From our latest What I Wish I'd Known on the surprises and challenges of podcasting. Read more: bit.ly/493M6qP

It’s a story of life after death in a regional pub in this exclusive short story by Raeden Richardson, whose debut novel, The Degenerates, was longlisted for both the Miles Franklin and the Voss Literary Prize in 2025.

@MadisonGriffiths.bsky.social on podcasting in our latest instalment of What I Wish I'd Known. For more insights on audio storytelling from some of the country's best: bit.ly/493M6qP

Have podcasts ever been more popular? In Australia, six million listeners tune in every week. We’ve reached out to some of our favourites in the field to find out about the surprises and challenges of audio storytelling. bit.ly/4oRmcez

ICYMI: New episode! Raelee Lancaster on the pod discussing Ellen van Neerven's Heat and Light, a work of visionary Blak queer fiction. Listen here: apple.co/3WPGJUG Queer Critics is hosted by @rebeccastarford.bsky.social, and you can find all six episodes online now!

'I could usually manage to use self-control to abstain for a weekend, a teeth-grinding, pacing weekend, and then my usage would surge, stronger and more powerful than before. Eloise Grills on being obsessed with her phone.

Today in KYD read an extract from the new novel by 'Lucky’s' author @andrewpippos. A love story set in the fading glow of a dying Sydney newspaper, 'The Transformations' examines the stories we tell ourselves, and the ways people handle grief, guilt and generational change.

Raelee Lancaster explores a 2014 debut that became an almost instant classic in the companion essay to our latest Queer Critics podcast. Blak, visionary and undoubtedly queer—Ellen van Neerven's Heat and Light blurs boundaries and binaries. Read more: bit.ly/3JcL69m

In the final episode of the Queer Critics Podcast 2025, Raelee Lancaster joins @rebeccastarford_author to discuss Ellen van Neerven's Heat and Light. This genre-bending debut dissolves boundaries and binaries with its depictions of Blak queer life. 📖 Heat and Light is published by #UQPbooks.

Today in KYD, read an extract from Zoe Terakes collection of short stories out today, Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers. It's a sexy modern take on ancient Greek myths that Benjamin Law calls "classic and eternal, timely and timeless". 🔥🔥

From the new short story by Jordan Prosser, a Peter Carey Award-winning writer. Chase a bestselling writer of moderately entertaining crime thrillers on the adventure of a lifetime. Read more: bit.ly/4qnZU5z

Go on a wild adventure in this brilliant new short fiction from Jordan Prosser. When a bestselling author goes on the hunt for buried treasure, a desperate agent must trace his steps. This may just be the most rollicking story you'll read this year!

In a 1946 essay, George Orwell wrote that reading books was one of the cheapest pleasures of life. With living costs on the rise, Ben Brooker asks whether this still holds true today.

'Queer sitting instead says: do what feels right. Do with your body what you would like, not what you are told is proper.' Ivana Brehas on queer posture in film and television.

absolutely loving this podcast series

ICYMI: Nigel Featherstone discusses the raw and honest 1990s memoir that became a beloved local queer classic in our latest podcast episode. Queer Critics is hosted by @rebeccastarford.bsky.social. Listen now: apple.co/4qpc91O

Nigel Featherstone explores the legacy of Timothy Conigrave’s memoir, Holding the Man, on the latest episode of our Queer Critics podcast, hosted by @rebeccastarford.bsky.social. Listen now: apple.co/48xXgUo 📖 Holding the Man is published by #PenguinBooksAustralia.

'I was embarrassed to have written nearly as many words as The Iliad in an online film diary.' Nicole Cadelina on writing Letterboxd reviews.

To be a young gay man in the 1990s was to face the fear and stigma of the AIDs crisis. In our latest podcast episode, Nigel Featherstone chats with @rebeccastarford.bsky.social about Timothy Conigrave’s era-defining memoir, Holding the Man. 📖 Holding the Man is published by #PenguinBooksAus.

📚 Today in KYD: We chat to October Debut Spotlight author Jessica Mansour-Nahra about the inspiration behind her book, The Farm (hachetteaus.bsky.social) an Australian gothic that tackles questions about women’s bodily autonomy and power.

Alex Craig, publisher at Allen & Unwin Books, on what Australian literature has going for it. Read more: bit.ly/3JcVApd

Alex Craig, publisher at Allen & Unwin, started her career in magazines before moving on to become the acquiring mind behind some of this country's biggest books. Read our exclusive interview with the industry stalwart who is shaping a new era at Australia’s largest indie publisher.

Really loved working on this episode - Sumner Locke Elliott is such a fascinating writer. If you're interested in the arc of OzLit and queer voices, please have a listen to the series, I can't believe we're already up to Ep 4!

Loved being a part of this podcast and writing about SLE!

