Biographers in Conversation
Sneak Peek
Hello. I’m Gabriella Kelly-Davies, a biographer endlessly fascinated by the multiplicity of choices biographers make when crafting a life story.
When you read a biography, do you feel like you’re in the story living the biographical subject’s life, feeling what they’re feeling and seeing what they’re seeing? To stimulate your imagination this way, biographers make hundreds of decisions about how they research and write their books. It’s these choices I’ll explore with them in my new podcast, Biographers in Conversation.
Gabriella Kelly-Davies, Host of Biographers in Conversation
To kick off Season One on 3 April 2024, I’ll chat with Peter FitzSimons about the choices he made while writing an epic biography of Sydney Opera House, one of the world’s most iconic buildings.
Here’s Peter talking about a vital aspect of his biography and some of the literary devices he employed to craft propulsive narrative.
In another episode, I’ll chat with Jacqueline Kent about the choices she made while writing her biography of Beatrice Davis, the doyenne of Australia’s publishing industry.
Here’s a snippet of Jacqueline explaining why biographers must craft an authentic account of a subject’s life, one which is based on truth.
Also in Season One, Matthew Lamb, who wrote a biography of Frank Moorehouse, the celebrated Australian novelist, screenwriter and journalist, describes differences between the art and business of writing life stories.
And Ann-Marie Priest, who wrote the biography of Gwen Harwood, one of Australia’s most innovative poets, explains how she contextualised Gwen’s poetry.
In future episodes of Season One, I’ll chat with biographers from around the world, including Kenneth Miller, who wrote a biography of the quartet of scientists who created the field of sleep science.
Joshua Kendall, who wrote the biography of Peter Roget, the polymath who created the Famous Roget’s Thesaurus, will reveal the choices he made while writing The Man Who Made Lists.
And Nancy Hurrell will introduce us to the history of the Egan Irish Harp and the life story of John Egan, the harp’s inventor and creator.
Sarah George, who wrote GAMU: The Dreamtime Stories, Life and Feelings of Big Bill Neidjie, will introduce us to Aboriginal elder Big Bill Neidjie, who was instrumental in establishing the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.
Bernadette Brennan shares her approach when crafting A Writing Life. Helen Garner and her Work, the literary portrait of one of Australia’s most vital and revered authors.
And Joel Stephen Birnie will share the choices he made while writing My People’s Songs. How An Indigenous Family Survived Colonial Tasmania, the story of his family’s harrowing experiences in surviving colonisation of Tasmania during the nineteenth century.
We’ll also hear from Nadia Wheatley about the choices she made while writing the biography of the celebrated Australian author, Charmian Clift.
In exciting news, Nadia has just published an edited version of Charmian Clift’s, The End of the Morning, which includes Clift’s previously unpublished autobiographical novel and thirty of Clift’s essays.
And Mark McKenna will reveal the choices he made while writing the biography of legendary Australian historian, Manning Clark.
In Season One, I’ll also chat with:
- Cathy Perkins: The Shelf Life of Zora Cross.
- Kate Fullager: Bennelong and Phillip: A History Unravelled
- Ryan Cropp: Donald Horne: A Life in the Lucky Country
- Henry Reynolds and Nicholas Clements: Tongerlongeter. First Nations Leader and Tasmanian War Hero.
- Brett Mason, Wizards of Oz: How Oliphant and Florey Helped Win the War and Shape the Modern World.
- Judith Brett: The Enigmatic Mr Deakin.
- Ashleigh Wilson: A Year with Wendy Whiteley: Conversations About Art, Life and Gardening.
- Peter Hempenstall: Truth’s Fool: Derek Freeman and the War Over Cultural Anthropology.
- Marcia Biederman: The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill, Abortion, Death and Concealment in Victorian New England.
- Laurie Gwen Shapiro: The Stowaway: A Young Man’s Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica.
- Christie Lowrance: Nature’s Ambassador: The Legacy of Thornton W. Burgess.
- Melinda Ponder: Katharine Lee Bates: From Sea to Shining Sea.
- Carl Rollyson: The Life of William Faulkner: The Past Is Never Dead, 1897-1934 and The Life of William Faulkner: This Alarming Paradox, 1935-1962.
I hope you’re as excited as I am to hear from each of these biographers about the choices they made to craft enthralling narrative that gets to the truth of their subject. If you like the sound of Biographers in Conversation please subscribe, share the podcast with your family and friends and leave a review. Stay tuned for the launch of Biographers in Conversation on 3 April 2024.
8 Comments
A wonderful URL. I will visit from time to time.
Hi Xiumin
Thanks so much
I hope you enjoy Biographers in Conversation
Warmest wishes
Gabriella
I would like to subscribe
Hi Anne
If you go to the webpage: biographersinconversation.com, the logos for Spotify, apple Podcasts etc are now live and you can click on them to subscribe
I still think this is pretty amazing
thanks so much Dylan
Have a fabulous day
warmest wishes
Gabriella
Can you provide information as to how to subscribe to your podcast? Thank you.
Hi Elizabeth
Thanks so much for your message..
The links to Apple Podcasts, Spotify etc are now at the top of the homepage
I hope you enjoy Biographers in Conversation
Warmest wishes
Gabriella