Tania Crampton-Larking (extended version)

ID 0:02

This is a Vision Australia Radio Podcast.

Kate Cooper 0:04

On Vision Australia Radio, welcome to our conversations on the work and experiences of Emerging Writers - on air now and also available on Vision Australia Radio podcasts. I'm Kate Cooper, and our guest today is Tania Crampton-Larking, whose novel Brightest Wild has recently been released and was featured at the 2025 Adelaide Writers' Week, and has just been named Readings Kids Book of the Month. Congratulations on the release of your novel, Tania, and welcome to the program. Would you begin by telling us where you grew up and what that place means to you now?

Tania Crampton-Larking 1:01

Thanks Kate, and thanks for having me. I grew up between two places, Port Lincoln and Adelaide, and my young years were spent in a house beside six lanes of a busy arterial road. It was very busy. And then, by contrast, we moved to the country where there were no traffic lights, so the contrast there, I think, has had a huge impact on me. And being able to run around in the bush with other Aboriginal kids was amazing, and being with my mum's community. So yeah. 

Kate Cooper 1:41

Tania, when did you first realise that you wanted to be a writer?

Tania Crampton-Larking 1:45

I think I felt the first inkling towards wanting to write when I was in high school. And there were so many things that I wanted to say about how I was kind of treated as an Aboriginal person in a town, some of their attitudes in the town weren't so great. So I had a feeling that maybe if I could just speak up about this. Somehow, I don't know, I just felt this need to say something. And then when I went overseas to Panama, when I was 17, on exchange student exchange I also felt the urge to write about nature. It really inspired me, that trip.

Kate Cooper 2:28

So yeah, and we'll talk more about that trip later in our conversation. The bio in your novel describes you as a proud Mirning woman who writes to inspire others to connect with nature's vibrant, timeless beauty. You seek to promote caring values that are opposed to destructive ignorance and racism. You are passionate about fighting for the preservation and restoration of Earth's healthy natural systems and for a future that is safe, magical and sacred for all, your novel certainly succeeds in conveying these values. It's beautifully crafted, and although I'm decades beyond being a young adult, which is your target audience, I found it an absolute pleasure to read. What is it about writing for younger readers that appeals to you?

Tania Crampton-Larking 3:23

Oh, thanks, Kate, yeah, I do think that I wrote it for myself as well as for young readers. I think that's maybe why it appeals to different age groups, because I was really wanting to put my story into it and feel like I would enjoy reading it as well. So the reason I chose for the story to be for young readers is because of their passion, and, you know, their enthusiasm when it comes to learning new things and caring about others and the environment, and they are, I guess, discovering their values and morals and learning about what it is that really drives them, what they're here in this world to do. 

And I think that's a lovely age to to write for, because they can take some ideas from your work, and hopefully it inspires them, gives them some information about the world out there, huge wide world that we live in, and gives them an idea of where their place might be in that wide world, and how they feel about certain topics that you introduce to them. And yeah, it's a beautiful age group, the middle grade age group. But having said that, this book is for all ages, I think.

Kate Cooper 4:53

As I say, I certainly really, really enjoyed it. It's lovely. And we mentioned that your book's just been named the Readings Kids Book of the Month. Congratulations again. Where else has it been featured?

Tania Crampton-Larking 5:08

Thanks, Kate. It's been reviewed by I think it's called Readings Plus, and there are some news articles on it. So national indigenous times did an article, and also Joy Lorne, who has a blog called Paperbark words, she reached out and asked for me to put some words together for her beautiful blog, and it's also had a mention in Total Girl magazine, and I think there's a New South Wales newspaper that had it as a Fun Read. And, yeah, so a few places.

Kate Cooper 5:46

That's brilliant. Tania, before we continue, would you read us an extract from Brightest Wild?

Speaker 1 5:54

Sure, this section is from where Alex, who's just moved from London to Adelaide, is meeting her new stepbrother and stepfather, and they're in the airport, and her stepbrother is an interesting character. 

Hi, Minya. Alex, Minya. Minya means you're little. Oh, I guess I am kind of short. Nice to meet you. Um, Tall Cohen, I say before, wondering if he was referring to my age, not my size, to the fact that I'm 11, not a teenager like him. He flashes a fake smile, showing as many teeth as possible. Art's frown deepens. Mom says, Cohen's name means thunder, doesn't it? Cohen nods, I think so. Yeah, Thunder, Art says, I have to say his name suits him to a T. Tell him a bit about yourself, Colin. Colin mumbles and looks off into the distance. Okay, well, I know I play guitar and sing a bit in a band. Mum nods, Nice - I've heard you're talented. Can't wait to hear you in your band. Alex, your turn tell us a couple of things about you, maybe about guitar. 

