Yasmin Abdel Magied is an engineer who has run oil and gas rigs, a formula one mechanic, a social advocate and a writer, novelist and public intellectual. Her new book Talking About a Revolution collects essays, writings and speeches from the past ten years.

Sulari Gentill’s The Woman in the Library takes us into the fictional world of Hannah Tigone, bestselling Australian crime writer. And Hannah Tigone takes us into the fictional world of Winifred Kincaid, Australian writer in residence in Boston, working hard to plot out her new novel.Winifred is in the Boston Public Library when a blood curdling scream throws her into the path of Cain, Whit and Marigold and together they form a bond that just might throw them into the path of a killer.Hannah is meanwhile crafting Winifred’s story in correspondence with Leo, a super fan of dubious social acumen.Keeping up so far?Sulari’s whodunnits are delightful riffs on crime conventions and an absolute blast to try and figure out. They take us into the world of the writer and often blur (or perhaps I should say cross) the lines between where the story ends and reality begins.

It’s a sad fact that tragedy brings us together. Dane, Jac, and Josh don’t get together as much as they should. Spread out across the country; Jac in Sydney, Josh all over the country as his TV work takes him and Dane, who never left Pent. It just never seems like there’s enough time. Now the siblings must converge on their hometown after their father is in a car accident that leaves him in a coma. It’s not just the accident. Each of the siblings has their own drama eating away at their peace. The reunion isn’t destined to go smoothly. Pent is no longer the same town they grew up in, but the ghosts of the past still rest there. While their father remains in a coma, questions emerge that have them wondering if there is more to his accident that they first assumed. What had been happening in their dad’s life that could lead him to do something desperate? Join me as we discover Matthew Ryan Davies’s Things We Bury...

All Four Quarters of the Moon takes us into the world of Peijing as she and her family prepare to migrate to Australia for her father’s work. In Singapore Peijing understood how everything worked; her Ba-Ba worked hard seven days a week, her Ma-MA worked to raise the family and her Ah-Ma worked at making delicious mooncakes. Peijing and her little sister Biju worked at creating their little world and populating it with animals both real and mythological, and telling fantastic stories about the animals' lives. In Australia things seem upside down to say the least. Ba-Ba now goes to work for only five days and is wearing a polo shirt. Ma-Ma needs Peijing to translate and is not happy that she is not allowed to bring her daughters lunch at school. And Ah-Ma seems confused and is always asking Peijing her name. Peijing must be strong and honourable for her family but that is not always easy when everything is so new.

Georgina Young’s debut novel Loner won the Text Prize for Young Adult novels, was commended by the CBCA as a notable book for older readers, and was shortlisted for a Prime Minister’s Literary Award. Now Georgina is back with her new novel Bootstrap and she’s joining us today on the podcast. Ginsborough’s famous for its chicken and leek pies and not much else. Down the road in Koornang all they’ve got is Al’s Takeaway and Jackson Sweeney is doing his best to sour that reputation. Sweeney’s not languishing in Koornang per se. Languishing sounds way more active than what Sweeney is doing. With nothing but Hooley Dooley’s on a Friday to look forward to (and Sweeney’s pashed most of the available blokes there) life is looking dire. That is until a tall, dark and very out of place bloke named Bootstrap splits into Sweeney’s life saying he’s come to see the night that Sweeney becomes a hero! Join me as we discover Georgina Young’s Bootstrap...

It seems like just another ordinary day... Sarah is doing bar work at the club. A nice normal job while she’s on stress leaving from her job as a cop. She’s tending bar when a man walks into the club with a shotgun. Mary is just trying to enjoy a quiet drink. She’s always enjoying a quiet drink and doesn’t appreciate the loud man in the balaklava interrupting her reverie. Daydrinking isn’t exactly a long term plan and so Mary decides to do something foolish. And poor Dean. He can’t understand why everybody won’t just get down on the ground and give him the money. He needs this and one big score could set him up for a while. In one brief flurry of activity Criminals throws Sarah, Dean and Mary’s lives together and sets them on a path to explore what it means to be a criminal and how life is more than simply a matter of Black and White.

*WARNING SPOILERS* This part of our conversation with Claire contains spoilers for Enclave. Definitely don't tune in until you've read Enclave! What are you waiting for? Go get a copy now! In this special bonus of outtakes from the Enclave interview Claire talks about inspirations for the story, famous fans and the potential for her work to be adapted. Enclave takes us to the community of Safetown. There residents live a comfortable life, secure in the knowledge they are protected by ‘the wall’. Within that concrete edifice security patrol their streets and drones surveil the airway to ensure even the smallest transgression is met with swift consequences. Christine has spent her entire life basking in the comfort her fathers wealth and Safetown’s security provide the daughter of an influential family. Sure her father is a distant figure, her mother a high functioning alcoholic, but they’ve just bought her an apartment and extended her a line of seeming unlimited credit. Safetown was built to protect families like Christine and she should be happy with this safety. Except her best friend Jack is missing and Christine has begun to notice her servants, people who don’t look quite like her… Join as we discover Claire G Coleman’s Enclave. Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople Want more great conversations with Australian authors? Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week from 2ser.

