The Australian Baby Boomer Podcast

Vivien Stuart's novel was shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards and has received praise by award-winning authors and writers including Author Susan Midalia, Poet, editor and literary essayist, Dennis Haskell and Emeritus Professor Brenda Walker. Susan Midalia writes that it is "a searingly honest, deeply humane and beautifully written novel about the daily challenges and meaning of palliative care." Dennis Ha...

In this penultimate episode of a series of interviews with Dr Janni Lloyd, we discuss the role of spiritual practice in promoting healthy longevity.  At their best, many religious traditions incorporate aspects of meditation, compassion, forgiveness, and other practices that help promote a healthy body and mind. Again, Janni's story is a jumping off point for our discussion, and at the end of the episode we invite you to send in yo...

What would you do if you had decades more to live a healthy life than you had expected? How would you use that extra time? A new career? Travel? Dedicate it to making the world a better place?

We are now on the cusp of a world where the mechanisms for a significant extension of healthy lifespan are not only known but are beginning to be implemented by many around the world.

This is the first of a series of interviews with Dr Janni ...

Gatluak Puoch is a South Sudanese born Australian with quite a story to tell. During the war that resulted in the separation of the South from the North of Sudan, his family was obliged to hand him over to the army at age fourteen. From there he persuaded his commanding officer to allow him to walk to a refugee camp in Ethiopia, and seven long years after this, he was able to migrate to Australia.

This is his story. I hope to share...

Laurie Steed's latest book, Love Dad, is a moving portrayal of how one new father navigates the ups and downs of early parenthood. It is a heart-warming and uplifting story of resilience, reconnection and self-discovery. In this interview, Laurie talks about the joys of parenthood and its challenges in navigating the path between being a present father and a committed writer. 

Find out more about Laurie, the book, and his writing c...

In 1845 twenty-eight mismatched Catholic missionaries arrive in what is later to become Western Australia. Some go on to establish a monastery at New Norcia, which continues to this day. This interview with author and Perth GP, Dr Peter Burke, explores his new novel; his third work of historical fiction. To discover more go to his website Peter Burke Writer or to The Fremantle Press site where you will find his book The Silk Mercha...

Novelist Joanna Morrison discusses her new book and writing process in this latest episode of The Australian Baby Boomer Podcast.

Joanna Morrison is a talented writer with a big future in crime and mystery writing. In this, her debut novel, three university friends, Robyn, Cohen and Sam are divided by the tragic death of their friend, Gracie Flynn. Eighteen years later, chance reunites them. But death rocks their lives again when S...

Possibly best known as WAMi Rock'n'Roll of renown recipient (Dave Warner's from the Suburbs) Dave Warner has had an equally impressive career as a novelist. He has now published 11 novels and has previously won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction (for Before it Breaks), and the Western Australian Premier's Book Award for his Debut novel City of Light. As if this is not enough, he has had a successful career as a musician and...

A couple of weeks ago, Read Write Now contacted me to ask if I could interview Ray Bekeris, a remarkable man who has worked hard on recovering his functional abilities after experiencing a significant stroke. Read Write Now is celebrating its 45th anniversary of delivering free tutoring to adults who want to improve their literacy. Ray chose to contact them as part of his quest to be able to read and write again, and not only to re...

I was recently invited to appear on an episode of Strange Reads - a YouTube channel hosted by a friend, David Wildsmith. The channel offers summaries and commentary on unusual stories by some of the most canonical writers, and is well worth a visit. David does an excellent job of introducing (or re-introducing) these works and providing some background to the writer and context in which the story arises. My choice was The Machine S...

My guest for this episode is Portland Jones. Portland is a writer, lecturer and horse trainer who lives and works in the Swan Valley. She has a PhD in Literature and her first novel, Seeing the Elephant, was shortlisted for the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award. Only Birds Above is her second novel. She has also co-authored a non-fiction book, Horses Hate Surprise Parties. Portland is currently working on a third novel and another...

Dr Sharron Booth discusses her debut novel, The Silence of Water. Based on the the true story of Edwin Salt, a convict sent out to Australia in the mid 1800s, this novel explores the lives of those who surrounded him and were impacted by him. In this interview, Sharron talks about the comprehensive research process, and what compelled her to take the direction that she did. 

The Silence of Water is published by Fremantle Press and ...

Michael Levitt is a surgeon and health bureaucrat, the author of numerous scientific articles and medical textbook chapters, as well as three medical books for the general public. In 2003 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to public education about colorectal cancer. He also has a considerable understanding and knowledge about art and art collection. He is an art collector himself, and an exhibition of selected works f...

Today's episode features an interview with Dr Rosemary Stevens.

Rosemary  has a doctorate in creative arts from Curtin University, where she teaches creative and professional writing. She enjoys running memoir, fiction and travel writing workshops in the community, and previously worked as a travel writer in S.E. Asia, and in London for an international publisher and literary agency. Her fiction and non-fiction works have been publ...

 This discussion with Poet and Novelist, PJ Johnson, explores ideas of life and death, and the mysterious place between the two, as imagined in her novel, Isla Rising.

In Nineteenth Century Edinburgh (Scotland) the festival of Samhain was celebrated as a liminal time between the death of summer and the birth of winter, when the threshold of the other world was felt to be nearest to this world -   at a time outside of ordinary time.