Christos Tsiolkas is a novelist, playwright, essayist and screen writer and in 2021 was awarded the Melbourne Prize for Literature honouring his “outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life”. His seven novels include his debut, Loaded, which was made into the feature film Head-On, The Jesus Man and Dead Europe, which won the 2006 Age Fiction Prize and the 2006 Melbourne Best Writing Award. He won Overall Best Book in the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2009, was shortlisted for the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award, longlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize and won the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal for his novel, The Slap, which was also announced as the 2009 Australian Booksellers Association and Australian Book Industry Awards Books of the Year. Barracuda was published here and in the UK to rave reviews in late 2013 and became an instant bestseller. His most recent novels are Damascus and 71/2. He lives in Melbourne with his partner, Wayne.
During Part One this conversation, Christos mentions:
- his early love of reading and cinema
- the gift of book loving from his parents
- Favourite early reads: Enid Blyton, Phantom Toll Both, Wrinkle In time, CS Lewis Narnia Chronicles
- ‘I wanna know how this is working’ – Carson McCuller’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
- Opening Loaded with a quote from Mexican-American writer Richard Rodriguez
- In Pharaoh’s Army – Tobias Wolff
- The place of fortune in his life.
- The encouragement of high school teachers
- Influence of George Papaellinas – Homeland
- Mentoring from Sasha Soldatow
- Building trust over a twenty year editing relationship (and friendship) with Jane Palfreyman
During Part Two of this conversation Christos discusses:
- Dealing with the success of The Slap
- Working with and learning from actors and other playwrights, starting with Who’s Afraid of the Working Class
- ‘Writing is the apprenticeship that never ends.’
- The idea of learning to take ‘risks with editing’
- Going to Cove Park and the beginning of writing Barracuda
- The importance of Doris Lessing’s ‘fugging time’
- Watching Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus
- Doubt and certainty
- The influence of Patrick White, particularly The Twyborn Affair, as he writes about in Writers on Writers: Christos Tsiolkas on Patrick White
Advice
- ‘Don’t be a dick’ (Christos thanks his niece for this gem), be human to the whole world around you (not just your fellow writers, it’s the volunteers at festivals, the people in the office at your publishers)
- ‘You can’t look over every reader’s shoulder’
- Join your state writing centre
Recommended debut
- A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing – Jessie Tu (listen to our interview with Jessie here)
The First Time podcast 