KLP Chat: Ariane Beeston on Contemporary YA, Ballet Culture, and Real Voices

Having been part of the Debut Crew 2024 for her memoir, Ariane Beeston is a debut once more with her new YA contemporary novel, Don't Forget to Smile.

Host Shara Curlett welcomes author Ariane Beeston to The KidLit Pod. Ariane is a former child protection caseworker and psychologist who now works in perinatal mental health and also teaches dance.

Ariane shares how her childhood creativity was expressed through ballet and writing. They discuss music and movement, and Ariane describes attending ballet training while simultaneously attending mainstream school, before leaving ballet after body-type pressures in being told she was too short and muscular. Ariane returned to dance later in life through teaching.

Ariane's debut memoir, Because I’m Not Myself, You See (2024), was about postpartum psychosis, and Ariane shares how writing her memoir was not cathartic but destabilizing. She also shares how her YA novel, Don't Forget to Smile, appeared unexpectedly while her memoir proposal was on submission and flowed out of her, meaning that she effectively wrote both books within a year.

They discuss her novel’s unique structure, character realism, design elements integrating texts and TikTok posts, and themes around ballet culture, social media comparison, and the need for better teaching and wellbeing. It also confronts damaging ballet traditions and emphasise friendships and speaking up for help. Shara draws comparisons to verse novels and shares how any teenager, with a dance background or not, could pick up this book and relate to it. They also discuss the themes within the book that were handled so delicately and resolved so well.

Ariane discusses her influences including Galax Arena and Robin Klein as well as her latest reads, before sharing her upcoming launch plans (linked below) and where to find her online.

Don't Forget to Smile

LAUNCH INFORMATION:

Friday 3 July 2026 at Readings Emporium, Melbourne

Tuesday 9 July 2026 at The Rose Read Bookshop, Summer Hill, NSW

Find Ariane on Instagram: @arianejbeeston

Website: www.arianebeeston.com

INFLUENCES:

Galax-Arena by Gillian Rubinstein

Turning Pointe by Chloe Angyal - How a New Generation of Dancers is Saving Ballet from Itself

Follow The KidLit Pod  on Instagram (@thekidlitpod)

Find out more about The KidLit Pod host, Shara Curlett, here:

Shara Curlett on Instagram (@sharacurlett)

Shara Curlett Website (www.sharacurlett.com)

Transcript

[00:00:00] Shara Curlett: Welcome to the KidLit Pod, a collective industry-wide discussion of people who are creating, sharing, discussing, and celebrating books, all with the hopes of capturing children's hearts and minds. 

I'm Shara Curlett, your host and author of two middle grade novels, Welcome to Miracle, released in 2025, and Protector of Beyond, the first book in an upcoming fantasy series with Penguin Australia, set for release September 2026.

Ariane Beeston is a former child protection caseworker and psychologist. She was a staff writer at Fairfax Media's Essential Baby and Essential Kids, and has also published articles in the Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Life, Babyology, and Mamamia 

Ariane currently works for Australia's peak body in perinatal mental health, the Centre of Perinatal Excellence, COPE. Her first book, Because I'm Not Myself, You See, was shortlisted for the Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year in 2025. Ariane is also a [00:01:00] dancer and choreographer, and her forthcoming book for young adults is called Don't Forget to Smile.

Here we go. Our chat with Ariane Beeston.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[00:01:11] Shara Curlett: Hi, Ariane, and welcome to The KidLit Pod. It's so great to have you here. 

[00:01:15] Ariane Beeston: Thank you so much for having me. 

[00:01:17] Shara Curlett: Now, you are the author of Because I'm Not Myself, You See, which was published by Black Inc., In 2024, so you were part of the debut crew 2024. 

[00:01:27] Ariane Beeston: Yes. 

[00:01:28] Shara Curlett: Yes. And I was actually part of the debut crew 2025.

[00:01:31] Ariane Beeston: there you go.

[00:01:31] Shara Curlett: Yeah.

[00:01:32] Ariane Beeston: It's a lovely experience, isn't it, having that group of people who are going through exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. 

[00:01:38] Shara Curlett: Oh, I know, right? And just having people to hold your hand throughout. 

[00:01:44] Ariane Beeston: Exactly. And just like, "Is this normal?" Yeah. "This is how I'm feeling." Uh, you know, 'cause it is such a rollercoaster of emotions, isn't it? And it's hard to explain to those who haven't experienced it as well. So, yeah. Yeah. Beautiful thing to be part of. 

[00:01:57] Shara Curlett: Oh, it so is, and I feel like they become kind of lifelong friends, your group. 

[00:02:02] Ariane Beeston: Absolutely. I ran into a few the other night at another launch that was. It was like, "Ah." 'Cause it's just like, you know, you've been through exactly the same thing, and yeah, there's a bit of distance now, and you don't get to see them as often, so. 

[00:02:14] Shara Curlett: Yeah. Do you still keep your chat going? 

[00:02:17] Ariane Beeston: Yes. Yeah. Yes. And a few of the girls have become very close, almost, you know, daily speaking friends. And, and similarly people who released, you know, memoir and, and, something really, really personal, and so just bonding on that level of just, "Oh my gosh, this is such a strange experience." And- 

[00:02:32] Shara Curlett: As you did yourself, didn't you? Yours was memoir? 

[00:02:35] Ariane Beeston: It was memoir, yeah. 

[00:02:37] Shara Curlett: And now you have your YA novel, Don't Forget to Smile, coming out tomorrow- Yes as we're recording this, which is quite incredible. 

[00:02:45] Ariane Beeston: Yes, very exciting, very nervous. You know those pre-release nerves? But also- 

[00:02:50] Shara Curlett: Yeah ...

[00:02:50] Ariane Beeston: -bit of excitement, bit of nerves, but yeah. It's a very, very different experience this time around. I'm enjoying it a lot more. 

[00:02:58] Shara Curlett: Oh. Well, I can't wait to discuss that. But first I would like to ask you, how did creativity enter your life when you were a kid? I'd love to hear all about that and your influences. 

