105 | Finding community with author and artist Arna Radovich

James and Ashley Stay at Home

In ep 105, James and Ashley interview Arna Radovich, the author of Limits of Forgetting, a collection of stories interwoven with themes of memory, grief and reflection. Arna shares insights into how her own experiences provide the background for her fiction, and how she found the resolve to release her collection after the loss of her husband.

We also delve into Arna's multifaceted creative practice, which spans poetry, prose, fiction and nonfiction for both children and adults. We discuss her dedication to both evolving her practice and contributing to her artistic community, affirming how art and connection foster resilience and insight amidst personal and collective challenges.

Reflecting on her commitment to writing and community, Arna discusses her long-standing involvement with artist-run initiative Mounted. Their latest exhibition, Excavate, is happening in Sydney in November.

Arna Radovich writes for both adults and children. Her short fiction and poetry has been published widely and performed. She won the ZineWest 2020 Prize and 2nd prize in the 2019 Peter Cowan Short Story Award and has been a finalist in the 2018 Tasmanian Writers Prize, the Carmel Bird Digital Literary Award and the NWF/joanne burns Microlit Award.In 2024 she released her debut collection of new and selected short stories, Limits of Forgetting.

Meet Arna and other Blue Mountains artists at Excavate: an exhibition from Mounted ARI:

• 13 to 17 November, The Corner Gallery Stanmore
• Opening event: Friday 15 November, 5.30 to 7.30 pm

Get your copy of Limits of Forgetting from Rosey Ravelston Bookshop or your local bookshop or library. Supporting libraries and neighbourhood bookshops supports authors.

Books & authors (and one podcast) discussed in this episode:

• Forgetting: The Benefits of Not Remembering by Scott Small
• Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
• The Writer Laid Bare by Lee Kofman
• If You're Happy by Fiona Robertson (from ep 53)
• 'Vigil' by Amanda O'Callaghan
• Helen Garner
• What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan
• The Glass House by Graeme Simsion & Anne Buist
• Stoneyard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
• The Dinner Party by Victoria Benn
• Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
• The Conspiracy Against the Human Race by Thomas Legotti
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy ('It's like Knausgård in the 1800s!')
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
• Jon Ronson
• Revisionist History season 11: Hitler's Olympics by Malcolm Gladwell and Ben Naddaff-Hafrey
• Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke
• Stolen Focus by Johann Hari

Further recommended reading from Arna:

• The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss by Mary-
• Francis O’Connor
• Resilient Grieving: How To Find Your Way Through Devastating Loss: A Practical Guide To
• Recovery by Dr Lucy Hone
• Love, Death and Other Scenes by Nova Weetman

Upcoming events

• Ashley is interviewing Pip Drysdale and Hayley Scrivenor at Harry Hartog Mosman on Thursday 31 October, 6-8pm
• Ashley is speaking at Sydney Authors Inked in Summer Hill, Sunday 3 November, 12.30-2.30pm
• Ashley is teaching Writing Crime Fiction in Bowral on Thursday 7 November, 10am-4pm

Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library.

Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.

Get in touch!

• ashleykalagianblunt.com
• jamesmckenziewatson.com
• Instagram: @akalagianblunt + @jamesmcwatson