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In this episode of Beyond the Plot, I talk with award-winning Australian novelist Victoria Hannon about finding her voice, building a writing life that works for her, and the journey behind her third novel, I Love the Whole World.
Victoria has been a professional writer for more than 20 years, beginning in advertising as a copywriter before moving into fiction. Her breakthrough came in 2017, when she quit her job, won a writing residency in Brazil, and wrote the first draft of Kokomo in around a month.
That manuscript went on to win the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript, launching Victoria’s fiction career and leading to a two-book publishing deal.
Victoria talks candidly about what happened next: the pressure of following up a successful debut, the emotional experience of writing Marshmallow, and the freedom she found in writing a novel without a contract.
She also shares how reading widely became one of her most important forms of writing education, why relentless drafting helped her discover her authentic voice, and how travel, immersion and periods of intense focus have shaped the way she works.
For her newest novel, I Love the Whole World, Victoria travelled to Las Vegas to research the setting and wanted to create something playful, human and hopeful.
In this episode;
- Victoria’s journey from copywriting to fiction
- The writing residency in Brazil that sparked Kokomo
- Writing a first draft in just one month
- Winning the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award
- The importance of reading widely as a writer
- Finding an authentic voice through experimentation and drafting
- The pressure of writing a second novel after a successful debut
- The emotional challenges behind Marshmallow
- Writing without a publishing contract
- Why Victoria writes in bursts and builds her life around focused work
- Researching Las Vegas for I Love the Whole World
- The shift in tone and perspective behind her third novel
- Why she wanted I Love the Whole World to feel playful, human and hopeful
If you’re a writer, reader, or simply interested in how novels come into being, this is a conversation about creative courage, finding your voice, and making a writing life your own.
