Writing Podcast Episode 698: Emma Sloley welcomes you to 'The Island of Last Things'

When was the last time you visited a zoo? Well, now imagine you're visiting the last zoo on Earth and you have the premise for Emma Sloley's new book, The Island of Last Things . In this episode, Emma shares the inspiration, research and publishing experience for this book and some of the larger themes this piece of fiction evokes. 00:00 Welcome 04:10 Writing tip: Aim for rejections! 08:30 WIN!: Tom Clancy Executive Power by Andrews & Wilson 11:22 Word of the week: 'Pelf' 11:56 Writer in residence: Emma Sloley 13:03 What is The Island of Last Things about? 13:50 How Emma got the idea for the book 16:00 Discussing the term 'climate fiction' 19:00 Researching Alcatraz for the book 21:37 Gathering insights from zookeepers 24:19 Transition to American characters 25:35 Publishing journey and agent experiences 28:34 Editing process with agents and editors 31:34 Balancing writing and travel 34:39 Current writing projects 38:40 Tips for aspiring writers 41:06 Final thoughts Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.com

You can listen to Writing Podcast Episode 698: Emma Sloley welcomes you to 'The Island of Last Things' online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Writing Podcast Episode 698: Emma Sloley welcomes you to 'The Island of Last Things' is an episode from So you want to be a writer by Australian Writers' Centre.

This episode is 45:21 long.

This episode was published on Jan 5, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from So you want to be a writer when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.