Hi Everyone,

Welcome to this episode of Better off Read.

First of all, apologies for no podcasts in November. Things got a bit on top of me and I wasn’t able to record an episode.

Beyond a Joke will be back in January, with more conversations with people about things that make us laugh. We’ll be starting the year talking to some of the amazing people who took part in the Verb After-Hours: Beyond a Joke event which was held in November.

In the meantime, over December I’ll be sharing a few recordings of work I’ve written this year.

In this episode, it’s a short story I wrote for the amazing journal HEAT.

The story is called Please Unlock to Drive and I wrote it after I read an article about e-ecooters being dumped Also in the mix of this story was my sadness and anger over the housing market and gig economy. I am often interested in work and it always finds it’s way into my work. Slight, life-meets-fiction fact, my father worked as an Uber driver until the pandemic got too much for him.

It was so great to work with Alexandra Christie on this story. HEAT is published by Giramondo who published my book Nothing to See. I’ve just finished working with Nick Tapper from Giramondo on my next novel Audition which comes out with Giramondo next year. I am so grateful to Giramondo. Nothing to See was scuppered, like so many things, by covid and I am so grateful that they are taking another chance on me with this new book. It is a dream to work with Giramondo.

Here’s a bit about HEAT from their website

HEAT is an Australian literary journal renowned for its dedication to literary quality, and its commitment to publishing innovative and imaginative poetry, fiction, essays, criticism and the hybrid forms.

The aim of the magazine has always been to publish innovative Australian and international writers of the highest standard. Fifteen issues were published in the first series, from 1996 to 2000, with internal design by Toni-Hope Caten and covers by Harry Williamson. It was followed by the new series of HEAT, designed by Harry Williamson, with twenty-four issues published between 2001 and 2011.

The third series of HEAT commenced publishing bimonthly in 2022, in a new design by Jenny Grigg. It is edited by Alexandra Christie, with the support of a distinguished editorial board.

There are two really exciting new podcasts that I wanted to say, Yay!! about.

Flying Fetu podcast of some of the sessions that took place at their recent talanoa. The best way to get information about this is by following Flying Fetu on Instagram

Rats in the Gutter is a new podcast by Sam Te Kani and Johanna Cosgrove. Rats in the Gutter also has an Instagram account you can follow