The Book Show
Episodes
Debra Adelaide on the life and death of Gabrielle Carey
29 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Australian author Debra Adelaide's latest book is her most personal to date. As she reveals to Claire Nichols, When I'm 64 was written as an autofict...
Colm Tóibín can't stop naming his characters Paul
22 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Irish author Colm Tóibín shares with Claire Nichols the stories that have shaped his latest collection that travels continents and times. The News ...
Daniyal Mueenuddin's changing Pakistan
15 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This is Where the Serpent Lives from Pakistani-US writer Daniyal Mueenuddin, is an elegy to a changing Pakistan where contemporary life and technol...
Howard Jacobson embraces being a Jewish writer
08 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Howard Jacobson joins Claire Nichols to unpack Howl, and Australian authors Eva Hornung and Omar Musa discuss their latest novels.Booker Prize winner...
Francis Spufford's Nonesuch shows World War II as you've never it seen before
01 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In his new novel, Nonesuch, British author Francis Sufford introduces a fabulously spiky heroine fighting fascism and mysterious moving statues durin...
Tayari Jones on absent mothers and the American South
22 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Your favourite fiction authors share the story behind their latest books.
Tayari Jones on her beautiful new novel Kin
22 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Tayari Jones, author of the Women's Prize-winning An American Marriage, returns with Kin, a work of historical fiction that illuminates the inner liv...
Patrick Ryan and Sita Walker on seances, secrets and school rooms
15 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A stolen kiss propels Patrick Ryan's American epic, Buckeye, which traces the loves, loss and lies of two Ohio couples. And Sita Walker on her invent...
George Saunders on angels and the afterlife
08 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
American author George Saunders reflects on why death is such fertile ground for fiction and how it shapes his haunting new novel Vigil. Plus, Austra...
Adam Kay on how medicine and comedy shaped his debut novel
01 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Doctor‑turned‑memoirist‑turned‑comedian Adam Kay makes his fiction debut with A Particularly Nasty Case, a medical murder mystery set inside ...
Trent Dalton and Gregory Maguire on why there's no place like home
25 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling author Trent Dalton reveals how The Wizard of Oz appears in every book he's written — from Boy Swallows Universe to his latest novel, G...
Philip Pullman's enduring legacy
18 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Philip Pullman's 30 year enchantment with his heroine Lyra Belacqua and His Dark Materials continues with The Rose Field. And Zoe Terakes takes a que...
Summer highlights: David Nicholls and Liane Moriarty on their starry screen adaptations
11 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
From Sydney Writers Festival, two bestselling writers, David Nicholls and Liane Moriarty, reveal what it's like to see their stories go from the page...
Summer highlights: Arundhati Roy, Colum McCann and Morgan Talty
04 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
God of Small Things author Arundhati Roy on her monstrous mother and becoming a writer, Colum McCann dives into the digital age with Twist and Penobs...
Summer highlights: Samantha Harvey's accidental prize winner
28 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
British author Samantha Harvey joined Claire Nichols at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival for a revelatory conversation about dreams, i...
Summer highlights: Marian Keyes on writing to save her life
21 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Irish writer Marian Keyes joined Claire Nichols at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival and they spoke about how Marian became a writer wh...
Summer highlights: Ocean Vuong, Charlotte McConaghy and David Malouf
14 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ocean Vuong's dazzling follow up to his debut On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Charlotte McConaghy's urgent Wild Dark Shore and David Malouf reflects...
Bri Lee, Madeleine Gray and Kate Mildenhall on friendship, families and the future
07 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bri Lee, Madeleine Gray and Kate Mildenhall break the mould with their new books about fraying families, frightening futures and creepy animals in Se...
05 | Dear Jane — The endlessly adaptable Austen
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is Jane Austen endlessly adaptable? After all, her Pride and Prejudice character, Elizabeth Bennett, has fought zombies, investigated murders, be...
Jeanette Winterson releases the reading Genie
30 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Jeanette Winterson, reading has been her liberation but she's worried about its future. She asks what AI means for storytelling in her new book O...
