The Book Show

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 Love and Bruny Island among other award winning novels, has now written A Great Act of Love: an historical saga of murder, migration, transformation and enduring familial bonds. It has a surprising effervescent setting;  making French style champagne in colonial Tasmania. Poet, visual artist, hip-hop musician and author Omar Musa finds magic in Italian beads, vengeful ghosts and the sound of the Borneo forest in his second novel. Fierceland exposes the dark side of Malay politics and trade in palm oil, but is also a story of family and love.Australian author Natalia Figueroa Barroso also draws on family and culture in her debut novel Hailstones Fell Without Rain.  From single migrant mothers making a life in Western Sydney to women surviving and resisting political oppression in Uruguay, it's a multigenerational celebration of strength and renewal.

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 books. My Sister, The Serial Killer's Oyinkan Braithwaite on not writing the same book twice in Cursed Daughters and Tanya Scott's debut thriller, Stillwater. When it comes to Australia's great novelists, few loom larger than Peter Carey. He's won the Booker Prize twice, and the Miles Franklin Award three times and is beloved for books like Oscar and Lucinda, Illywhacker, Jack Maggs and A Long Way from Home. But at the age of 82, he says he's done with writing fiction. Instead, we're celebrating 25 years since the publication True History of The Kelly Gang which won the Booker in 2001.Oyinkan Braithwaite is a Nigerian-British author who made a big splash with her first novel, My Sister, The Serial Killer which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Women's Prize and won the Thriller Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. Her second novel, Cursed Daughters, is about three generations of Nigerian women and the family curse that dominates their lives.Stillwater is the debut thriller by Tanya Scott, a GP working in the mental health sector in regional Victoria. It's about Luke, a young man trying to escape his past when a run in with an old associate drags him back into a world of violence and crime.

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 writing and the hold of Brisbane on his imagination.Trent Dalton is the bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, All Our Shimmering Skies and Lola in the Mirror. His new novel Gravity Let me Go, is about a Brisbane crime journalist with a big story, an aching body and a family who could be in peril. Trent tells Claire Nichols that this book was a reckoning with who he is now as a middle aged family man with a serious story addiction. He also explains why he thinks of Brisbane as akin to Paris, London or New York for its romance, dark side and storytelling potential. Trent Dalton also shares his favourite book for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books with a special shout-out to Geraldine Brooks. Vote for your favourite book of the 21st Century here. David Malouf was one of the first writers to put modern-day Brisbane on the literary map with his semi-autobiographical novel Johnno and says the city he wrote about was his own invention. Now at 91, David tells Claire Nichols about the place of fiction in his life and what it means to reissue three collections of poetry: An Open Book, Earth Hour and Typewriter Music.

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 in her novel Discipline and Vogel Award winner Murray Middleton on the despair of being an artist.Ian McEwan is the British author of over 20 books including Atonement, Saturday, Lessons and his Booker Prize-winner, Amsterdam. His new novel, What We Can Know is set a century in the future where a history professor has dedicated his career to examining our era known as the "derangement". McEwan talks about writing a climate change novel and why we're all complicit in this contemporary derangement. He also tells Claire Nichols how he's learnt to be more humble as a writer.Randa Abdel-Fattah is a Palestinian Egyptian author, lawyer and academic who's mostly written books for children and young adults, but Discipline is her first novel for adults. It follows two Muslim characters living in Australia, as conflict breaks out in Gaza. It's about the agony of watching your family suffer from far away and it's also about the politics of our country and the cost of speaking out.Vogel Award winning author Murray Middleton contemplates the despair of being an artist in his latest collection of short stories, U Want it Darker. Many of the characters are dealing with a sense of failure, which is personal for Murray Middleton whose had his own set backs as an artist.  The Book Thief author, Markus Zusak shares his favourite book of the 21st Century for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books. VOTE NOW! 

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 Horses and his repellent but memorable creation, Jackson Lamb.Arundhati Roy is a giant of literature. She's published two novels, including the Booker Prize-winning The God of Small Things and is a prolific author of non-fiction, much of which confronts injustice in her home country of India. Her latest book is a memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me, which examines her complicated relationship with her mother, Mary Roy. Mary was a trailblazer in education and in fighting for equality for women but as a mum, she could be cruel and even violent. She died in 2022, and in the book, Arundhati Roy writes, "perhaps more than a daughter mourning the passing of her mother, I mourn her as a writer who has lost her most enthralling subject."British author Mick Herron says his popular Slough House series that began with Slow Horses in 2010 wasn't an immediate success. Although, now the Slough House universe about disgraced MI5 agents has grown with nine novels in the ongoing series and another seven associated standalone books and of course a wonderful TV series. The latest in the series Clown Town is about a missing book, and Jackson Lamb, the flatulent boss of these ragtag agents, is repellent as ever. But Mick Herron cautions not to read his books as an insight into the operations of MI5.VOTE NOW in ABC Radio National’s Top 100 Books of the 21st Century.

