book Of The Month: Dirt Town, the debut thriller from Hayley Scrivenor. An incredible read filled with secrets, deception and more, Hayley joined us at Booktopia HQ to chat about how the story came together, her love of crime writing and her favourite Australian writers, how editions change from Australian to international audiences, and more!
For the festival crowd
At the time of writing, the Emerging Writers Festival is currently underway in Melbourne and in the online sphere. Running from June 15th-25th, the festival showcases some of the best rising talent (both within the writing and the broader arts community) that Australia has to offer. If you are looking to check out what’s at the festival this year, where better to start than our duology podcasts!
In our first episode, we sat down with Artistic Director Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh and ambassador Jeanine Leane, discussing the incredible line up and how the festival has overcome the challenges of COVID.
In our second episode, we chat with artist Mykaela Saunders on being part of the festival and its significance, as well as her gut-wrenching new anthology of Indigenous speculative fiction (which features in the festival), This All Come Back Now!
For those looking for their kid’s next favourite book
Our latest episode, out last Friday, delves into the world of kids and middle grade fantasy! We were joined in the studio by comedian, celeb, and author Tanya Hennessy, and talk about the latest adventures of the LunchBox crowd in Spotlight Please, It’s Stevie Louise.
Then, we entered a world of bloodthirsty unicorns and fearless unicorn riders, as Sarah chatted with author A.F. Steadman, author of the brand new bestselling fantasy, Skandar and The Unicorn Thief!
For lovers of memoir and true stories
Cathrine Mahoney and Sarah McGilvray from Not Another Parenting Podcast on NovaFM, hot off breaking our author signing challenge record, took over our studio to smash Mars Bars, break chairs and talk about Cathrine’s new book, Currently Between Husbands!
For lovers of the arts
In a unique discussion for this month, we sat down with Joanna Gilmour, curator and researcher of the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. We discussed the incredible new exhibition, Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London, and recommend books listeners can also pick up about the incredible personalities and painters who feature in the exhibition.
For the romantics
Lastly, we dive into the world of literary fiction, chatting with contemporary authors on some of the new literary love stories that have come out over the last few months.
We traveled to the 1960s and 1980s in a sprawling story of love, as former Booktopian-turned-author John Purcell shares his novel about the painful truths life has to teach us, in The Lessons.
We went back to the 19th century for a tale of forbidden love in Caroline Petit’s sweeping historical novel, The Natural History of Love.
And lastly, we come forward to today as Nigel Featherstone gives us a story of family and the cost of freedom in My Heart is a Little Wild Thing.
Join us when the podcast resumes on June 28th as we get into self-help with Jessica Irvine and Chelsea Pottenger, before diving into the world of crime with books from Shelley Burr, E. Lockhart and Sulari Gentill.
See you next month — and happy listening!
About the Contributor
Nick Wasiliev
Nick is one of Booktopia's Senior Content Producers. He spends his days running Booktopia's Podcast and YouTube channel, 𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑴𝒆 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑻𝒐 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅. Known as the '𝘗𝘰𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘶𝘺', he also spends his time embarassing himself on TikTok, writing novels, and chatting sport on Twitter under @Nick_Wasiliev. His debut novel, WHEN MEN CRY, was published in 2019 and reissued in 2020 through Breathe Art Holdings.
REVIEW: Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A.F. Steadman 
What if unicorns were real — and deadly?
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