Welcome to 5AM StoryTalk! I'm joined by VERONICA SULLIVAN – the director of the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival. You can learn more about her extensive career in fiction, publishing, and the arts in general at her website, but you can also find links to what we discuss in our artist-on-artist conversation in the links list below.
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A bonus episode with Veronica is available, too, in which she breaks down a seminal artwork from her life - C.S. Lewis's THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW (1955). Listen to it here or at Apple, where you can become a paid supporter and get access to bonus eps like these five to six months earlier than everywhere else: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bonus-veronica-sullivan-talks-c-s-lewiss-the/id1807437928?i=1000704418583
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Show notes. Veronica and I discuss the following (amongst other things):
· The influence of an artist's biography (both good and bad) on the reception of their work in today’s information-rich society, but also the larger problem we have in which we often appraise work based on what we know about it rather than our personal experience of it
· How Australia’s unique geographic and cultural dynamics shaped the country’s vibrant and robust literary culture and publishing traditions
· Festival curation as a form creation not dissimilar from storytelling
· The Melbourne Writers Festival’s focus on diverse forms of storytelling and events beyond traditional literary conversations – including the necessity for provocative cultural conversations that might challenge many attendees
· How platforms like Substack are reshaping how authors connect with their audiences, what it means for the future of publishing, and how literary festivals might adapt to these innovations to recognize Substackers’ achievements
· The role of writers and readers festivals – and arts festivals in general – in communities like Melbourne, enhancing cultural engagement and happiness.
Links:
· 5AM StoryTalk newsletter (become a paid subscriber here to gain access to both the 5AM StoryTalk newsletter and podcast
· Description of The Magician’s Nephew
5AM StoryTalk would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is recorded, the Djarra people of the Kulin Nation and pay respects to Elders past and present.