Australian author of Addition, Toni Jordan, goes gambling with greyhounds in Tenderfoot, Richard Osman digs up the background to The Thursday Murder Club and critically acclaimed writer, Gail Jones on why she wrote the crime novel, The Name of the Sister.Toni Jordan is the Australian author of eight books including Addition, The Fragments and Dinner with the Schnabels. Her new novel, Tenderfoot, is her most personal. It's told from the perspective of a child in 1970s Brisbane who's growing up amongst greyhounds and racing tracks and dealing with her parents' divorce. Toni reflects on her own life growing up at the TAB and why she turned to this personal story now.Some inspiration for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books of the 21st Century: we revisit The Thursday Murder Club by the British writer and TV personality Richard Osman which has been a massive hit since it was published in 2020, with three sequels and a movie adaptation out now starring Helen Mirren. Here on The Book Show Claire Nichols spoke to Richard right when the book was first published.Cast your vote in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books here.Gail Jones is one of our most prolific and celebrated authors. Her novels have been shortlisted and awarded for many of the big literary awards but she's done something different in her latest book by writing a crime novel. In The Name of the Sister a freelance journalist investigates the story of a nameless woman who's turned up on the side of the road in Broken Hill, unable to speak and clearly damaged by some sort of abuse. Gail reflects on a life in literature and why she became a writer later in life. 

Discover the favourite books from the 21st century of Colum McCann, Kate Grenville and Kaliane Bradley who share their best reads for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books.  The Book Show producer Sarah L'Estrange spoke to three acclaimed authors at Melbourne Writers Festival in the lead up to ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books countdown. Go here to vote for your favourite book of the last 25 years.Guests:Colum McCann is an Irish author of eight novels including Let the Great World Spin and Apeirogon and his latest is Twist which is a tale about disconnection in this hyper connected world.Kate Grenville is the author of over 15 books of fiction and non-fiction, including her Orange Prize winning book The Idea of Perfection, The Secret River and her latest book, Unsettled, explores the personal story behind The Secret River.Kaliane Bradley is a British-Cambodian writer and editor whose bestselling debut novel The Ministry of Time is a time travel novel about immigration, history and romance.Panel's top reads of the 21st century:Kate GrenvilleMateship With Birds by Carrie TiffanyAnything Can Happen, by Susan HamptonOlive Cotton, a Life in Photography by Helen EnnisThe Biggest Estate on Earth by Bill GammageCarpentaria by Alexis WrightKaliane BradleyNight Watch by Terry PratchettLandbridge by Y-Dang TroeungDrive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-JonesStories of Your Life and Others by Ted ChiangGrief Is the Thing With Feathers by Max PorterColum McCannUlysses by James JoyceTrue History of the Kelly Gang by Peter CareyA Mercy by Toni MorrisonAnil's Ghost by Michael OndaatjeHalf of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Aidiche(and Gilead by Marilynne Robinson)

Yellowface author R.F. Kuang returns to speculative fiction with her latest novel Katabasis, a campus novel set in hell. Plus Australian author Moreno Giovannoni's second novel The Immigrant challenges the idea that Italian immigrants of his parent's generation had better lives in Australia.While R.F. Kuang had a global hit with Yellowface — her 2023 satirical novel about race and publishing — Rebecca was already an acclaimed fantasy writer and she returns to this territory with her new book, Katabasis. It's a campus novel set in hell about magic and romance. Rebecca also tells Claire Nichols why she loves fantasy, why she has a "dumb" phone and shares her idea of the good life.Australian writer Moreno Giovannoni explains the background to his second novel The Immigrants (his first book is The Fireflies of Autumn) and shares his memories of his immigrant childhood, and the parents who came to Australia from Italy for a so-called 'better life'.

