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 dif...
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 - know...
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 Aborigina...
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...
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 th...
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 "la...
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...
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...
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 an...
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 ficti...
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...
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 aft...
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 ...
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...
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 togethe...
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 Le...
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 t...
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 auth...
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, Rach...
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 ...
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 s...
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 bus...
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...
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 p...
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 winne...
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 me...
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...
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 mo...
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,...
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 Reil...
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...
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...
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 worki...
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...
"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...
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 Kar...
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 auth...
"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 a...
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 ...
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 wi...
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 ...
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 winn...
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 winn...
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 winn...
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 winn...
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 winn...
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 winn...
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...
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 a...
"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 lates...
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, Ma...
"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...
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 ...
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 he...
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 ...
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 ...
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 wi...
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...
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 ...
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 va...
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 Th...
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 winn...
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 ...
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,...
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 los...
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 s...
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 tou...
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, ...
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 1990...
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 me...
Alexis Wright, plus Fakes and Frauds #1 The Dogs by John Hughes
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Find out how to catch a plagiarist in the first of our series Fakes and Frauds - the book scandals ...
Mothers on the page with Larissa Behrendt, Alice Pung and Chloe Hooper
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Australian authors Chloe Hooper, Alice Pung and Larissa Behrendt reveal the complex and complicated...
Lessons in life, mortality and love from Julian Barnes
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
British Booker winner Julian Barnes's latest novel, Elizabeth Finch, is about a life-changing teach...
Bookbinding and ghost towns with Pip Williams and Dominic Smith
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The smell of books and Italian cooking are celebrated in the latest novels by bestselling Australia...
‘I didn’t know I had anger in me’ – Anindita Ghose kills off the patriarch
26 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Indian author Anindita Ghose on life after Vogue, her friendship with Jonathan Franzen, and the joy...
John Boyne, Esther Freud, Louise Kennedy and the Irish voice
19 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Irish writers John Boyne, Esther Freud and Louise Kennedy share stories of the pub, the role of the...
Margaret Atwood on witches, cats and a lifetime of writing
12 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Literary titan, Margaret Atwood on the death of her beloved husband, the influence of George Orwel...
Grief, plague and Star Trek with Sequoia Nagamatsu
05 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
American writer Sequoia Nagamatsu shares stories from his childhood growing up in Hawaii, his love ...
Dragons, literary acrobatics and a house called Shirley with Samantha Shannon, Cate Kennedy and Ronnie Scott
26 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling British author Samantha Shannon celebrates women, love and desire in her latest fanta...
Love, lust and ghosts: celebrating queer fiction
19 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For Sydney WorldPride, we celebrate queer writers telling queer stories – the funny, the heartbre...
Ballet, bodies and grief with Meg Howrey, Inga Simpson and Dinuka McKenzie
12 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A trio of books by women about bodies, ballet, grief and working mothers. Meg Howrey on They're Goi...
Parties, miracles and Pop Tarts with Deepti Kapoor, Michelle Johnston and Kevin Wilson
05 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Indian writer Deepti Kapoor takes on corruption, wealth and poverty in India in her novel The Age o...
Small-town murder with Julie Janson and Stuart MacBride
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Two very different crime fiction writers, Australian Indigenous author Julie Janson and Scottish wr...
Bret Easton Ellis and Paul Jennings come to terms with fame and ego
22 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bret Easton Ellis and Paul Jennings have been very successful writers for 40 years and although the...
Tim Winton on a life of accidents, successes, and the business of 'useless beauty'
15 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's been 40 years since Tim Winton published his first novel, An Open Swimmer. Today he is the bel...
Jamaica's Marlon James creates an 'African Game of Thrones', plus Meg Mason
08 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Marlon James' African Game of Thrones, Markus Zusak gets your fanmail and Meg Mason's surprise succ...
Queer stories with Douglas Stuart, Indyana Schneider and Omar Sakr
01 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Booker winner Douglas Stuart, Indyana Schneider and Omar Sakr explore queer love and identity in th...
Craig Silvey, Tony Birch and Dervla McTiernan's joy of reading
25 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Writers (and bookworms) Craig Silvey, Tony Birch, and Dervla McTiernan talk about their reading liv...
Prize winners Ruth Ozeki, Shehan Karunatilaka and Jennifer Down
18 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ruth Ozeki, Shehan Karunatilaka and Jennifer Down share the backstory to their award winning books...
"Hardest thing I've ever written" — Heather Rose shares tales from her extraordinary life
11 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Australian novelist Heather Rose lost her brother in a tragic accident when she was just 12 years o...
Superheroes and fun with NK Jemisin, Bonnie Garmus and Katharine Pollock
04 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
City-saving superheroes, cheese-bingeing record store employees and a chemist turned TV chef with ...
"It's addictive" — George Saunders on short stories
27 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Booker winner George Saunders on his short story addiction, Inga Simpson on the great Australian cr...
Ageing and autopsies with Alex Miller and Patricia Cornwell
20 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Miller and Patricia Cornwell talk about ageing and fiction and their novels A Brief Affair and...
Paterson Joseph, Orhan Pamuk and Fiona McFarlane dig up the past
13 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Actor Joseph Paterson shines a spotlight on Black British history, Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk's Ott...
Graham Norton and the power of the Irish mammy
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Graham Norton, Diana Reid and Holly Throsby discuss why they enjoy writing about women in fiction. ...
Why Ian Rankin keeps returning to Rebus
30 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ian Rankin's detective John Rebus has been part of the literary world for 35 years and now his 24th...
Barbara Kingsolver finds the hillbilly in Charles Dickens
23 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Barbara Kingsolver explains her connection to Charles Dickens and why her latest Demon Copperhead i...
Pod extra with the Booker Prize winner Shehan Karunatilaka
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shehan Karunatilaka is the winner of the 2022 Booker Prize for his book The Seven Moons of Maali Al...