In the latest Fremantle Press Podcast, host Rebecca Higgie invites historical fiction aficionados Dianne Wolfer and Elaine Forrestal to talk about the effects of war on young people and the harsh realities of gold fever

Show Notes

Dianne Wolfer and Elaine Forrestal are both well-loved and well-established writers who have published a shelfload of historical children’s fiction between them. Settle in for a great podcast as the pair go in-depth on their writing process, and share tips on how to research and write historical fiction.

Dianne says that although there are many stories out there about Australia’s involvement with WWI, not many tell the stories of the ordinary people who did extraordinary things during that time. Her Light series was inspired by a newspaper clipping – a story about a girl who was in the right place at the right time, helping to signal troopships from the lighthouse on the island she lived and grew up on. Elaine says that Goldfields Girl is told from the point of view of the rarely heard voice of a teenage girl, it is a story about adventure, courage and survival.

Writing and financial security rarely come hand in hand, and the authors discuss the different types of support they receive to help them continue on their writing journey. They look at how their writing has changed over time, and how the industry has changed too.

Music: ‘Letter to a Daughter of St George’, from the Meat Lunch EP: Songs from Floaters. Written by Alan Fyfe. Performed by Trevor Bentley (guitar and vocals – @trevormb) and Chris Parkinson (harmonica). Produced by Blake Carnaby of Nuglife studios with impresario work by Benjamin P. Newton.

Producer: Claire Miller

Mastered and edited by: Aidan d’Adhemar

Show Notes

Other Episodes

Episode 13

In this special City of Fremantle Hungerford Award podcast, Jay Martin and Julie Sprigg get to grips with writing narrative non-fiction

Episode 9

This week in Love to Read Local we talk to Westerly Magazine editors Catherine Noske and Josephine Taylor about their own novels, the writing they love and the good, the bad and the brilliant parts of their day jobs as literary editors

Episode 0

Meet Jodie Tes, shortlisted for the 2024 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award