Together with Green Apple Books, we copresented the launch party celebrating R.O. Kwon's highly-anticipated second novel, EXHIBIT, the exhilarating, blazing-hot story of a woman caught between her desires and her life. On this night in May at San Francisco’s historic Verdi Club, Kwon was in conversation with friend and fellow author Ingrid Rojas Co…

Booker Prize shortlisted Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma joined Claire Nichols at Byron Writers Festival to discuss his latest novel The Road to the Country about civil war in Nigeria. Now based in the US, Chigozie Obioma's first two novels The Fishermen (2015) and An Orchestra of Minorities (2019) were shortlisted for The Booker Prize. His third n…

For Science Week, The Book Show goes intergalactic in a star themed episode. Ceridwen Dovey, Alicia Sometimes, Nardi Simpson, Max Barry and Emily St John Mandel explore how celestial tales reveal deep truths about our lives on earth. From the fabulously weird stories about space junk in Only the Astronauts (Ceridwen Dovey) to the star dust fuelled …

Hollywood star Keanu Reeves and British science fiction author China Miéville reveal how they collaborated to to write the novel The Book of Elsewhere. Plus, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, author of Fleishman Is In Trouble and Indigenous Australian author, Anita Heiss. The Book of Elsehwere (Del Rey) is based on a comic book series that Keanu Reeves develo…

Alexis Wright is the 2024 winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award for her novel Praiseworthy. She makes history as the only writer to have won both the Stella and Miles Franklin awards twice each. Alexis first won the Miles Franklin in 2007 for her epic novel Carpentaria. Like that novel, Praiseworthy (Giramondo) - which also won the 2024 Stell…

Samantha Shannon has such power as a bestselling writer that she's reissued her fantasy Bone Season series with new edits. In a revealing conversation she tells Claire Nichols what it takes to reach such heights. Samantha Shannon was just 20 when she won a six-figure publishing deal for this series. She also has another series on the go called Root…

'Flabbergasted' and 'surprised' — ahead of the winner announcement, the Miles Franklin shortlisted writers tell you about their books and what it means to be on the shortlist. The Miles Franklin is the most prestigious writing prize in Australia and is awarded to a novel of "the highest literary merit that presents Australian life in any of its pha…

Writing anything for public consumption is an act of bravery, but writing memoir and autobiography requires next-level courage. How can you share a true story that demands to be told—even if it might harm relationships, revisit trauma, unearth secrets—and portray your own life honestly and vulnerably, without the benefit of an Instagram filter? In …

American author R.O. Kwon's novel, Exhibit, explores the taboo topic of female desire; Jenny Ackland exacts feminist revenge in Hurdy Gurdy and Jessie Tu's Honeyeater is a story of translation and miscommunication. Korean-born, American author R.O. Kwon is not afraid of topic topics. She's behind the bestselling 2018 novel The Incendiaries and is c…

For NAIDOC week, Indigenous speculative fiction author Claire G Coleman chats to Dylan Coleman about her novel Mazin Grace republished as a UQP First Nations Classic. Also, Ali Cobby Eckermann and Graham Akhurst speak about their latest books. Ali Cobby Eckermann is a Yankunytjatjara woman, a member of the stolen generations, and one of Australia's…

In early April, we celebrated IAIA with a reading from students, alumni, and faculty at Green Apple Books on the Park. You’re gonna hear from Tracey Abeyta, a current Institute student pursuing a MFA in Fiction; alumna Jennifer Elise Foerster; recent IAIA graduate, Ibe Liebenberg; and Deborah Jackson Taffa, the director of the MFA Creative Writing …

Australian writers Bri Lee and Liam Pieper's latest novels expose the unholy connection between money, art and power. Bri Lee is the author of the bestselling 2018 memoir Eggshell Skull and she's the author of two other works of non-fiction, Who Gets to Be Smart and Beauty. Her debut novel The Work is about two characters who represent old and new …

Weddings of the ultra-rich get the Kevin Kwan treatment in his novel Lies and Weddings, Siang Lu's ambitious and complicated novel Ghost Cities and West Australian author Annie de Monchaux's surprising link to Hollywood. Kevin Kwan is the author behind the juggernaut trilogy that began with Crazy Rich Asians which explored the lives of the ultra-ul…

