Constructing a verse novel, writing residencies and community-based storytelling - with Johanna Bell

Exploring the unique literary scene on a tiny island at the edge of the world...

Why on earth would anyone spend almost ten years writing and constructing a complicated verse novel using the tricky, painstaking framework of bricolage? And what exactly did this mean for the author, her book designer and her brave publisher? In this episode, author and community storyteller, Johanna Bell tells Liz why her award-winning novel, Department of the Vanishing, could only have been written using this intricate, highly visual approach. She also discusses her next book, which interrogates the reliability of memory, and explains why she's prepared to commute from Nipaluna/Hobart to Warrane/Sydney for her prestigious Copyright Agency Residency

For this episode’s Cities of Lit Book Picks, Meahd Farnaby of TasWriters chooses A Soul's Breath by Nipaluna/Hobart-based spoken word artist Moran Wiesel, and Boulder by Eva Baltasar who is from Barcelona. Shortlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize the novel was translated from Spanish by Julia Sanches. 

And in our Topical Chat, Liz and Kate interrogate the real cost of writing residencies, asking who do they actually benefit, and what are they really for?

As always, find the complete show notes at the Remotely Lit website.

Find the complete show notes at the Remotely Lit website.

Written and presented by Liz Evans. Produced by Tiffany Dimmack.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.