Video transcript
2019 NSW PRC author interview – Jenna Guillaume

TAMARA RODGERS: Hi. I'm Tamara Rodgers from the Premier's Reading Challenge. We're here at Riverside Theatre Parramatta for the Sydney Writers' Festival, All Day YA, a celebration of everything that's amazing about YA literature.

We've been joined by some fantastic Australian and overseas authors. We're really excited to bring you these chats. We'd really like to thank the Sydney Writers' Festival for having us along and also thank our programme sponsors, our media partner, News Local, and our supporting partner, Dymock's Children's Charities. Thank you so much for your support.

Hi. I'm Tamara Rodgers from the Premier's Reading Challenge. We're backstage at Sydney Writers' Festival, All Day YA, with Jenna Guillaume. How are you doing?

JENNA GUILLAUME: I'm good. How are you?

TAMARA RODGERS: I'm good. So you've had a really busy day today--

JENNA GUILLAUME: I have.

TAMARA RODGERS: --with lots of panels.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yes. I did three panels. Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: And how have you been finding the festival?

JENNA GUILLAUME: Amazing. I always love All Day YA. I came for a long time just as a reader and appreciator. And so it's nice to actually be on some panels as a writer-- and a really good crowd. It's such a nice atmosphere. It's really lovely.

TAMARA RODGERS: Awesome. I'm just going to read something that I found on your website, which I thought is just the coolest way to describe an author. So Jenna's interested in pop culture, identity, feminism, social media, and Chris Hemsworth's biceps.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yes.

TAMARA RODGERS: How did you craft a career for yourself when they are the things that you get to do.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Gosh. I want to say like-- I say I got really lucky. But I also worked really hard for it. So I think I followed my passions in the sense that I just-- I knew I wanted to be a writer. And I have always been a hardcore fan girl.

One of the panels I did today was on fandom, actually. So I think I just never-- I kind of just embraced my nerdiness and consumed media that related to those interests. And then so I was very knowledgeable to then be able to write for that media.

And just, I think, I managed to tap into fandoms and topics that other people find relatable, and interesting, and want to read. And so the more I write about those things, the more I'm able to write about those things because people respond to it, and it gives me more of a platform. Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: So you started your career as a writer in writing nonfiction--

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yes.

TAMARA RODGERS: --for magazines--

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: --for this little thing called BuzzFeed--

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: --that a few people may have heard of. What's it like to be writing for that kind of really fast-paced, social media kind of news, and all that?

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah. It's interesting, well, because magazines, I went to the monthly magazine. And I went from that to working at BuzzFeed, which is 24/7. So that was quite jarring. But I really loved it because I thrive on feedback. I like instant kind of feedback.

And what I love about writing online is that you write something, and it instantly goes out there. You can see straight away how people are responding to it. Sometimes that's a bad thing. But hopefully, most of the time, it's a good thing. And I really value the kind of insights, and learnings, and seeing what people respond to. Yes.

TAMARA RODGERS: So that kind of instantaneous feedback then is very different from the process of writing a novel.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yes.

TAMARA RODGERS: Well, can you tell, did you always know that you wanted to write fiction?

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yes. Absolutely. From when I was a kid, I wanted to write fiction.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: And so can you talk a little bit about the process of going from writing something sort of short, and quick, and out there to producing something that, I'm assuming, took a little longer?

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yes. It's pretty much the complete opposite end of the spectrum. So I think, for a long time, I always wanted to write fiction. But I put it off because I felt like I just didn't know how. I didn't know where to begin.

And I was so intimidated because I thought, yeah, I was very good at writing these short, quick, snappy articles. But how do I write a novel? I have no idea.

So I did a couple of courses, which just helped me gain a little bit more confidence in terms of giving me the tools to then start writing. And actually, I was frustrated with myself for a long time because I just would procrastinate. Or because I wrote during the day, I'd get home, and I'd be too mentally tired to write at night time.

I'm not a morning person at all. But I actually kind of forced myself to start getting up in the mornings and writing before work because that helped me to just get it done. And I didn't have excuses when I got home from work, kind of thing. So that was really important to me in the writing process. But in terms of, like, it was such an adjustment to just the number of words, the amount of time it takes--

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah.

JENNA GUILLAUME: --and then the whole publishing process is very slow in itself as well. So it's definitely, as someone who's quite impatient and works in full time in a job that caters to that impatience--

TAMARA RODGERS: Yes.

JENNA GUILLAUME: --it's been a massive adjustment.

TAMARA RODGERS: And had this story of 'What I Like About Me' lived with you for a while before you started to write it? Or is it something that you found through the process of writing, oh, this is actually ending up quite differently to how I expected.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah. I would say it lived with me for a while while I was writing it, in the sense that I wrote a little bit. I would probably write about 7,000 or 10,000 words. And that 7,000, 10,000 words I would put away and would drag out a couple of months later, and I'd rewrite that first section again.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah.

JENNA GUILLAUME: And I did that about five times, I think. And so that was over the course of probably one or two years. And so it was living within me while I was technically writing, but I wasn't really actively writing a lot during that time. So by the time I'd set that schedule of doing it every single day before work, it had been living within me for a while.

TAMARA RODGERS: OK. So for those people who have not had the chance to read it yet, which is a lot of people have. It's been appearing in my news feed a lot--

JENNA GUILLAUME: Oh, that's nice.

TAMARA RODGERS: --like Instagrammers and stuff, and it's such a pretty colour, lots of lovely--

JENNA GUILLAUME: I know. I love the colour.

TAMARA RODGERS: --lots of feedback.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: Can you give us the elevator pitch, like for people who are looking for something new to read?

