Shows / Biographers in Conversation
Biographers in Conversation
Biographer Gabriella Kelly-Davies chats with biographers across the world about the myriad of choices they make while researching, writing and publishing life stories. In every episode, she explores elements of narrative strategy such as structure, use of fiction techniques, facts and truth, beginnings and endings and to what extent the writer interpreted the evidence rather than providing clues and leaving it to readers to do the interpreting themselves. She also asks how they researched their…
Episodes
- Biographers in Conversation
Judith Brett: "Fearless Beatrice Faust: Sex, Feminism and Body Politics"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, award-winning political historian and biographer Dr Judith Brett chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her…
- Biographers in Conversation
Charlotte Jacobs: 90 Seconds to Midnight: A Hiroshima Survivor’s Nuclear Odyssey
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Charlotte Jacobs chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting 90 Seconds to…
- Biographers in Conversation
Sam Elkin: "Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, lawyer and author Sam Elkin chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting Detachable…
- Biographers in Conversation
Nathan Hobby "The Red Witch: A Biography of Katharine Susannah Prichard"
Nathan Hobby shares his choices while crafting The Red Witch; A Biography of Katharine Susannah Prichard. Here’s what you’ll discover: Katharine Susannah…
- Biographers in Conversation
Megan Marshall: "After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, multi-award-winning biographer Megan Marshall chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while…
- Biographers in Conversation
Kate Legge: "Kindred: A Cradle Mountain Love Story"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, multi-award-winning journalist and author Kate Legge chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices…
- Biographers in Conversation
Nikos Papastergiadis: "John Berger and Me"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, eminent sociologist and author Dr Nikos Papastergiadis chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices…
- Biographers in Conversation
Abbas El-Zein: "Bullet, Paper, Rock"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, 2025 National Biography Award winner Abbas El-Zein chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while…
- Biographers in Conversation
Yves Rees "Travelling to Tomorrow: The Modern Women Who Sparked Australia’s Romance with America"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, historian and author Dr Yves Rees chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about the choices they made while…
- Biographers in Conversation
Anna Beer: "Eve Bites Back: An Alternative History of English Literature"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Anna Beer, the author of five acclaimed biographies and a Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College in Oxford…
- Biographers in Conversation
Nicholas Clements & Henry Reynolds "Tongerlongeter: First Nations Leader and Tasmanian War Hero"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the acclaimed historians Dr Henry Reynolds and Dr Nicholas Clements chat with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about…
- Biographers in Conversation
Patricia Meisol "A Heart Afire: Helen Brooke Taussig's Battle Against Heart Defects, Unsafe Drugs and Injustice In Medicine"
Patricia Meisol explores the life and legacy of Dr Helen Taussig, the pioneering mother of paediatric cardiology: How Helen Taussig exposed the dangers of…
- Biographers in Conversation
Jacqueline Kent "Bonjour, Mademoiselle! April Ashley and the Pursuit of a Lovely Life"
Award-winning biographer Jacqueline Kent returns to the podcast to discuss her latest work, coauthored with historian Tom Roberts, about the iconic transgender…
- Biographers in Conversation
Robert Zaretsky "The Subversive Simone Weil: A Life in Five Ideas"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the intellectual historian Dr Robert Zaretsky chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while…
- Biographers in Conversation
Kiera Lindsey's "Wild Love: The Ambitions of Adelaide Ironside, the First Australian Artist to Astonish the World"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the historian Dr Kiera Lindsey chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting Wild Love…
- Biographers in Conversation
Sally Bayley: "The Green Lady: A Spirit, A Story, A Place"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the critically acclaimed author, Oxford scholar, literature teacher and performer Dr Sally Bayley chats with Dr…
- Biographers in Conversation
Lamisse Hamouda: "The Shape of Dust"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, memoirist Lamisse Hamouda chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting The Shape of…
- Biographers in Conversation
Kerrie Davies's "Miles Franklin Undercover: The Little-Known Years When She Created Her Own Brilliant Career"
The name Miles Franklin might sound familiar to you. After all, she wrote My Brilliant Career, a debut novel that made her an overnight literary sensation at…
- Biographers in Conversation
Oliver Soden "Jeoffry: The Poet’s Cat"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the distinguished British biographer Oliver Soden chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while…
- Biographers in Conversation
Kate Fullagar "Bennelong & Phillip: A History Unravelled"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the award-winning historian and author Dr Kate Fullagar chats with Dr Gabriella-Kelly-Davies about her choices…
- Biographers in Conversation
Pamela Toler's "The Dragon from Chicago. The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the historian Dr Pamela Toler chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting The Dragon…
- Biographers in Conversation
Ashleigh Wilson's "Brett Whiteley: Art, Life and the Other Thing"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Ashleigh Wilson chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies me about his choices while crafting Brett Whiteley: Art…
- Biographers in Conversation
Amy Reading's "The World She Edited: Katharine S. White at The New Yorker"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Amy Reading chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting The World She Edited…
- Biographers in Conversation
Patchen Barss "The Impossible Man: Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Patchen Barss chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting The Impossible Man: Roger…
- Biographers in Conversation
Brenda Niall's "Joan Lindsay: The Hidden Life of the Woman Who Wrote Picnic at Hanging Rock"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Australia’s doyenne of biography, Brenda Niall, chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while…
- Biographers in Conversation
Andrew Ford's "The Shortest History of Music"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the multi-award-winning broadcaster, composer and author Andrew Ford chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about…
- Biographers in Conversation
