The Book Show

Apr 13 2025 244 ep. 48 mins 665
The Book Show Podcast artwork

Your favourite fiction authors share the story behind their latest books.

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Gregory Maguire has another Wicked tale to tell

Apr 13 2025 54 mins  
American writer Gregory Maguire joins Claire Nichols in a rare and revealing conversation about the evolution of his Wicked series that inspired the popular musical and movies. Once again, with Elphie: A Wicked Childhood, Gregory draws on the iconic Wizard of Oz characters and settings, this time concentrating on the childhood years of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Also, m

Charlotte McConaghy on The Wild Dark Shore

Apr 06 2025 54 mins  
A small family lives on a remote island, the father a caretaker for the world's seeds. Then in the rising seas, a woman is washed up to shore. Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore is a mystery, a story of love, and a warning. Melbourne-based writer Sean Wilson offers an empathetic glimpse into the fractured mind of an elderly woman with dementia in his novella, You Must Remember T

Roisin O'Donnell and a woman on the run

Mar 30 2025 54 mins  
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 Llew

Laila Lalami, Steven MinOn and Madeleine Ryan on mining dreams, a walking corpse and a very bad day

Mar 23 2025 54 mins  
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

Bernhard Schlink, Vincenzo Latronico and Diana Reid on transitions, ennui and memory

Mar 16 2025 54 mins  
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 gri

Rachel Kushner on writing spies, anarchists and Neanderthals

Mar 09 2025 54 mins  
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.

Colum McCann, Robert Lukins and Jane Yang on repair, the ultra-rich and bound feet

Mar 02 2025 55 mins  
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

Morgan Talty on family, blood and belonging

Feb 23 2025 17 mins  
Penobscot 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

My Biggest Book 06 | Markus Zusak on The Book Thief

Feb 22 2025 37 mins  
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 Z

When Makassar and Yolnu peoples met, a long history told in A Piece of Red Cloth

Feb 16 2025 21 mins  
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