The subtle art of collaboration

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Margaret Simons (pictured) talks to Peter Clarke about a challenging co-writing project, the political memoirs of Malcolm Fraser

Margaret Simons & Peter Clarke 14 April 2010 103 words

AUSTRALIA’S twenty-second prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, defeated in 1983 by Bob Hawke after almost eight years in office, has remained a significant public figure. But he has written little about the often-turbulent events of his long political career. Now comes an autobiography written not by Malcolm Fraser alone, but in collaboration with the journalist and writer, Margaret Simons. Together they’ve produced Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs, written in the third person and bearing all the hallmarks of rigorous research and journalistic method. How did this process actually work? Peter Clarke asked Margaret Simons to reflect on a challenging co-writing experience.

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Peter Clarke is a Melbourne-based broadcaster, writer and educator who teaches at RMIT and Swinburne universities. He pioneered national talkback on Australian radio as the inaugural presenter of Offspring (now Life Matters) on ABC Radio National. Podcast theme created by Ivan Clarke, Pang Productions.

Topics: Margaret Simons | Peter Clarke | podcast | politics