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I’m officially working on the last draft of my thesis — it’s all starting to feel real now! My supervisors are confirming examiners, and this long journey is inching toward the finish line. I’ve also made a small but meaningful tweak to my title: Emotional Truth in the Shadow of History: Creative Representations of the Bosnian Genocide Feeling proud of how this project contributes to Genocide Studies, and grateful for the years of writing, research, and reflection that brought me here. Looking forward to closing this chapter so I can dive into new creative and research projects next year. ✨ 
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I sit down with poet, filmmaker, and creative powerhouse Koraly Dimitriadis to talk about what it really takes to carve out an authentic writing life—one that answers to the work, not the establishment. We go deep on the uncomfortable truths of being a writer today: ✦ starting your own press to keep creative control ✦ questioning “literary merit” through a colonial lens ✦ navigating zines, bookshops, and real distribution ✦ negotiating rights (and real marketing budgets!) ✦ managing blacklisting, burnout, and boundaries ✦ redefining success beyond money or gatekeepers This one’s for every writer who’s ever felt outside the system, trying to build something honest and lasting. 🎧 Listen now on Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes — wherever you get your podcasts. Follow and subscribe for more conversations that tell it like it is. https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html About Koraly: Koraly Dimitriadis is a Cypriot-Australian poet, filmmaker, freelance writer, and founder of Outside the Box Press. Her breakout collection Love and F–k Poems became a bestseller, translated into Greek, longlisted for the UK Poetry Book Awards, and in 2025 won Best Book of Narrative Poetry at the Legacy Book Awards. She followed it with Just Give Me the Pills and She’s Not Normal, cementing her reputation as one of Australia’s boldest poetic voices. Koraly’s short-story collection The Mother Must Die was published by Puncher & Wattmann in 2024, and her opinion writing—over 160 pieces—has appeared in The Guardian, The Age, Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, and more. As a filmmaker, her poetry films have screened on SBS On Demand, at the Sydney Opera House, and at international festivals, earning multiple awards including the Monologues and Poetry International Film Festival (USA). A fearless creative who moves between page, stage, and screen, Koraly uses her art and small-business platform to challenge taboos, celebrate identity, and inspire women to speak their truth.  ✨ Had such a great night at the Dinner Party Press Halloween Salon at Willows & Wine — what a vibe! The venue was beautiful and cozy, filled with book lovers, laughter, and the perfect touch of spooky. 👻 Loved catching up with the fabulous Emilie Collyer, hearing Demet Divaroren read from Blood Moon Bride, and picking up Ali Alizadeh’s new poetry collection and Emma Quilty’s Witch Power. Such a treat to be surrounded by so many talented writers and friends. These kinds of nights remind me why I love Melbourne’s literary scene — intimate, generous, and full of magic. 🖤📚🍷    Not going to lie, there have been moments when I felt imposter syndrome being at the Perth's Festival of Fiction with so many legends of fiction. Was so rapt to get to talk to Sally Hepworth and be on a panel with her, and she bought my book!!!! And then I got to catch up with my literary hero Melina Marchetta who I love so much and she also bought my book, OMG. And I am so lucky to be friends with Tess Woods who gave invited me to be at this amazing festival with so many cool people. And I will not lie, I cried when I met Holden Sheppard. Have loved all his books and can't wait to dive into his latest, King of Dirt. Thank you Dymocks Books for stocking my book and all the other amazing books so I could get my hands on my next reads.     Am at Perth's Festival of Fiction and had the privilege and honour to be on a panel titled You can choose your friends but... with Christos Tsiolkas, Sally Hepworth and moderated by Amber Cunningham. I was so awed to walk into the sold out lecture room and Edith Cowen University and see the big screen with all of our photos (and so thankful I did professional headshots, LOL). We had a blast talking friendships, family, relationships, and I had so many beautiful readers buying my book Time Kneels Between Mountains and getting it signed. Feel so blessed and awe-struck to be on a panel with these superstars, and to be at this amazing Festival of Fiction. Thank you to Tess Woods who is the powerhouse organiser of this event and all your volun-tolds who were so amazing and helpful. It's been a magical day, and it's not over. Have a party tonight again, where I get to rub shoulders with more fabulous writers.   Ever wondered what it actually takes to carve out a career as a creative in 2025? Writer Amra Pajalic sat down with Serbian-Australian voice actor Nina Nikolic to chat creative hustle, collaboration, business, and the real-life joys & woes of making art for a living. Nina’s credits span games, audiobooks, commercials… even being “Grandma in Fruit Bus”! But beyond the glamour, there’s a lot of day-to-day business grit that artists rarely talk about. But the work isn’t always visible! So much VO work is: ✨ Not released for years ✨ Impossible to access for samples ✨ Behind NDA That means constantly tracking gigs, chasing invoices, & praying projects finally drop. Amra & Nina also dish on the art of narration. It’s NOT just reading. “It’s a full performance,” Amra notes, “The first time I heard you narrate my book, I CRIED.” (Spoiler: Nina cries in the booth too.) Let’s talk AI: Nina & Amra get real on the risks of contracts for voice rights. Be CAREFUL what you sign, because big publishers & tech can sneak perpetual rights in boilerplates! “If Zendaya reads all her contracts, so should you!” Creative success isn’t all luck—it’s a blend of manifestation + consistent action. Pitch, create, update, submit, track, repeat. And when the wins come in, sometimes you don’t even remember what you submitted—it’s all part of the flow. Want more armchair wisdom from creatives actually living this life? Hit subscribe on Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes & check out Nina’s reels! Let’s lift each other up in the hustle. Drop your creative wins (or war stories!) below 👇 🎧 Listen now on Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes – wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.amrapajalic.com/podcast.html     I’m thrilled to share that my short story The Regrets of Ben Hayes has been published in the latest issue of Indelible Journal (Issue 9 – Awakening). This story is a bonus short to my upcoming Seka Torlak series, exploring the quiet moments of guilt, memory, and awakening that echo through the larger narrative of war and justice. It’s incredibly heartening to have this piece acknowledged and included alongside such powerful writing and art from around the world. My deepest thanks to editor-in-chief Roula-Maria Dib, assistant editor Arden Waterman, and the Indelible team for curating such a beautiful, thought-provoking issue. 