When it comes to reading and writing, Debra Adelaide has committed much of her waking life to the creation and nurturing of literature, having published several novels, reviewed fiction for august publications and been a creative writing teacher at UTS for several decades. This inspired a new book of essays “The Innocent Reader: Reflections of Reading and Writing” which attempts to shed some like on the mysterious process of creating compelling stories.

In the first part of this interview Stephen Hill talks to Debra about her reading life and why reading for pleasure remains such an important activity.