The Book Show

A mother escapes a controlling husband. But that is just the beginning. Nesting, the debut novel from award-winning Irish writer Roisin O'Donnell takes us to the next step, finding a safe home.  Also, English Ghanaian author Maame Blue, who now lives in Melbourne, on the struggles of uncovering memories in her novel The Rest of You , and in Love Unedited Australian author Caro Llewellyn explores a...

Award-winning Moroccan American author Laila Lalami imagines a world where the most intimate aspects of life are mined for data in her speculative fiction, The Dream Hotel . Australian Chinese writer Steve MinOn goes on a generational discovery tour with a corpse in his debut novel First Name Second Name . And Madeleine Ryan's The Knowing reflects on the anxieties of modern life and ambition.

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 far right. Italian author and translator Vincenzo Latronico chronicles an expat couple living in Berlin and their search for authenticity in an age of social media in his novella Perfection . Also, Diana Reid's Signs of Damage, is a gripping psycholo...

American writer Rachel Kushner joins Claire Nichols on the stage at Adelaide Writers Week for a conversation about the Booker-shortlisted Creation Lake , her latest philosophical and darkly funny novel involving French eco-activists, a bold and ruthless infiltrator, and a cave-dwelling idealist. Recorded at Adelaide Writers Week 2025.

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 of ruptured fibrous connections, its human cost, and repair. And Robert Lukins' Somebody Down There Likes Me takes an acerbic look at the downfall of a rich Connecticut family. Also, Jane Yang tells a story of female empowerment in her historical nove...

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 confront his past but decide whether to reveal his identity to the daughter he watches from across the river that borders the Native American Reservation of the Penobscot people.  A compassionate account of family, love, and connections, it also exp...

In this final episode of My Biggest Book, where prominent authors reflect on their defining books, Markus Zusak reminisces about the literary phenomenon that is The Book Thief . The story of Liesel, a feisty German girl who finds power in stealing books in a world where words and ideas can both save and destroy lives is full of unforgettable characters and magic moments.  Markus Zusak reflects on...

The Yolnu people of the Northern Territory had a fruitful trading relationship with the Makassar people from Indonesia long before Australia was colonised. Yolnu people would even visit Makassar, some never returned. In A Piece of Red Cloth , Arnhem Land writer Leonie Norrington, who has collaborated with three elders from the region, including Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs, evokes some of the stor...

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 difficulties of publishing The Commitments. A comic novel about a group of Irish youth who form a soul band, it's a brash and honest portrayal of working-class Dublin. It was rejected by numerous publishers, but Roddy persisted by self publishing. Th...

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 also set in the beautiful and rugged wilds of Alaska, with magic and an unusual love story at its core, featuring a single mother finding tenderness in the unexpected. But does this love come at a cost?

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 Bride Stripped Bare delves into the secret life of a married woman, her frustrations, longings and sexual fantasies with graphic details of her encounters. The woman in her 30s has mysteriously disappeared and her body never found. Like her unnamed chara...

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. The City of Night Birds is a meditation on the purity and pain of artistic expression but also investigates its purpose in a fractured world. 

In this episode of My Biggest Book, where prominent authors ponder their breakthrough novels, Emma Donaghue recalls her 2010 novel Room . Inspired by the famous Fritzl case, it's about a boy and his mother held captive in a small room, the only world the child, Jack, has ever known.  The book was shortlisted for the Booker and in 2015 the film version was released. That adaptation was also written...

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 younger readers. Some of his stories have been made into blockbuster movies or TV series. His latest, To Die For , features undercover agent Travis Devine as he faces his biggest challenge yet, protecting a 12 year old girl. At just over 75 pages, Sara H...

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 books. Hanif Kureishi's comedic novel The Buddha of Suburbia , about a father and a mixed race teenager growing up in the suburbs of 1970's South London won awards and was adapted to a successful TV series. Following the devastating accident that left...

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 for his No 1 Ladies' Detectives Agency Series, the 44 Scotland Series, and even books for children, he also writes standalone novels. Hear how he uses the seasons to write up to five books a year, including one of the latest, The Winds from Further Wes...

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 novels that changed their lives. In the first of this breakthrough series Audrey Niffenegger reflects on her debut novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife .  The 2003 book, about time-travelling librarian Henry and his artist wife Clare, was an instant bestseller....

Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan explains why finishing his latest novel Caledonian Road was like "landing 65 planes on the tarmac" and award-winning author Evie Wyld on her new book The Echoes, and why there are so many sharks in her fiction. Scottish author Andrew O'Hagan's latest book Caledonian Road (Faber and Faber) is a big in length and Dickensian scope. It's an exploration of life in London...

At Adelaide Writers' Week, Booker Prize-winner Anne Enright speaks about the contradictions at the heart of families. Anne joined Claire Nichols in front of a live audience to talk about her latest book The Wren, The Wre n. It's about a straight-laced mum, her-free-spirit daughter and the poet father who left them in the lurch.  Anne also shared insights about her other books including Actress, Th...

From Sydney Writers' Festival, 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 realist novels, Everything I Never Told You, and Little Fires Everywhere (which was adapted to the screen in 2020). Our Missing Hearts is set in a dystopian, near-future America, where anti-Asian sentiment has peaked, books are...

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 has attracted Barack Obama's attention and Siang Lu's ambitious and complicated novel Ghost Cities. Tim Winton shares the anger and frustration that compelled him to write his latest novel Juice. It's set in a future north-Australia where resources a...

At Adelaide Writers' Week, Melissa Lucashenko explains how understanding that "all history is fiction" allowed her to write her historic novel Edenglassie. Melissa Lucashenko is known for creating unforgettable, feisty modern women in her fiction. There's Kerry Salter from her Miles Franklin winning novel Too Much Lip and Jo Breen, from her earlier acclaimed novel, Mullumbimby. But with her new bo...

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 Cornwall AKA John le Carre, who is continuing his father's legacy in fictional espionage with Karla's Choice.  Irish writer Niall Williams is the the author of the bestselling novels This is Happiness and the History of Rain and his latest is already a be...

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 inspired by his mother's own diaries. Actor and comedian Steph Tisdell has added "novelist" to her resume with her young adult novel, The Skin I'm In, and Kylie Mirmohamadi's novel Diving, Falling is about a grieving woman of a 'certain age' whose life i...

Comic book legend, Alan Moore has renounced comics for novels and his new book The Great When uncovers a secret, fictional London. Rosalie Ham returns with a prequel to her bestselling novel The Dressmaker, and why Tigest Girma wrote a black vampire novel. British author Alan Moore has created iconic comics including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, From Hell, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. H...