Ep 149: Saraid de Silva and Pip chat live at Featherston Booktown

This recording was made live at Featherston Booktown on 10 May 2025. It was a really sunny day and Saraid and I sat in the Featherston Library with the sun streaming in the windows with a really great group of people.

Saraid is an amazing writing. Saraid's novel Amma is a really great work of fiction and I recommend to anyone who hasn't read it yet.

At the moment I'm asking guests to offer and object for discussion. Saraid brought along a suite of articles about money and housing and how these impact writing and writers.

Here are links to the three articles:

"‘Secure, affordable homes are the stuff of fiction’: how young writers are responding to the UK housing crisis" by Keiran Goddard published in The Guardian on 3 Feb 2024

"‘Our rental system is rigged’: young novelists on their generation’s housing crisis" by Daisy Lafarge, Okechukwu Nzelu, Amber Medland and Michael Magee published in The Guardian on 23 April 2023.

'Don’t give up your day job: how Australia’s favourite authors are making ends meet' by Rafqa Touma published in The Guardian on 16 December 2022

Thanks to amazing writer and snap-shot getter G. B. Ralph for the photos. G. B. Ralph is a Kiwi author of cosy mysteries and romantic comedies. His writing features chaotic yet lovable characters getting into trouble, an astonishing amount of crime, and handsome men falling for each other. You can find out more about G.B. Ralph's books at his website here

June on Better off Read

My book Audition is being released in the United States (Coffee House Press) and Canada (Strange Light) on 10 June.

To celebrate this, and with amazing support from Laura Gaveline at Coffee House Press, I'll be podcasting three special episodes of the podcast with Coffee House Press writers. I'm really grateful to the writers concerned for their time and their work. These special episodes will come out over June.

Action: Gaza Funds صندوق مالي لغزة

Gaza Funds is a project that connects people to crowdfunding campaigns for individuals and families from Gaza. Each time the page is reloaded, a different campaign appears. While the rotation is randomized, campaigns for the sick/injured and campaigns close to meeting their goals are prioritized. We never want any of these campaigns to go stagnant, so we make sure to also prioritize fundraisers that haven't had a donation in a while. As existing fundraisers meet their goals, they will be replaced with other fundraisers that need your help.

Here's a link to Gaza Funds

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