Two authors at the top of their game: Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch reveals how his award winning novel Prophet Song came into being and Booker longlisted author Karen Jennings' complicated love letter to South Africa. The Irish writer Paul Lynch is the reigning Booker winner and won the prize for his beautiful, brutal fifth novel Prophet Song. It…

Jeanette Winterson asks how AI will give new meaning to ghost stories and Kate Grenville reflects on a lifetime of writing and how accepting failure has been key to her success. Jeanette Winterson is best known for her novels Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, The Stone Gods and Frankissstein. Her long fascination with mortality, religion and technolo…

American author Celeste Ng shares how her latest novel Our Missing Hearts explores one of her deepest fears. Celeste Ng is known for her dark realist novels, Everything I Never Told You, and Little Fires Everywhere (which was adapted to the screen in 2020). Our Missing Hearts is set in a dystopian, near future America, where anti-Asian sentiment ha…

Shankari Chandran's follow up to her Miles Franklin award winning book, British author Stuart Turton's complicated murder mystery and Julie Janson's ironically named novel Compassion. Shankari Chandran won the 2023 Miles Franklin for her novel Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens. Her new novel Safe Haven asks readers to confront the reality of Australia'…

One of Colm Toibin's most beloved books is Brooklyn and now he's written a sequel, Long Island. Brooklyn was first published in 2009 and it's about Eilis, a young woman who leaves Ireland for America in the 1950s. It was longlisted for the Booker Prize, won the Costa Novel Award and was adapted to the screen in 2015. Now there's a sequel, called Lo…

Iran's Kafka like book censorship is causing authors to flee, including writer Shokoofeh Azar who now lives in Australia. Banned Books is a new series that looks at what's driving book bans worldwide. In this last episode, writer Shokoofeh Azar who now lives in Australia and is the author of The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree which is banned i…

We’re going way back to Litquake Festival 2012. It was a Sunday evening early in the festival at Z Space, the same Sunday that Hardly Strictly Bluegrass wrapped. That night, Hardly Strictly lent us some special guests with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James enjoying from the stands. On stage to celebrate Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday, we had Jay Farrar…

Percival Everett, a prolific author known for his versatility across various genres and styles, reinterprets an American classic novel. Percival Everett, a prolific author known for his versatility across various genres and styles, reinterprets the American classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, James, (Pan Macmillan) shifts the focus to Huck's en…

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe is the most banned book in the USA and now it's being challenged in the courts in Australia. Banned Books is a new series that looks at what's driving book bans worldwide. This episode explores Gender Queer, an illustrated memoir which details Maia Kobabe's experience of coming out as non-binary and asexual. The book has…

Crime writer Val McDermid investigates Scotland's most famous female character to reveal a very different Lady Macbeth. And Sydney writer Jonathon Seidler delves into the story beyond the happy ending and how breakups can define a relationship. Crime writer Val McDermid investigates Scotland’s most famous female character to reveal a very different…

Webfiction is a gargantuan platform for writers in China but authors of male to male fiction - known as the danmei or boyslove genre - are experiencing a censorship crackdown and some writers have been imprisoned for their writing. This episode is about Occupied by Tianyi – a boyslove/danmei novel whose author was sentenced to 10 years jail in Chin…

Alexis Wright has won the 2024 Stella Prize, for her novel, Praiseworthy. The novel is an Aboriginal fable, about a fictional town, a haze cloud, a haze cloud, land rights, global warming, and donkeys. Judges described Praiseworthy as 'genre-bending' and 'canon-breaking'. Alexis Wright previously won the Stella in 2018 for her non-fiction collectiv…

Author of The Tiger's Wife Téa Obreht reterns with Morningside, a dystopian fairy tale, and Stella Prize-shortlisted author Emily O'Grady on the rotten characters in her novel Feast. Téa Obreht won The Women's Prize for Fiction — then called the Orange Prize — for her debut novel, The Tiger's Wife and at the time she was the youngest ever winner of…

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie inspired riots in England and book burnings in India; death threats, murders and a fatwa; and ultimately, a devastating physical attack on Salman Rushdie in 2022. Banned Books is a new series that looks at what's driving book bans worldwide. This episode revisits how one book inspired so much hatred and violence…