[00:03:10] Ariane Beeston: When I think about creativity, for me, you know, it was always ballet and writing, and so I ... You know, they were sort of my first loves. You know, I was doing baby ballet classes at the age of three, and I remember, you know, as soon as I could write, so I have vivid memories in kindergarten of, you know, learning how to write and when we would start to put sentences together and write stories, and I just loved that. And so from a very early age I knew that I wanted to dance and I wanted to write, and so creativity was just such a huge part of my childhood because I was either in ballet class or I was, you know, writing my own stories and poems and yeah, I was just happily in my own little world. 

[00:03:53] Shara Curlett: Aw.

[00:03:53] Ariane Beeston: But yeah, it was, it was very important to me, both ballet and writing. 

[00:03:57] Shara Curlett: Yeah. I think the thing with creativity is it comes from so many different avenues, and there's something about music and the movement, and some people move with the music with their bodies and other, others kind of feel it within themselves, and the words and- 

[00:04:12] Ariane Beeston: Absolutely ... 

[00:04:13] Shara Curlett: I don't know if I had an appreciation of how creativity comes through in ballet- Yeah ... until I read your book. 

[00:04:21] Ariane Beeston: Really? 

[00:04:22] Shara Curlett: Yeah.

[00:04:24] Ariane Beeston: That's lovely to hear.

[00:04:24] Shara Curlett: And like I said, we'll get into your book later because- Yeah ... it is so, so wonderful. But it just gave me this entire new perspective.

[00:04:32] Ariane Beeston: I love that. 

[00:04:33] Shara Curlett: I wasn't really a dance kid. Like I- 

[00:04:35] Ariane Beeston: No ... 

[00:04:35] Shara Curlett: I ended up in the fitness scene later in life. And like-

[00:04:39] Ariane Beeston: Which, you know, has its parallels in a way.

[00:04:41] Shara Curlett: Yeah. And so yeah, your book just gave me this entire new appreciation. Did you continue ballet as you grew up? 

[00:04:48] Ariane Beeston: Yeah. So I ended up going to a, a school where I could study ballet but also stay at school. So we were able to go to classes in the morning, and we'd sort of spend the morning at ballet, and then we'd go back to mainstream school in the afternoon.

So it was a juggle, but it also meant that, you know, my parents wanted me to stay at, in school. Unlike the girls in the book, I wasn't allowed to leave school. I had to stay and, and do both. But it gave me that opportunity to do that. And I, I always wanted to be a dancer. That was sort of where I saw my life going, or a writer. Then as I sort of, as I got older, I stopped growing unfortunately. Oh, no. So I, you know, I've, I'm like 5'1", 5'2" if you ... I'm wearing a high bun today, as you can see. Gives me a little bit of extra height. But back when I was training, there was sort of a trend more to those sort of like long, lean, long legs, type of dancer.

[00:05:40] Ariane Beeston: And yeah, I sort of kept getting told, you know, "You're too short and too muscular and just not the right body type." So I thought, well, I guess that's sort of it, and I left the ballet world for a while and then went off and did something different. And it wasn't until after I had my son and became unwell, and, you know, that's the whole story of my first book, um, but then I rediscovered ballet and there's that creativity and writing and those things that really helped me recover and, and come through that really difficult time.

So I think it's funny how sometimes the things that we love in childhood and the things that bring us so much joy in childhood are things that we return to you know, as adults to give us that sort of spark and joy that, perhaps we've lost in the kind of juggle of adult life. So- yeah. 

[00:06:27] Shara Curlett: I so agree, and I think I've actually mentioned that before as well. Like I have this kind of theory that the things that we absolutely love when we're that 12, 13 age-

[00:06:36] Ariane Beeston: Yes ...

[00:06:37] Shara Curlett: -like if you can tap back into that as an adult- Yes ... if you haven't continued that- Exactly ... it just brings so much joy. 

[00:06:43] Ariane Beeston: So much. And I find that teach an adult beginner ballet class, and it's the highlight of my week. But a lot of women, they've either come back because they trained as, you know, children or as teenagers and then left as well, or they always wanted to dance and for whatever reason didn't. And so it's just this amazing community of women who, yes, are finding that spark and that joy again, or discovering it for the first time. And yeah, it's just, it's the best time. 

[00:07:11] Shara Curlett: And you teach children as well, don't you? 

[00:07:13] Ariane Beeston: Yes, toddlers. So I kind of, the span of the, the toddlers and adults is kind of my sweet spot. Which is quite funny. In some ways they're quite similar, teaching beginner adults and toddlers. There's a lot of, like, explaining the kind of basic rules.

[00:07:31] Shara Curlett: Do you find the toddlers are more free? Like- 

[00:07:35] Ariane Beeston: Yes, they have no, um, shame's not the right word. They have no, inhi-

[00:07:39] Shara Curlett: Inhibitions?

[00:07:40] Ariane Beeston: They don't have any kind of concerns, there's no self-consciousness, and I love that. And it's interesting to watch how, yeah, as children get older they do become a bit more shy or a bit more in their shell, and some, you know, lose that spark. So yeah, I love that about the toddlers. They're very vocal, too. If they don't wanna do something they'll tell you and, If they're not enjoying a particular activity, they will absolutely tell you that as well. Maybe not with words but certainly, either with throwing the props around or running around or, you know, lying on the floor like a cockroach. So yeah, it's very, it's good fun. 

[00:08:17] Shara Curlett: It's such a freeing time, though. Like, when I say I didn't dance, I loved, you know, my uni years, going to a bar or something- Yeah, yeah, yeah ... and dancing to, like ... you know, hip hop or pop . And In reading your book I was taken back to my uni years. I was in Dunedin. It's very cold down there.

[00:08:33] Ariane Beeston: Yes.

[00:08:34] Shara Curlett: And one night just to warm up my friends and I just danced. And it was just the most fun. Like, it's stuck in my mind so vividly. 

[00:08:43] Ariane Beeston: Yes, yeah. 

[00:08:44] Shara Curlett: And I feel like, I mean, not everyone's a dancer, but I think there's something that just lights you up inside when you move your body like that.

