Video transcript
2019 NSW PRC author interview – Will Kostakis

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TAMARA RODGERS: Hi. I'm Tamara Rodgers from the Premier's Reading Challenge. We're at Riverside Theatre Parramatta for the Sydney Writers' Festival Secondary Schools Day. We're going to be joined by some students from Galston High School who'll be having some conversations with the fantastic authors on the programme. We're really excited to be able to bring you these interviews.

Thank you to the Sydney Writers Festival for having us along. And we'd also like to thank the Premier's Reading Challenge programme sponsors, our media partner, NewsLocal, and our supporting partner, Dymocks Children's Charities. Thank you so much for your support.

BONNIE LADE: Hi. I'm Bonnie Lade. I'm from Galston High School. And we are here today with Will Kostakis, the author of 'The First Third,' 'Sidekicks,' and 'Loathing Lola.'

Hello, Will. How are you today?

WILL KOSTAKIS: Hi there. I'm very well, thanks. How are you?

BONNIE LADE: I'm OK. So through 'The Sidekick' and 'The First Third' I was actually really emotionally touched. I found myself tearing up, crying at times. What was the hardest book for you to write emotionally?

WILL KOSTAKIS: They both come from a really personal place, so both were really difficult to write. And I don't want to pull any punches in my work. And I want to look at the way that I was feeling when I was a teenager and reflect that as honestly as possible, not just to make people cry, but just to remind people that they can get through it, no matter how tough it is. Because all of my books, no matter how sad they get sometimes, there's always the humour throughout. And they always trend towards hope at the end.

BONNIE LADE: I think that's really important. So in 'The Sidekicks,' you have three very different personalities, three very different people.

WILL KOSTAKIS: But I have three very different personalities.

BONNIE LADE: Did you get the inspiration for them from your-- like, different bits of your personality or from people?

WILL KOSTAKIS: Yeah. They're different-- everyone always thinks, oh, you know, are your friends OK with you writing about them? And I'm like, oh, they're not real people. It was informed by personal experience, where there was a group of us that had to deal with someone's passing. But we're all different to how we are in the book.

So you have the three boys. You have Miles. He's very much like who I was in high school. He's really shy, really reserved, and really academic. You have Holly, who is a little more tongue-in-cheek. He doesn't take things so seriously. And that's just me when I'm feeling a little mischievous.

And finally, you have Ryan, who is coming to terms with himself and his sexuality, which was something that I struggled with in my teen years. And I wanted to reflect that as honestly as possible. So the three of them are three different parts of me that sort of clash and balance against each other.

BONNIE LADE: You were very academic in high school. You also signed your first book deal when you were in high school. So how did you manage that, and do both writing and--

WILL KOSTAKIS: I didn't manage it very well. Like, there were points where my maths teacher would walk up the back of the room and see I'd abandoned whatever maths exercise I was supposed to do, and I was writing novels in the back of my class.

And he thought it would be really funny to read out my work and just be like, look, I'm embarrassing Will. And I'm like, no, I've got an audience now. And it's better than maths.

So yeah. Look, I didn't manage my time well. And I managed to find the time all the way through high school to write a novel a year. If I could write a novel a year now, that would be amazing. But there's something about high school that sort of, you know, you get accustomed to this really high intensity, smash out an essay every night.

Now, if I have to write 800 words, it takes me like five or six days. So I guess I just found the time because I was really passionate about it. And I didn't like maths.

BONNIE LADE: Yeah. Were there any specific authors that inspired you to start off writing?

WILL KOSTAKIS: From when I was younger, it was people like Enid Blyton, Morris Glietzman. And then as I got older and I discovered young adult novels, for me, Barry Jonsberg was a huge influence. I remember reading him in the middle of high school and being like, that's the kind of author I want to be, someone who writes relatable stuff that reflects teen lives in a really authentic way.

BONNIE LADE: And that's really inspiring. Thank you. 'The First Third' and 'The Sidekicks' are both realistic fiction that are standalone novels. I know that your next book, 'Monuments,' is going to be a fantasy novel. Can you tell us a bit more about this?