Russian born US writer Gary Shteyngart imagines a future America with strong parallels to Russia in Vera, or Faith, Adelaide based author Jennifer Mills' latest novel Salvage rockets into space after ecological collapse, and Geelong author Rhett Davis on Aborescence about people who want to become trees.Gary Shteyngart is the Russian-born, American-based author of novels including Absurdistan, Super Sad True Love Story and Our Country Friends. His latest book Vera, or Faith, is about a precocious child living in near future America, where cars have attitude and equality is under threat. Gary talks about the worrying parallels between the USA and Russia and the precarious state of immigrants in the country.Jennifer Mills (Dyschronia and The Airways) is one of the most exciting experimental writers in Australia. Her latest novel, Salvage, is a propulsive novel about sisterhood, space and what happens after ecological collapse. She also talks about wanting her books to be of use to readers. And staying with the environmental theme, Geelong based author Rhett Davis's second book Arborescence continues his fascination with trees that featured in his debut, Hovering. Arborescence is about a movement of people who want to grow roots and become trees (and they do, in their billions)! It's also about the absurdity of modern-day life.

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 Jack, former Aussie Rules Football player on his novel Pissants about the players who don't win glory on the field and how they get their nicknames.Florence Knapp's hugely popular debut novel The Names explores the power of a name. Starting in 1980s England, it's a sliding doors story about the seismic impacts of a woman's choice of name for her newborn son. Florence also talks about dealing with the unexpected success of her first book.And something a bit different, a novel by former Aussie Rules Football player, Brandon Jack, who played for the Sydney Swans (finishing in 2017). Pissants tells the story of a ragtag group of fringe AFL players making bad choices and getting into trouble. Brandon talks about his shift from football to fiction, why nicknames are important for team spirit and having Helen Garner (Australian literary royalty) as a fan. Read this article for more background about the writing of Pissants.

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 longlisted novel The Rest of Our Lives and Barbara Truelove's bonkers book about Dracula in space, Of Monsters and Mainframes. Amy Bloom is the American author of ten books (including White Houses) and her new historical novel, I'll Be Right Here, begins in wartime Paris and follows an unconventional, chosen family into the 21st century. The famous French author Collette has a cameo role too. Amy Bloom also shares the two things that matter to her most and why she writes about love in all its forms.Of Monsters and Mainframes is the debut novel of the Australian author and game designer Barbara Truelove. It's a genre mash of science fiction and pulp horror and is largely narrated by a sentient spaceship. The Rest of Our Lives is the 12th novel by British-American writer Benjamin Markovits and has recently been longlisted for the Booker Prize. It follows Tom, who's in a middle aged rut, as he sets out on a road trip across America and visits people from his past. Ben also talks about his failed career as a professional basketball player, the parallels between basketball and writing, and how a health crisis enriched the writing of this latest book.

Booker Prize-winning Nigerian author Ben Okri on his novella Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Broken-Hearted, Australian journalist Jana Wendt on turning to fiction with her short story collection, The Far Side of the Moon and Australian writer Thomas Vowles shares why he's drawn to challenging stories in Our New Gods.Ben Okri is a Nigerian born, UK based writer who won the1991Booker Prize for his novel The Famished Road. His new novel has the wonderful title Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Broken-Hearted. It takes us to a dreamlike masked ball in the south of France, a night of magic and mistaken identity. To attend this festival, you have to have had your heart smashed by love. Ben Okri shares the influence of Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot on his imagination and how he thinks of himself as a "listening board" as an artist.Jana Wendt is one of Australian best-known journalists and now has a new string to her bow. She's just published her first work of fiction, The Far Side of the Moon and other stories. While the stories, for the most part, are not linked her characters are almost exclusively older people remembering past loves, successes and failures. Jana Wendt shared with Claire Nichols why she made the shift from fact to fiction.Screenwriter and novelist Thomas Vowles talks about the pain that inspired his first novel, Our New Gods which is about a lost, gay young man whose longing to belong exposes him to deception and exploitation. It's set in Melbourne's queer scene, between share houses, bath houses and the pool and The Book Show's Sarah L'Estrange visits him in his own share house from where he "watches the world go by".

“Shimmering” and “strikingly new”—Siang Lu takes out the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award with Ghost Cities, his razor-sharp satire of the film world. With humour and absurdity as his tools, Lu boldly tackles race, racism, and the stories we tell (and sell) on screen.