[00:08:51] Ariane Beeston: Not everyone's a dancer, but everyone can dance, and I think that you know, I always say a lot of people who kind of say, "Oh, I've never danced before," or, you know, "I'm 60, is it too late?" And it's, you know, it's never too late. 

[00:09:04] Shara Curlett: Oh, amazing. And so your first book out, your debut, Because I'm Not Myself, You See. So that was your memoir-

[00:09:11] Ariane Beeston: of postpartum psychosis. Yeah. So it's a very, very, very different topic, different genre. And yeah an entirely different experience obviously writing- 

[00:09:21] Shara Curlett: Yeah ... 

[00:09:22] Ariane Beeston: Something so deeply personal and something, you know, nonfiction and yeah, just a really vulnerable work. One I'm very, very, very proud of. 

[00:09:31] Shara Curlett: As you should be. And what led you to take to writing do you think? Was it like a cathartic process for you? What led you to write? 

[00:09:39] Ariane Beeston: Absolutely not, and I'm so happy to put that on the record. It's not cathartic at all. It's funny, people I think they assume that writing something like that will be cathartic, and I think for some people it is. Like, life writing and piecing together aspects of your own story can be really cathartic. But for me it just felt like it  was revisiting, and kind of almost re-traumatizing and sitting with what was a really difficult time in my life and, you know, remembering what it felt like and what it sounded like and what it was like in my body and the thoughts.

[00:10:12] Ariane Beeston: And so, you know, if you can imagine kind of reinhabiting that space for kind of an extended period of time while you're trying to write this work- it's really, really, really tough. And, I had to be in the right frame of mind, and I think that's why- We were laughing earlier before we started recording about, you know, I've got a teenage boy now and, and the book is written as, you know, obviously postpartum. And it took me years to be in a place where I felt that I could comfortably or uncomfortably sit with that time and create something and not sort of destabilize and kind of have a relapse or find that it had a really detrimental effect on my mental health. So that was a sort of conscious choice to wait, to tackle it, which I think was the right choice. Yeah. 'Cause it still did destabilize. It was, it was really tough. It was tough. The, the writing, the editing, the promo. Yeah, it was amazing, an incredible experience, but yeah, it really, really takes its toll. 

[00:11:11] Shara Curlett: And leading into the next book, what made you switch up? 

[00:11:14] Ariane Beeston: Yeah. Do you know what's funny? The book arrived, so Don't Forget to Smile actually arrived at the most inconvenient time. It was, it was so funny because I'd actually... I had written the proposal for the memoir. And we were going to try and shop that around to see whether I could sell it on proposal rather than writing. And I think that was a decision, too, around if I felt there wasn't gonna be a market for it, if I couldn't sell it, that perhaps I didn't wanna sit through and write that work. So for me it was about going, is this a story that is of interest to people before I actually tackle that?

[00:11:49] Ariane Beeston: And so we'd written this proposal, and it had gone out on submission, and I woke up one morning, and these three characters were just kind of there, and this story was sort of there almost fully formed. It was the strangest experience. I don't expect it will ever happen again in my lifetime. It just was almost too perfect. But I remember just thinking, you know, I had this proposal, and I was all in the head space of this memoir, and that was out on submission, and we were waiting to hear back, and this other book sort of appeared. And it was over the Christmas break, and so I started to just tap away a little bit at, at the YA.

[00:12:24] Ariane Beeston: And again, it was just... It was always a YA. These characters just appeared. They were speaking to me. It was... There was never any question of where it was gonna fit. And so I sort of tapped away at that and got some words down, and then the memoir, the Black Inc. Book, Because I'm Not Myself, You See, and then I had to really switch gears because I had like nine months to write that book. And I sort of kept tapping away at the other one because it felt like a break. It almost felt like this little break from the hard writing. And so I sort of... When I was thinking about it this morning, I think I actually pretty much wrote those two books in the space of a year, which I do not recommend, and I will never do that again.

[00:13:05] Ariane Beeston: It was just... When I look back, it was sort of insane how quick it happened, and I don't expect that'll ever happen again either. I think it was just one of those moments where these two ideas had taken hold and, and both of them were sort of competing for my attention and went, "Right, I'm just gonna get both of it out." So, did the memoir and sort of left this one for a while, and then after the memoir sort of had did its, did its thing, um, went back to it, and yeah, shared it with the team and they were really excited and supportive and happy, I think, to work on something so different. 

[00:13:36] Shara Curlett: Yeah.

[00:13:37] Ariane Beeston: I had the same editor who worked on both, which was also such a beautiful experience and, you know, when you've got that really lovely relationship with your editor, and you've got that honesty and you can really have those candid conversations about where things are going and what needs to change, in a really sort of safe, supportive way. So, yeah, I feel very lucky, with the way it happened. But yeah, two books like that in a year, I do not recommend. And I will never do again. No, I didn't sleep much.

[00:14:07] Shara Curlett: And so you're with Zeitgeist Agency, aren't you? 

[00:14:10] Ariane Beeston: Yes, Benython. 

[00:14:11] Shara Curlett: Ah, me too.

[00:14:12] Ariane Beeston: Oh, there you go. Yeah. I love Benython. Do you have Benython then or Samuel? 

[00:14:16] Shara Curlett: I have Samuel.

[00:14:18] Ariane Beeston: Oh, lovely. Oh, he's a good lad. 

[00:14:19] Shara Curlett: Yeah, he's good. And he's been amazing with my book and and everything.

[00:14:23] Ariane Beeston: You working on another one?

[00:14:24] Shara Curlett: Yeah. So I have three coming out. It's part of a series. My- 

[00:14:28] Ariane Beeston: Oh you legend. That's so exciting. 

[00:14:31] Shara Curlett: Very cool. Actually, I just sent away the final proofread, so just before we jumped on this call, I was done.

[00:14:38] Ariane Beeston: It's it's such a good feeling, isn't it?

[00:14:40] Shara Curlett: Oh, I know.

[00:14:41] Ariane Beeston: Such a weird feeling. Like, what do I do now? Oh, congratulations. That's huge. So when's the next one coming out? 

[00:14:48] Shara Curlett: So my first Protector of Beyond book comes out in September, and I believe they're coming out every year thereafter.

