The ebooks available from the shop are a little different to the downloadable books available for the Amazon Kindle, for example. From the ebookshop: ‘In Booki.sh, an ebook is a web link – we believe books are part of the web, in much the same way as a YouTube video is part of the web. It’s always there when you want it, but you don’t “download” anything.’

It’s a fantastic opportunity for smaller publishers, for whom it’s not always easy ‘to keep up with new technologies and trends in sales and marketing’, says SPUNC General Manager Zoe Dattner. Titles from larger publishers will soon be available from the shop as well.

Readings have made a sample ebook available, the latest Quarterly Essay, by George Megalogenis.

In 1995, Joel Magarey up left his job as a journalist, and his beloved girlfriend Penny, to ‘track across the hurtling world’. Journeying to some of the most remote places in the world, Joel embarked upon an odyssey of sorts – geographical, sexual and psychological. His trek to far-flung Bolivia, Alaska and Zimbabwe entailed many challenges, among them an importunate grizzly and a petulant financial analyst from Seattle. But along the way, Joel also attempted to dislodge the claws of anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.

I spoke to Joel about the darkness and fear of such a journey, how the gifts and conditions of our lives shape us, and – of course – his book, Exposure, which is out now. Joel is also appearing at the Town Hall Program of the Emerging Writers’ Festival.

Music by Pompey. Killings podcasts appear fortnightly.