Enclave takes us to the community of Safetown. There residents live a comfortable life, secure in the knowledge they are protected by ‘the wall’. Within that concrete edifice security patrol their streets and drones surveil the airway to ensure even the smallest transgression is met with swift consequences. Christine has spent her entire life basking in the comfort her fathers wealth and Safetown’s security provide the daughter of an influential family. Sure her father is a distant figure, her mother a high functioning alcoholic, but they’ve just bought her an apartment and extended her a line of seeming unlimited credit. Safetown was built to protect families like Christine and she should be happy with this safety. Except her best friend Jack is missing and Christine has begun to notice her servants, people who don’t look quite like her… Join as we discover Claire G Coleman’s Enclave. Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople Want more great conversations with Australian authors? Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week from 2ser.

Ginsborough’s famous for its chicken and leek pies and not much else. Down the road in Koornang all they’ve got is Al’s Takeaway and Jackson Sweeney is doing his best to sour that reputation. Sweeney’s not languishing in Koornang per se. Languishing sounds way more active than what Sweeney is doing. With nothing but Hooley Dooley’s on a Friday to look forward to (and Sweeney’s pashed most of the available blokes there) life is looking dire. That is until a tall, dark and very out of place bloke named Bootstrap splits into Sweeney’s life saying he’s come to see the night that Sweeney becomes a hero! Book Club is produced and presented by Andrew Pople Want more great conversations with Australian authors? Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week from 2ser.

Reece is in limbo, and as far as it goes there are worse places to be stuck than the beachside town of Hamilton. But it’s not just the place Reece is stuck in her memories. Memories of The Terrible Thing Happened and the way it has basically put her life on hold. Maybe she can ride out the last year of school, but fate and a resident shark named Bruce are determined to throw her in the way of Gideon and there’s a whole other set of secrets. Discover Lauren Draper’s The Museum of Broken Things... Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople Want more great conversations with Australian authors? Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week from 2ser.

Frank Moorhouse was an author, journalist and essayist. He is best known for his Edith Trilogy chronicling the life of Edith Campbell Berry and her time as a diplomat around the formation of the League of Nations. Frank was a terrific chronicler and interrogator of Australia and our way of life. Frank died last week at the age of 83. This episode features a conversation with Frank from 2017 where he discussed his essay on the writers life. Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople Want more great conversations with Australian authors? Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week from 2ser.

It’s a sad fact that tragedy brings us together. Dane, Jac, and Josh don’t get together as much as they should. Spread out across the country; Jac in Sydney, Josh all over the country as his TV work takes him and Dane, who never left Pent. It just never seems like there’s enough time. Now the siblings must converge on their hometown after their father is in a car accident that leaves him in a coma. It’s not just the accident. Each of the siblings has their own drama eating away at their peace. The reunion isn’t destined to go smoothly. Pent is no longer the same town they grew up in, but the ghosts of the past still rest there. While their father remains in a coma, questions emerge that have them wondering if there is more to his accident that they first assumed. What had been happening in their dad’s life that could lead him to do something desperate?

The Final Draft Great Conversations podcast is all about books, writing and literary culture. We're dedicated to exploring Australian writing, looking into the issues that drive our storytelling to discover more from the books you love. These are the stories that make us who we are. In the next instalment of our irregular, ongoing series featuring incredible book podcasts Andrew is joined by Kate Mildenhall & Katherine Collette from The First Time. The First Time is a podcast about publishing a book for the first time. Kate and Katherine describe The First Time as one part reality show, one part writers’ master class, featuring Australian writers and industry insiders, exploring the logistics of publishing a debut.

In the community of Safetown residents live a comfortable life, secure in the knowledge they are protected by the wall. Within that concrete edifice security patrol their streets and drones surveil the airway to ensure even the smallest transgression is met with swift consequences. Christine has spent her entire life basking in the comfort her fathers wealth and Safetown’s security provide the daughter of an influential family. Sure her father is a distant figure, her mother a high functioning alcoholic, but they’ve just bought her an apartment and extended her a line of seeming unlimited credit. Safetown was built to protect families like Christine and she should be happy with this safety. Except her best friend Jack is missing and Christine has begun to notice her servants, people who don’t look quite like her…

Geo has returned to Tasmania following the death of his father to sell the family home. The triggers a reunion with his brother Wes who has followed in their father’s footsteps becoming a cop. Wes is not having any of Geo’s talk about selling, the house contains too many memories. Geo needs the money to fund his auditions and fulfill his dream of joining a Symphony Orchestra. That dream is Geo’s true a north, a journey that has taken him far from Tasmania. Geo’s arrival sets the stage for an untimely family conflict, one of supernatural proportions. Join me as we discover Brendan Colley’s The Signal Line...