[00:14:53] Ariane Beeston: Amazing. Oh, that's so nice too, 'cause you can get into that rhythm and just-

[00:14:57] Shara Curlett: Yeah. Now, I would love to talk about Don't Forget to Smile. I've gotta say, I'm probably the opposite of your target market because- I love just, like, magical stories. I read middle grade more often than not.

[00:15:12] Ariane Beeston: Fantasy, romantic- Fantasy ... that sort of stuff?

[00:15:14] Shara Curlett: Ah. Yeah, not necessarily romantasy, but definitely fantasy. There's definitely... 

[00:15:18] Ariane Beeston: Lots of dragons? Is that- Yeah. I know ... um, yeah, I can't... So my first memoir, I talk about the fact that when I was very unwell, I would hallucinate my son as a dragon. And so I can't do any... and so it's a joke, 'cause it's- 

[00:15:31] Shara Curlett: Yeah.

[00:15:32] Ariane Beeston: -Long in the past, but, like, Game of Thrones, romantasy, fantasy, any of that stuff, I'm like, "No, no, too many dragons." 

[00:15:38] Shara Curlett: Oh my gosh. 

[00:15:39] Ariane Beeston: It's like a running joke for My little dragon baby. 

[00:15:43] Shara Curlett: Aw. Well, as, as I said, I'm so not your target market and I loved it. 

[00:15:50] Ariane Beeston: I'm so glad to hear that. 

[00:15:52] Shara Curlett: Oh my gosh. It's just like jumping straight into a TV show. It lands you right into the drama of like the ballet students and the different perspectives. 

[00:16:01] Ariane Beeston: Yeah. 

[00:16:01] Shara Curlett: And showing just particularly our two main characters, Clara and Elle 

[00:16:06] Ariane Beeston: Yes. 

[00:16:07] Shara Curlett: You kind of enter into the story, and you kinda get an idea of them. But as you get to know each of them... And your characterization is, uh, incredible.

[00:16:15] Ariane Beeston: Thank you so much I think they were so real to me when they appeared. It was like they were just these fully fleshed out characters that I just had to somehow put on the page, which is just, yeah, so strange.

[00:16:29] Shara Curlett: I think that's that Big Magic stuff, right? Like- 

[00:16:32] Ariane Beeston: It is. I was- Yeah ... I've been thinking that a lot, which sounds woo woo, right? And I remember reading that book and just thinking, "That sounds so woo woo." But it did feel like someone had just gifted me this book. It was just like, "If you don't write this, I'm gonna give it to someone." 

[00:16:47] Shara Curlett: Yeah, yeah. That's exactly what it feels like, though. Yeah, like, yeah.

[00:16:51] Ariane Beeston: I'm glad you brought that up 'cause I feel like it's a bit woo woo for me, so. But it really felt that way. 

[00:16:57] Shara Curlett: Yeah. But I've had a similar experience with a few books, so Yeah ... I don't think that will be your only one, I'm just saying. 

[00:17:03] Ariane Beeston: I hope not 'cause it was so fun just having it there, and it was just, like, these characters kind of talking to you and their story sort of, like you said, playing out like a film- and just, just capture this as it was happening. It was so fun. Yeah. 

[00:17:17] Shara Curlett: Well, it's just such a modern feel to your novel. It's really fresh. I was speaking with Jack Heath around novels these days and how writers need to differentiate themselves from AI. 

[00:17:27] Ariane Beeston: Yes. 

[00:17:28] Shara Curlett: Your book is, like, I would put it up on a pedestal as saying it's a perfect example of this is a human writer. Like, there's- 

[00:17:36] Ariane Beeston: Oh, thank you. That's- 

[00:17:37] Shara Curlett: But there's, there's- Yes ... absolutely no way an AI could create a piece of work like this. Like- 

[00:17:43] Ariane Beeston: That's, like, the highest praise, isn't it? Which is funny that's the highest praise. Why do you say that? I'm curious as to, like, what made it? Now I'm interviewing you, but what do you think gave it that human, and what makes it human? 

[00:17:56] Shara Curlett: As you said, the characters feel so real. So to me, Clara, I just... if she walked up to my front door right now-

[00:18:04] Ariane Beeston: Yeah.

[00:18:04] Shara Curlett: I'd be like, "Hi"

[00:18:04] Ariane Beeston: You would know her. Yeah.

[00:18:05] Shara Curlett: Yeah, I would know her. Same as Elle, and I love how different they are. 

[00:18:10] Ariane Beeston: Yeah. 

[00:18:11] Shara Curlett: And I can't, obviously I can't give any spoilers away, but I love how their stories evolve- and how they have an idea of each other. But then you get into that character and their own story, and then you realize actually this is what they're seeing at a surface level.

[00:18:25] Ariane Beeston: Yeah, there's so much more going on that you don't see.

[00:18:27] Shara Curlett: So much more. 

[00:18:28] Ariane Beeston: And that social media aspect that I wanted to really play with as well because, you know, as we know, social media's such a big part of kids' lives, teenagers' lives, and how do you as a writer of YA integrate that aspect of the world without it, you know, coming off clumsy or clunky or unnecessary and yeah. So I did that through obviously using the TikTok platform that Elle-

[00:18:52] Shara Curlett: Yeah ...

[00:18:53] Ariane Beeston: just sort of accidentally after she goes viral. And so yeah, using social media in that way. It- ... showing when I was dancing, the comparison was you'd be standing at the barre and you're comparing yourself to your classmates and the people around you, and now it's social media. You know, you're comparing yourself to people and dancers all around the world, and you're watching these clips of dancers doing, you know, 14 pirouettes, and you can't do two, and you're wondering, you know. Yeah. So there's that comparison element, too, that, you know, that, that teenagers are having to kind of contend with.

So I wanted to really show that, how the world has sort of gotten so, so much bigger. The dance world is small, but it's also so much bigger than it used to be because you're exposed to all of that as well via social media, so. 

[00:19:39] Shara Curlett: Yeah. But you wove that all in so beautifully. Like, I have to say.

[00:19:44] Ariane Beeston: Music to my ears the day before release. 