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 Listeners and Laura Elvery imagines Florence Nightingale on her deathbed in Nightingale.John Boyne is the prolific Irish author of over 20 books including The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, The History of Loneliness and The Heart's Invisible Furies. His latest writing project is a series of novellas called The Elements with the books Water, Earth, Fire and now, Air. The four books are all connected by the difficult theme of child abuse with the latest - and last - instalment ending the series on a note of hope. John shares why this is personal territory for him and why he's found strength in talking about it.The Listeners is the first adult novel by American author Maggie Stiefvater who has made her name as a successful writer of young adult fiction. The Listeners is set during World War Two in the Blue Ridge Mountains in America's east, when luxury hotels were turned into detention centres for diplomats from Germany, Italy and Japan and where prisoners were cared for and served by American hotel staff. Maggie also shares her life as a rev-head!In her debut novel Nightingale, Brisbane author Laura Elvery takes on the iconic 19th century figure of Florence Nightingale who revolutionised nursing in the blood bath of the Crimean War. Laura has fictionalised Florence on her death bed at 90 when there's a knock on the door. The novel follows Laura's award-winning collection of short stories called Ordinary Matter about the few women who've have won Nobel Prizes for science.

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-up of their celebrated books.This year's shortlist features a book set in an Ancient Chinese dynasty, a collection of linked short stories and a debut by the first ever published Australian Tongan novelist. The works traverse topics of migration, home, rebellion and feminist theory and all are in contention for the prestigious $60 000 prize. The 2025 shortlisted works and authors:Chinese Postman by Brian CastroTheory & Practice by Michelle de KretserDirt Poor Islanders by Winnie DunnCompassion by Julie JansonGhost Cities by Siang LuHighway 13 by Fiona McFarlaneThe 2025 winner will be announced on 24 July.

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 Gladness. Plus, Esperance based author Fleur McDonald reinvents herself in the harsh WA landscape of Kalgoorlie with her novel, The Prospect.The Emperor of Gladness is the latest novel from the Vietnam born, American-based writer Ocean Vuong who made his name with his 2019 novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. His new novel, The Emperor of Gladness, takes you to a forgotten, rundown town in Connecticut called East Gladness which is a place of overgrown lawns and trampled weeds, of potholes and roadkill. Ocean shares why he thinks his latest book is self-indulgent (and that's ok), how he came to writing from business school and why his mother never knew that he dropped out of college to study literature.Australian novelist Fleur McDonald is 25 books into her writing career but as well as writing page-turning novels, she's also lived an incredible life and founded the WA organisation DV Assist which is aimed at rural victims of domestic violence. Fleur is based in Esperance - on the southern coast of Western Australia - but her new book, The Prospect, takes the reader inland to Kalgoorlie, a gold mining town, which even today holds tight to its frontier sensibility.

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 Want Everything and Madeleine Watts returns to a story of water and climate catastrophe in her road trip novel Elegy, Southwest.Esther Freud is a novelist known for her famous family as the daughter of the painter Lucien Freud and great grand-daughter of Sigmund Freud. Esther's family stories have fuelled her work from the beginning, with the semi-autobiographical Hideous Kinky, but it's not the famous men of her family who inspire her, instead, it's the women. Her new book, My Sister and Other Lovers, revisits characters from Hideous Kinky, as they make their way into adulthood and try to come to terms with their past.I Want Everything is the debut novel of Australian author Dominic Amerena. It's about an ambitious writer who wants to make a name for himself but doesn't want to do the work to get there. He thinks he's won the jackpot when he discovers the true identity of a fictional, great Australian author who went to ground after the success of her novels in the 1970s. He decides he will be the one to resurrect her career even if it means sacrificing his moral compass to achieve the fame he desperately wants.Elegy, Southwest is a road trip novel by the Berlin-based Australian writer Madeleine Watts, whose novel The Inland Sea was shortlisted for the 2021 Miles Franklin. This novel, set in the USA, is also about water as well as love, grief and climate catastrophe.

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 Yael, who also made the Booker shortlist last year with her debut.

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 his characters on an American road trip in Run for the Hills and Australian author Josephine Rowe on her moving and slender novel, Little World.What if the second world war had ended differently? This idea and more are explored in Catherine Chidgey's latest novel The Book of Guilt which is set long after the end of the war in 1970s England. Catherine is a New Zealand writer best known for her novels The Wish Child and Remote Sympathy which are also about World War II and she reveals her interest in this dark period in European history dates to her time at high school. Run for the Hills is the latest novel by American author Kevin Wilson and it features his trademark quirkiness and heart. It's about a group of newly discovered siblings who take a road trip across the US to confront their father for abandoning them. Kevin says the seeds for this novel were sown in his previous novel, Now is Not the Time to Panic.Australian author Josephine Rowe shares her approach to crafting a slim but clever book, Little World, which is about three people, seemingly disconnected over time and geography that's drawn together through a connection to the body of an almost saint.

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 dreams, insomnia, and crafting a plotless “space pastoral” that’s anything but ordinary.