Yassmin Abdel Magied is a Sudanese Australian writer, recovering mechanical engineer and award-winning social advocate. Yassmin was born in Khartoum, Sudan and her parents moved the family to Australia when Yassmin was a baby. Yassmin is a mechanical engineer who left her dream of working with formula one and worked on oil and gas rigs. Yassmin turned the story of her early life into the successful book Yassmin’s Story, and in some ways Talking About a Revolution is a successor of that book. Yassmin has also penned a middle grade series beginning with You Must Be Layla. Yassmin Abdel Magied is based in London these days after a social media post five years ago went viral for all the wrong reasons, leading to her receiving death threats and having to move house. Never mind the fact that she was raising an important social justice issue. Talking About a Revolution collects essays written around that time as well as across the intervening years, as well as original essays for the collections.

Adelaide in the 1930’s. Margaret, Esther and Phyllis are studying to be witches under the guidance of their friend Audrey. The friends have founded the Semaphore Supper Club with the dream of changing people’s minds and helping men and women dream of a more equal world. As the group finish school and enter the so-called ‘real world’ they find that society doesn’t want female adventurers and university graduates. It would rather see women at home; married and pregnant. The friends believe they can change their corner of the world, but they are not the only force that wants to manipulate the country's dreams. As a conservative force rises across Australia the people in power turn their attention to women’s place in the world. And these men have very dark dreams indeed about where women fit in. Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople Want more great conversations with Australian authors? Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week from 2ser.

Madeleine D’Leon is a crime novelist searching for her next big mystery to write. Ned McGinnity is a literary enfant terrible waiting for his muse to strike. Madeleine is intrigued by the voice in her head, could it be her next Detective? He’s a novelist, arrogant, the type who would only write so-called serious literature. Only he’s got himself embroiled in a murder, the sort he would never deem to write but one that he must solve in order to save his friend. Ned doesn’t do genre, wouldn’t stoop to conquer until he stumbles on the almost too delicious temptation of writing a protagonist crime author becoming embroiled in a mystery.

Today Andrew is joined by Ben McKenzie & Elizabeth Flux the hosts of Pratchat

Geo has returned to Tasmania following the death of his father. Geo’s back to sell the family home, little realizing that his brother Wes is living there while his marriage breaks down. Wes followed in their father’s footsteps becoming a cop. He’s more like their father than Geo is comfortable with and he’s not having any of Geo’s talk about selling. Geo needs the money to fund his auditions and fulfill his dream of joining a Symphony Orchestra. Their whole family have musical talent but Geo is the one trying to realize his. Geo feels no attachment to Hobart and wants to be rid of the ghosts of his father and the way he treated him. Geo’s arrival sets the stage for an ultimately family conflict… and then a ghost train appears followed closely by an eccentric ghost train hunter.

Daisy & Woolf works itself into the spaces between the seminal Virginia Woolf novel Mrs Dalloway. Woolf’s novel expands across a single day in London society. Clarissa Dalloway embarks to order the flowers. She will host a party that night and she must be prepared. Across the city characters intersect and nearly miss each other in a web of events and reminiscences. One character, remarked upon but who never speaks in Daisy Simmons. It is Daisy who Michelle Cahill rescues from her literary silence to explore her lot and inner world. In doing so Cahill is opening up her novel to the silenced voices of Anglo Indian character who very much occupied Woolf’s mind but failed to feature in her novel. 1924 - Daisy Simmons works to arrange passage from Calcutta to London. She must leave her family, desperate to be reunited with her lover Peter Walsh. It is a journey that demands much from her and will extract a price. What can she expect on the other side of the world and is it worth her exercising this reckless freedom? 2017 - Mina is a writer trying to pull together the threads of Virginia Woolf’s work into a unique novel. Mina wants to restore agency and voice to Daisy, giving her the story Woolf glossed over. As Mina works to free Daisy from her fictional invisibility she must also reconcile herself to the bonds of her own world

Losing Face is a story about Family… Joey’s nineteen; young and directionless. His Tayta Elaine feels old and wonders at the directions her life has taken her in. Elaine worries about where Joey is heading. The friends Joey hangs out with aren’t the sort you bring home to meet your parents, his job isn’t taking him anywhere and his true friends are busy with uni. Joey feels like he has more to offer but he’s a spectator in his own life and that’s about to lead him into a terrible situation, one that will change many lives, a moment that he won’t be able to take back… Discover George Haddad’s Losing Face... Final Draft is produced and presented by Andrew Pople Want more great conversations with Australian authors? Discover this and many more conversations on Final Draft every week from 2ser.

Deklan Archer, Dek to his friends, arrives at school to news that has shocked the community. Old Mr Henry, infamous for selling sly grog to locals, has been found drowned. To make matters worse, the bus returning the Year Twelve camp is running late. This has got Dek stressed because he and his mates were mucking around near the bus. The cops are talking to everyone and Dek is one of the first students called up. Could Mr Henry’s death be murder, and if so what does that mean for the busload of missing students?

1924 - Daisy Simmons works to arrange passage from Calcutta to London. She will leave her family, her life to be reunited with her lover Peter Walsh. 2017 - Mina is trying to write a novel. She will restore agency and voice to Daisy, a woman who was never even given a voice in Virginia Woolf’s seminal novel Mrs Dalloway. As Mina works to free Daisy from her fictional invisibility Mina must also reconcile herself to the bonds of career, family and duty to make peace with the responsibility of a writer bringing life onto the page…