@samtwyfordmoore.bsky.social on Sumner Locke Elliot's late-life coming-out novel, Fairyland. Listen to the podcast: apple.co/4nVRuAW

What was it like to be an Australian gay man in the 1930s and 40s? This week @samtwyfordmoore.bsky.social joins @rebeccastarford.bsky.social on the podcast to talk about a fictional insight into the Sydney queer scene and one man's lifelong journey to love. bit.ly/47bJK6K

Eda Gunaydin on the dark side of academia and RF Kuang's blockbuster Katabasis. bit.ly/3IVxPBU

RF Kuang’s blockbuster Katabasis is a reminder that the modern university sector is something of a hellscape, writes Eda Gunaydin. But it doesn’t have to be this way. 📖 Katabasis is out via @harpercollins.bsky.social.

Deadline for applications is this Sunday! Apply now: www.killyourdarlings.com.au/mentors-prog...

Australian writer Fox McGlasson has been shortlisted for one of the most exciting short fiction prizes in the world, the Desperate Literature Prize! Read the spotlighted story—their first piece of published fiction—a compelling experimental micro fiction.

"When I was younger, I had one of those intense girlhood friendships that seemed to quiver on the precipice of something else, some dark unknown whose edge we danced along even as we trembled at the idea of crossing it." Read more from @dzenanabanana.bsky.social: bit.ly/4709F10

For a long time, I felt like the books I consumed needed to be worthy, writes Sam Van Zweden. Seeking pleasure instead has reminded me why I fell in love with words in the first place. bit.ly/47fqEh4

Secrets, longing and unexplained voices from beyond the grave — this week Dženana Vucic @dzenanabanana.bsky.social joins @rebeccastarford.bsky.social to talk about recently re-released gothic masterpiece, Elizabeth Jolley’s The Well. Listen now: apple.co/4mY0JiG

💪 *New* 30 Day Writing Boot Camp with @rebeccastarford.bsky.social Gain immediate access to daily lessons, prompts, motivational tools and writing exercises designed to strengthen your craft, boost creativity and build a foundation for future writing projects. Sign up: bit.ly/475C5XI

'I have never had so little time to write and so much to write about.' Megan Cheong explores the relationship between creativity and mothering.

'Once you learn to follow the logic, the solution comes into focus. A tiny intersection of poetry and mathematics.' Lily Bryant on how cryptic crosswords helped in grieving her grandfather.

We’re thrilled to announce Valerie Yu from Brisbane Girls Grammar School as the winner of this year’s KYD School Writing Prize! Read the judge’s report and story in the magazine. bit.ly/42VWZab

Read the companion essay to our latest Queer Critics podcast. @samhellkin.bsky.social discusses Danielle Laidley’s uneasy path from football legend to trans icon. Read more: bit.ly/4nVJsr8

Hello, yes, I’m the author or editor of fourteen books, some of them prize-winning and some of them bestselling. I’ve written nonfiction and children’s picture books. And I can *mentor you* as part of @kydmagazine.bsky.social program. You have until October 12th to apply.

🔔 Deadline Extended!🔔 Applications for the KYD Mentors Program now close 12 October. Apply now for the chance to participate in a structured editorial mentorship designed to support early-career writers in the development of a long-form work of fiction or non-fiction. 🔗 bit.ly/3V6fh4q

To Substack, or not to Substack? We asked some well-versed writers what they've discovered in using the burgeoning platform.

What does it take to be the first, to walk the path untrodden? In the second episode of KYD’s new limited podcast series, author, critic and radio maker Sam Elkin discusses Danielle Laidley’s Don't Look Away, a groundbreaking memoir about trans awakening and life in the AFL.

Read an extract from Ruins, a new novel from Amy Taylor—a past graduate of KYD's Mentors Program!

What was queer heartbreak like in 1950s Melbourne? In episode one of KYD’s new limited podcast series, @madeleinegray.bsky.social discusses Beverley Farmer’s cult classic ‘Alone’. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts! Apple: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/t...

'You’re increasingly the odd person out if you aren’t queer and ethically non-monogamous.' Mx Sly on the sexual politics of Melbourne’s queer dating scene.

Some beings are made for magic. Read more in this new story by Elizabeth Tan, author of the Stella-longlisted short fiction collection Smart Ovens for Lonely People.

🌈📚 Introducing our new limited series podcast: Queer Critics Series 🎙️ Launching Monday 29 September — listen to the trailer and subscribe now!

⏰ Submissions close Sunday 28/9 for KYD's Creative Non-Fiction Essay Prize! ⏰ We’re seeking creative non-fiction essays between 2500 and 3500 words, on any subject and in any style. First prize is $2500, with two runner-up prizes of $1000 each. 🔗 To submit:

Are blurbs and endorsements on book covers pointless? Author @damonyoung.com.au digs into whether the industry should do away with the puff.

Em Meller on the peculiar vulnerability of writing fiction. Read more: bit.ly/4gD9SM4