Date: 05.02.2022
Time: 14:15 - 15:00
Location: Youtube
Perth, Australia
You can watch Literature Live Around the World on YouTube.
Presented by Writing Western Australia (Writing WA)
Listen to Dr Michelle Johnston in conversation with broadcaster Claire Nichols as they discuss Michelle’s debut novel, Dustfall.
Inspired by the real-life public health tragedy that emerged in the 1930’s from the asbestos mining town of Wittenoom in Western Australia – a town now officially erased from the map – the conversation will explore themes of human error, responsibility, blame and guilt, against a background of corporate greed, government failure to protect the well-being of its citizens, and the shattering consequences for patients, their families and doctors alike, of medical error.
Local host: Claire Nichols
Dr Michelle Johnston
Michelle Johnston is a consultant Emergency Physician at a Perth hospital. She studied medicine at the University of Western Australia and gained her Fellowship with the Australian College for Emergency Medicine in 1998. She believes there is a beating heart of humanity, art, and beauty within the brutal reality of the emergency department.
Claire Nichols
Claire Nichols is the host of ABC Radio National’s The Book Show, presenting interviews with leading authors from Australia and around the world. Claire has spent more than a decade at the ABC, with roles in television and radio news, current affairs, ABC Local Radio and at Radio National.
Haunting and lyrical, humming with compassion and insight…Michelle Johnston is a rare talent, and this is a rare jewel of a novel.
Kathryn Heyman