The Book Show

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 book, Melissa has stepped into a new world. Edenglassie is about Brisbane before it was Brisbane in the mid-19th century when Aboriginal people still outnumbered white settlers, and everything was about to change.Melissa Lucashenko joined The Book Show's Claire Nichols on stage at the 2024 Adelaide Writers' Week.First Broadcast 1 April 2024

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 bestseller too and returns to his favourite fictional setting, the parish of Faha. Time of the Child is a feel-good book in which an abandoned baby is found in the run up to Christmas 1962.Nick Harkaway is the son of the famous British author John Le Carré (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold) but he's also an author in his own right. In Karla's Choice he's taken on the task of continuing his father's iconic character, George Smiley who's a spy at the fictional M16-like agency known as the Circus. In this book, Nick's created an origin story for Smiley's great enemy. He shares fond memories of his father and admits to listening to his father's audiobooks at university.To end the year, Claire Nichols and Sarah L'Estrange also share their favourite reads of the year. 

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 is about to get messy.What would you do if you found your mother's diaries under her bed? British writer, Will Self is the author of many novels including Great Apes, How the Dead Live and Umbrella. His new book Elaine is a no-holds barred novel about his mother. It's based on her actual diaries from the 1950s which divulge details about her mental illness and sex life. Will reflects on the ethics of writing about her diaries (he says go for it) and how his mother fundamentally influenced him as a writer. He also tells Claire Nichols that he regrets his mother never had the opportunity to read any of his novels.Steph Tisdell is an actor (Bump, Total Control) and comedian and now she's also a novelist. The Skin I'm In for young adult readers is about Layla, an Aboriginal girl in her last year of school with a lot to figure out.Kylie Mirmohamadi is a Melbourne based academic whose recent research has explored Jane Austen and Brontë-sister fandom. Her debut novel Diving, Falling is contemporary fiction about a middle aged woman who must reckon with her past after the death of her larger than life painter husband and learn how to forge a new life in his absence.

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. He has since distanced himself from comics, however, and today puts his creative energy into being a magician and novelist. His new novel, The Great When is set in the years after World War Two, and imagines a secret London hidden within the city. Alan shares his wonder about our endless imagination and his memories of post-war England.Australian author Rosalie Ham returns to some of her characters in The Dressmaker series which began in 2000 and was later made into a film starring Kate Winslet and Judy Davis. It was followed by The Dressmaker's Secret and now the prequel is out, called Molly. The action starts in 1914 Melbourne against the backdrop of the first world war at a time of uncomfortable corsets and protests for women's suffrage. Sarah L'Estrange visits Rosalie Ham in her Melbourne home to find out more about her creative process.Tigest Girma is an Ethiopian writer based in Melbourne and her debut novel Immortal Dark is about vampires, race and revenge. And in September the novel hit number one on the New York Times young adult hardcover bestseller list which is an amazing achievement for a debut Australian novelist.