The Book Show

Episodi

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  Tim Winton returns to Cloudstreet while Holly Ringland pines for the 90s 14.09.2026 50min

  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 Feet. Cloudstreet follows the Lamb and Pickles families, who live under the same roof but move in very different circles. Loosely based on the two sides of Tim Winton's family, the novel's distinctive vernacular grew from the stories he heard as a child. In this interview for Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books, Tim tells Claire Nichols why the book's enduring popularity remains a mystery to him more than 30 years after its publication. Ahead of the release of his memoir, Songs from the Firefront, Tim also shares some of the true stories that feature in this classic including the heartbreaking story of his grandmother. Will you be voting for Cloudstreet? Vote now in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books.  Holly Ringland's debut The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart was voted into the inaugural Top 100 Books in 2025 and now she's published her third novel The World Beneath Her Feet. It's about the troubled past of a gemstone expert growing up in the 1990s which is significant to Holly as the last time teenagers grew up unrecorded without social media and a camera in their pocket Listen to Claire's interview with Holly about her second novel The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding.  We want to know what you think of Radio National's book podcasts (The Book Show and The Bookshelf). Help us understand what's working, what's not, and how we can make our book programs even more useful, relevant and unmissable. Please take this quick survey.
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  Why Helen Garner won't read Monkey Grip again 07.09.2026 48min

  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 Grip was published in 1977 and was famously inspired by her own life in 1970s inner-city Melbourne. It recounts the turmoil of living in share houses and being in love but also revels in the joys of bike riding and swimming at the local Fitzroy pool. In this special conversation with Claire Nichols for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books vote, Helen reflects on the criticism the book received at the time and why writing a diary (that others want to read) is an exercise in craft. Will you be voting for Monkey Grip? Vote now in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books.  Jordan Prosser's second novel Blue Giant is an unlikely reading companion for Monkey Grip; it's also about young people living in an inner city Melbourne share house, but this book is about millennial ennui and moving to Mars. Listen to Claire's interview with Jordan about his debut novel Big Time here (it's the third interview). We want to know what you think of Radio National's book podcasts (The Book Show and The Bookshelf). Help us understand what's working, what's not, and how we can make our book programs even more useful, relevant and unmissable. Please take this quick survey.
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  Top 100 Australian Books is here. Three Aussie stars pick their fave reads 31.08.2026 40min

  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 Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. The event was recorded with The Book Show's Sarah L'Estrange at Melbourne Writers Festival for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books vote which is now open. In the Top 100 Australian Books you can choose any ten Australian titles from fiction to non-fiction, kids books to cookbooks, history, biography or memoir.  Be part of the countdown and cast your vote for your favourite Australian books here.  Tune in to ABC Radio National for the countdown weekend: Saturday, 17 and Sunday, 18 October. Guests: Maxine Beneba Clarke is a poet, a children's book author and illustrator. She's also the author of the memoir The Hate Race and an award winning book of short stories, Foreign Soil. Her latest book is Beautiful Changelings. Nadine Garner has been on our screens since the 1980s and The Henderson Kids. She's also starred in The Doctor Blake Mysteries, won Best Actress at the 1988 Australian Film Institute Awards and appeared in many TV roles and on the stage. Omar Musa is a visual artist, poet, spoken word performer, playwright, novelist, short story writer and rapper. He's the author of two novels, Here Come the Dogs and his latest Fierceland won the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Listen to his interview on The Book Show with Claire Nichols here. Books discussed Omar Musa's favourites: The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay The Monster that Ate Canberra by Michael Salmon Tiddalick the Frog Who Caused a Flood by Robert Roennfeldt Strange Objects by Gary Crew Obernewtyn by Isabelle Carmody Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden Kim Scott's True Country The Boat by Nam Le The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher Koch Shadow boxing by Tony Birch The Monkey's Mask by Dorothy Porter Nadine Garner's favourites: Playing Beatty Bow by Ruth Park Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung My Place by Sally Morgan Dear Sun: The Letters Of Joy Hester And Sunday Reed edited by Janine Burke Burial Rights by Hannah Kent Mullaway by Bron Nicolls Power Without Glory by Frank The Women of Little Lon: Sex Workers in Nineteenth-century Melbourne by Barbara Minchinton Maxine Beneba Clarke's favourites: Tram to Bondi Beach by Libby Hathorn, illustrated by Julie Vivas Possum Magic by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein My Place by Sally Morgan Does My Head Look Big in This by Randa Abdel-Fattah Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta Swallow the Air by Tara June Winch Rock Flight by Hasib Hourani Chinese Fish by Grace Yee Praise by Andrew McGahan Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas Candy by Luke Davies He Died with a Felafel in his Hand by John Birmingham Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung We want to know what you think of Radio National's book podcasts (The Book Show and The Bookshelf). Help us understand what's working, what's not, and how we can make our book programs even more useful, relevant and unmissable. Please take this quick survey.     
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  The Big Little Lies sequel Liane Moriarty never planned to write 24.08.2026 40min