04 | Dear Jane — Reading Emma in Pakistan
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Austen's influence has spread well beyond the Anglosphere 250 years after her birth and today we consider the the parallels between Austen's Reg...
Megha Majumdar and Sally Hepworth on climate crisis and granny serial killers
23 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Megha Majumdar's The Guardian and the Thief asks what a billionaire, a manager and homeless person have in common, Sally Hepworth reveals the dramati...
03 | Dear Jane — Persuasion, the original second chance romance
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Austen's novel Persuasion was the last she completed before her death and it is considered a more mature, sombre romance, and in Dear Jane, we a...
Ben Elton and the case for popular fiction
16 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
British comic Ben Elton on the Aussie inspiration for writing fiction, and Miles Franklin winner Sofie Laguna on the collision of puberty and Roman m...
02 | Dear Jane — the perfectly plotted Pride and Prejudice
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a Jane Austen novel, what does it mean if a character is in the Navy? What role do aunts and silly characters play? And what's the significance of...
Pod extra: David Szalay wins the Booker Prize
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The British-Hungarian author David Szalay restrained novel Flesh has won the 2025 Booker Prize. The prize was presented to Szalay by Samantha Harvey...
Patricia Lockwood on Dolly the sheep and long covid
09 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Patricia Lockwood's latest book is the third exploring her inner state, just don't call it a trilogy. A call to all Jane Austen lovers with the begin...
01 | Dear Jane — the wild, not mild, Jane Austen
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday with Dear Jane, a brand-new series about her life, her books and her legacy. In the first instalment...
Who will win the Booker Prize?
02 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Become a Booker Prize expert and meet the shortlisted authors before the winner is announced in a ceremony featuring classic British pomp and fanfare...
An American elegy with Eric Puchner and Jane Harper on grief and the disappeared
26 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The American elegy, Dream State by American author Eric Puchner is one of Claire's favourite books of the year, Australian crime novelist Jane Harper...
Celebrating Australia's favourite reads with Trent Dalton, Hannah Kent and Barbara Kingsolver
19 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Top 100 Books of the 21st Century countdown is complete and now it's time to find out the inspiration behind some of Australia's favourite books ...
Heather Rose, Omar Musa and Natalia Figueroa Barroso on champagne, ghosts and the disappeared
12 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Heather Rose found writing her latest novel challenging because it's partly based on some murky family secrets. The author of The Museum of Modern Lo...
Peter Carey on not writing fiction anymore
05 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's 25 years since True History of the Kelly Gang came out and while Peter Carey might not be writing fiction anymore he says he's proud of his book...
Trent Dalton and David Malouf — Brisbane's favourite sons
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Trent Dalton's new novel Gravity Let Me Go is about a middle aged journalist who can't let go of a good story, and David Malouf reflects on a life of...
How Ian McEwan is using the future to explore the present
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ian McEwan's futuristic novel What We Can Know is about rising sea levels and a lost poem. Plus, Randa Abdel-Fattah's response to the crisis in Gaza ...
Arundhati Roy and Mick Herron on monstrous mothers and Slow Horses
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
God of Small Things author Arundhati Roy remembers her difficult mother and how she was shaped as a writer, and Mick Herron on the success of Slow Ho...
Toni Jordan, Richard Osman and Gail Jones on greyhounds, murder and mystery
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Australian author of Addition, Toni Jordan, goes gambling with greyhounds in Tenderfoot, Richard Osman digs up the background to The Thursday Murder ...
Top 100 Books with Colum McCann, Kate Grenville and Kaliane Bradley
31 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Discover the favourite books from the 21st century of Colum McCann, Kate Grenville and Kaliane Bradley who share their best reads for ABC Radio Natio...
R.F. Kuang goes to hell with Katabasis
24 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Yellowface author R.F. Kuang returns to speculative fiction with her latest novel Katabasis, a campus novel set in hell. Plus Australian author Moren...
Gary Shteyngart, Jennifer Mills and Rhett Davis ask what's next
17 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Russian born US writer Gary Shteyngart imagines a future America with strong parallels to Russia in Vera, or Faith, Adelaide based author Jennifer Mi...
