We talk to two long time friends, Sarah Dollard and Lili Wilkinson, on how they approach writing character for the screen and on the page. We hear them discuss how they met, their approach to writing characters (even if they’re not human), and what makes for a great hero or villain.
Listen here
Our guests
Sarah Dollard began her screenwriting career on Neighbours. Her career since then has seen her work on iconic series such as The Saddle Club Merlin, Primeval, Being Human,.and Doctor Who, She created and wrote her own rom-com series Cara Fi (in Welsh with English subtitles). She has worked on TV adaptations of Frances Hardinge’s YA novel “Cuckoo Song” and Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches.
Lili Wilkinson is the author of ten books, including Scatterheart, Pink and The Boundless Sublime. She established insideadog.com.au, the Inky Awards and the Inkys Creative Reading Prize in her years working at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria. Lili has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne, and now spends most of her time reading and writing books for teenagers. Her latest novel is After the Lights Go Out.
Our thanks to Michael for kindly allowing Unladylike to borrow his wonderful studio for the recording of this episode.
Dr Anita Heiss
Jessica Walton describes herself as a writer, cancer survivor, amputee, queer, daughter of a trans parent, feminist and teacher. As well as picture books, Jess writes about disability, LGBTI issues, and the intersections between her disabled and queer experiences. She is a sensitivity reader for manuscripts featuring amputee and queer characters, and reviews published books with amputee characters.
Raina Telgemeier grew up in San Francisco and moved to New York City, where she earned an illustration degree at the School of Visual Arts. She began her career in web and independent comics before adapting and illustrating four titles from the the Baby-Sitters Club series. A NY Times bestselling author and illustrator, her graphic novels 
Bronwyn Bancroft is a Bandjalang artist born in Tenterfield, Australia Trained in the Visual Arts at the Canberra School of Arts, she has been a prominent figure within the Australian art community since the 1980s. Bronwyn’s creative practice includes textile design illustration and painting. She has created her own signature style of contemporary artwork which continues to be exhibited nationally and internationally.
Unladylike 