Kate Kennedy's "Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Kate Kennedy, a distinguished cellist, musicologist, and Director of Oxford University’s Centre for Life…
- Biographers in Conversation
Bernadette Brennan's "Leaping into Waterfalls: The Enigmatic Gillian Mears"
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, award-winning biographer Dr Bernadette Brennan chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while…
- Biographers in Conversation
Helen Ennis' 'Max Dupain: A Portrait'
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the acclaimed author and art historian Dr Helen Ennis chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices…
- Biographers in Conversation
Anna Funder’s ‘Wifedom’: Restoring Visibility & Voice
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies chats with multi-award-winning author Anna Funder about her choices while crafting…
- Biographers in Conversation
Jacqueline Kent. A Certain Style: Beatrice Davis, A Literary Life
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Jacqueline Kent chats with Gabriella about the choices she made while writing A Certain Style: Beatrice Davis…
- Biographers in Conversation
Ashleigh Wilson: A Year with Wendy Whiteley: Conversations About Art, Life and Gardening
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode: In this episode of Biographers in Conversation Ashleigh Wilson chats with Gabriella about his book: A Year with…
- Biographers in Conversation
Christie Lowrance: Nature’s Ambassador
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Christie Lowrance chats with Gabriella about her strategy for writing Nature’s Ambassador: The Legacy of…
- Biographers in Conversation
Laurie Gwen Shapiro: The Stowaway. A Young Man’s Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode: In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Laurie Gwen Shapiro chats with Gabriella about the choices she…
- Biographers in Conversation
Melanie Nolan: The ADB’s Story
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Gabriella chats with Melanie Nolan about her book, The ADB’s Story, the history of the Australian Dictionary of…
- Biographers in Conversation
Melinda M. Ponder. Katharine Lee Bates: From Sea to Shining Sea
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Melinda Ponder shares with Gabriella her choices while writing the biography of the 19th century American poet…
- Biographers in Conversation
Judith Brett: The Enigmatic Mr Deakin
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Judith Brett, the acclaimed political historian, chats with Gabriella about the choices she made while writing…
- Biographers in Conversation
Joshua Kendall: The Man Who Made Lists. Love, Death, Madness and the Creation of Roget’s Thesaurus.
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Joshua Kendall chats with Gabriella about the choices he made while writing The Man Who Made Lists, his…
- Biographers in Conversation
Ryan Cropp: Donald Horne. A Life in the Lucky Country
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Ryan Cropp shares with Gabriella the multiplicity of choices he made while writing Donald Horne. A Life in the…
- Biographers in Conversation
Marcia Biederman: The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill, Abortion, Death and Concealment in Victorian New England
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Marcia Biederman shares with Gabriella the choices she made while writing The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill…
- Biographers in Conversation
Cathy Perkins: The Shelf Life of Zora Cross
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Cathy Perkins chats with Gabriella about the choices she made while writing The Shelf Life of Zora Cross, her…
- Biographers in Conversation
Carl Rollyson: The Life of William Faulkner
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Gabriella chats with veteran biographer Carl Rollyson about his two-volume biography of William Faulkner, a…
- Biographers in Conversation
Sarah George: GAMU: The Dreamtime Stories, Life and Feelings of Big Bill Neidjie
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Gabriella chats with Sarah George, who wrote GAMU: The Dreamtime Stories, Life and Feelings of Big Bill…
- Biographers in Conversation
Ann-Marie Priest: My Tongue Is My Own. A Life of Gwen Harwood
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Ann-Marie Priest chats with Gabriella about the choices she made while writing her award-winning biography My…
- Biographers in Conversation
Mark McKenna: An Eye for Eternity. The Life of Manning Clark
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the historian Mark McKenna chats with Gabriella about the choices he made while writing An Eye for Eternity…
- Biographers in Conversation
Nancy Hurrell: The Egan Irish Harp
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Nancy Hurrell, an acclaimed harpist and harp historian, chats with Gabriella about the choices she made while…
- Biographers in Conversation
Brett Mason: Wizards of Oz
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Brett Mason chats with Gabriella about the choices he made while writing Wizards of Oz: How Oliphant and Florey…
- Biographers in Conversation
Joel Birnie: My People’s Songs: How an Indigenous Family Survived Colonial Tasmania
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Joel Stephen Birnie chats with Gabriella about the choices he made while crafting My People’s Songs: How an…
- Biographers in Conversation
Nadia Wheatley: The Life and Myth of Charmian Clift
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Nadia Wheatley chats with Gabriella about the choices she made while writing the biography of Charmian Clift…
- Biographers in Conversation
Kenneth Miller, Mapping the Darkness, The Visionary Scientists who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep (Part Two)
In this episode, Gabriella continues her conversation with Kenneth Miller about his group biography Mapping the Darkness, The Visionary Scientists who Unlocked…
- Biographers in Conversation
Kenneth Miller: Mapping the Darkness, The Visionary Scientists who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep (Part One)
In this first of two episodes with Kenneth Miller, Gabriella asks about the choices he made while writing Mapping the Darkness, The Visionary Scientists who…
- Biographers in Conversation
Matthew Lamb: Frank Moorhouse. Strange Paths
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Matthew Lamb chats with Gabriella about the choices he made while writing Strange Paths, the biography of Frank…
- Biographers in Conversation
Bernadette Brennan: A Writing Life. Helen Garner and her Work
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Gabriella chats with Bernadette Brennan about her choices while crafting A Writing Life. Helen Garner and her…
- Biographers in Conversation
Peter FitzSimons: The Opera House
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Peter FitzSimons chats with Gabriella about the choices he made while writing The Opera House, the gripping…
- Biographers in Conversation
Biographers in Conversation Sneak Peek
Welcome to Biographers in Conversation, a podcast about the many choices biographers make while researching, writing, and publishing life stories. If you like…