Literary Inspirations (Christos Tsiolkas interview)
Click here for the interview.
As an aspiring writer, it’s helpful to have successful published writers believe in you and your writing. When I approached Christos Tsiolkas at an ‘in conversation’ at Readings in Carlton I never would have imagined almost two years later that I would have gained not only an inspirational mentor, but a good friend. Apart from providing feedback on multiple drafts of my manuscript, Misplaced, he’s also talked me through dark moments in my writing, and provided wisdom on the challenges of the publishing industry.
Mid last year, I did a forty-minute interview with Christos, asking him questions that would help aspiring and emerging writers. An article, based on the interview, ‘Christos Tsiolkas on Faith’ was published in the Emerging Writers Festival’s The Reader. I was only able to cover about one third of the content discussed with Christos in the article. After listening to the interview, I thought other emerging and aspiring writers would find it helpful and insightful. Thank you to Christos for allowing me to release it.
It was a sunny, spring day when Christos and I had coffee. We sat outside a small café in south Melbourne, so please forgive the cars driving by, and also my interruptions – I never intended the interview to be released. Christos covers a lot of ground in this interview and is open and frank about issues such as creative writing courses, rejection, getting published, bad reviews, and advice on making a career out of writing. Enjoy.
Mark William Jackson said,
March 15, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Cool, Koraly, looking forward to listening to the interview (once I can get out of work). I read the article in EWF Reader (actually I bought the EWF reader specifically for the article after you posted a teaser on your blog). I found it full of great advice, and having listened to Christos recently on a Wheeler Centre podcast I also recognise the importance of learning how to take care of a chicken (!)
Koraly Dimitriadis said,
March 15, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Thanks Mark, the interview definitely was my highlight of last year. It helped put my writing into some perspective.
Literary inspirations – an interview with Christos Tsiolkas « overland literary journal said,
March 18, 2010 at 10:08 pm
[...] Visit my blog to listen to the interview. [...]
Paper Tiger Press said,
July 16, 2010 at 5:21 am
Very important to have people to aid in the process of getting any job done. Great blog and interview. Keep writing!
Koraly Dimitriadis said,
July 16, 2010 at 8:56 am
Thanks for reading