The Re-Read: Tobias Madden and Nina Kenwood

Better Words

We're switching things up for Season 9: Welcome to The Re-Read. In this mini-season, we check in with a selection of past guests to find out what they've been working on. Expect lots of books, some babies and plenty of chat.

This season works a little differently, without book recommendations from us at the start of each episode. But we promise you'll still get plenty of books added to your TBR!

Interview 1: Tobias Madden

Tobias grew up in Ballarat and worked for 10 years as a performer touring Australia and New Zealand with musicals, including Mary Poppins, CATS, Singin' in the Rain, and Guys and Dolls. We first spoke to him for Better Words in 2019 when he edited and published Underdog, the first #LoveOzYA short story collection for previously unpublished Aussie writers. In 2019, he also wrote a cabaret show, Siblingship, which played to sold-out audiences and several cities. In 2021, we spoke to him about his debut YA novel Anything But Fine. Now we're chatting about his second book, Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell.

Listen to our previous chat with Tobias here.

You can follow Tobias on Instagram @tobias_madden

In this interview, we chat about:

• Going viral (and knowing JLo's seen it!)
• Why we're getting sick of social media
• Writing and publishing another novel
• What Tobias is working on next

Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell is available now in Australia and out soon in the US.

Interview 2: Nina Kenwood

Nina Kenwood has worked in the book industry for over a decade, including with Melbourne’s iconic Readings bookshop. We first spoke to her about her Text Prize-winning debut, It Sounded Better In My Head. She had also only just given birth when we first spoke to her, so we were excited to see how motherhood has impacted her writing journey in this chat about her new novel, Unnecessary Drama.

Listen to our first chat with Nina here.

You can follow Nina on Instagram @ninakenwood

In this interview, we chat about:

• Why Nina decided to "write towards joy"
• The difficult decisions over writing around Covid
• Exploring anxiety and the post-school years

Books and other things mentioned:

• Tobias and Daniel going viral
• This is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carven
• The Goodbye Year by Emily Gale
• The Cult of Romance by Sarah Ayoub (listen to our interview here)

Unnecessary Drama is out in Australia and will be released in the US in August.

Thank you to Text Publishing for providing us with a copy of Unnecessary Drama prior to the interview.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod