Your favourite fiction authors share the story behind their latest books.
Latest episodes
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55 min
The Top 100 Australian Books afterparty
You voted, we counted and now we know: Tim Winton's Cloudstreet is our favourite-ever Australian book. In this Top 100 Australian Books afterparty we relive the highs, the lows and…
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2 min
INTRODUCING — The Agatha Christie Murder Club
Before Knives Out, escape rooms and true-crime podcasts, there was Agatha Christie. The 'Queen of Crime' perfected the murder-mystery format and, 50 years after her death, we still…
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41 min
Min Jin Lee and Bonnie Garmus: After Pachinko and Lessons in Chemistry
The surprising Australian links in Min Jin Lee's latest novel American Hagwon. And Bonnie Garmus stresses the importance of poetry in Peck and Peck, the follow up to Lessons in Che…
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21 min
Jeffrey Archer's final Australian interview
Conservative politician and bestselling author, Jeffrey Archer has died at 86. In one of the final interviews of his life, he recounts how his changing financial, personal and poli…
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41 min
Shaun Micallef gets silly
Why Shaun Micallef's latest novel DeAth Takes a Holiday features a cast of gothic characters including a vampire suffering from ennui, zombie slaves and the resurrection of the ske…
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44 min
Geraldine Brooks on 25 years of wonder and Zoe Foster Blake's girlfriend getaways
Geraldine Brooks explains how she stumbled across the story that inspired her 17th century plague novel, Year of Wonders and Zoe Foster Blake channels her favourite getaways and st…
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46 min
Kim Scott and Kate Grenville went to the library, and came away with a story
Kim Scott was so disturbed by how Noongar people were depicted in the Western Australian archive that he wrote Benang: From the Heart. Plus Kate Grenville explains the origins of h…
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51 min
Tim Winton returns to Cloudstreet while Holly Ringland pines for the 90s
Tim Winton explains why his beloved Cloudstreet is not a nostalgic novel, while Holly Ringland admits she was "nostalgia sick" for the 1990s while writing The World Beneath Her Fee…
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49 min
Why Helen Garner won't read Monkey Grip again
Helen Garner finds it painful to think back to the time when she wrote her autobiographical novel, Monkey Grip, about a young mum and her love affair with a heroin addict.Monkey Gr…
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41 min
Top 100 Australian Books is here. Three Aussie stars pick their fave reads
Omar Musa, Maxine Beneba Clarke and Nadine Garner share the Australian books that shaped their reading life. Find out what they want to do with problematic classics like My Brillia…
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41 min
The Big Little Lies sequel Liane Moriarty never planned to write
Liane Moriarty reveals why she finally wrote the Big Little Lies sequel after being very resistant. And Garth Nix combines mystery with science fiction in his latest novel, Massif.…
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41 min
Slumdog Millionaire's Vikas Swarup wants to get your attention
Indian author Vikas Swarup explains the key to his success with Slumdog Millionaire; he believes his new book has a winning premise too. Plus venture capitalist turned novelist Jes…
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41 min
Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss follow up is about obsession
In Sophie, Standing There bestselling author Meg Mason channels the good and bad of writers' festivals and author fandom. Plus, Bobuq Sayed's journey from Afghanistan to the US via…
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23 min
Omar Musa celebrates his 2026 Miles Franklin win for Fierceland
Discover why the forests sing in Fierceland, Omar Musa's Miles Franklin Literary Award winning novel.Poet, visual artist, hip-hop musician and author Omar Musa finds magic in Itali…
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41 min
Dave Eggers draws on his lifelong friendships in Contrapposto
Why American author Dave Eggers' new novel Contrapposto has taken over 20 years to write. Plus Australian writer Maria Takolander explains the link between Elon Musk, her son and h…
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41 min
We've read every book on the 2026 Miles Franklin shortlist. Who will win?
From hopping zombies to singing forests and a lot of queer characters, we break down the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist and pick our favourites from strong contenders…
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41 min
Mick Herron and the losers, misfits and boozers of Slow Horses
Mick Herron reveals how the first of his Slow Horses series almost didn't get published. He joined Claire Nichols and a packed audience at the State Library of Western Australia, t…
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41 min
Spritz and bubble tea with Andrew Sean Greer and Naomi Ishiguro
Pulitzer Prize-winner Andrew Sean Greer makes the case for the 'charm novel' with his latest, Villa Coco, about an eccentric Italian baroness and a young American in rural Tuscany.…
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41 min
Holden Sheppard brings footy out of the closet
Holden Sheppard grew up gay and closeted in the regional town of Geraldton, WA and now he writes characters like himself into his award winning books — Invisible Boys and Yeah the…
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41 min
Bryan Brown comes bob-bob-bobbin' along
Settle in for some classic storytelling with actor Bryan Brown who's written his third novel, Hidden. Plus Angela O'Keefe tells Claire Nichols about Phantom Days, a book about a bo…