AustLit

'The February 2020 issue of Writers in Conversation includes six new conversations, including two with Dalit authors from West Bengal (Shyamal Kumar Pramanik) and Maharashtra (Urmila Pawar), one with Abhay K., an Indian poet and diplomat, one with best-selling Australian science fiction writer Sean Williams, one with veteran Australian literary scholar Joost Daalder, and one between two colleagues discussing the great Indian poet and short-story writer Kamala Das.

'We also include a 1994 interview with Malaysian poet, critic and scholar Shirley Geok-lin Lim drawn from the archives of the Centre for Research into New Literatures in English.' (journals.flinders.edu.au/index.php/wic/issue/view/10

'Welcome to the August 2019 issue of Writers in Conversation.

'In this issue we bring you five conversations with authors based in India, Australia and the UK, conducted by scholars from Mallorca, Australia and India. 

'Basudev Sunani is an Oriya poet from Odisha, and in his interview with Jaydeep Sarangi he discusses his experience as a Dalit writer and his commitment to the Dalit movement. Another Indian poet, Malay Roychoudhury, in conversation with Zinia Mitra and Jaydeep Sarangi, gives a fascinating account of his formative part in the avant-garde 'Hungryalist' movement in Bengal in the 1960s.

'Two Australian novelists are interviewed in this issue. Jane Rawson discusses her extraordinary unclassifiable novel, 'From the Wreck', partly based on a famous event in South Australian history, with Patrick Allington, while Australian author Candice Fox speaks candidly to Mallorcan scholar Catalina Ribas-Segura about her successful career as a popular crime fiction writer.

'South African born novelist and academic Elleke Boehmer, now based at Oxford University, spoke to Gillian Dooley about her new book 'The Shouting in the Dark and other Southern Writing' at a public event in Adelaide in February 2019, and this conversation and the discussion that follows are transcribed here. 

'We hope you enjoy this selection of interviews with a range of writers with very different life stories and experiences of the creative process.'(Introduction)

'We are very pleased to bring you the August 2018 issue of Writers in Conversation, the tenth edition, which rounds out our fifth year of publication. As is always our aim, we again include interviews with writers in a variety of styles and forms – poets, novelists, non-fiction writers – with wide-ranging interests and approaches to their craft.

' Nadira Brioua and Mohammad Quayum interview Umm Zakiyyah, a prominent African-American novelist born in New York whose novels explore the urgent challenges faced by Muslims in the USA since 11 September 2001. Arup Chatterjee brings us an absorbing conversation with London’s ‘deep topographer’, Nick Papadimitriou, following on from his discussion with Papadimitriou’s friend and associate, British writer Will Self, in the February issue.

'Our indefatigable colleague Jaydeep Sarangi has provided two interviews for this issue. His animated discussion with Sharmila Ray, Indian poet and essayist writing in English, covers many topics, including the genesis of her poetry, her thoughts on the Kolkota literary scene and her reaction to the perennial question of why an Indian poet writes in English. Jaydeep also spoke to Nakul Mallik, a Bangla-Dalit writer-activist, on his development as a writer and the important work he continues to do to promote the cause of the Dalit community in Bengal. And in turn, Jaydeep, himself a distinguished poet, is interviewed for this issue by Ruchi Singh.

'To round out the issue, your editor Gillian Dooley spoke to her friend and colleague Danielle Clode, a remarkable and prolific creative non-fiction writer who writes on science and natural history. Our discussion particularly centred on her new book about Australian naturalist Edith Coleman, The Wasp and the Orchid, her first foray into full-length biography.

'We hope you enjoy the variety of voices represented here, from a truly international collection of authors, and we extend our gratitude as always to both interviewers and interviewees.' (Introduction)

Writers in Conversation is now celebrating its fourth birthday. As editors we are delighted that conversations with a fascinating range of writers continue to come in from all over the world.

'In this issue, Mahuya Bhaumik interviews Indian Dalit activist, writer and critic Sharan Kumar Limbale; Gillian Dooley talks to Australian musician and memoirist Anna Goldsworthy; Rob Harle interviews Indian poet, critic and translator D.C. Chambial, and Sunil Sharma discusses ghazals with poet Steffen Horstmann.

'Abhimanyu Pandey introduces Robin Gregory, US author of The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman. Elisabetta Marino has conducted two interviews, one with Chicago novelist Tony Ardizzone and the other with travel writer Arup K. Chatterjee.

'To round out this issue, Jaydeep Sarangi has contributed two interviews, one with Australian writer and academic Catherine Cole and the other with Malsawmi Jacob, another multi-faceted writer living in Bangalore, India.

'We'd like to thank all our interviewers, the writers they interviewed and everyone who reads the journal. Please continue to spread the word about it!

'We hope you will enjoy reading and learning from the mix of interviews in this issue as much as we did.' (Publication Editorial)