I'm stumped about what to say. I don't want to tell Colin I've had basic guitar lessons. I think my name means someone who helps people, and I'm not sure what else that's amazing. What hobbies do you like? Are you looking forward to living in Australia? Art asks. Cohen stares down at the phone in his hand, ignoring us. Art clears his throat and glares at his son, and Colin seems to suddenly remember where he is. Art smiles and Mum winks at me, miming playing the guitar badly. Um, I like drawing and writing and music. I guess I reply, and um, sure, Australia will be fun, drawing, writing and music. You'll fit right in, and this must be yours. He passed the guitar case that he's just stacked on the trolley. 

I nod, cool. Let's go show you your new home. A warning, the house is old, but it has new paint. Loves art. Cohen mocks his dad's awkward laughter. We head out, crossing a COVID bridge before entering an indoor car park. I drag my heels, following reluctantly behind them. I feel a bit like hiding behind mom. She's all googly eyed, gazing at art as they walk, I'm sure they'll bump into something soon. They'll probably end up with matching giant lumps on their foreheads. Cohen suddenly stops dead in front of me. Is he blocking me on purpose? He looks down at his phone and doesn't budge. I swing around him in a huff, accidentally running over my own foot with my carry on case, ow. 

Margie just got three piercing sick Cohen mothers to himself, he looks up as if surprised to see me. Oh, you're right there. You want me to carry that for you after all that, sure. Thanks, Cohen, I say, handing it over gladly. No worries. He picks up the heavy case in his arms, probably trying to show off his terrifying drawings and his muscles, be careful. Says, Art, you'll hurt yourself carrying it like that, Colin shakes. He said, Nah, you might do yourself an injury, though, pushing that big trolley. Art frowns, I'm serious, don't let any of the bags fall, Dad. Keep the trolley steady. You got this, Cohen smirks and art grits his teeth. His jaw looks so tense it could crack into pieces. 

Art guides us through an undercover car park to his. Dusty, Midnight Blue station wagon. It's probably as old as me, and it's comfy. I sit in the back next to Cohen. There's a blue ice cooler box between us, which co uses to shield his phone screen. I wonder again where my tablet is. Art says, Sorry, guys, the air conditioning in his car is a bit hit and miss. It might switch off all of a sudden. It works most of the time, but it's a hot day. He sighs, it's not normally this hot in November, 39 degrees Celsius, and it's not even summer. Hopefully it'll cool down later in the week. Maybe we'll get some late spring storms. 

Colin growls, you should have got a taxi for them. It's too hot to be in a car with dodgy Air Con. Well, a taxi would cost a lot. Art starts the car, he rolls down all the windows, and the car fills with the smell of stale exhaust fumes. It'll kick in at some point. I'll get it fixed properly next pay, but today it's gonna be a bit stuffy. Mum says it's okay. We'll be fine. I'm not so sure. We go round and down several levels to the ground floor of the car park, and then we're outside waiting at traffic lights. There's no breeze, and the car's heating up fast. I'm shocked at how hot the air has gone. My whole face breaks out in sweat. I glance up through the windscreen and immediately close my eyes against the powerful sunlight. I look out the side window instead and find the clearest blue sky. 

The lights change and we start moving. Hot air flows in as we drive. Mom quickly takes off her travel jumper. She's probably worried about getting heat rash. She gets it bad every summer all over. I wish I had a swimsuit on and could dive into some freezing water. My t shirt and denim jeans seem too thick here. I'm glad I packed my jacket away earlier. I'm squirming around trying not to let the sunlight burn my arms, but it burns them anyway. There's no escape. I read somewhere that we could fly from Adelaide to Antarctica quicker than we could fly to London. I wish I was in Antarctica. Acceptance. Acceptance. I must accept this new situation. I picture the school counsellor clapping and saying yes. Now you're really understanding life. 

Art taps the steering wheel with giant red hands. Yep, it's hot in this old car, but we've got a trick that will help. Art points at the ice cooler box between us in the back, COVID takes out a three liter bottle of partly frozen water, unscrews the lid and hands it to his dad. When we stop at a set of traffic lights, Art Tips it upside down, pouring a trickle of water right onto the top of his own head. Laughing. Mum copies pouring liquid on her noggin and cooling her face. Colin does the same and then hands the bottle to me. I pause, bracing my body, then tentatively start pouring, first a little and then a lot, soaking my hair, clothes and face, the hot wind immediately feels better. 

