We need new voices and unconventional narratives to guard against rigidity. Plots that are distinct and lucid and sometimes boiling hot.

Telling Stories: Australian Life and Literature 1935–2012 looks to be an intimidating beast at first glance, boasting 639 pages and featuring 86 essays produced by an almost equal number of writers and academics, chronologically tracing the way in which Australian literature, culture and identity have been relentlessly interwoven over the past 77 years. In the opening pages, editors and co-contributors Tanya Dalziell and Paul Genoni ask us to think a little more expansively about ‘literature’.

Join Overland editorial intern Eloise Oxer in conversation with award-winning Australian poet, novelist and critic Alison Croggon, as they discuss the innumerable benefits of art and the case for public arts funding.

For something a little different, join Overland editorial intern Eloise Oxer for a short series of author-interview podcasts. To launch our podcast series we talk with writer, poet and performer Maxine Beneba Clarke about everything from winning the 2013 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript to juggling the demands of a three-book deal while raising small children.