The Book Show
Episodes
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 ...
Looking to the stars with Ceridwen Dovey, Emily St John Mandel and more
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For Science Week, The Book Show goes intergalactic in a star themed episode. Ceridwen Dovey, Alicia Sometimes, Nardi Simpson, Max Barry and Emily St ...
Keanu Reeves and China Miéville write a book together
05 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hollywood star Keanu Reeves and British science fiction author China Miéville reveal how they collaborated to to write the novel The Book of Elsewhe...
Pod extra: Alexis Wright makes literary history
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 bo...
Meet Samantha Shannon's biggest critic: herself
29 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Samantha Shannon has such power as a bestselling writer that she's reissued her fantasy Bone Season series with new edits. In a revealing conversatio...
Meet the authors on the 2024 Miles Franklin shortlist
22 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'Flabbergasted' and 'surprised' — ahead of the winner announcement, the Miles Franklin shortlisted writers tell you about their books and what it m...
R.O. Kwon's ambitions and desires
15 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
American author R.O. Kwon's novel, Exhibit, explores the taboo topic of female desire; Jenny Ackland exacts feminist revenge in Hurdy Gurdy and Jessi...
Writer to writer with Claire G Coleman and Dylan Coleman
08 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For NAIDOC week, Indigenous speculative fiction author Claire G Coleman chats to Dylan Coleman about her novel Mazin Grace republished as a UQP First...
Bri Lee and Liam Pieper take down celebrity art
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 bes...
Kevin Kwan wrote a book about weddings, just don't invite him to one
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 W...
Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch and his fear of mediocrity
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 long...
Jeanette Winterson and Kate Grenville on the gift of writing
10 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Celeste Ng — "Every one of my books starts with a question"
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 realis...
Shankari Chandran, Stuart Turton and Julie Janson on refuge, failure and outlaws
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Shankari Chandran's follow up to her Miles Franklin award winning book, British author Stuart Turton's complicated murder mystery and Julie Janson's ...
Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn sequel
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 Ei...
Banned Books 05: Censorship in Iran
18 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Percival Everett reimagines Huckleberry Finn
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Percival Everett, a prolific author known for his versatility across various genres and styles, reinterprets an American classic novel.Percival Evere...
Banned Books 04: USA's most banned book in Australia
11 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ser...
Val McDermid and Jonathan Seidler on ancient queens and modern love
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Crime writer Val McDermid investigates Scotland's most famous female character to reveal a very different Lady Macbeth. And Sydney writer Jonathon Se...
Banned Books 03: Homoerotic fiction in China
04 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Webfiction is a gargantuan platform for writers in China but authors of male to male fiction - known as the danmei or boyslove genre - are experienci...
Pod extra — Alexis Wright wins a second Stella Prize
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 h...
Téa Obreht and Emily O'Grady on Balkan fairytales, nepo babies and wild creatures
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 rot...
Banned Books 02: The Satanic Verses and the fatwa
27 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie inspired riots in England and book burnings in India; death threats, murders and a fatwa; and ultimately, a deva...
Andrew O'Hagan's biggest novel yet
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Banned Books 01: Race and racism in the USA
20 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 librar...
Sunjeev Sahota, Vanessa Chan and Winnie Dunn bring us stories from home
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Booker-shortlisted author Sunjeev Sahota argues that class is more important than identity, Vanessa Chan draws on her grandmother's stories of Japane...
André Aciman and Anjali Joseph on the joy of doing nothing
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 Jose...
Melissa Lucashenko on writing through flood, fire and pestilence
31 Mar 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...
Jane Smiley and Louise Milligan on stories they couldn't let go
24 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Award winning Australian journalist Louise Milligan on her debut crime novel inspired by police and PTSD and Pulitzer Prize winning Jane Smiley on wh...
Jonathan Lethem returns to Brooklyn
17 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling American author Jonathan Lethem explains why he returned to Brooklyn in his fiction after 20 years.
Anne Enright on motherhood, Irish poets and famous parents
10 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At Adelaide Writers' Week, Booker-winner Anne Enright speaks about the contradictions at the heart of families.
RF Kuang and Nam Le on Yellowface, mums and minorities
03 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
RF Kuang speaks about her bestseller Yellowface and Nam Le, Australian author of The Boat, explains why his latest is a book of poetry.
Jennifer Croft, Imbi Neeme and Mykaela Saunders on translation, chewing and the Tweed
25 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Award-winning literary translator Jennifer Croft imagines what happens when translators get together in a primeval forest, Imbi Neeme's exploration o...
Jasper Fforde, Amy Brown and Leo Vardiashvili on surprises, fairytales and rickrolling
18 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Kristin Hannah, Jodi McAlister and Sharlene Allsopp on women, war and love
11 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Hisham Matar and Ela Lee on the friendships that save you
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Kiley Reid, Rachael Johns and Iain Ryan on money, love and corruption
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Michael Cunningham and Madeleine Gray on romance and relationship breakdown
21 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham's latest novel Day explores a bromance, Madeleine Gray on writing a funny "sad girl novel" and Jessica Zhan ...