[00:19:47] Shara Curlett: All the, the, the text messages, like the differentiation between, text messages and then you've got the TikTok- posts. It's just, it's weaved in so well, and the entire novel was so easy to read.

[00:20:02] Ariane Beeston: Which is so nice to hear because it goes to show that it might have a broader audience. A big shout-out to Beau actually, who worked on the design of the book, and I think, you know, the design is so well done in that, as you can see, all of those different elements. So-

[00:20:15] Shara Curlett: Yeah ...

[00:20:16] Ariane Beeston: -very, very lucky with the beautiful design work as well. Designers often don't get much credit, so 

[00:20:21] Shara Curlett: No, they don't, and they actually do a huge job in getting it-

[00:20:25] Ariane Beeston: Yes ...

[00:20:25] Shara Curlett: -to look the way it looks, like.

[00:20:27] Ariane Beeston: Exactly. Yeah, that's sort of that unseen sort of silent work that often doesn't get acknowledged. But I think, you know, talking about modern books and contemporary books versus sort of fantasy, you are having to work out, how do I show text messages? How do I show what might be a tweet or an Instagram post or a TikTok or whatever and, and dialogue and so on. So yeah, I was very lucky to have someone much smarter than me when it comes to design to, to make it beautiful. 

[00:20:52] Shara Curlett: The way that they transition so seamlessly, and then you have this third story-

[00:20:57] Ariane Beeston: Mystery girl. Yeah ...

[00:20:58] Shara Curlett: -which we're not, we're not sure. There's, like, there's so much mystery around it, and I was thinking the entire time, like, "Ooh, who is this?" And the differentiation in the design, as you say, it was so well done. But also, I really just couldn't put it down. Honestly, it, it had the feel of, uh ... Like, I quite like verse novels just 'cause they flow from page to page.

[00:21:22] Ariane Beeston: And it's hard to actually put it down because there's not often a clear place to stop. 

[00:21:28] Shara Curlett: And this to me had the feel ... Like, it has the all-roundedness of a novel, but it had the feel of a verse novel.

[00:21:36] Ariane Beeston: That is so beautiful to hear as someone who loves and has grown up reading poetry. That's again, the highest praise. 

[00:21:43] Shara Curlett: Aw. Well, actually now to hear that your background is in poetry and you enjoyed it so much as a kid, it makes so much sense. Yes. 

[00:21:50] Ariane Beeston: Yeah. So there's a lot of Clara, there's a lot of me in Clara, was very much loved poetry from a very early age. My mum's an English teacher and has always taught sort of HSC, higher school students, um, year 11 and 12, and she's always had a study that was just, you know, full of books and old poetry and new poetry, and I'd sort of go down there and look at these books. And, yeah, it's always been something that I've always loved, so I wanted to bring that through in her- Yeah ... character as well. 

[00:22:18] Shara Curlett: Oh, and it so comes through. Like, with Clara, you can see she's quite a deep thinker, and she's in her head a lot, but the simplicity of her posts in comparison to Elle's- 

[00:22:29] Ariane Beeston: Yes.

[00:22:30] Shara Curlett: Such a beautiful contrast.

[00:22:33] Ariane Beeston: I love that actually. I love that. I hadn't actually considered that, but yes. Yes, that sort of quiet thoughtfulness versus Elle's sort of more, you know, unstructured thoughts and, rants and, opinions, which is, again, sort of very Gen Z, isn't it? 

[00:22:49] Shara Curlett: Yeah, yeah.

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[00:22:51] Shara Curlett: I'm just jumping on quickly to share a bit about Don't Forget to Smile by Ariane Beeston. You don't stop. You never stop, not if you want to be the best. Clara has been dancing since she was three and knows exactly what she wants, a place at the Australian National Ballet School and a career as a principal dancer. 

Elle, who accidentally found herself TikTok famous after a #balletfail went viral, is new to the dance world, horrified at how racist, sexist, and classist it is, and thinks ballet needs to grand jeté itself into the 21st century. 

Ben, Elle's best friend, just wants to be able to dance en pointe and have his pick of both male and female solos.

Clara thinks Elle is a bit much. Elle thinks Clara is uptight. Ben's a bit stuck in the middle. All three want to win the International Ballet Grand Prix at the Sydney Opera House. But when a scandal involving a famous dancer threatens their futures, the trio must put aside their differences to confront ballet's damaging traditions and demand it do better.

Now, Joelle Vivian Abey, from the Melbourne Institute of Dance said, "This is a book that dancers and anyone curious about the realities behind the beauty of ballet will truly appreciate." Ange Crawford, author of How to Be Normal, says it's "sensitive, nuanced, and bittersweetly hopeful."

And I'd love to add that this is a novel for everyone. Like I've mentioned on the podcast already, I don't often read contemporary, and this book just drew me in with its wonderful protagonists, the different points of view, and the mystery behind the words. There are so many different layers, and it's one of those novels that has a complexity behind the simplicity. 

The other thing Ariane has done so well with this book is discuss some really important themes in a really subtle way, such as power imbalances and blurred boundaries. It shows a balance of vulnerability and strength. And at the heart of this book, it's really about friendships and supporting each other.

Ariane does such a great job of getting into the heads of teenagers, how they're comparing themselves, how they feel they're never quite enough. But it also shows their growth and that learning to like yourself, to accept yourself, to be who you are is the most important part.

Don't Forget to Smile is published by Black Inc and available now from your favorite bookstore.

Now, back to our chat with Ariane Beeston.

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[00:25:14] Shara Curlett: How do you think within the ballet culture all the social media and exposure to worldwide dancers has impacted these girls and boys? 

[00:25:22] Ariane Beeston: I think in some ways there's a lot of positives. So I when I was writing the book, I started to see snippets of male dancers learning pointe work. As, and not just sort of learning it, I think in that sort of satirical, humorous way, but actually, you know, seriously going and getting pointe shoes fitted and learning how to do it properly and, and using it as a tool to, you know, strengthen their feet, but also to understand the experience of their partner.

[00:25:48] Ariane Beeston: So when you're doing partner work, you know, and the man's sort of there trying to navigate and if you're not, don't know what the experience is like for your partner on pointe, it can be difficult. So I think I was starting to see that, and I think for a lot of boys or non-binary dancers, having you know, access and seeing that and seeing people around the world, you know, playing with these different gender roles and wearing different costumes and being exposed to this is actually really, really great. So, I think there's that aspect. 

I think there's the accessibility. So, for all that Timothée Chalamet said about ballet- ... it's, you know, traditionally been quite inaccessible. But I think, yeah, the fact that students who are perhaps training but might not be able to afford to go to the ballet a lot, you're constantly, there's little constantly snippets and bits and pieces that are being shared, so people have access to that as well.

[00:26:41] Ariane Beeston: But there's definitely the negative side, and I think what social media does, and we know, is very much a highlights reel. In the ballet world, it's not even so much a highlights reel. It's sort of, you know, you're seeing, girls and women doing these kind of incredible tricks and doing, you know, multiple pirouettes en pointe and making it look so easy. And then you're comparing yourself, as I said, in the studio, and maybe you can only do two pirouettes or three pirouettes, which is actually all you need to be able to do to be in a company. But sort of go, "Well, why can't I do that?" And so yeah, I think that comparison is certainly much bigger than it used to be. But yeah, there's definitely, definitely pros and cons - 

[00:27:20] Shara Curlett: Yeah ... 

[00:27:20] Ariane Beeston: -as there is for it in general. 

[00:27:22] Shara Curlett: Yeah. And how do you think that these girls, can move past that, because if they are looking at these things on social media and they're constantly comparing themselves, I guess it is a parallel to just teens in general, right? They're all- 

[00:27:34] Ariane Beeston: Yes ... 

[00:27:35] Shara Curlett: -kind of doing a similar thing, whether it's via ballet or whether it's something else. 

[00:27:39] Ariane Beeston: Today just in your, your appearance. I mean, there's so much, right, on, on TikTok with makeup and fitness and fashion and yeah, I think it is just unfortunately part of ... I'm very glad we didn't have to navigate that as- 

[00:27:51] Shara Curlett: I know.

[00:27:52] Ariane Beeston: -Teenage girls. But yeah, I think it comes back to having really good teachers, and I think some of the millennial teachers coming through are really wanting to teach and train their dancers differently, and perhaps in a way that we weren't treated- you know, in the '90s, in a much sort of, um, more, just being more mindful of dancers and their mental health and their wellbeing and yeah, being respectful and still being strict, I suppose, but also, doing it in a way that's not kind of punitive, which is certainly how many of us were trained.

But having good teachers who can really explain what the focus needs to be on, on you and your training, and really it, it's about you getting better and comparing yourself to what you were doing, you know, this time last year or, or last month rather than, you know, these girls, training on the other side of the world who are, you know, obviously like the book, we don't know what's going on with them. We don't know their stories. So yeah, I think really good teaching and keeping the focus on training and on their kind of wellbeing is really important. that's part- Tough job, though. 

[00:28:59] Shara Curlett: Yeah. And it's part of the reason why I love this novel so much. I feel like you could give it to any teenager, and they could relate to it even if they don't understand ballet terminology. You have weaved it in so seamlessly. It doesn't feel like it dominates the book or confuses- 

[00:29:17] Ariane Beeston: That's really nice to hear 'cause that was, that was a challenge. When you have lived and breathed a world for so long, it does feel like you're speaking, well, maybe it's French, but it does almost feel like you do speak this kind of whole other language, and it's about how do you keep that kind of authenticity of that world but also make sure that, you know, people can understand what's going on without having to Google every second word, so.

[00:29:43] Shara Curlett: Yeah. 

[00:29:44] Ariane Beeston: That's really nice to hear. 

[00:29:45] Shara Curlett: Yeah, you did that really well, and I honestly think parents could give this to any teenager, and they would find themselves within the story. I have to say, Ben was fantastic. 

[00:29:56] Ariane Beeston: Oh, I love Ben. 

[00:29:57] Shara Curlett: Aw. 

[00:29:59] Ariane Beeston: He's great. 

[00:29:59] Shara Curlett: Do, do you have a favorite character, or can you not choose? 

[00:30:02] Ariane Beeston: Um, I feel like it's like choosing favorite children and 'cause I'm- i've only got one. I've never had that experience before, so maybe that's what it's like. I just, I love them all for different reasons. But yeah, Ben was, again, just came and he was so clear in my mind, and, you know, I can just picture him. I can picture him in his half tutu in the studio and trying to like- pointe work and, and trying to take himself seriously in a world that sort of has him boxed in in a very particular, role and him kind of really wanting to play with that. So, yeah, he was fantastic to write. Lots of fun. 

[00:30:36] Shara Curlett: And then you also weaved in, It was quite subtle, but some really important themes. Uh, again, I won't get into any spoilers, but themes that are quite prevalent in today's society, and I think you did that really respectfully and really well, and you handled it well in regards to how all the characters responded to it.

[00:30:55] Ariane Beeston: Thank you. Yeah, And that's something that, again, not giving away any spoilers, but it is an aspect of, you know, the dance world that we do need to take seriously, and I think just with social media in general and the safety around that. And yeah, I think the, the beautiful thing was by that stage, like you said, all the characters were able to kind of respond in a really respectful and really lovely way. So yeah, again, it was like, it was like, it's- it sounds so silly, but it feels like you can relate of, like, these characters appearing, and then you kind of watch them do their thing, and you're like, "Aw."

[00:31:28] Shara Curlett: Well, i've gotta say, the payoff, like, the ending, just wonderful.

[00:31:32] Ariane Beeston: The ballet Olympics? Love the Ballet Olympics.

[00:31:36] Shara Curlett: It was the most satisfying ending. I finished it with a smile, I mean, as the title says, Don't Forget to Smile. It's hard not to smile about this book. Yeah.

[00:31:44] Ariane Beeston: Yeah. Each year, there's this amazing competition that I watch religiously, like the Super Bowl, but it goes on for a week, and, So it's called the Prix de Lausanne, and I remember watching it one year and just thinking, "Gosh, wouldn't it be great to kind of really, like, explore what it's like to be a part of a competition like that?" So yeah, that's where the Ballet Olympics came from. Oh.

[00:32:04] Shara Curlett: It's fantastic. I think the fact that you've lived this world, it shows through really well. Like, you know it intimately, and you can portray it both accurately and honestly. 

[00:32:14] Ariane Beeston: Yeah. And getting that balance. You know, how do you talk about something that you love and adore, but also there's all of these things about it that really are a little bit, little bit dodgy and could be a lot better, and how do you sort of, sit with those two truths, that you can love something and also want it to be better at the same time?

[00:32:33] Shara Curlett: Yeah. Oh, you've done such a wonderful job. Congratulations. 

[00:32:38] Ariane Beeston: Thank you. 

[00:32:38] Shara Curlett: And I have to ask, is, is this the lane that you're gonna kind of sit in now? Are you working on other things?

[00:32:44] Ariane Beeston: YA? Yeah. I don't know. It's funny. I feel like there definitely could be another one in, in these, in these kids. I feel like maybe their story's not finished yet. 

[00:32:54] Shara Curlett: Yes, I feel that way too. 

[00:32:56] Ariane Beeston: Yeah, I feel like there's definitely a... You know, they sort of finish the end of the book, they're 16 turning 17, and they're sort of about to go off into the world. First of all, though, I just need to not write two books quickly in a year, so I'm gonna kind of catch my breath and, yeah, just see where the mood takes me.

[00:33:13] Ariane Beeston: I think having written two very different genres, it's nice to sort of have these different options and, and to sort of think, "Yeah, what do I actually wanna do next?" Because, as you know, when you're working on a book, it's sort of all-consuming, and you have to be so passionate and wanting to just devote all of this extra time to it. So yeah. And you- Watch this space. We will see.

[00:33:35] Shara Curlett: Yes. Ooh, I hope there is another one. I think it's a story that could continue very easily in my opinion. 

[00:33:41] Ariane Beeston: I know. They're so real to me. I sort of occasionally think, "I wonder what they're up to."

[00:33:45] Shara Curlett: Yeah. I know.

[00:33:46] Ariane Beeston: I wish I could text them and say, "What are you up to?" It's funny, isn't it? Give, uh, give Elle a FaceTime or, you know- of... or repost one of her TikToks. It's funny how real they become. 

[00:33:58] Shara Curlett: Yeah, but I think that's why kids will really connect with it because it does feel so real, and , like I said, it's like reading a TV show. Does that even make sense? But like, it's- 

[00:34:08] Ariane Beeston: Yeah, like a script ... it is ... reading a script almost. 

[00:34:10] Shara Curlett: Yeah, it is. 

[00:34:10] Ariane Beeston: I know how popular shows like Dance Academy and movies like Center Stage, and they're so iconic. And I think, yeah, I really wanted to... There wasn't anything when I was growing up, and I was thinking about this. There was the sort of old school ballet stories, The Ballet Shoes and so on series, but there wasn't really a YA kind of contemporary book that explored this. And there have been some more recently, but they always tend to have some kind of murder or some kind of- ... supernatural element or...

Which is, you know, very kind of ballet world. But there wasn't something that was just like contemporary YA without someone being murdered. So I'm like, "I don't want anyone to die." So instead I feel like it'd be great to have, yeah, just a contemporary YA that's [00:35:00] very much focused in the real world, that, yeah, teenagers could relate to or see themselves, even if they're not dancers.

[00:35:05] Shara Curlett: Yeah. Well, I think with this book you're gonna really connect not only with just teenagers in general, but any dancer. This needs to get into the hands of every single dancer. So if you've got a dance kid, please get them this book. They will absolutely devour it. And Chloe Angyal, author of Turning Pointe, said, "The book so many of us needed as young dancers trying to find our place in ballet and in the world." And I feel like you've represented that beautifully. 

[00:35:34] Ariane Beeston: Thank you. It was very special. Chloe is sort of the, uh, absolute ... She wrote the sort of Bible nonfiction in this area. So yeah, give her a shout-out. She's, uh, wrote a very special book that I drew heavily from. 

[00:35:46] Shara Curlett: And speaking of influences, so what do you like to read? What do you like to listen to? What do you like to watch? 

[00:35:52] Ariane Beeston: So I, I love watching anything ballet. So actually, over the weekend, to get in the mood, I re-watched Black Swan and a lesser known movie called The Company, which was actually on SBS, which was very exciting, and that's sort of, more dance based, and so I re-watched that. And Center Stage. I did all the dance movies to get in the, get in the head space. And so reading I find that I read very much to the genre that I'm writing. So when I was reading memoir, I read all the memoir. When I was writing YA, read all the YA. And now I'm sort of back in that nice space of just reading lots of fiction, so reading really all the fiction at the moment, which is amazing.

[00:36:33] Ariane Beeston: I loved, Fruit Fly, by Josh Silver, I think, recently, which was fantastic. One of those questions where as soon as you ask, everything goes out of your mind. So fiction that I haven't read, there's a lot that I've been catching up on, having been with my head in memoir and my head in YA. I just say, one of my influences, and I've got that here, so this is Galax Arena by Gillian- 

[00:36:56] Shara Curlett: Oh, wow ...

[00:36:57] Ariane Beeston: -Morris. Have you ever read this? 

[00:36:59] Shara Curlett: No, but what a cover. 

[00:37:00] Ariane Beeston: This is YA, and it's actually, So it was published in, I think, 1993, and this is like a hard copy version. It's a first edition I found the other day. But this is an Australian author, and it's one of those books where, you know when as a teenager, you read a book and it just stays with you? And it's one of those books that has just ... It- it's sort of like an early version of The Hunger Games. So it's almost like, I suspect it was perhaps not intentionally inspired, but it was very, very similar to that. 

And just, yeah, one of those books that's really stayed with me. And I would have read it- probably in 1993, so about, you know, in, in primary school, and I always go back to it. I probably read it once a year. And I think it just speaks to the power of, yeah, some of those books that you read in those formative years and how they just never leave you, and will continue to sort of inspire you, So shout out to Gillian Rubenstein. 

[00:37:55] Shara Curlett: I think there are certain books that you read at those ages that, yeah, like you said, they really, really stick with you. And part of me wonders if they stick with you, Because if you do become a writer, that's where you fall into the same space. It's interesting that that's YA as well. 

[00:38:13] Ariane Beeston: I know, I know, yeah, very, very special. Also Robin Klein, that I read as well. So Hating Alison Ashley. I don't know if- Oh, 

[00:38:20] Shara Curlett: yes.

[00:38:20] Ariane Beeston: Yeah ... you remember that. Hating Alison Ashley, and yeah, some, um, Some People Might Hear You I think was another one that she wrote, and sort of quite a kind of, almost dystopian, before dystopian, you know, YA was cool. Yeah. But these books that, yeah, just have stayed with me, that I read sort of at around the same age that this one's written for. So yeah, so really passionate about, as you are, right, getting those books into people's hands so that they have a lifelong love of reading, which is much harder to do these days when there's so many things that are competing for their attention. 

[00:38:53] Shara Curlett: Yeah. 

[00:38:54] Ariane Beeston: have a teenage boy. Oh, I know. 

[00:38:57] Shara Curlett: Well, that's why I think your book will capture kids so well, because it is such an easy read, in the sense that it just flows, and it's actually quite interesting because obviously it has the different perspectives, and it has the breaks of the different messaging But it does the opposite of making you wanna take a break.

[00:39:16] Ariane Beeston: Yeah. Oh, that's good to know. That's good to know. Wanna keep turning. Yeah. And I think when I was doing the different points of view, there's actually one thing that I know, with YA, people often do those alternating points of view, and I think sometimes you can relate to one character over the other, or you can prefer one over the other. And it can be frustrating sometimes when the chapters are really long, and you sort of get stuck in that. So I wanted to keep it rolling quickly, so those short sort of chapters and snippets, so that yeah, if you relate to one over the other, it's not long before you're back in the other one's head, so.

[00:39:48] Shara Curlett: That's so interesting. I didn't even think of that, but I related to both of them in different ways. It's really funny you say that, because I used to read George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones. 

[00:39:58] Ariane Beeston: Yes. 

[00:39:59] Shara Curlett: There was always the characters that I was like, "Okay, get through this bit."

[00:40:02] Ariane Beeston: Yes, just get, just get to the next one 'cause I wanna read the next bit. And I often find that with YA books, or even books that have those different perspectives. I think you tend to prefer one over the other, and when the other one turns up, it's like, oh, you just kind of endure it to get to the next one. And I was conscious of that in writing this, that I suspected people would probably prefer one over the other, and not wanting to spend too long, so that they didn't get frustrated. So that's good to know. 

[00:40:26] Shara Curlett: Yeah. Well, I didn't feel that at all. Every time I turned the page, I was like, "Oh, what's happening with her now?" And then back to Clara, and then back to Elle, and I didn't feel that at all. I really enjoyed both their perspectives. 

[00:40:38] Ariane Beeston: I love that. And I wonder if that's kind of a modern thing too, of attention spans, and us kind of, you know, when we're scrolling and it's like- ... quick into one head, then the other. Yeah. Rather than spending too long on something, so that might have had its come into this as well.

[00:40:55] Shara Curlett: Well, as we were saying, Don't Forget to Smile comes out tomorrow, what are you planning on doing for the day? 

[00:41:01] Ariane Beeston: I don't know. I think I'll, I'll definitely go and do some bookshop visits. I'm going to Melbourne to do a launch on Friday, at Readings Emporium, which will be amazing, so that's this Friday. And then a launch, the following week on the 9th of July at the new Rose Read Bookshop in Summer Hills. I'm really excited, for those two launches, and-

[00:41:23] Shara Curlett: Oh, amazing ... 

[00:41:23] Ariane Beeston: -yeah, just I'm gonna enjoy it this time. I'm gonna enjoy and just sort of take it all in. Enjoy the accomplishment of, you know, having written another book that's completely different from the first, and yeah, I think just try and take it in, because the first one was such a blur. 

[00:41:39] Shara Curlett: And so deeply personal that it's about you.

[00:41:44] Ariane Beeston: Exactly. This feels personal, but not ... You know, it's not my story. It's their story, and I'm just sort of here behind the scenes, behind the curtain. Telling them, "Don't forget to smile."

[00:41:57] Shara Curlett: Oh, well, thank you so much for coming on The KidLit Pod. And if people would like to find you, where can they go? 

[00:42:03] Ariane Beeston: So I'm on Instagram mainly, and that's probably the best place, to find me. It says @arianejbeeston on the Instagram. So yeah, please, if you read it, tell me what you think, and yeah. I'm so excited. It's very exciting to have this out in the world. 

[00:42:18] Shara Curlett: Oh, well, congratulations. It is a wonderful, wonderful debut YA book. 

[00:42:23] Ariane Beeston: Yes. I get another, I get another debut.

[00:42:25] Shara Curlett: You do. 

[00:42:26] Ariane Beeston: Another debut. Highly recommend writing fiction after nonfiction. 

[00:42:32] Shara Curlett: Well, congratulations. Have a wonderful launch week.

[00:42:35] Ariane Beeston: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. 

[00:42:36] Shara Curlett: Oh, you're welcome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[00:42:38] Shara Curlett: I enjoyed that chat with Arianne so much. And I keep mentioning how easy it was to read, but actually to write a book that is easy to read often has a lot of depth behind it to make it that way. And there's a parallel to dancing, actually. The most beautiful dancers, they make it look so simple, so easy, and I feel like that is what she's done with this book. There's so much effort that goes into making it effortless, and there's a real craft to that. So I'm very excited to see what Ariane does next in this space.​

I hope it's in this space, because as a YA author, she has such a wonderful voice, and I really hope she revisits the world of Don't Forget to Smile because those characters will stick with me for a long time. 

If you'd like to learn more about Arianne, you can visit her on Instagram, @arianneJBeeston, or you can visit her website, www.ariannebeeston.com.

And if you'd like to learn more about me, you can go to @sharacurlett on Instagram or go to www.sharacurlett.com. 

Thanks for listening and we'll see you again next week.