7am in 2023: The Literary Scandal
Dec 22, 2023 •
John Hughes was once hailed as a young literary genius, and won a scholarship to Cambridge. But he found himself back in Australia working as a librarian and a teacher before his writing found acclaim.
Hughes was shortlisted for some of the greatest honours in Australian writing. But under the scrutiny of greater acclaim, a strange web of inconsistencies and copying struck one reader: Anna Verney.
7am in 2023: The Literary Scandal
1139 • Dec 22, 2023
7am in 2023: The Literary Scandal
John Hughes was once hailed as a young literary genius, and won a scholarship to Cambridge.
Yet he found himself back in Australia working as a librarian and a teacher before his writing found an audience.
Hughes was shortlisted for some of the greatest honours in Australian writing. But under the scrutiny of greater acclaim, a strange web of inconsistencies and copying struck one reader: Anna Verney.
Today, we’re looking back on this interview between Ruby Jones, Anna Verney and Richard Cooke, on how they first discovered the borrowings of John Hughes and the revelations that followed.
(This episode was first published in March 2023)
Guest: Writer Anna Verney and contributing editor to The Monthly Richard Cooke
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7am is a daily show from The Monthly and The Saturday Paper.
It’s produced by Kara Jensen-Mackinnon, Alex Tighe, Zoltan Fecso, and Cheyne Anderson.
Our technical producer is Atticus Bastow.
Our editor is Scott Mitchell. Sarah McVeigh is our Head of Audio. Erik Jensen is our editor-in-chief.
Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Audio.
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