🕊️ Awakening, as Carl Jung wrote, is about turning inward—dreaming, grieving, remembering. I’m proud that Ben Hayes found its home in a collection that embraces those ideas so deeply. 🩶 You can order your copy here: https://labrc.co.uk/publications/ #AmraPajalic #ShortStory #IndelibleJournal #TheRegretsofBenHayes #SekaTorlakSeries #TimeKneelsBetweenMountains #Awakening #HistoricalFiction #WarFiction #BosnianWar #WomenWriters #IndieAuthor #NewPublication #CreativeWriting #AustralianAuthor   I sit down with actor and narrator Nina Nikolic to unpack the craft and business of voice work, from emotional performance and character choices to contracts, rates, and protecting your voice in an AI world. Along the way we swap practical systems for finding clients, tracking jobs, and turning creative energy into a sustainable career. • balancing creative craft with small business habits • social media as proof of life and connection • lead sources, referrals, and asking how clients found us • audiobook workflow, samples, pacing, and pickups • pronunciation research and consistency across long texts • performance choices that separate characters without caricature • human narration versus AI, ethics, and accessibility • adding voice protection language to audiobook back matter • contracts, rights windows, and negotiating clauses • owning IP and avoiding perpetual, all‑media traps • input‑based goals versus outcome‑based goals • pricing to a livable per‑finished‑hour rate • reflection routines, tracking wins, and sustainable marketing You can find the episode show notes, your free episode handouts, and my how‑to guides at amrapajalic.com/podcast  About Nina Nina Nikolic is a Serbian Australian actor based between Melbourne and Sydney, known for a playfully gritty presence and versatility.
She brings grounded, imaginative characters and narration to life across video games, animation, film, audio dramas, audiobooks, commercial and corporate work. Audiences may recognise her as Grandma in Fruitbus, Perceval in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, and campaigns for Google and WeightWatchers. A lifelong gamer and Twitch Partner under the handle KidKerrigan, Nina thrives in live, collaborative environments with fellow creatives. Off mic, she is also a book lover with a soft spot for cosy romances, medical dramas, speculative fiction and dogs. Nina has also been my narrator on three projects, Sabiha’s Dilemma, Alma’s Loyalty and The Climb, a dual narrated young adult romance. Website: VoicesOfNina.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voicesofnina/ Ready for some real talk about writing, creativity, resilience, and storytelling? Just wrapped a heart-to-heart convo with Demet Divaroren (author of Living on Hope Street & Blood Moon Bride) on Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes. Here are the gems you NEED to hear 👇
✔️ Believe in YOURSELF first—faith is infectious ✔️ Don’t write for rewards or publication—write because you MUST ✔️ There’s no such thing as wasted practice. Every story counts.
P.S. If you love audiobooks, Blood Moon Bride is coming to audio in 2026! Audiobooks are REAL reading (don’t listen to the haters). They open new worlds for everyone—including EAL readers. Go chase your story. Every journey has setbacks. Persevere, edit fiercely, surround yourself with supporters, and shine your light. Huge thanks to @DemetDivaroren for the wisdom—and for all the writers hustling in the dark every day. We see you.✨     Preparation I prepared for my first Kickstarter campaign by reading Kickstarter for Authors by Anthea L. Sharpe and joining the associated Facebook group Kickstarter for Authors.. I took notes as I read and used them to design my campaign. One key piece of advice was to build a pre-launch page and attract followers. I didn’t perform strongly here, but I did follow other campaigns to learn from their approaches. I spent several months crafting the campaign story, graphics, and structure. Authors often choose between running “luxury” book campaigns with bespoke editions, or straightforward paperback campaigns using IngramSpark drop-shipping. For this first attempt, I kept it simple and focused on learning the platform. Launch and Promotion Despite months of planning, I hesitated to launch—until supportive friends encouraged me to push forward. I set a modest funding goal of $500, which felt both achievable and nerve-wracking. During the first week, I posted daily on social media and shared the campaign via my newsletter. I also ran a 30-day Facebook ad. I had already started warming up my audience by talking about Kickstarter through my newsletter and socials. At one point I became unwell and paused posting for about a week. Each time I felt discouraged, a new backer appeared—which kept me motivated. Results
Backer Sources
Conversion Rates
Pledge Breakdown
Financials
Fulfilment Fulfilment was straightforward. I managed it myself by:
Reflection & Lessons Learned I’m proud of completing my first Kickstarter campaign. It validated the concept, taught me the process, and built confidence for future campaigns. The main lessons were:
Future Goals
Kickstarter Backer Source Image Kickstarter Funding Summary Pledge breakdown and Financial summary in graphics |
AuthorAmra Pajalić is an award-winning author, an editor and teacher who draws on her Bosnian cultural heritage to write own voices stories for young people, who like her, are searching to mediate their identity and take pride in their diverse culture. She writes memoir, young adult and romance under the pen name Mae Archer. newsletterSign up and receive free books.
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