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 books; how they balanced a subject’s public, personal and inner lives; and ethical issues, such as privacy and revealing secrets.
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Episodes
Wednesday Apr 03, 2024
Wednesday Apr 03, 2024
In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Peter FitzSimons chats with Gabriella about the choices he made while writing The Opera House, the gripping biography of Sydney Opera House, one of the world’s most iconic buildings.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Peter FitzSimons’s inspiration for writing the biography of Sydney Opera House.
Why Peter opened The Opera House with the Indigenous history of Bennelong Point, the site on which Sydney Opera House now stands.
How Peter researched the book and captured vivid sensory details that enabled him to reconstruct historically accurate scenes that make you feel in the scene.
How Peter grasped complex architectural and engineering concepts, then translated this complicated technical detail into a suspenseful narrative.
Why The Opera House includes so much dialogue and so many excerpts from parliamentary debates, minutes of meetings, correspondence and media coverage.
Why Peter wrote The Opera House in present rather than past tense.
Why Peter made ironic comments throughout The Opera House.
The novelistic devices Peter employed to create a propulsive narrative that keeps you as the reader turning the pages.
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Thursday Feb 29, 2024
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
Welcome to Biographers in Conversation, a podcast about the many choices biographers make while researching, writing, and publishing life stories.
If you like the sound of Biographers in Conversation, please subscribe, share the podcast with your family and friends, and leave a review.
Stay tuned for the launch of Biographers in Conversation on the 3 April 2024.
https://biographersinconversation.com
