Biographers in Conversation

Summer Series - Oliver Soden "Jeoffry: The Poet’s Cat"

In this first episode of Biographers in Conversation’s special summer season, the distinguished British biographer Oliver Soden chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting Jeoffry: The Poet’s Cat.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
How Virginia Woolf’s Flush: A Biography, the imaginative biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s cocker spaniel, influenced Oliver Soden’s choices while crafting The Poet’s Cat
How Oliver cleverly used Jeoffry as a lens through which to explore Christopher Smart’s character, personality and often troubled life
How Oliver retraced Jeoffry’s and Christopher Smart’s real and imagined footsteps in 18th-century London, discovering its vibrant cast of characters such as King George, the composer Handel and Samuel Johnson, one of the towering figures of British literature
How Oliver balanced fact and fiction given his admission that ‘the dividing line between fact and fiction is necessarily wobbly’ in The Poet’s Cat, and ‘sometimes one is disguised as the other’
How Oliver accessed Jeoffry’s interior life and inner monologue, enabling him to write from the perspective of an 18th-century alley cat
How Oliver shifted from the traditional, scholarly tone and narrative style of his biographies of the composer Michael Tippett and playwright Noël Coward to the whimsical, witty, affectionate and playful style of The Poet’s Cat
How Oliver balanced the lightheartedness of Jeoffry’s antics with the book’s deeper philosophical themes.

Josie McSkimming: "Gutsy Girls: Love, Poetry and Sisterhood"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, pychotherapist, university lecturer and author Josie McSkimming, chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about Gutsy Girls: Love, Poetry and Sisterhood.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Why Gutsy Girls began as a 180,000-word biography of the poet Dorothy Porter, though later transformed into a hybrid of memoir, biography and family history.
Why Gutsy Girls is a pioneering work placing sibling relationships at the centre of the narrative.
Why Josie waited until both her parents had died before publishing. 
Why Josie shaped the 19 chapters of Gutsy Girls to mirror Dorothy Porter’s published and unpublished works chronologically, from her childhood creation ‘My Pocket Book of Prayer’ (spelled P-O-K-E-T), through to her acclaimed verse novels, including The Monkey’s Mask.
Why Josie chose the title Gutsy Girls.
How Josie found her own authentic voice beyond religious constraints, while honouring the strength of all three sisters who had to forge paths beyond childhood trauma and family expectations.

Helen Trinca: "Looking for Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Harrower"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, biographer and veteran journalist, Helen Trinca, chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about Looking for Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Harrower.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Helen Trinca’s quest was to discover why the author Elizabeth Harrower stopped writing at the height of her powers.
How Elizabeth was rediscovered when Text Publishing republished her novels in 2012, bringing her far greater fame in her 80s than during her original writing career.​
How Harrower’s traumatic childhood profoundly shaped her novels.
Elizabeth’s novels explore power dynamics, psychological abuse and relationships with spare, modern prose that resonates with contemporary readers.​
Elizabeth’s crafted spare, psychologically astute observations about how power operates within relationships, from the tiniest gestures to systematic control. These themes speak directly to contemporary concerns about authoritarianism both in personal relationships and in wider society.
Why Trinca chose a conventional chronological structure, gradually revealing connections between Harrower's life and her intensely autobiographical novels.
How Harrower’s legacy lies in her relentless search for life’s deeper meaning.

Dr Drusilla Modjeska: "A Woman’s Eye, Her Art: Reframing the Narrative through Art and Life"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Drusilla Modjeska chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about A Woman’s Eye, Her Art: Reframing the Narrative through Art and Life.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Why Drusilla Modjeska wrote this biography of six female European modernist artists from the early 20th century.
Why the biography also includes contemporary artists, Chantal Joffe and Julie Rapp.
The meaning of ‘a woman’s eye’.
Why Drusilla chose to write a collective rather than an individual biography.
Why Drusilla examined how these women reframed the male gaze through their art.
Why Drusilla chose a non-linear structure and collage form in three parts.

Julie Summers' "British Vogue: The Biography of an Icon"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Julie Summers chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about British Vogue: The Biography of an Icon
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Why Julie Summers decided to craft an object biography of British Vogue.
What Julie discovered by reading every issue of British Vogue since its launch in 1916.
Why Julie portrayed British Vogue as a living, evolving personality.
How Julie brought a century of style, culture and power to life.
How British Vogue has reflected and shaped women’s lives for over a century.
The story behind the striking cover of British Vogue: The Biography of an Icon
How British Vogue became a cultural barometer.
British Vogue’s enduring ability to chronicle and shape British style, culture, and imagination.

