The Book Show ABC listen
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Your favourite fiction authors share the story behind their latest books.
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Val McDermid and Jonathan Seidler on ancient queens and modern love
Crime writer Val McDermid investigates Scotland's most famous female character to reveal a very different Lady Macbeth. And Sydney writer Jonathon Seidler delves into the story beyond the happy ending and how breakups can define a relationship.
Crime writer Val McDermid investigates Scotland’s most famous female character to reveal a very different Lady Macbeth. Queen Macbeth: Darkland Tales is part of a series where well known authors find the truth behind the legends commissioned by the historical fiction publishing house Birlinn.
Jonathan Seidler is no stranger to the complexities of modern relationships. A Sydney writer, journalist and columnist, his work is frequently published in journals and newspapers. He has also written a memoir exploring his family history of mental illness. Jonathan's latest is a novel, All the Beautiful Things You Love which delves into the story beyond the happy ending - how break-ups can define a relationship. -
Banned Books 03: Danmei homoerotic fiction in China
Webfiction is a gargantuan platform for writers in China but authors of male to male fiction - known as the danmei or boyslove genre - are experiencing a censorship crackdown and some writers have been imprisoned for their writing.
This episode is about Occupied by Tianyi – a boyslove/danmei novel whose author was sentenced to 10 years jail in China for indecency in 2018.
Banned Books is a new series that looks at what's driving book bans worldwide.
Guests:
Liang Ge - PHD candidate, Kings College London and expert on danmei/boyslove culture and fiction.
Megan Walsh - author of The Subplot: What China Is Reading and Why It Matters. -
Pod extra — Alexis Wright wins a second Stella Prize
Alexis Wright has won the 2024 Stella Prize, for her novel, Praiseworthy. The novel is an Aboriginal fable, about a fictional town, a haze cloud, a haze cloud, land rights, global warming, and donkeys. Judges described Praiseworthy as 'genre-bending' and 'canon-breaking'.
Alexis Wright previously won the Stella in 2018 for her non-fiction collective memoir Tracker. She also won the Miles Franklin for her novel Carpentaria. -
Téa Obreht and Emily O'Grady on Balkan fairytales, nepo babies and wild creatures
Author of The Tiger's Wife Téa Obreht reterns with Morningside, a dystopian fairy tale, and Stella Prize-shortlisted author Emily O'Grady on the rotten characters in her novel Feast.
Téa Obreht won The Women's Prize for Fiction — then called the Orange Prize — for her debut novel, The Tiger's Wife and at the time she was the youngest ever winner of the award. It was a family saga, about doctors, death and the Balkan wars. She followed it up with a Western called Inland. With her new novel, Morningside, Obreht has shifted gears again with a dystopian fairy tale set in a flooded future version of what feels a lot like Manhattan.
The Stella Prize will be announced this week; it's an annual prize for Australian women and non-binary writers. One of this year's shortlisted authors is Emily O'Grady for her novel, Feast. The book is about an unconventional family meeting in a run-down Scottish castle and was described by the Stella Prize judges as a 'perfect jewel of a novel'. -
Banned Books 02: The Satanic Verses and the fatwa
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie inspired riots in England and book burnings in India; death threats, murders and a fatwa; and ultimately, a devastating physical attack on Salman Rushdie in 2022.
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Andrew O'Hagan's biggest novel yet
Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan explains why finishing his latest novel Caledonian Road was like "landing 65 planes on the tarmac"; plus a teaser for the first in our Banned Books series, starting in America.
Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan's (Faber and Faber) latest book Caledonian Road is a big one in length and Dickensian scope. It's an exploration of life in London — a world of intellectuals and elites, Russian oligarchs and human traffickers, rappers, DJs, wellness assistants and those who seek to shake up the whole rotten system.