Fakes and Frauds 05 | A big hoax — Wanda Koolmatrie and My Own Sweet Time
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 epis...
Pip Williams, Shankari Chandran and Josh Kemp on bookbinding, bushwalking and book awards
14 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 Fran...
Fakes and Frauds 04 | Fake identity and Helen Demidenko's The Hand that Signed the Paper
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Helen Demidenko scandal tore the Australian literary community apart in the 1990s. This episode of Fakes and Frauds charts the rise and downfall ...
John Boyne, Esther Freud, Louise Kennedy and the Irish voice
07 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is there such thing as an Irish voice in fiction?
Fakes and Frauds 03 | Fabrication and lies in Marlo Morgan's Mutant Message Down Under
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cannibalism, telepathy and celibacy are just some of the false claims about Australian Aboriginal people that Marlo Morgan made in her 1990s new age ...
Ian McEwan's most personal novel, plus Booker winner Paul Lynch
31 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Booker winner Ian McEwan explores his 1960s childhood in his latest novel and reigning Booker winner Paul Lynch on his unflinching dystopian novel se...
Fakes and Frauds 02 | Fact or fiction in Norma Khouri's Forbidden Love
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Pulitzer Prize winners Barbara Kingsolver and Hernán Diaz
24 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The two winners of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction are both about money but at opposite ends of the spectrum — Barbara Kingsolver's is about po...
Fakes and Frauds 01 | Plagiarism scandal in The Dogs by John Hughes
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fakes and Frauds is a new series that unpacks famous Australian literary scandals. The first and most recent controversy was the discovery of plagiar...
Ego and creativity with Anna Funder and Paul Jennings
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Australian writers Anna Funder and Paul Jennings on what it takes to be a writer.
Naomi Alderman and Charlotte Wood on bunkers, billionaires and nuns
10 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Naomi Alderman takes on tech giants and survivalists in a novel that imagines the end of the world, and an atheist joins a monastery in Charlotte Woo...
Amanda Lohrey, Matthew Reilly and Katherine Brabon on the sacred, swimming and Einstein
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Miles Franklin winner Amanda Lohrey asks where we find community in our secular world, Matthew Reilly's latest adventure and the restorative power of...
Pod extra with the Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Lynch is the 2023 Booker Prize winner for his novel Prophet Song. Prophet Song (Bloomsbury) is an unflinching dystopian novel set in Ireland whe...
Richard Flanagan on the atomic bomb, HG Wells and a kiss
26 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Booker winner Richard Flanagan on why writing his latest book Question 7 "felt like a strange dream". Also, the artist's muse in fiction and how a mi...
Tony Birch and Christos Tsiolkas on love, shame and dangerous dinner-parties
19 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Two very different writers explore the dynamics of family and violence: Tony Birch in a 1960s working class, Catholic family and Christos Tsiolkas in...
Booker Prize shortlist — mythical, profound and lyrical
12 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the lead up to the 2023 Booker Prize award, we dive into the six shortlisted novels and meet the authors.
"We don't come from nowhere" — Melissa Lucashenko on her historical novel Edenglassie
05 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brisbane is in the spotlight with Melissa Lucashenko exploring the early days of the colony in time for the city's bicentenary and debut novelist Mel...
Haunting fiction with Shehan Karunatilaka, Steve Toltz and many more
29 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Things are getting spooky on The Book Show, as we explore ghostly fiction. Booker winner Shehan Karunatilaka and Australian Steve Toltz will imagine ...
Between two worlds with Jesmyn Ward, Graham Akhurst and Anna McGahan
22 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Three authors on the spirits and spirituality at the heart of their novels - award winning US author Jesmyn Ward's lyrical novel about slavery, Indi...
"It began with a crime" — Cassandra Clare's latest fantasy fiction
15 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling fantasy author Cassandra Clare draws on her Jewish background in her first novel for adults, Kareem Abdulrahman on translating Kurdish I...
Trent Dalton on homelessness, hope and the tyrannosaurus waltz
08 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Trent Dalton's foray into Brisbane's underworld in his third novel, Leah Kaminsky's story of dolls and exile and Peter Polities on mothers and sons. ...
Jeanette Winterson on avatars and the afterlife, plus Kate Mildenhall
01 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Two writers imagine how technology will shape our future: Jeanette Winterson talks about how AI will give new meaning to ghost stories and Australia...
Sebastian Faulks and what makes us human
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sebastian Faulks on what makes us human, Emily Perkins takes on female rage and Jane Harrison digs into Australian history to bring us The Visitors. ...
Booker Prize winner: Margaret Atwood
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's Booker Prize season so The Book Show has gathered interviews with some of the most recent winners for you. Here's Margaret Atwood who won the p...
Booker Prize winner: Damon Galgut
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's Booker Prize season so The Book Show has gathered interviews with some of the most recent winners for you. Here's South African writer Damon Gal...
Booker Prize winner: Shehan Karunatilaka
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's Booker Prize season so The Book Show has gathered interviews with some of the most recent winners for you. Here's Sri Lankan author Shehan Karun...
Booker Prize winner: George Saunders
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's Booker Prize season so The Book Show has gathered interviews with some of the most recent winners for you. Here's American short story writer, e...
