James Laidler is an emerging writer, poet and spoken word performer from country Victoria. His first verse novel, The taste of apple, won the 2010 IP Picks Award for 'Best First Book' and will be published towards the end of this year. The novel comes with a studio-produced CD of spoken word tracks that trace the novel's main narrative thread. Rollercoaster is a track taken from this album and was produced with the assistance of Don Stewart at Unmuzzled Studios. The first chapter of James' verse novel will also be featured as part of the Australian Poetry Centre's Monologues Series for 2010. James' work has been featured on Writer's Radio Adelaide, Radio National's 360 program, Melbourne's RRR and Indie feed, as well as in the literary journals Going Down Swinging, Cordite and Peril.