About Lorin

Who is this person?

For those with no frame of reference:

I am a writer, performer, and director from Melbourne, which is in Australia. You’ve probably never heard of me.

For those who can’t quite place it:

You might know me from that radio series/podcast you listened to about a cast of characters including Gayle who used to live in such a lovely street in Brighton. You might know me from that Big Issue column up the back near the funny Andrew Weldon comics. Maybe you’ve read your kids my book with the delightful Mitch Vane illustrations about outrageous children derailing a trip to the market. Possibly someone you know read my memoir about growing up with my family. Or you just heard me on radio talking about my film about my father, Not Only Fred Dagg But Also John Clarke.

For the detail-orientated:

I recently wrote, directed and narrated a feature documentary film about my father, satirist John Clarke, called Not Only Fred Dagg But Also John Clarke. My memoir, Would that be funny? is now available in all good bookshops (like there’s any other kind). It’s also available on audiobook (the audiobook is read by me).

I wrote, directed and narrated the award-winning ABC RN audio fiction serial, The Fitzroy Diaries (originally aired on ABC RN's Life Matters), which you can find here or wherever you get your podcasts. There are currently three series of The Fitzroy Diaries, which was made with producer Sophie Townsend and an incredible cast and crew. It is reviewed in The Australian here. It won the Best Fiction award at the Australian Podcast Awards in May 2019.

I write for TV (mostly children's television) including for Beep and Mort (ABC TV), Eddie’s Lil Homies (NITV/Netflix) The Wonder Gang (ABC TV), Kangaroo Beach (ABC TV), Big Words, Small Stories (ABC TV), Larry the Wonderpup (Seven, ABC TV), Kitty is Not a Cat (Seven) , Bluey (ABC TV), and Monster Beach. 

My children's book, a CBCA Most Notable book in 2017, is Our (Last) Trip to the Market, published by Allen & Unwin, illustrated by Mitch Vane.

I am a regular columnist for The Big Issue where I write a very helpful and scientifically significant Public Service Announcement twice a month (haphazardly posted here).

From further back in the timeline:

I used to co-present a short, erratic, incredibly shambolic podcast called The Stupidly Small Podcast with excellent idiot Stew Farrell. More here.

I’ve done a bunch of radio. I used to co-host with Alicia Sometimes a weekly show about books, writing and spoken word, called Aural Text. I worked in commercial radio with Mick Molloy, Robyn Butler, and Alan Brough once in 2004 where I learned how not to freeze on air mid-sentence. I’ve done a bit of ABC radio here and there including an art show, a culture show, and my personal favourite, The Fitzroy Diaries.

I have been on various judging panels for film/theatre/audio/writing prizes including, most recently, the John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing, which I helped create (that was fun) as part of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, and The Age book of the year (non-fiction) prize.

There’s a chapter by me in this book about Paul Kelly. I have written a few essays for Meanjin (one about theatre, one about the role of law in Australian politics and one about the Melbourne International Comedy Festival which is discussed here on the Conversation Hour on 774 ABC radio). In July 2012 I did a critiquing cultures residency at Varuna, The Writers' House and a Hot Desk Fellowship at the Wheeler Centre (supported by the Readings Foundation). I have done two residencies at Bundanon and one at Varuna.

While I was at Melbourne University, I wrote a play called People Watching, which was awarded second prize in London in the International Student Playscript Competition, judged by playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn. Another show, For We Are Young and Free (about an intellectually curious Paris Hilton and an Australian girl seeking asylum in Canada) was one of three shows in the 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival to be nominated for a Golden Gibbo Award.

I have an arts/law degree. 

One of my favourite jobs was working at a complaints desk. I met the most weird and wonderful people with the strangest things to say about the stupidest stuff. It was glorious.

Also here is Maria Bamford singing a song.