Julia Gillard and Sophie Gee on the love of books

In this extra special crossover episode, Julia is joined by Sophie Gee, co-host of The Secret Life of Books podcast, for a joyful conversation celebrating their shared love of books and reading.

Julia and Sophie compare notes on hosting book podcasts, share their lifelong love of literature, and reflect on their experiences chairing two of the world's leading literary prizes for women and non-binary writers – the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Stella Prize.

Sophie is a Professor of English at Princeton University, author of The Scandal of the Season, Chair of the 2026 Stella Prize judging panel and of course, hosts The Secret Life of Books, alongside her co-host, Jonty Claypole.

Show notes

If you enjoyed this conversation, you can find The Secret Life of Books, hosted by Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole, wherever you get your podcasts.

Julia and Sophie reflect on this year's Women's Prize for Fiction and Stella Prize, celebrating outstanding books by women and non-binary writers. You can explore the 2026 Stella Prize shortlist here: https://stella.org.au/the-stella-prize-2026-shortlist/ and find out more about the Women's Prize for Fiction here: https://womensprize.com/.

They also discuss this year's winning titles: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction, and Cannon by Lee Lai, the first graphic novel to win the Stella Prize. Find out more about The Correspondent here: https://womensprize.com/library/the-correspondent/ and Cannon here: https://stella.org.au/the-stella-prize-2026-winner/.

The episode also explores the future of reading in the age of AI, including trends in reading for pleasure in Australia. You can read more in Creative Australia's latest National Arts Participation Survey here: https://australiareads.org.au/news/naps-2025/.

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