[Watch] Adam Courtenay: My Father Bryce

Watch Adam Courtenay with host Jason Steger for a revelatory discussion about Bryce Courtenay’s extraordinary life and the complex challenge of loving him as a father.

Originally presented on Thursday 7 August 2025 by The Wheeler Centre.


Bryce Courtenay was one of Australia's most beloved authors, captivating readers with engrossing, deeply moving works like The Power of One and April Fool’s Day. But his son Adam grew up with the private man behind the public persona: a mercurial storyteller who was impossible to know completely and an occasional fabulist whose tales never quite rang true. 

In My Father Bryce, Adam recounts the gripping story of his complicated relationship with his father: from his childhood in the 1960s and 70s spent in the shadow of a rising literary star, to the private tragedies and sorrows behind the public success, and his own journey as a writer and journalist.