I imagine trying to explain this to Prita, I'll say we were all wetting ourselves in the car. There's some water for us to drink as well. Art says Colin passes us bottles of water before guzzling his down. I gulp mine fast. Thank you. That really helps. I'm being polite because I'm so relieved to have cool water. Also, I'm trying to keep from screaming my real thoughts, please, let me go home to shovel to my old house. I'm tired, jet lagged, struggling to stay awake. Is this what Australian heat does? Makes your head droop? 

Suddenly, the engine chokes and the car lurches to a standstill on the side of the road. Art tries restarting the vehicle. A truck driver beeps as they overtake us. The car's burning up. Art is too. Let's not panic, he says shakily, but we might have to go and find some shade, then call someone to give us a tow. Colin groans. Unbelievable. Mum told you to trade this car in years ago. Art's silent, the heat worsens. I'm too exhausted to panic, but it turns out I don't need to. The engine starts. We're moving, and the air-con's finally working. We're breathing. We'll make it. 

I sit up straight and am surprised to spot a few terrace homes like the one I used to live in. We pass through that suburb, and then the landscape becomes something I've never seen. Houses stand in wide plots of green and brownish yellow land under a cloudless, pale blue sky, I hold my blue Krishna kiring tight and jam my eyes shut. I don't even care where in the world. I am I just want to dream about my life in West London. As I drift off, all I see are oceans and lands moving too fast.

Kate Cooper 15:11

Thank you so much, Tania. On Vision Australia Radio, you're listening to our conversation program, Emerging Writers. Our guest today is Tania Crampton-Larking, author of the children's novel, Brightest Wild. Without giving too much away, would you give us an overview of the storyline?

Tania Crampton-Larking 15:39

Sure, this book is about a young 11 year old called Alex, who moves from West London to Adelaide because her mum falls in love with an Australian man, and they must move countries and continents, and when she finds herself in this harsh new environment, given the heat wave, she struggles, but she also struggles with going to a new school. She encounters some bullying. She has anxiety, so has to try to keep her panic attacks in check, and she also has lost her tablet, so she can't connect with her friends from London, as kids might try to do. 

So she has to basically cut off from everything she knows and find a way to survive in a completely new world, and as she struggles, she does find help along the way, and then she discovers the beautiful trees and the wild area beside the house in which she's staying, and also finds friends there. So she finds solace in nature, but also she finds other kids who also love nature as much as her, and she becomes amazingly strong and learns what her values are, and to really show up for what she believes in.

Kate Cooper 17:26

And following on from that, what was the initial inspiration for your novel?

Tania Crampton-Larking 17:32

I believe the switch I'd made when I was about eight and a half to move to the country really really inspired me, you know, having been a city slicker kid and then realizing there was a whole new world, and seeing that with fresh eyes and with a sense of wonder really gave me this feeling of awe that's never really left me. And it's a discovery that I hope all kids can make at some point where they are immersed in a beautiful environment where their imaginations are left to roam. 

So, yeah, the beautiful environment, I guess it was an inspiration for me, and, you know, being able to see bright stars and having the freedom to run around with no shoes on and really feel nature and feel the beauty of it and drink it in with all my senses, being able to not worry about those cars flying past our House and getting screamed at city lifestyle is a stressful one, and I believe we're meant to be in nature as human beings in a natural environment. So I felt more at ease. And yeah, I don't get the same feeling as much in the city. So I try to seek out places where there are parks and go to the beach if I can, and spend time in nature when I can. 

And so I wanted to write about that magical feeling that I had in the in the bush land. But then I realized the bush land was under threat from climate change, and so that had to feature in my book as well.

Kate Cooper 19:22

And as we've heard, brightest wild is told through the voice of Alex, who's 11 at the start of the novel, and we learn about the other protagonists through her eyes. So would you talk us through how you developed your main characters?

Tania Crampton-Larking 19:39

I just imagine them and just flow with it. And so when a character comes in and comes through, I get excited, and I'm like, Oh, I'm meeting someone new. And I had too many characters an editor who was helping me with one of the structural editors said, Can we please. Just merged two characters, and these two characters were completely different. That was interesting, because I had to decide which one I wanted that person to be, and then try and mold them together. So that was quite difficult. 