Florence Knapp and Brandon Jack on the power of a name
10 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Florence Knapp's debut novel The Names is a sliding doors story about the naming of a child and has been a surprise success (for her). Plus Brandon J...
Amy Bloom, Ben Markovits and Barbara Truelove on love, basketball and monsters
03 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Amy Bloom on her latest novel I'll Be Right Here about an unconventional chosen family, Ben Markovits goes on the road with his Booker Prize longlist...
Ben Okri, Jana Wendt and Thomas Vowles on heartbreak, new beginnings and queer Melbourne
27 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Booker Prize-winning Nigerian author Ben Okri on his novella Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Broken-Hearted, Australian journalist Jana Wen...
"Shimmering" and "strikingly new" — Siang Lu wins Miles Franklin Literary Award
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Shimmering” and “strikingly new”—Siang Lu takes out the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award with Ghost Cities, his razor-sharp satire of th...
John Boyne, Maggie Stiefvater and Laura Elvery on hope, enemy diplomats and Florence Nightingale
20 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
John Boyne concludes his challenging series The Elements with Air, US writer Maggie Stiefvater takes you to a luxury hotel for enemy diplomats in The...
From a debut to two-time winner — the Miles Franklin shortlist is here
13 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From Miles Franklin prize veteran Michelle de Kretster to debut novelist Winnie Dunn, we bring you all six of the shortlisted authors in this round-u...
Ocean Vuong and Fleur McDonald reimagine Connecticut and Kalgoorlie
06 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
US poet, Ocean Vuong says when he was growing up "being a writer was like being a unicorn" but now he's published his second novel The Emperor of Gla...
Esther Freud has a lot to say about sisters
29 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Esther Freud mines her family story to discover new truths in My Sister and Other Lovers, Dominic Amerena asks what is the price of ambition in I Wan...
Yael van der Wouden on sex, history and an incredible year
22 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fresh off her 2025 Women’s Prize win, Yael van der Wouden talks The Safekeep—the novel that’s got everyone buzzing. It caps a stellar run for Y...
Catherine Chidgey, Kevin Wilson and Josephine Rowe on history, travel and an almost saint
15 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New Zealand author Catherine Chidgey asks, what if World War II had ended differently in her latest novel The Book of Guilt. Plus Kevin Wilson sends ...
Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey loosens the reins
08 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Samantha Harvey didn’t mean to write a space novel—but Orbital won the Booker. At the 2025 Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival, she talks...
Alan Hollinghurst and Charlotte Wood on gay lives and celebrity nuns
01 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Booker Prize winner Alan Hollinghurst reflects on writing about gay lives and Booker Prize shortlisted author Charlotte Wood explains what it's like ...
Liane Moriaty and David Nicholls on small screen success
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From Sydney Writers Festival, two bestselling writers, David Nicholls and Liane Moriarty, reveal what it's like to see their stories go from the page...
Kaliane Bradley, Rumaan Alam, success and 'sexy dead guys'
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Kaliane Bradley shares the serious side to her obsession with muttonchops and time travel, with her book The Ministry of Time, and Rumaan Alam reflec...
Marian Keyes — "I have lived many lives"
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Irish writer Marian Keyes on family, wisdom, and writing through the chaos. At Margaret River, she chats with Claire Nichols about her 16th novel, My...
Eimear McBride, Tasma Walton and James Bradley on stormy weather and broken families
04 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Irish writer Eimear McBride revisits favourite characters on a rainy night, actor-turned-writer Tasma Walton dredges up a family story of abduction a...
Mother fault lines with Betty Shamieh, Debra Oswald and Naima Brown
27 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Palestinian American playwright Betty Shamieh turns to fiction in Too Soon, a nuanced and lusty story of three generations of Palestinian women and t...
Chigozie Obioma on kindness, big families and the Biafran War
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Booker Prize shortlisted Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma joined Claire Nichols at Byron Writers Festival to discuss his latest novel The Road to the ...
Gregory Maguire has another Wicked tale to tell
13 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
American writer Gregory Maguire joins Claire Nichols in a rare and revealing conversation about the evolution of his Wicked series that inspired the ...