Booker Prize winner: Douglas Stuart
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's Booker Prize season so The Book Show has gathered interviews with some of the most recent winners for you. Here's Scottish author Douglas Stuart...
Booker Prize winner: Bernardine Evaristo
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's Booker Prize season so The Book Show has gathered interviews with some of the most recent winners for you. Here's Bernardine Evaristo who shared...
Feel good fiction with Anita Heiss, Marlon James, Monica Ali and more
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Literary fiction is good at the hard stuff – grief, pain and conflict - but what about the books that make you feel good? Authors Joan Silber, Ton...
Zadie Smith on Jamaica, delusion and Dickens
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Two historical novels with colonialism as their backdrop: one by the famous UK writer Zadie Smith and the other a debut novel by Fijian Australian au...
"We love the people we damage" — Anne Enright
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Former Booker Prize winner Anne Enright says she's drawn to life's contradictions and in her latest The Wren, The Wren she explores the complicated,...
Coming of age with Chris Womersley, Maxine Beneba Clarke and Zeynab Gamieldien
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Womersley exposes the dark side of suburbia in his sixth novel Ordinary Gods and Monsters, Maxine Beneba Clarke shares the joy of poetry for yo...
"Trinidad writes itself" — Kevin Jared Hosein's Hungry Ghosts, plus Kate Grenville
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Australian author Kate Grenville reflects on her lifetime of writing and how accepting failure Kate Grenville reflects on a lifetime of writing and h...
Crime fiction queen Jane Harper on what she'll do next
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Since 2016 Jane Harper has published five bestselling crime novels including The Dry and The Lost Man. Her latest novel Exiles sees a return of fin...
Ann Patchett and Tracy Sorensen on famous friends and talking organs
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
American author Ann Patchett believes contentment is a radical idea in today's busy world and in her latest novel Tom Lake reflects on the joy of s...
Melancholy in the library with Patrick deWitt, Josh Kemp and Ali Cobby Eckermann
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Stories of redemption and healing: Canadian author Patrick deWitt's latest novel The Librarianist is about a lonely, former librarian. Claire takes ...
Pod Extra with 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Shankari Chandran
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shankari Chandran has won this year's Miles Franklin Literary Award for her third novel Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, a Trojan horse of a novel tha...
Anna Funder and Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Funder's fourth book Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life interrogates why George Orwell's wife, Eileen Blair has been written out of his biogr...
Richard Ford says goodbye to his creation
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
American author Richard Ford says, "I write for the audience today" and not for immortality. Now 79, and with Be Mine, his fifth Frank Bascombe novel...
Myth-busting and Judge Judy with Tracey Lien and Nina Wan
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tracey Lien watched Judge Judy as a child and Nina Wan learnt English at 10 when she migrated from China to Australia. Now they have both published e...
Writer to writer with Larissa Behrendt, Anita Heiss and Ellen van Neerven
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Indigenous writer, lawyer and filmmaker Larissa Behrendt speaks to writers Anita Heiss and Ellen van Neerven about the past and the future of First N...
Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist 2023: pod extra interview special
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Interviews with all six shortlisted authors for the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award from RN's The Bookshelf and Book Show (in alphabetical order)....
Booker winners Shehan Karunatilaka and Damon Galgut
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A double bill of Booker Prize winners with reigning champion Shehan Karunatilaka and previous winner Damon Galgut.
Lisa See's portrait of female friendship in Ming dynasty China
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
American author Lisa See's Lady Tan's Circle of Women set during the Chinese Ming dynasty, Robert Gott's comedy of manners, Saman Shad's contributio...
Home, art and love with Kate Morton, Stephanie Bishop and Zoya Patel
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling Australian author Kate Morton's personal story of home and her latest novel Homecoming, Stephanie Bishop's psycho thriller The Anniversar...
Max Porter and Barbara Kingsolver's lost boys
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Kingsolver and British author Max Porter turn their attention to lost boys failed by society.
Don Winslow, plus Fakes and Frauds #5 Wanda Koolmatrie hoax
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
My Own Sweet Time was a memoir said to be written by Wanda Koolmatrie, a member of the Aboriginal stolen generation. But it was a hoax and this final...
Trees in fiction with Richard Powers, Hannah Kent, Elif Shafak and more
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Powers, Hannah Kent, Elif Shafak and Michael Christie all use trees in their fiction to touch on themes of roots and connections, growth and ...
Fakes and Frauds #4 Helen Demidenko, plus Shirley Le
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The latest episode in our Fakes and Frauds series is about the biggest recent book scandal of all, the Helen Demidenko affair. Also Shirley Le discus...
Eleanor Catton, plus Fakes and Frauds #3 Mutant Message Down Under
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cannibalism, telepathy and celibacy are just some of the false claims Marlo Morgan made in her 1990s new age hit, Mutant Message Down Under, meet the...
Curtis Sittenfeld, plus Fakes and Frauds #2 Norma Khouri
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Find out how to catch a con-artist in this episode of Fakes and Frauds that delves into the fake memoir of Norma Khouri. And American author Curtis ...