Helen Garner reflects on provocation, relationships and newfound international acclaim

Helen Garner, the 83-year-old Australian author, discusses her writing, relationships and growing international recognition after almost five decades in print. Known for unsparing fiction and true crime, she has often provoked strong reactions, but her candid approach has also built devoted readership.

Her latest book, *The Season*, follows her teenage grandson’s under-16 Australian rules football team, the Flemington Colts, and was conceived as a “nanna’s book” rather than a social or sporting analysis. Garner’s diaries won the Baillie Gifford prize last year; she now fills 900-seat venues in New York and has much of her back catalogue reissued in the US, after years of being dismissed outside Australia.