WILL KOSTAKIS: So I finished 'The First Third,' which was a reflection on my own sort of upbringing in a small but potent Greek family. And the next book was about my experiences when my best friend passed away. And I was like, OK. I need to write a lighter book, a funner book.

And I looked back at the things that I loved when I was a kid. And I was a big fantasy reader, and I still am. I absolutely love Terry Pratchett novels. You know, I grew up reading 'The Lord of the Rings,' all those staples. And I'm like, you know what? I always wanted to write a fantasy novel.

Like, when I was in year nine, we had an assignment on 'The Hero's Journey,' and we had to write a short story. The whole class, they averaged about one or two pages. I submitted a 50-page novella. And my teacher was like, this is too long. But she read it, and she was really encouraging.

And I'm like, I wanted-- there's always been a fantasy novel inside of me. And I'm like, I've got to write this. And then I started writing and I'm like, why am I writing this? I'm not good at this? So it was sort of starting from scratch and having to learn how to write a fantasy novel. And it was a really rewarding process.

And the book that I've ended up with is a book about three Sydney teenagers who are raiding dungeons hidden underneath schools in Sydney. And they may accidentally awaken creatures that they probably shouldn't have. And then they have to deal with the consequences of that.

BONNIE LADE: Are you finished writing the book?

WILL KOSTAKIS: So, yeah. 'Monuments' is finished and ready. It's almost off to the printers. And so it releases in September this year.

BONNIE LADE: I'm very intrigued. In 'The First Third,' the main character Billy has two brothers who cause him a lot of grief. How closely were Billy's brothers based on your own life? And how did your brothers feel about this book?

WILL KOSTAKIS: We haven't had a conversation about it. I can't imagine they particularly enjoyed seeing the worst parts of themselves on the page. But I told them when I gave him the book, I'm like, guys, this is going to cut sort of close to the bone. But remember, the whole point of the book is about the last page.

And so it was basically, you guys annoy me, but I can't imagine my life without you. And that is the sort of thesis point of the novel. It was-- my first novel did not set the world on fire. And so when I had the chance to write a personal second novel, I thought, what do I want to say?

And I just wanted to let my family know-- my grandmother, my mum, my brothers-- just how important they are to me, and how I can't wait to live the rest of my life with them by my side.

BONNIE LADE: Wow. That's really nice. Do you have any advice to young writers who want to try and publish their works?

WILL KOSTAKIS: My advice for young writers is to don't be afraid. Be honest on the page. You know, if you're writing something, and it really, really, really scares you. And I mean you're writing, and it's like your chest is hollowed out and your heart is thumping, that's your body telling you to actually write that.

And I remember whenever I'm in that mode, I think, no, what I'm writing is too personal. It's not going to connect with people. And that's the stuff that eventually connects with people the most. I set out to write personal stories, and then by accident they turn out to be really universal.

So there's so much in life that we don't talk about with the people around us. And it's really wonderful to be able to put that onto the page and say, hey, you know, we're all sort of going through the same stuff, but we're all just not telling each other about it.

So I recommend, obviously, read a lot. Write a lot. Don't see publication as the be-all and end-all. Find the joy in actually writing and connecting with people around you, finding a readership. And just have fun and enjoy it.

BONNIE LADE: At my school, we have the Premier's Reading Challenge, which is where we read 20 books over a period of 12 months. Did your school have anything like that?

WILL KOSTAKIS: We did. And I actually did the Premier's Reading Challenge when I was at school. And it was really fun. And it was a great way to force myself to read.

Because sometimes at school, when all these other things get in the way, this was something that kept me accountable. But it was never a chore. The list is always filled with engaging novels that inspire readers.

And it was a great thing to do with friends. Because I would read one book. They would read another book. And if they really liked that book on the list, then they made sure I read it next. And so it was a really great community building experience within the school.

And I always found that even after the challenge finished, we kept reading. And we kept recommending the books that we read to each other.

So I really think it's a wonderful initiative to encourage children and teenagers to find time and to carve out a space to read. And then also, to hopefully build that habit and continue it on outside of the challenge.

BONNIE LADE: I had a really amazing time talking to you. And I'm looking forward to reading your upcoming novels. Thank you so much.

WILL KOSTAKIS: Thank you very much.