  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.  After the success of the Big Little Lies TV adaptation starring Reece Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, Liane Moriarty brings the story back home to Sydney with the sequel Big Little Truths. Set ten years after the events of the first novel, it's the same group of school mums but the focus has shifted from primary to high school...and there's a severed finger. Liane tells Claire's about the challenges of writing a sequel set in Australia, after the TV sequel was set in America and starred Meryl Streep.  Science fiction fans will gobble up Garth Nix's latest novel which features giant sentient mountain ranges travelling through space. While the Australian writer is known for his fantasy novels for young adults (The Old Kingdom series), he's just published his first science fiction novel for adults. Massif is about soldiers who travel on these mountain ranges to fight rolling wars between Earth and Mars. Garth tells Claire how his years in the Army Reserve shaped the book and why the characters drink so much tea. Tell us what you think of Radio National's book podcasts (The Book Show and The Bookshelf). Take this quick survey.
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  Slumdog Millionaire's Vikas Swarup wants to get your attention 17.08.2026 40min

  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 Jessy Wu's Good Intentions. Former Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup's debut novel Q&A was a hit with with readers around the world and was adapted into the blockbuster film Slumdog Millionaire. His fourth novel, The Girl With the Seven Lives, opens with a gun pressed to a woman's head as she recounts a tumultuous life marked by changing identities, slums, scams, and revenge. Describing the book as "Slumdog Millionaire meets Scheherazade," Swarup explains why he is drawn to attention-grabbing story premises. Speaking with Claire Nichols, he also discusses his belief that novels can help us better understand ourselves. Claire mentioned she's interviewed three former diplomats on The Book Show this year. In addition to Vikas Swarup, the other two are Ian Kemish about Two Islands and Miles Franklin shortlisted author Konrad Muller about My Heart at Evening.  From venture capitalist to novelist, Jessy Wu explains why writing fiction feels like coming home. Her debut novel Good Intentions introduces us to idealistic student journalists Nadia and Jake. When we meet them a decade later the reality of grown-up life, love and business has made things a lot more complicated. Jessy also demystifies the world of venture capital and how this novel allowed her to reconnect with her true calling of being a writer.
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  Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss follow up is about obsession 10.08.2026 40min

  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 Perth; their novel No God But Us is about two gay men in Istanbul and their dreams of a better life. Meg Mason's third novel Sophie, Standing There is an exploration of a lonely book lover who develops an obsession with a superstar author. Meg tells Claire Nichols about her own experience of fandom (from both sides) and explains her connection to Janet Frame's Owls Do Cry and the solace it provided in her own times of loneliness. You can listen to Meg Mason's interview on The Book Show about her previous bestselling novel Sorrow and Bliss here. Australian raised and US based Bobuq Sayed reflects on their life as an Afghan migrant and how travel helped them embrace their cultural background. Their debut novel No God But Us is about two queer Afghan men who find themselves isolated and looking for connection in Istanbul at a time when the number of refugees seeking asylum in Europe from countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan has intensified. Both authors share the solace of reading in difficult times. 
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  Omar Musa celebrates his 2026 Miles Franklin win for Fierceland 05.08.2026 22min