Charlotte McConaghy on The Wild Dark Shore
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A small family lives on a remote island, the father a caretaker for the world's seeds. Then in the rising seas, a woman is washed up to shore. Charlo...
Roisin O'Donnell and a woman on the run
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A mother escapes a controlling husband. But that is just the beginning. Nesting, the debut novel from award-winning Irish writer Roisin O'Donnell tak...
Laila Lalami, Steven MinOn and Madeleine Ryan on mining dreams, a walking corpse and a very bad day
23 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Award-winning Moroccan American author Laila Lalami imagines a world where the most intimate aspects of life are mined for data in her speculative fi...
Bernhard Schlink, Vincenzo Latronico and Diana Reid on transitions, ennui and memory
16 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A story of finding family, Bernhard Schlink's latest novel The Granddaughter, examines the lingering impact of a divided Germany and the rise of the ...
Rachel Kushner on writing spies, anarchists and Neanderthals
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
American writer Rachel Kushner joins Claire Nichols on the stage at Adelaide Writers Week for a conversation about the Booker-shortlisted Creation La...
Colum McCann, Robert Lukins and Jane Yang on repair, the ultra-rich and bound feet
02 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In his latest book Twist, New York-based Irish writer Colum McCann dives into the digital age, travelling deep under the ocean into a tangled world o...
Morgan Talty on family, blood and belonging
23 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Penobscot Indian Nation writer Morgan Talty's Fire Exit is a story of family bonds that go beyond bloodlines.Charles is a white man who must not only...
My Biggest Book 06 | Markus Zusak on The Book Thief
22 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this final episode of My Biggest Book, where prominent authors reflect on their defining books, Markus Zusak reminisces about the literary phenome...
When Makassar and Yolnu peoples met, a long history told in A Piece of Red Cloth
16 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Yolnu people of the Northern Territory had a fruitful trading relationship with the Makassar people from Indonesia long before Australia was colo...
My Biggest Book 05 | Roddy Doyle on The Commitments
15 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of My Biggest Book, where prominent authors reminisce about the book that defined their career, Roddy Doyle reflects on the times and...
Eowyn Ivey on Alaska, bears and magic
09 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eowyn Ivey is best known for her magical debut novel, The Snow Child, a book set in her home state of Alaska.Her new book, Black Woods Blue Sky is al...
My Biggest Book 04 | Nikki Gemmell on The Bride Stripped Bare
08 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For journalist and writer Nikki Gemmell her Biggest Book was a huge commercial success, but it had a sensational effect on her life and work.The Brid...
Juhea Kim: City of Night Birds
02 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Claire speaks to Juhea Kim about her latest novel which centres around an elite Russian ballet dancer returning to the stage after a serious injury....
My Biggest Book 03 | Emma Donoghue on Room
01 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of My Biggest Book, where prominent authors ponder their breakthrough novels, Emma Donaghue recalls her 2010 novel Room.Inspired by t...
David Baldacci; Sara Haddad's novella The Sunbird
26 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
David Baldacci is the bestselling writer of heroes like Mickey Gibson and Aloysius Archer. He's written 50 books for adults as well as novels for you...
My Biggest Book 02 | Hanif Kureishi on The Buddha of Suburbia
25 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There's an extra element to this second episode of My Biggest Book, where some of the world's biggest authors reminisce about their all-time biggest ...
The prolific Alexander McCall Smith
19 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Look in any library or book shop at any time of year and there's bound to be a newly released Alexander McCall Smith novel on the shelf. Most known f...
My Biggest Book 01 | Audrey Niffenegger on The Time Traveler's Wife
18 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is it like to write a book that changes your life? Some of the world’s biggest authors reminisce about their all-time biggest books – the no...
Summer reading with Andrew O'Hagan and Evie Wyld
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan explains why finishing his latest novel Caledonian Road was like "landing 65 planes on the tarmac" and award-winning a...
Summer reading with Anne Enright
05 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At Adelaide Writers' Week, Booker Prize-winner Anne Enright speaks about the contradictions at the heart of families.Anne joined Claire Nichols in fr...
