I thought I would put all my interviews in one place for ease of reference.
I was on ABC’s The Drum and later spoke with Elly Duncan for a deeper dive into the need for diverse autism representation in books and pop culture.
I spoke to Katherine Collette on my favourite podcast (!!) The First Time Podcast about Own Voices, pandemics, and the joys of waiting.
Please Don’t Hug Me was the May pick for Kill Your Darling’s First Book Club. There is a review from Ellen Cregan and we had a great chat for the KYD podcast. I also did a Shelf Reflection interview.
Anna Whateley interviewed me for the Sydney Writers’ Festival Podcast series.
I did an interview with Books + Publishing where we talked about what it was like getting an autism diagnosis, epistolary novels, feeling ‘seen’ and vulnerability. B+P also featured a review by Charlotte Guest.
I wrote a post for the Readings blog, where I highlighted three things I’ve learned from getting an autism diagnosis.
I spoke to Rhianna Patrick at ABC Radio about the process of writing the book.
I had an in-conversation event with Nina Kenwood at Oz Authors Online that can be viewed on YouTube.
I did Ten Terrifying Questions with Booktopia, in which I talked about autism, fairies, my emo phase, crap pay in journalism, Hannah Gadsby, #LoveOzYA and my advice for aspiring writers.
Please Don’t Hug Me was a Staff Favourite pick for April with Booktopia.
I spoke to Andrew Pople who hosts Final Draft on 2ser about writing, representation and our love of books.
I spoke to The Bookish Bex as part of the Autistic Pride Readathon about autistic rep—the good and not so good.
Autistic writer Clem Bastow and I exchanged letters (well, emails) as a little nod to ‘Please Don’t Hug Me’ for Amaze.
I was part of Bendigo Writers Festival Backstory, speaking with Sarah Mayor Cox about ‘Please Don’t Hug Me’, writing for young people, and reader reactions.
More to come!
I can’t believe I finally get to share the cover for ‘Please Don’t Hug Me’. Jessica Horrocks at 
2019 is teaching me a lesson about vulnerability. It is showing me again and again how much harder it is to stay open and vulnerable than it is to close off, shut down, not talk about it, but also how much more I can offer and be by fighting the urge to take the easier route. 
If writing a book is the natural state for a writer, getting up in front of an audience and reading from that book feels about as far from natural as I can imagine. There are plenty of writers who are natural orators, but unfortunately I don’t fall into that category. I’m to the left in the ‘so anxious I might cry and/or pass out’ category. Hello to all of the other nervous talkers in this category with me. Welcome. May I offer you some peppermint tea? 
2018 has been a big year for *feelings*. I don’t feel alone in that. Just about everyone I know has had an intense year in one way or another. For me there’s been personal loss, creative doubt, incredible milestones, and a whole lot of waiting. I’ve also been panning through my own insecurities and trauma for gold nuggets of emotional truth in my work. And you know what, that gets exhausting. I’m feeling a little wobbly. So if you’re going through any of the above at the moment, or have been this year, I see you. It’s tiring. Be kind to yourself. 
I received the first round of notes from my editor at Text Publishing late last month. It’s the email I’ve been waiting on for months. It’s the green light after being at a red long enough to wonder if it was all a dream, or if someone somewhere had changed their mind. The notes are detailed, kind, and so spot on. My book is going to be infinitely better because of them, and because of my editor Jane Pearson. I feel like I should be in turmoil, but instead I’m thrilled. A little vulnerable, sure, but I can’t believe I can finally get going. Please Don’t Hug Me is going to be a real book! 
There is a lot out there about whether or not a debut writer needs a literary agent, or if signing with one is even something that can happen without a published book to your name. I can’t give a definitive answer about that, but I can say that signing with 