JENNA GUILLAUME: OK. The elevator pitch is it's 'Dumplin'' meets 'Dirty Dancing' Down Under.

TAMARA RODGERS: Nice. Lovely alliteration too.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yes. We like a bit of alliteration. So it's about a plus-size teen called Maisie. She's 16 years old. She's very insecure. And she enters a beauty pageant to try and kind of overcome some of her insecurities.

Set over the Australian summer, there's a bit of romance in there, a bit of friendship drama as well. And it's just, hopefully, a really positive, nice rom-com.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah. And really lovely kind of conversational tone too. It's not just like it's-- and I don't mean this in a bad way. It's not a difficult read.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: Because it's just like Maisie's just having a chat through her school diary.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah. It's written as a journal.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah, yeah.

JENNA GUILLAUME: So I definitely wanted it to feel very conversational and very intimate.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah, yeah.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: And so is the next book already kind of churning its way around in your brain? Or are you still a little traumatised from--

JENNA GUILLAUME: No. It is churning. I've started it. And so I'm currently just trying to find the time to finish it. But I've written about 17,000 words--

TAMARA RODGERS: OK.

JENNA GUILLAUME: 17, 18,000 words. So--

TAMARA RODGERS: Is that all?

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah, it's not bad. And it's percolating. So it's another rom-com.

TAMARA RODGERS: Nice. And so is rom-com, was that something that you read a lot when you were a kid and teen that feels like your bag?

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yes. Oh, that's my favourite genre.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah?

JENNA GUILLAUME: Any story, no matter what it is, I'm drawn to the romance. And romantic comedy is like my heart genre. Like, it's where I feel happy, and it's what I turn to for comfort. So that's definitely where I'm at the moment and what I'm wanting to read and write.

TAMARA RODGERS: OK.

JENNA GUILLAUME: It might change in the future. But that's definitely my area right now.

TAMARA RODGERS: So what were the kinds of things that you read when you were a kid?

JENNA GUILLAUME: What did I read when I was a kid? I loved-- it's not rom-com. But I loved 'The Baby Sitters Club.' And my favourite books--

TAMARA RODGERS: It's like early rom-com stuff.

JENNA GUILLAUME: It kind of is.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah.

JENNA GUILLAUME: I mean, it's very based around friendships. But my favourite 'Baby Sitters Clubs' were always the Logan and Mary Anne stories-- have their 13-year-old romance and that kind of thing.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yes.

JENNA GUILLAUME: I also read the 'Sweet Dreams' series--

TAMARA RODGERS: Yes.

JENNA GUILLAUME: --which was a series of teen romance books that were released at the time. I loved those.

TAMARA RODGERS: I don't know that they're still floating around in libraries. But I remember reading those a lot too, and there's so many of them.

JENNA GUILLAUME: There's so many. Yeah, there was hundreds.

TAMARA RODGERS: And just like you can just binge on them.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yes. Because there was all different authors.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah.

JENNA GUILLAUME: So they came out really quickly. I loved those. I was really into VC Andrews as well, which is not-- it's very problematic.

TAMARA RODGERS: Not quite child appropriate.

JENNA GUILLAUME: No. And even though I was reading it quite young, but I wouldn't recommend it. But, yeah, no, so that was what I grew up on. But I think I watched a lot of romantic comedies as well. So that has influenced my writing as well.

TAMARA RODGERS: OK.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: Nice. If you had to offer some advice to kids who have not quite found what their genre is yet-- so you know that rom-com is your thing. For those kids who are struggling to find what it is that they're going to be able to read that's going to feed their soul, what kind of advice would you give to them?

JENNA GUILLAUME: Ooh. I would say just try everything. And, I think, give it a go, but also don't force yourself if you're not enjoying something. There will be something that you enjoy out there. Just keep trying. There's so many books in the world.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yes.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Just go to the library. Look at the shelves. Take out a whole bunch, and just give it a go. Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah. I find it really hard to not finish reading a book when I start it.

JENNA GUILLAUME: I know. Yeah. I try to give something like 50 pages. And if it's hooked me in 50 pages, I'll keep going. But if it hasn't, it's hard. But I try to be like, there's so many books that I want to read.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah, so it's very--

JENNA GUILLAUME: So a bit of a brutal process.

TAMARA RODGERS: And there's only a certain amount of time you have in your life to be able to fit books in. And it's not really worth devoting all of your time to a book that is not speaking to you.

JENNA GUILLAUME: I would also say, try different formats. Because that can sometimes be an access thing as well. If you don't like to sit there and read a paperback, try an audio book because that's a whole different experience. And it can be really fun and entertaining.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah. And there are some really fantastic audiobook versions. Like I've recently listened to-- I'd read the 'Illuminae' series by Jay Kristoff and Amy Kaufman a while ago. And the books were great. The audio books are just a whole different experience.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Year, they're year-long productions.

TAMARA RODGERS: They really are.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yes.

TAMARA RODGERS: So that kind of playing with different formats is a really good idea.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah. And then totally-- and people, some people, get a bit snobby and say, well, that doesn't count as reading. But it totally does.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah.

JENNA GUILLAUME: That's very elitist and ableist to say it doesn't count.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yes. Any way that you can engage with the story is really-- it doesn't matter whether it's on a screen, or on paper, or through your ears--

JENNA GUILLAUME: Absolutely.

TAMARA RODGERS: --or through your eyes. You know?

JENNA GUILLAUME: Yeah.

TAMARA RODGERS: Yeah.

JENNA GUILLAUME: 100%.

TAMARA RODGERS: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming and having a chat with us.

JENNA GUILLAUME: Thank you. My pleasure.

TAMARA RODGERS: Thanks, everyone.