  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 Italian beads, vengeful ghosts and the sound of the Borneo forest in his award winning novel, Fierceland. The Miles Franklin judges described Fierceland as "a psychologically layered and storied reckoning with the world we have inherited." In this bonus episode Claire Nichols congratulates Omar and revisits her earlier conversation with him about the writing of Fierceland. Omar explains the family connection to this story of palm oil, deforestation and language.  Omar's latest book is The Vape Lord of Queanbeyan. He will also be a guest at the London Literature Festival curated by the pop star Dua Lipa.
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  Dave Eggers draws on his lifelong friendships in Contrapposto 03.08.2026 40min

  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 her novel The End of Romance.  Firstly, Dave Eggers is the celebrated author of the memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and his many novels, including The Circle and You Shall Know Our Velocity! There are also children's books and he's the founder of the publishing house and literary journal McSweeney's. But did you know that he's also an artist? His novel Contrapposto is about two friends in the American Midwest with big artistic dreams and what it takes to realise their ambitions. The book includes a number of nude illustrations and Eggers tells Claire Nichols why he wants to maintain the mystery about who created them. Then, Australian poet Maria Takolander explains how Elon Musk's plans for the Moon and Mars fuelled her debut novel The End of Romance. It's a haunting dystopian novel set in a future world, where a mother and son struggle to survive in an abandoned house amid societal collapse.
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  We've read every book on the 2026 Miles Franklin shortlist. Who will win? 27.07.2026 40min

  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 including Randa Abdel-Fattah, Omar Musa and more.  The Miles Franklin is Australia's most prestigious literary award. It carries a cash prize of $60,000 and the winning author goes in to the history books alongside previous winners including Thea Astley, Tim Winton, Peter Carey, Melissa Lukashenko and the 2025 winner, Siang Lu (listen to our interview with the author).  Claire Nichols and producer Sarah L'Estrange have read through all of the 2026 shortlist and are excited by what's on offer: there's a book that brought down a writers' festival, a Tasmanian colonial detective story, one with walking zombies, one where the forests of Borneo sing, a mysterious child saint in the Kimberley and one where dementia is the inspiration for the story structure. We discuss what we do and don't like about each book and at the end, pick our favourite. Who do you think will win? These are the six books on the shortlist: Discipline by Randa Abdel-Fattah (University of Queensland Press) First Name Second Name by Steve MinOn (University of Queensland Press) My Heart At Evening by Konrad Muller (Evercreech Editions) Fierceland by Omar Musa (Penguin Random House Australia) Little World by Josephine Rowe (Black Inc) You Must Remember This by Sean Wilson (Affirm Press) The 2026 Miles Franklin winner is announced in Sydney on 5th August.
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  Mick Herron and the losers, misfits and boozers of Slow Horses 20.07.2026 40min

  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, to discuss this famous series and his latest thriller. The now hugely successful series is about a batch of failed MI5 operatives, led reluctantly by Jackson Lamb, a grumpy, unkempt former cold-war era super spy. The mismatched group are shunted into a rundown building called Slough House and expected to eventually slink off into the ether, but embarrassingly for HQ, they crack major terrorist plots or uncover historic internal and political corruption.   The series has been adapted for the screen with Gary Oldman channelling a particularly gross Jackson Lamb; where did those dirty, sloppy gaffer taped socks come from? Mick Herron's latest in the popular series, Clown Town involves a covert op during the Troubles and a mysterious missing book.  Recorded at the State Library of Western Australia And Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival Event.
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  Spritz and bubble tea with Andrew Sean Greer and Naomi Ishiguro 13.07.2026 40min

