John Morrissey Interview - Bird Deity, Cosmic Horror, and Parenthood

Monte is joined by Australian author and Kalkadoon man John Morrissey to discuss his debut novel Bird Deity. John is the winner of the 2020 Indigenous Writer’s Mentorship, and was runner up for the Nakata Brophy prize in 2018. His debut collection, Firelight, won an Aurealis Award and a Queensland Literary award, and in 2024 he was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's best young novelists. He joins me at the Roundtable to discuss the act of writing while everything feels hopeless, how parenthood changes your relationship to the world, and what it's like working as a First Nations author in a colonial society. We go deep into spoiler territory to discuss his novel's titular avian goddess, the challenges of writing a character who lacks direction, and what timeless hallmarks of classic sci-fi he chose to leave on the cutting room floor for the sake of narrative elegance.

Hosted and edited by Monte Weir. Original music by Andrew Renganathan Roberts.

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