And then some of my characters just got completely cut out, but I had far more characters, and then I felt bad to leave them behind, but I guess you only have so much space in it, in a novel, to explore different characters - so I took this on board, and I'm happy with the characters who are featuring in this book now and really strongly coming through.

Kate Cooper 20:44

There's certainly very believable characters, and you've got a real consistency across each of them. And there are some wonderful messages in Brightest Wild - such as lands and people have histories that we should all know about, about keeping country healthy, learning language, showing respect, learning about bush plants and food... and you mentioned this before, the impact of climate change on First Nations, peoples around the world. You convey these messages through the voices of the children so they come across as clear and practical, not in any way didactic. 

Your character, Alex also talks about how she and some of her family and friends feel when they face racism from other children. Your writing builds a strong empathy in the reader and shows how being together in family and community helps young people to feel strong. Would you reflect on that message for us now about the importance of family and community?

Tania Crampton-Larking 21:46

I think family and community are the bedrock from which we grow, and they deliver so much to our sense of selves. They are essential for giving us a sense of identity and belonging, and they also are there to support us through everything, and they have our backs. They also convey us of culture and values and give us strength and morals, and so much that we take for granted, and with their help, we grow like, you know, seeds and soil, or we're able to have a foundation to develop and find a way to the light and spring forth into the world in a beautifully cradled way, so they support us in that growth.

Kate Cooper 22:51

Tania, your manuscript for Brightest Wild won the State Library of Queensland's Black and White Fellowship. More congratulations. How did you feel when you won the fellowship, and what did it enable you to do?

Tania Crampton-Larking 23:05

I was ecstatic when I had the phone call from Grace, who is amazing, and one of the editors for black and white, and I felt, wow, this is a real chance to really grow in this process and get the manuscript to that publication state, and there was the chance that it would be published. And so I was beyond excited. I was running around the office. I was working at the time, and couldn't stop smiling. And through that process of working with editors in a culturally safe manner, I was able to add, well, I was able to double the length of the manuscript, or more than double it. 

So it went from about 19,000 words to about 45,000 words, and they really helped me bring so much detail and flesh it out in a way that was enjoyable and fun, and I really understood my characters, and I was so supportive, so that fellowship is such a brilliant way for writers to learn new skills and have an opportunity to develop their work.

Kate Cooper 24:25

And Tania, in your acknowledgements you referenced and thanked members of the South Australian First Nations Writers Group. Would you tell us about how that group supported you in your writing?

Tania Crampton-Larking 24:38

Oh yeah, sure. I have to go back some decades when I first reached out to the group, and they were not meeting regularly at that point, but then they got their meetings up and running again. And I was so amazed to be able to talk to other writers, First Nations, writers who, you know, had that similar passion. And and they steered me towards competitions, and, you know, useful information that really helped me develop as a writer. And their friendship and amazing warmth was and still is to this day, blessing.

Kate Cooper 25:17

Tania, you've also written a previous children's book titled Super Nature Stars. Would you tell us what that's about and who your target readership is for that book?

Tania Crampton-Larking 25:28

Super Nature Stars is about a couple of young children who have never really been on country, and so they discover in country for the first time, and at first are a little afraid about it, but also it is about connecting with nature just the same asBrightest Wild. So it has a similar theme of kids who are not acquainted yet with the beauty of the, you know, wild natural world and [?Bucha] land, and not yet understanding it, and then going into that world for the first time. So it's about that and obligations towards our elders and family and that beautiful storytelling experience where we can sit around and tell yarns and stories and pass on so much knowledge due across the generations. So Super Nature Stars is for seven to eight year olds.

Kate Cooper 26:38

And Tania, we've talked about your writing, but what about your own reading preferences? Who are you reading at the moment, and why do they inspire you?

Tania Crampton-Larking 26:46

I haven't yet started Lisa Fuller's book, Washpool, but I really want to read that. I've been reading some climate fiction like Alexis Wright's Praiseworthy and Tim Winton's Juice. And I've also been reading some non fiction books on topic of the environment and how we can protect country. I guess that's an interest of mine to delve into what's actually going on in the state of our planet, so I'm trying to learn as much as possible about it, and I love climate fiction, and also love First Nations stories. So yeah, there's a range of things that I love to read.

Kate Cooper 27:34

Tania, in your acknowledgements for Brightest Wild, you make reference to a high school AFS cultural exchange program that took you to Panama, having lived and worked for two years in Nicaragua, just up the way a bit from Panama. Your experience captured my interest straight away. Would you tell us about your time in Panama and what you learned from it? Oh, wow, Nicaragua would be amazing.

