Byron Writers FestivalByron Writers Festival
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • About us
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Our Board
  • What’s On
    • What’s On
      • Publishing Masterclass with Alex Adsett 2025
      • Candice Fox’s Crime Writing Crash Course | Online 2025
  • Members
    • Festival Friends
    • Residential Mentorship
      • Alumni
    • Mentorships
    • Writers’ Groups
  • Festival
    • Byron Writers Festival
    • Key Information
      • FAQ
      • Travel
      • Accessibility
      • Accommodation
      • Sustainability
    • Primary Schools Day
    • Secondary Schools Day
  • StoryBoard
    • StoryBoard
    • Masterclasses
    • Student Writing Prizes
    • Primary Schools Day
    • Secondary Schools Day
  • Get Involved
    • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Donate
    • Partner With Us
  • News
    • Early Bird Tickets
  • Podcasts
  • Contact Us

Conversations from Byron

DONATE
CONVERSATIONS FROM BYRON

The Coconut Children: Vivian Pham in conversation with Cath Keenan


Life in a troubled neighbourhood demands too much too young. But Sonny wouldn’t really know.

Watching the world from her bedroom window, she exists only in second-hand romance novels and falls for any fast-food employee who happens to spare her a glance.

Everything changes with the return of Vince, a boy who became a legend after he was hauled away in handcuffs at fourteen. Sonny and Vince used to be childhood friends. But with all that happened in-between, childhood seems so long ago. It will take two years of juvie, an inebriated grandmother and a porn stash for them to meet again.

In this Conversations from Byron podcast, Vivian talks with friend and Executive Director of Story Factory, Cath Keenan, about being published at 19, and how the stories she was told as a child inspired this novel.

Thanks to Delta Kay, Arakwal Bundjalung woman, for the Welcome to Country on this podcast.


Listen Now


About the authors


Vivian Pham

Vivian Pham is a Vietnamese-Australian author living in Sydney. Her first novel, The Coconut Children, was published by Penguin Random House in March 2020.


Cath Keenan

Dr Catherine Keenan AM is co-founder and executive director of the Story Factory, a creative writing centre for young people in Sydney. She was 2016 Australian of the Year Local Hero.


VIEW FULL PLAYLIST ON SOUNDCLOUD

< Back to all podcasts
CONNECT

Follow us



Join the conversation at #ByronWF2020

SUPPORT US

Donate to our Festival Fund


The exchange of stories and ideas sustains us in challenging times. Now more than ever we are relying on your support to help us continue celebrating Australian stories and literature, enhancing the skills of local writers, and nurturing the next generation of readers and writers. As a not-for-profit organisation run with a small team of staff and volunteers, contributions of any size go a long way in enriching the creative culture of our community. Amounts over $2 are tax deductible. Thank you.


DONATE NOW

WITH THANKS

Funding Partners


Thank you to our funding partners for making this program possible.


https://byronwritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/NSW-Government.png
Proudly funded by the NSW Government
https://byronwritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CA_Cultural-Fund-Logo_RGB_full-colour.png
< Back
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions

Byron Writers Festival © 2024