Sure, you might not have made the cut for "5 Under 35," but that certainly doesn't mean you need to give up on your dreams of writing and publishing a book! In the first installment of our ongoing "How They Did It" series, Litquake and LitCamp have brought together six authors who found their way to publishing success after the age of 40. Recorded …

Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan explains why finishing his latest novel Caledonian Road was like "landing 65 planes on the tarmac"; plus a teaser for the first in our Banned Books series, starting in America. Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan's (Faber and Faber) latest book Caledonian Road is a big one in length and Dickensian scope. It's an exploratio…

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas was inspired by the black lives matter movement and explores police brutality — so why is it being taken off library shelves in the US? Banned Books is a new series that looks at what's driving book bans worldwide. The series begins in America where books about race and racism have become a lightning rod for censorsh…

Booker-shortlisted author Sunjeev Sahota argues that class is more important than identity, Vanessa Chan draws on her grandmother's stories of Japanese occupied Malaya and Winnie Dunn channels her own experience of growing up Tongan in Western Sydney.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Known for his sumptuous novel Call Me By My Name, André Aciman's latest book also explores love and beauty in Italy. Plus, Indian author Anjali Joseph on the allure of Assam, India, which is known for its unique cultural heritage.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

At Adelaide Writers' Week, Melissa Lucashenko explains how understanding that "all history is fiction" allowed her to write her historic novel Edenglassie.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Award winning Australian journalist Louise Milligan on her debut crime novel inspired by police and PTSD and Pulitzer Prize winning Jane Smiley on why she wants her books to be banned and her latest novel A Dangerous Business.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Bestselling American author Jonathan Lethem explains why he returned to Brooklyn in his fiction after 20 years.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

At Adelaide Writers' Week, Booker-winner Anne Enright speaks about the contradictions at the heart of families.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

RF Kuang speaks about her bestseller Yellowface and Nam Le, Australian author of The Boat, explains why his latest is a book of poetry.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Award-winning literary translator Jennifer Croft imagines what happens when translators get together in a primeval forest, Imbi Neeme's exploration of misophonia and Mykaela Saunders' love-hate relationship with Mad Max.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Jasper Fforde's sequel to Shades of Grey, Amy Brown introduces us to Miles Franklin's sister and Leo Vardiashvili's missing persons quest through the forests of Georgia.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Bestselling American author Kristin Hannah digs into the little known stories of US nurses during the Vietnam War, Jodi McAlister's comic take on The Bachelor and Sharlene Allsopp reckons with Australia's history.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Pulitzer Prize winning Libyan author Hisham Matar on friendship in political exile and British author Ela Lee on the power of friendship at times of personal crisis.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Kiley Reid's follow up to Such a Fun Age in a campus novel that she says isn't a campus novel, Rachael Johns' love story about a woman called Bridget Jones and Iain Ryan's hardboiled take on Gold Coast corruption in the 1980s.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham's latest novel Day explores a bromance, Madeleine Gray on writing a funny "sad girl novel" and Jessica Zhan Mei Yu on Sylvia Plath and up-ending the coming of age story.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

My Own Sweet Time was a memoir said to be written by Wanda Koolmatrie, a member of the Aboriginal stolen generations. But it was a hoax and this episode of Fakes and Frauds explores the long lasting impacts of the hoax particularly on Aboriginal Australian writers.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Pip Williams' follow up to her bestselling novel The Dictionary of Lost Words, Josh Kemp on how bushwalking helps his writing and the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner, Shankari Chandran.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Helen Demidenko scandal tore the Australian literary community apart in the 1990s. This episode of Fakes and Frauds charts the rise and downfall of Helen Demidenko and the impacts on the book world.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Is there such thing as an Irish voice in fiction?By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Cannibalism, telepathy and celibacy are just some of the false claims about Australian Aboriginal people that Marlo Morgan made in her 1990s new age hit, Mutant Message Down Under, and this episode of Fakes and Frauds exposes the lies.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Booker winner Ian McEwan explores his 1960s childhood in his latest novel and reigning Booker winner Paul Lynch on his unflinching dystopian novel set in Ireland.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Find out how to catch a con-artist in this episode of Fakes and Frauds that delves into the fake memoir Forbidden Love by Norma Khouri 20 years after the book was first published.By Australian Broadcasting Corporation