Listen "Holden Sheppard on The Brink"
Episode Synopsis
Holden Sheppard's The Brink doesn't shy away from delving into material that is relevant to the lives of young people. From mental health, masculinity, family and friendships to sexuality and love, each page of the The Brink is laden with Holden's trademark gritty and honest depiction of the relationships and lives of young adults. In this YA Book Stack interview, Holden elaborates on some of the key ideas within The Brink, shares his writing motivations and his embodied creative writing process. Holden and Emma also discuss the important role of literature in ensuring authentic and accurate representation for young, same-sex attracted people and Holden responds to some of the critiques that his work is, simply put, too sexy for the classroom. For more on YA Book Stack, visit the VATE website.Note: there are two curse words in this episode that have been left in for creative flavour. Holden Sheppard is an award-winning West Australian author. His debut novel, Invisible Boys (Fremantle Press, 2019), was published to both critical and commercial success. It won the WA Premier's Prize for an Emerging Writer, was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and was named as a Notable Book by the Children's Book Council of Australia. Holden's powerful second novel, The Brink, was published in 2022 by Text Publishing. Visit Holden here: https://www.holdensheppard.com/.
More episodes of the podcast YA Book Stack
Summer Reading with Mark Smith
08/12/2025
Margot McGovern on This Stays Between Us
27/10/2025
Linda and Marly Wells on Desert Tracks
27/10/2025
Ange Crawford on How to Be Normal
15/09/2025
Prue Bon / Booklisting
18/08/2025
Chemutai Glasheen on I am the Mau
27/07/2025
Erin Gough on Into the Mouth of the Wolf
23/06/2025
Solli Raphael on Starlight
02/04/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.