  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.  And, as Naomi Ishiguro tells Claire Nichols she channels Japanese folklore, anime, Pokémon as well as themes of migration, slavery and corruption in Rainshadow Orphans, the first of a fantasy trilogy.     Andrew Sean Greer reveals how his time at an Italian writers' retreat lead by an unforgettable aristocrat inspired his novel Villa Coco. But he's quick to point out that Coco, the elderly eccentric Italian Baronessa of the novel is a vastly different character from the real person. The book's Coco lives in a crumbling villa in the Tuscan hills where a hapless young American takes a job as her assistant. But his vision of what that entails has to undergo a radical rethink; there is chaos, secrets revealed, grandiose visitors sweep through the faded halls and many misunderstandings and mishaps occur. Andrew also makes a case for writing uplifting books (echoing Ann Patchett who spoke with Claire on The Book Show recently about the importance of joy in her writing life).  Like her father Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro, growing up in Britain has shaped Naomi Ishiguro's understandings and connections with her Japanese heritage. As she describes to Claire her latest novel Rainshadow Orphans, the first of a trilogy of fantasy fiction is partly drawn from her readings of traditional Japanese folklore mixed with contemporary anime, and flavoured with a splash of bubble tea. But in creating the mythical archipelago populated with dragons, sun spirits, high tech underworld criminals and a cast of brave revolutionaries, she is also tapping into perennial issues of discrimination, exploitation, the impact of AI as well as corporate and political greed.  
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  Holden Sheppard brings footy out of the closet 06.07.2026 40min

  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 Boys. Plus for NAIDOC week, Kalkadoon writer John Morrissey tells Claire Nichols about his debut science fiction Bird Deity. Holden Sheppard's bestselling novel Invisible Boys was adapted to the screen and now its sequel, Yeah the Boys has a TV deal in the works too. The stories follow three teenage boys who love football and are also gay. In front of a live audience at Perth ABC, Holden told Claire about the joy of writing stories about same sex attracted men who love cars, footy and heavy metal.  In NAIDOC week, meet award winning Melbourne based Kalkadoon author John Morrissey whose debut novel Bird Deity uses science fiction to explore the lingering impacts of colonisation and trauma.  
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  Bryan Brown comes bob-bob-bobbin' along 29.06.2026 40min

  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 book. Bryan Brown has been a fixture of our screens since the 1970s but he recently became a writer too. In 2021 his first book of short stories, Sweet Jimmy came out and he's now penned two novels including his latest, The Hidden. He joined Claire Nichols at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival and shared his path to writing. He had the audience laughing at "hello". Claire also speaks to Angela O'Keefe whose award winning second novel The Sitter was told from the perspective of a painting. In her new novel Phantom Days, another object is a character, in this case, a book. Angela speaks about the importance of letting go after a book is published and how she found the "voice" for the book character in her latest.
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  Why Flashlight's Susan Choi can't stop writing about her dad 22.06.2026 40min

  How Susan Choi took her own family — and dialled up the tension — in her Booker shortlisted novel, Flashlight. Flashlight traces the fallout from the disappearance of Serk, a Japanese born Korean on his family, including his American wife and daughter. In the process, the novel powerfully traverses the intersecting 20th century histories of Japan, Korea and the US.  Susan Choi joined Claire Nichols at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival.  
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  How Maggie O'Farrell's inner 'neek' came out with Land 15.06.2026 40min

  Fresh from the Oscars for Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell joins Claire Nichols to discuss her book Land. Plus, Robert Forster of iconic indie band The Go-Betweens shares the musical influences behind his debut novel Songwriters on the Run. Maggie O'Farrell is best known for her novels Hamnet, The Marriage Portrait and her memoir I Am, I Am, I Am. Her new novel Land takes place soon after the 19th century Irish famine and follows an Irish map maker and his son as they take part in the first official mapping of the country. Maggie shares her personal connection to this venture and how she's now obsessed with maps (and identifies as a 'neek') and the Irish tradition of holy wells. She shares some Oscars gossip too. Before Robert Forster's (The Go-Betweens) debut novel Songwriters on the Run was a book, it was a song from his solo album, Songs to Play. The story follows a couple of jailbreaking musicians evading the law. Robert shares the genesis of the song and how it became a story he couldn't let go.
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  Yann Martel flips the script on a Greek classic 08.06.2026 54min

