New Podcast! Veronica Sullivan, Director of the Melbourne Writers Festival, Visits 5AM StoryTalk

The Aussie literary stalwart talks curating festivals, difficult cultural conversations, and a seminal piece of art from her life — C.S. Lewis’s Narnia prequel ‘The Magician’s Nephew’

— director of the (May 8–11) — joins me for to discuss (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
• Festival curation as a form creation not dissimilar from storytelling
• 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
• A seminal piece of art from her life — C.S. Lewis’s Narnia prequel novel (1955). She talks about its unique place in the Narnia…