Prema Arasu discusses The Anatomy of Witchcraft on the Fremantle Press podcast
Prema Arasu has a one in six chance of winning $20,000 and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press. Their manuscript, The Anatomy of Witchcraft, is in the running for the prestigious 2023 Fogarty Literary Award for Western Australian writers aged 18 to 35. The Anatomy of Witchcraft is a captivating young adult novel blending themes of magic, witchcraft, and boarding school life against a rich tapestry of governmental intrigue, colonial history and gender politics. The judges praised it for its intricate plot and highly convincing and immersive world-building.
In this podcast, Prema says, ‘The story then came about when I was writing my PhD and wanted to focus on destabilising ideas about sex and gender and how that can take place in alternative worlds.’ This fascinating podcast is well worth a listen for Prema’s insights into the genres of fantasy and speculative fiction.
Show notes
About Prema
Prema has a PhD in Creative Writing from UWA and is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research centre.
About the hosts
Brooke Dunnell is a writer, mentor and workshop facilitator. Her short fiction has been widely published, including in the short story collection Female(s and) Dogs, which was a finalist for the 2020 Carmel Bird Digital Literary Award and shortlisted for the 2021 Woollahra Digital Literary Award. The unpublished manuscript for The Glass House was the winner of the 2021 Fogarty Literary Award. Brooke has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Western Australia and lives in Boorloo (Perth) with her husband and two dogs.
Books by Brooke Dunnell, 2021 Fogarty Literary Award winner
Last Best Chance (coming soon, Fremantle Press 2024)
Brooke’s website: brookedunnell.com/
Brooke on socials: Instagram @Brooky.Brooks and Twitter @TheSpineLabel
Georgia Richter has an MA (Creative Writing) from the University of Western Australia and is an IPEd Accredited Editor. She has taught creative writing, professional writing and editing at the universities of Melbourne and Western Australia, as well as at Curtin University. Georgia joined Fremantle Press in 2008 as the fiction, narrative non-fiction and poetry publisher.
Books by Georgia Richter, Fremantle Press publisher
How to be an Author: The Business of Being a Writer in Australia
About the award
Read more about this year’s shortlist here.
The Fogarty Literary Award is a biennial prize for an unpublished manuscript by a Western Australian author aged between 18 and 35 for a work of fiction, narrative non-fiction or young adult fiction. The winner receives a cash prize of $20,000 from the Fogarty Foundation and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press.
The Fogarty Foundation was established by Brett and Annie Fogarty in 2000 to support and provide educational and leadership opportunities for young people across the spectrum of the Western Australian community. As well as partnering with a range of organisations, the foundation has initiated its own programs that include the UWA Fogarty Scholarship Program, CoderDojo WA and Fogarty EDvance.
Music: ‘Letter to a Daughter of St George’, from the Meat Lunch EP: Songs from Floaters. Written by Alan Fyfe. Performed by Trevor Bentley (guitar and vocals – @trevormb) and Chris Parkinson (harmonica). Produced by Blake Carnaby of Nuglife studios with impresario work by Benjamin P. Newton.
Producer: Claire Miller
Mastered and edited by: Aidan d’Adhemar
