Plastic Budgie by Olivia De Zilva & Upcoming Events

It’s always so exciting to come across a fantastic debut.

Two years ago, I found Only Sound Remains by Hossein Asgari at Parramatta Library, and it was one of the best books I read in 2023. This time, it is Plastic Budgie by Olivia De Zilva.

I read this book in a 24 hour period and it’s quirky and beautiful. It has such warmth and there are so many specific pop culture references that it recalls an earlier period, one which has largely disappeared. While Max Easton goes hyper specific with his novels The Magpie Wing and Paradise Estate, De Zilva curates details that ground her scenes in the period she’s writing about. There’s Cathy Freeman winning the gold medal, there’s Nicole Kidman and a rumoured relationship with Russell Crowe in a magazine, there are the toys and items that Olivia the character collects that take the mind back and it’s as if the past is being unearthed. In a sense, both De Zilva and Easton’s books act like a time capsule for a particular period.

This book is very interior. It’s intensely from the perspective of Olivia as she’s growing up, focusing a lot on her early years, from the eyes of a child. There were moments where I was interpreting things as an adult, waiting for the child Olivia to realise what was going on.

What did I love about this book? Firstly, it’s fresh, it’s original. Secondly, in terms of prose, it’s readable and at 148 pages, it can be read in a sitting or two. Thirdly, there are so many books that I abandon that it’s a particular joy to be absorbed by a book, especially by a new writer that I will now look out for.

In other news, I have a few events coming up:

Against Type and Here Be Monsters at the Brisbane Writers Festival this Saturday and Sunday at the Brisbane Powerhouse. I am looking forward to both conversations, especially the latest edition of the Griffith Review (edited by Carody Culver) about monsters which features my piece The Fire This Time.

Next weekend, I’ll be at the Festival of Fiction in Perth. I’ll be appearing at Don’t Fence Me In on Saturday the 18th of October and then Not All Heroes Wear Capes on Sunday the 19th of October.

Lastly, I’ll be at OzAsia 2025 and I’ll be chatting about Guilty Pleasures (not that reading should ever be a guilty pleasure) and Thriving as a Writer on the second weekend of November.

At the latter event, I’ll be sharing the stage with Siang Lu (winner of this year’s Miles Franklin Award for Ghost Cities) and Hossein Asgari, author of Only Sound Remains which I’ve raved about ever since I read it two years ago.