Have you noticed how everything Korean is so hot right now? From Squid Game to KPop Demon Hunters, the world is enamoured. Of course, for bestselling Korean-Kiwi author and AWC graduate Graci Kim, trends had nothing to do with her choice to mix stories from childhood with fantasy in her new novel, Dreamslinger. In this episode, Graci discusses the many experiences and inspirations that led her to this point, her writing process, advice and much more!
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Links mentioned in this episode
- WIN We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat by Syou Ishida
- Buy So You Want to be a Writer – the book!
- Facebook group for So You Want to be a Writer
Writer in residence: Graci Kim
Graci Kim is the diplomat turned award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Last Fallen Star, The Last Fallen Moon, and The Last Fallen Realm, aka the Gifted Clans series. Featured in TIME Magazine for Kids, and dubbed a “sparkling yarn” by Entertainment Weekly, the Korean mythology-inspired trilogy is being translated into multiple languages.
The Last Fallen Star was named a 2021 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Children’s Book, an Amazon Best Book, an Indigo Best Book, a Barnes & Noble Young Reader Pick, and a Whitcoulls’ Kids Top 50. In 2022, Graci was awarded the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best New Talent.
The first book in her new series, Dreamslinger, was released in April 2025, and is already an Amazon Editor’s Best Children’s Book of the Year, a Barnes & Noble Best Kids’ Book of April 2025, a Publishers Lunch Buzz Book, and was a #1 bestseller for Aotearoa New Zealand Children’s and YA Books for 4 consecutive weeks.
In a previous life, Graci was a New Zealand diplomat, a cooking show host, and once ran a business that turned children’s drawings into cuddly toys. She now lives in Aotearoa New Zealand with her husband and daughter.
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This podcast is brought to you by the Australian Writers' Centre and our course Novel Writing Essentials.
Find out more about your host, Valerie Khoo (@valeriekhoo on Twitter and @valeriekhoo on Instagram).
