ART IMITATING LIFE: JOSH DONELLAN ON FINDING YOUR VOICE

Old Scholar Josh Donellan (2000) is a man of many talents— writer, musician, poet and teacher— and he’s lived a life as extraordinary as the stories he writes. Josh’s real-life adventures could rival any fiction: he’s narrowly escaped a tiger in Malaysia, survived a collapsed lung in the Himalayas, and fought off rabid dogs in the Indian mountains armed only with a guitar. These escapades fuel his creativity and infuse his storytelling with authenticity.

Josh’s literary career took off at age 17 with A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India, which went on to win the 2009 Independent Publishers Picks Best Fiction Award. He followed this up with the critically acclaimed mystery Killing Adonis, which received a starred Kirkus review, and Stendhal Syndrome, a poetry collection released in 2016. His recent works include the gothic mystery Lenore’s Last Funeral and Rumors of Her Death, a surreal thriller now being adapted for film by Continuance Pictures. Josh also wrote and directed the award-winning podcast Six Cold Feet, earning a silver award for Best Fiction at the 2020 Australian Podcast Awards. Additionally, he has ventured into children’s literature with Zeb and the Great Ruckus, described by one young reader as ‘the best book ever, but it should have had Dr Who in it.’

Beyond novels and poetry, his creativity spans diverse media. He voiced and helped script the globally popular Pocket Hipster iPhone app and his debut play, We Are All Ghosts, was a hit at the 2014 Anywhere Theatre Festival. Another play, Theory of Everything, which he co-wrote with another playwright, enjoyed a sold-out run at the 2015 Brisbane Festival.

In an interview with The Community Writer, Josh discussed his appreciation for each medium’s unique storytelling capabilities.

“The novel is ideal for exploring a character’s inner world; the podcast draws the listener in with sound cues; and theatre tells the same story in new ways with each performance,” he shared.

When asked what advice he would give aspiring writers, Josh shared, “It’s about finding your own process. So many writers make the mistake of trying to study the process of their idols and replicate it verbatim, but it’s really about finding your own path.

Article by: Amanda Osborne, Alumni & Archives Officer