Diana Parsell "Eliza Scidmore: The Trailblazing Journalist Behind Washington’s Cherry Trees"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Diana Parsell chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting Eliza Scidmore: The Trailblazing Journalist Behind Washington’s Cherry Trees.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Diana Parsell reveals how a reprinted travelogue led her to the forgotten story of Eliza Scidmore, a pioneering woman behind Washington’s iconic cherry trees.
Diana discusses Scidmore’s remarkable career as a travel writer, journalist, and early National Geographic board member.
Parsell reflects on the narrative power of her prologue, “A Grave in Yokohama,” and the decisions behind her book’s compelling structure.
She describes the challenges of researching a 19th-century woman whose archives were scattered, incomplete or inaccessible.
How Eliza’s personality, passions and persistence drove the plot of her biography.
How thematic timelines and scene-building created a vivid, cinematic portrayal of Scidmore’s global travels.
The literary techniques and authorial choices that shaped the biography’s immersive style and emotional depth.
Advice to first-time biographers about the balance between historical truth, narrative craft and ethical storytelling.

Dr Greg de Moore "Tom Wills: The Insubordinate Life of an Australian Sporting Legend"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Greg de Moore chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting Tom Wills: The Insubordinate Life of an Australian Sporting Legend.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
How Greg de Moore first stumbled upon Tom Wills’ forgotten story
Why Greg felt compelled to rescue Tom Will’s legendary tale from obscurity.
Wills’s remarkable life journey growing up among Aboriginal friends in the bush, captaining cricket at England’s elite Rugby School then returning to Australia to become a cricket star and co-inventor of Australian Rules.
Greg’s narrative choices to bring Wills’ world alive.
Why Greg framed Wills as ‘insubordinate’.
How Greg portrayed Wills’s rebellious streak.
How Greg approached writing about Wills’ dramatic downfall.
Why sharing Tom Wills’s story still matters.

Ray Boomhower: "The Ultimate Protest: Malcolm W. Browne, Thich Quang Duc, and the News Photograph That Stunned the World"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Ray Boomhower chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting The Ultimate Protest: Malcolm W. Browne, Thích Quảng Đức, and the News Photograph That Stunned the World.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
The powerful story behind Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức’s 1963 self-immolation protest in Saigon.
How Malcolm Browne’s iconic photograph of this tragic act shocked the world, igniting global outrage that influenced the course of the Vietnam War.
Why Boomhower chose The Ultimate Protest as the biography’s title.
How Boomhower braided biography with war history. 
Boomhower’s meticulous behind-the-scenes research, from scouring archives and news reports to retracing Malcolm Browne’s footsteps in Vietnam.
How Boomhower captured Malcolm Browne’s voice and perspective despite never interviewing him. 
How Boomhower depicted distressing and sacred moments with unflinching accuracy, empathy and cultural sensitivity.
The ethical dilemmas Boomhower grappled with in sharing Browne’s story.

Dr Bron Bateman: "Women of a Certain Courage"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Bron Bateman chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while editing Women of a Certain Courage.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
The drive behind Women of a Certain Courage, including why Bron set out to challenge traditional male-centric hero narratives and celebrate everyday women’s bravery.
How Bron handpicked 18 diverse women writers—Indigenous activists, queer and trans voices and women with disabilities—to share first-person stories of courage from across Australia.
A peek into Bron’s editing process: how her poet’s eye for imagery and rhythm helped shape the anthology’s powerful emotional journey.
The common threads of resilience, healing and transformation that connect these diverse stories and how each woman emerges stronger after adversity.
Bron’s fresh take on what courage really means, highlighting that heroism isn’t always loud. It can be found in small acts of persistence and speaking your truth in everyday life.
Why sharing these stories creates a ripple effect of bravery, inspiring others to find their own courage.
Why Bron believes every act of courage, no matter how small, matters.

Stephen J. Campbell: "Leonardo da Vinci: An Untraceable Life"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Stephen J. Campbell chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting Leonardo da Vinci: An Untraceable Life.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Why Stephen Campbell resists the urge to create a seamless narrative and instead embraces the mystery, silence and gaps in Leonardo da Vinci’s story.
How the book’s structure reflects the fragmented reality of Leonardo’s life.
The origin of the book’s title and how it challenges traditional biographical expectations by leaning into ambiguity.
How Campbell uses philosophical chapter titles and historical nuance to explore mythmaking and modern interpretations of Leonardo da Vinci.
Why Campbell avoids speculation and instead invites readers to sit with what we don’t know, treating uncertainty as revealing rather than inconvenient.
The biographer’s role as a curator of questions rather than authority, a model of life writing that prioritises transparency over certainty.
The myths the book gently dismantles, from the lonely genius trope to misconceptions about Leonardo’s inventions and personality.
How An Untraceable Life encourages us to rethink what biography can be and to rediscover awe in the unresolvable aspects of a life.