{"id":80947,"date":"2018-06-05T15:37:44","date_gmt":"2018-06-05T04:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/?p=80947"},"modified":"2018-06-05T15:41:52","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T04:41:52","slug":"bri-lee-eggshell-skull-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2018\/06\/05\/bri-lee-eggshell-skull-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Bri Lee: “Don\u2019t wait for permission. Don\u2019t wait for the perfect conditions \u2013 they won\u2019t come.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bri Lee has written a fierce and eloquent memoir that addresses both her own reckoning with the past to speak the truth, as well as the stories around her, with wit, empathy and unflinching courage.\u00a0Eggshell Skull<\/i><\/a>\u00a0is a haunting appraisal of modern Australia from a new and essential voice.<\/p>\n

Bri Lee now answers the Booktopia Guru’s Ten Terrifying Questions!<\/p>\n

\n

1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself \u2013 where were you born? Raised? Schooled?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia \u2013 in fact I lived in the same house my whole life until I was 20! I have a wonderful, close family and spent my childhood playing in backyards and on bicycles around my leafy suburb.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a02.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

When I was 12 I wanted to be an Egyptologist and Archaeologist, then when I was 18 I thought I was going to be a photojournalist. And thirty? I\u2019m only 26 now! Haha. I am fairly certain I\u2019ll be writing for the rest of my life. Other things might come and go, but the writing will be constant.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now? \u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Hmm, this is a tricky one. I think I was so inward-facing at that age, and still so surly and full of self-loathing, I thought that meaning could only come from sacrifice. Does that make sense? That improvement could only come from pain, or that if something wasn\u2019t \u201chard\u201d it wasn\u2019t \u201cworth it\u201d or \u201cgood\u201d. I have a lightness now. Loving is easier. Enjoying life can give it meaning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Wh<\/span>at were three big events \u2013 in the family circle or on the world stage or in your reading life, for example \u2013 you can now say, had a great effect on you and influenced you in your career path?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Winning the Kat Muscat Fellowship was so obviously a turning point for me. It came at December 2015\/January 2016, which was just when I was trying to build up the courage to quit law and pursue writing full-time. From that announcement I got emails from publishers, got an agent, and eventually the book deal with Allen & Unwin. The second would be signing with my amazing publisher, Jane Palfreyman (who also publishes Charlotte Wood and Clementine Ford) because she\u2019s always been so encouraging of me and unafraid of the book I was trying to write. The third would be when Helen Garner gave the cover quote \u2013 a lot of wonderful opportunities snowballed from that moment. An endorsement like that does a huge amount of good for a debut author and I\u2019m extremely grateful.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you – blogs, online newspapers, TV, radio, etc – why did you choose to write a book? \u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Words are magic. I can write a word \u2013 pineapple \u2013 and I\u2019ve forced you to think of a pineapple. In a book I can completely control my end of the story as well, which is important with a story like this one. I don\u2019t think I could have fit in as much context and jurisprudence in a TV Show or podcast. Plus I just love how books are such a solitary experience. People can read my words as though it\u2019s just me and them in the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"6. Please tell us about your latest book…<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

My latest book is Eggshell Skull<\/em><\/a>! It\u2019s my first (hopefully of many) and is a memoir of sexism in the Australian justice system. It follows my journey through law: first as the daughter of a police officer, then as a law student, then as a judge\u2019s associate, and finally as a complainant myself. I\u2019ve seen the law from both sides now. If this book has achieved what I want it to, it\u2019ll make you angry then hopeful.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7. If your work could change one thing in this world – what would it be?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Change just one thing? Every single woman in the world has total control over her body and reproductive rights. So much (health, wealth, education, etc.) flows from this critical moment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

8. Whom do you most admire and why?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tough question! There are so many people I admire. Probably people working in disability care and aged care. Most societies can be judged by how they treat their most vulnerable. We don\u2019t elevate the importance of these roles enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

9.\u00a0Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours? \u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I have some publications I dream of writing for \u2013 The New Yorker, The Monthly, and such. I\u2019d like to achieve some success in the work I\u2019m just now getting stuck into with proposals for legislative reform in Australia for the way the system treats complainants in sex and child sex cases. That work truly gives meaning to my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

10.\u00a0What advice do you give aspiring writers?<\/b><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t wait for permission. Don\u2019t wait for the \u201cright\u201d or \u201cperfect\u201d conditions \u2013 they won\u2019t come. Give yourself the freedom to start a shitty first draft. Just get the words on the page then everything else is easier.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bri Lee has written a fierce and eloquent memoir that addresses both her own reckoning with the past to speak the truth, as well as the stories around her, with wit, empathy and unflinching courage.\u00a0Eggshell Skull\u00a0is a haunting appraisal of modern Australia from a new and essential voice. Bri Lee now answers the Booktopia Guru’s Ten Terrifying Questions! 1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself \u2013 where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia \u2013 in fact I lived in the same house my whole life until I was 20! I have a wonderful, close family and spent my childhood playing in backyards and on bicycles around my leafy suburb. \u00a02.\u00a0What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why? When I was 12 I wanted to be an Egyptologist and Archaeologist, then when I was 18 I thought I was going to be a photojournalist. And thirty? I\u2019m only 26 now! Haha. I am fairly certain I\u2019ll be writing for the rest of my life. Other things might come and go, but the writing will be constant. 3. What strongly held…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":80949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[6677],"tags":[741,978,993,1007,8903,8904,2615,3639,7172,7967,7966,5184],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Bri-Lee-answers-our-Ten-Terrifying-Questions.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80947"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80947"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80959,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80947\/revisions\/80959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}