Tania Crampton-Larking 28:00

Yes, I think that once you've been to Latin America, part of your heart stays there. You know, it never leaves you that experience. So it was a beautiful experience. I was 17, so I just finished high school, and I felt I'm going on a trip to the other side of the world for my gap here, and I'm going to do year 12 again mode, you know, in Spanish and in Panama. So there are 11 Australians who decided to make this trip with AFS, and we were flying in to Panama City and looking down at this stunning, stunning tropical rainforest. 

I used to call it jungle. I'm not sure if we use that word now, but it was something like that made us all gasp in the plane when we were looking down at where we were going, and we couldn't contain the excitement we were so lucky to spend time in this stunningly beautiful environment where nature really is put on a pedestal. I feel like the tourism hasn't wrecked it. You can go and feel like you are immersed in a paradise, basically, I will call it this, because I'm just going back to when I was 17 and being in a tropical rainforest with enormous trees and vines, you know, were beautifully wrapped around the trees and mosses and all sorts of stunning looking plants. 

And it was such an experience that I really can't describe how beautiful that was, but it really made me appreciate nature on a whole new level. And when I came back to Australia, appreciate the gum trees and the landscapes here as well. So it had this effect on me. Me, that is hard to describe, but it was just beautiful. And the buena gente, which means good people there, really, you know, captured my heart. And you know, there are beautiful indigenous peoples as well. I mean, I learned so much from this beautiful experience, from the people from my host, mother, Baba Natalia, learned that no matter where you are, people are people and going through similar situations and have similar values, and can give you a perspective that's outside of your own little bubble from where you're from, so you have a world view which is important. 

So the mind maps that we have in our minds around how big the world is and how connected it is, it really fills in those maps for us, so that we can see the globe better and the people in it and realize how connected we are. Because even though there are oceans in between, those oceans are all connecting us as well. And I've learned about, yeah, the indigenous peoples went on a trip to the guna islands, and was fortunate to be able to meet guna people, and I've learned that families operate a lot like our families here, yes, so you learn about the similarities, also some differences. 

And we as exchange students learned so much. It's very hard to say in one little answer on a radio program, so I fully recommend an exchange program if you can. But if not even online communities and connecting with others in international spaces is an incredible way to learn from people across the world.

Kate Cooper 32:02

Your Spanish pronunciation is perfect. What was it like doing year 12 while you were there through the medium of Spanish?

Tania Crampton-Larking 32:12

Gracias. Thank you. I lived in a small Pueblo where barely anyone spoke English, so basically, I had to learn Spanish. Otherwise I would have had a very hard time, you know, asking for food or how to go to the toilet or Albania or, you know, so I had to learn and it was a fantastic way to learn, like, go into the deep end, and because I was surrounded by it, I was on the radio and the television, and everyone spoke it around me, I found I had sorted and people were really generous with their time in teaching me, and I tried to learn some grammar from textbooks.

But also, because I'd just done year 12, I knew some of the content of what they were learning, especially maths and some science and English. So I was able to transfer that knowledge and go, Oh, I see they're learning about metaphors here and that weighted similar, and so I had the opportunity to fully immerse myself in the language. And I feel that was great, because some of the other students who didn't have as much of an opportunity to hear the Spanish were finding it a little bit more difficult to pick up, but they still did fantastically well. 

So it was sometimes a funny process where you get told by your host cousin, who's 13, to say something to a teacher that was totally inappropriate, and you learn the hard way to trust her what to say. But yeah, that was just the funny experience sometimes. Or you know that there's some curse words that I might have said accidentally, but I think people are aware that this can happen to exchange students. And yeah, so I found the language itself to be so pretty and lyrical sort of song like so I was just fascinated, and I really wanted to try my best to to pronounce words and let it roll off my tongue and roll the RS and and speak like the people around me, because It was such a beautiful language to learn.

Kate Cooper 34:42

It certainly is. You don't need to convince me that Spanish is a very beautiful language. Tania, it's been lovely to speak with you on our program today. Our guest on Emerging Writers was Tania Crampton-Larking, author of the children's novel Brightest Wild. 

This program is produced in our Adelaide studios, and can be heard at the same time each week here on Vision Australia radio, VA radio, on digital, online at varadio.org and also on Vision Australia radio podcasts, where you can catch up on earlier episodes.

ID 35:34

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