  In Son of Nobody, Yann Martel tells Claire Nichols how he reimagines The Iliad, shifting the epic from heroic legend to life as an ordinary foot soldier. Twenty-five years after Life of Pi changed his life, he also reflects on the enduring power of myth, storytelling, and why animals continue to resonate in fiction. Yann spoke to Claire Nichols at the Sydney Writers Festival.
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  Why joy matters in Ann Patchett's Whistler 01.06.2026 40min

  Bestselling author Ann Patchett joins Claire Nichols to discuss her novel Whistler and its unexpected take on step-parents, while Romy Ash unpacks her intimate, sexy and strange new book, Mantle. American author Ann Patchett is the bestselling author of Commonwealth, Bel Canto and Tom Lake. She tells Claire Nichols how her own experience of growing up in a large, blended family influenced her new novel Whistler which is about a reunion between a woman and her stepfather, 40 years after losing touch.  Ann Patchett is also a bookseller and shares the books she's excited about this year: John of John by Douglas Stuart and Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li. Skin, strange rashes, the climate crisis and salmon farming all come together in Romy Ash's follow up to her Miles Franklin shortlisted novel, Floundering. Mantle is about a woman who's travelled to Tasmania to care for her dying mother, meanwhile a bizarre skin rash is spreading through the population. Romy shares her love of geology and why fiction is the perfect avenue to explore this passion.  
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  Booker Prize winner David Szalay on the risk and reward of writing Flesh 25.05.2026 40min

  Why Booker Prize winner David Szalay once thought Flesh was a vulgar title and why he's glad he kept it. He joined Claire Nichols at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival to discuss his award winning novel and its complicated relationship to masculinity. With the fall of the USSR, the novel charts István's changing fortunes from his humble beginnings in Hungary to a lavish life in the UK. David also tells Claire about why his first Booker Prize award ceremony for All that Man Is in 2016 was so nerve wracking, but the second time around was much more enjoyable (winning helps).
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  Siri Hustvedt's love letter to Paul Auster 18.05.2026 30min

  Why Siri Hustvedt wants Paul Auster to return as a ghost. American novelist and essayist Siri Hustvedt speaks with Claire Nichols about her partner of 43 years, writer and poet Paul Auster. When Auster died in 2024 from complications of lung cancer, Hustvedt began writing in the depths of grief. Her new memoir, Ghost Stories, reflects on a life both with and without him, offering rare insight into their creative partnership. It draws on journal entries, correspondence between the two, and letters Auster wrote to his newborn grandson in the final months of his life. Plus, Lee Lai has won the 2026 Stella Prize for her graphic novel Cannon, marking the first time a graphic novel has been awarded the $60,000 prize. She tells Claire Nichols why she was surprised to win and why the project of growing up is never finished. Listen to the pod extra interview with Lee Lai, the 2026 Stella Prize winner here.
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  Lee Lai's graphic novel makes Stella Prize history 13.05.2026 11min

  Lee Lai has won the 2026 Stella Prize for her graphic novel Cannon, marking the first time a graphic novel has been awarded the $60,000 prize. She tells Claire Nichols why she was surprised to win and why the project of growing up is never finished. Running since 2013, the Stella Prize is an Australian award for women and non-binary writers. The judges praised Lai for her "elegant artistry" that "evokes horror and poignancy, shock and delight, and Cannon is an incontestable reminder that — in the hands of a masterful artist and storyteller — the very best graphic novels can do what prose alone cannot. And Cannon is absolutely one of the best." It's about Luce Cannon who feels her life falling apart as the pressures of being queer, a well behaved second generation Chinese migrant and a carer collide in an epically bad night at work in the kitchen of a Montreal restaurant.