Is your TBR pile becoming a serious health and safety hazard? Did you stay up too late last night JUST so you could finish the good bit at the end of Chapter 8? Have you ever found yourself sniffing the pages of a new paperback book like its a fine perfume? If you answered yes to any of those questions you just might be a Serious Book Person.
Join our host, Robert Watkins, as he sits down with an author, a reader or a fellow book-obsessive (or maybe they're all three at once) and uncovers their favourite stories, the books that changed them, and why we still cling to the glorious, dusty power of paper and ink.
Welcome to another episode of I’m a Serious Book Person. This time Robert sits down with the award-winning essayist, poet and novelist, Fiona Wright, to discuss her reading and writing life. From the shock of recognition she found in an Australian Literature course at Uni to her specific writing rituals at her local café, this episode dives into why stories are the ultimate machines for empathy and why we must stop being so self-deprecating about our creative pursuits. Grab a drink and settle...
7 Apr 2026
Sita Walker
Is it possible to love books deeply while being a totally 'unserious' book person? According to Sita Walker, the answer is a resounding yes. In this episode, Robert sits down with the author of the soul-bearing memoir The God of No Good and the stunning new novel In a Common Hour to discuss why stories matter more than the medium they come in. Sita takes us back to her childhood and the role stories played in her house growing up - The Simpsons was off-limits but Enid Blyton was everyth...
22 Mar 2026
Alex Sarkis
Are you a serious reader, or just someone who skips to the spice? In this episode, host Robert Watkins sits down with Alex Sarkis, author of Something Blue and Something New, to interrogate her literary credentials. Alex reveals why she considers herself a 'mostly no' on the serious book person scale, admitting to a ruthless habit of skim reading and abandoning books that don't hook her in the first few chapters. She shares how her family life and her sister’s influence shaped her love for st...
8 Mar 2026
Jaclyn Moriarty
This time on I’m a Serious Book Person, Robert is joined by Jaclyn Moriarty. Jaclyn reveals the delightful (and slightly eccentric) roots of her career, sharing how her father commissioned her and her famous sisters to write stories for pocket money—only to win the cash back in a game of roulette. Whether she is discussing her 'panicky' need to always have a book on hand, identifying as the 'mysterious' Emily Brontë of her family, or enthusing about the books that shaped her own imaginative w...
22 Feb 2026
Ashley Kalagian Blunt
In the first episode of I’m a Serious Book Person, Robert sits down with best-selling crime novelist Ashley Kalagian Blunt to dissect her reading and writing life. Tune in to find out why Ashley is one of the most compelling voices in crime writing today, what kept her turning the pages as a child and how a youthful brush with a 'poetry scheme' set the stage for her success. Don't miss this deep dive into the mind of a master storyteller. Ashley Kalagian Blunt writes to expose the myria...
12 Feb 2026
Trailer
Is your TBR pile becoming a serious health and safety hazard? Did you stay up too late last night JUST so you could finish the good bit at the end of Chapter 8? Have you ever found yourself sniffing the pages of a new paperback book like it's a fine perfume? If you answered yes to any of those questions you just might be a Serious Book Person. Join our host, Robert Watkins, as he sits down with an author, a reader or a fellow book-obsessive (or maybe they're all three at once) and unco...
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