Summer Reading with Celeste Ng
29 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From Sydney Writers' Festival, American author Celeste Ng shares how her latest novel Our Missing Hearts explores one of her deepest fears.Celeste Ng...
Summer reading with Tim Winton, Kaliane Bradley and Siang Lu
22 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Winton explains his urgency for writing about climate change in his new novel Juice, Kaliane Bradley on her bestseller The Ministry of Time which...
Summer reading with Melissa Lucashenko
15 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At Adelaide Writers' Week, Melissa Lucashenko explains how understanding that "all history is fiction" allowed her to write her historic novel Edengl...
Niall Williams and Nick Harkaway on Christmas miracles and special fathers
08 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Irish writer Niall Williams's latest novel Time of the Child celebrates the miracles of everyday life. Also, meet Nick Harkaway the son of David Corn...
Will Self gets personal about his mother
01 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
British writer Will Self reveals the extent of his "mother-worship" in his writing which has culminated in his latest novel, Elaine. The book was ins...
Alan Moore's delirious new fantasy The Great When
24 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Comic book legend, Alan Moore has renounced comics for novels and his new book The Great When uncovers a secret, fictional London. Rosalie Ham return...
Roddy Doyle and the character who's stayed with him
17 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle returns to the character Paula Spencer who first appeared in his fiction in the 1990s, we visit author of The Wedding...
Pod extra with Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This year's winner of the Booker Prize is British author Samantha Harvey for her fifth novel, Orbital. The Booker judges were unanimous in their deci...
Garry Disher, Emily Maguire and David Dyer on a milestone, a myth and the moon landing
10 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Australian crime writer Garry Disher has been writing for almost 50 years but has only recently been able to make a living and now he's published his...
Your ultimate guide to the Booker Prize
03 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time in a decade, an Australian writer, Charlotte Wood has made the Booker Prize shortlist with her novel Stone Yard Devotional. Hear f...
Robbie Arnott, Fiona McFarlane and Malcolm Knox on wild cats, crime and satire
27 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A wild puma stalks through Robbie Arnott's haunting new novel, Dusk, Fiona McFarlane's homage to true crime podcasts in Highway 13 and Malcolm Knox r...
Tim Winton's call to action in Juice
20 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Winton explains his urgency for writing about climate change in his new novel Juice, beware the evil eye in Matia, the debut novel of West Austra...
Grande Dames Pat Barker and Kate Atkinson
13 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Former Booker Prize winner Pat Barker grapples with the lot of Cassandra in her latest Ancient Greek novel, The Voyage Home and Life After Life autho...
Onyi Nwabineli, Ella Baxter and Melanie Cheng on Mumflencers, stalkers and rabbits
06 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
British author Onyi Nwabineli explores the scars of a child influencer in Allow Me to Introduce Myself, Ella Baxter writes back to her stalker in Woo...
Writing with an agenda — Laura Jean McKay, Laurie Steed and Chemutai Glasheen
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we take to you to two writers festivals: In Perth, Laura Jean McKay, Laurie Steed and Chemutai Glasheen reflect on what it means to bring their...
Rumaan Alam — why we don't talk about money
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling author of Leave the World Behind, Rumaan Alam explores money obsession in his novel Entitlement, plus Jock Serong gets magical in Cherryw...
Richard Osman's new crime-fighting team
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Osman has followed up his bestselling crime series The Thursday Murder Club with a new series, the first instalment is We Solve Murders. Plus...
Elif Shafak and the water that connects us
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Celebrated British-Turkish author Elif Shafak follows a single drop of water through history in her novel There are Rivers in the Sky, Kaliane Bradle...
Meet Meena Kandasamy: poet, novelist, rebel
02 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meena Kandasamy is an Indian born poet, novelist, rebel and activist who's been threatened and harassed for her writing. From the Byron Writers Festi...
Evie Wyld's writing tip: put a shark in it
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Award-winning author Evie Wyld on her new book The Echoes, and why there are so many sharks in her fiction. Plus, Catherine McKinnon's epic war novel...
Chigozie Obioma on kindness, big families and the Biafran War
19 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Booker Prize shortlisted Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma joined Claire Nichols at Byron Writers Festival to discuss his latest novel The Road to the ...