Writing Podcast Episode 685: Tegan Bennett Daylight takes us back with her YA novel, How to Survive 1985

If there were ever a decade that evoked such a strong emotional resonance, the 1980s would surely be it! Author Tegan Bennett Daylight channels this in her new time-travelling YA novel, How to Survive 1985, in all its neon-coloured, acid-washed glory, and in this episode, she shares her experience bringing that time period to life and some tips for aspiring writers.

You can listen to the episode below, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or add the podcast RSS feed manually to your favourite podcast app.  

Links mentioned in this episode

• Plotting and Planning
• WIN The Gifts of Reading for the Next Generation, edited by Jennie Orchard
• Buy So You Want to be a Writer – the book!
• Facebook group for So You Want to be a Writer
  
  

Writer in residence: Tegan Bennett Daylight

Tegan Bennett Daylight is a writer, teacher and critic who has published three novels: Bombora, What Falls Away and Safety, as well as books for children and teenagers. Her collection of short stories, Six Bedrooms, was published in July 2015, and shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal, the Steele Rudd Award and the 2016 Stella Prize. Her book of essays, The Details: On Love, Death and Reading, was published by Scribner in July 2020 and was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Award for Non-Fiction. She works as a lecturer in English and Creative Writing at Western Sydney University, and lives on Darug/Gundungurra land in the Blue Mountains.

Tegan’s YA novel Royals tells the story of six teenagers (and a baby) trapped in a parallel universe – only this parallel universe is a shopping mall. Royals was published by Simon & Schuster in May 2023 and shortlisted for the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature.

How to Survive 1985, a stand-alone YA novel but also the sequel to Royals, was published by Simon & Schuster in April 2025. The same six teenagers find themselves 40 years in the past, loving the music, hating the hair, and noticing all the changes we’ve seen and made since 1985.

Follow Tegan and Instagram.

Follow Simon & Schuster AU on Twitter and Instagram.