Nadja Spiegelmanand , Jenevieve Chang ‘

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Hear author Jeneveive Chang as she recounts an exciting but also dangerous time she spent as a  young dancer in Shanghai in  The Good Girl of Chinatown , and Nadja Spiegelman will enter that fraught area of  the relationship between  a  highly strung  mother and her daughter in her memoir  ‘I’m supposed to protect you from all this’.

Music tracks : ‘I love you and let you go’ by Gyan; ‘Fire in her Belly’ by Trysette

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Nick Earls and Friends ‘Wisdom Tree’

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Nick earls is an Australian novel writer who has written over twenty books for both adults and children. He has won numerous awards  internationally and nationally  for his writing and two of his books ( 48 shades of brown and Perfect Skin  )have been adapted into feature films, and five into stage plays. ‘Wisdom Tree; is actually a series of five novellas, subtly linked through the characters and events.

In this podcast-short extracts from  Wisdom Tree’s five novellas are read by other noted authors:

  1. Gotham read by Liam Pieper ? Gotham introduces us to ‘nasty boy’ , the latest rapper sensation.

2.Venice read by Ashley Hay ? friends conspire to support another by the means of a casserole

  1. Vancouver by Matt condon ? a young boys recollections of his eccentric father and his involvement with a basket baller
  2. Juneau

5. Noho ? Yasmin Abdel ? Mageed 

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Rachel Craw ; Krissy Kneen –; James Bradley

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Today our edition has a science fiction theme .

In ‘Spark’ Rachel Craw has a group of teenagers, fumbling with their own emerging feelings and identities caught up in a  tale of genetic engineering  and superheroes, James Bradley  explains the title of his work ‘Clade’ and reads from the opening chapter when the hero has elected to go  on a mission to Antarctica, while Krissy  Kneen in ‘An uncertain Grace’ really gets our heads turned around with the idea of observing  the world through other people’s eyes- even their skin!

Music Track : Robotica by Michael Fairley from ‘Boy from Mars’

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George Gittoes ’ and Louise Doughty

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Today  our edition has a serious theme as two authors give us very different accounts of the horrors of war. Australian Artist George Gittoes has been present at so many wars I actually lost count and he corrected me when I was interviewing him. As a public speaker he is riveting His book ‘Blood Mystic’ is an account of just a few of the warzones he has witnessed and recorded, and of his life lived perpetually on the edge of danger. Louise Doughty’s book ‘ Black Water’ is a novel, but it is based on extensive research she made into  Jakarta’s dark history. There is strong language used in this edition and adult themes.

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Jesse Blackadder and Ashley Hay

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JESSE BLACKADDER ? 60 SECONDS; ASHLEY HAY ? 100 SMALL LESSONS

Our two authors today have set their work in tropical areas, and it is this ‘sense of place’ that imbues their characters trajectory.

 In Jesse Blackadder’s ‘ 60 Seconds’ ? a move from Tasmania to the Northern rivers of NSW  provides the backdrop to a family tragedy, while in Ashley Hay’s ‘ 100 small lessons’ the character of Lucy  has moved from Sydney to Brisbane. Both these novels are about coping with  loss and change.

Music tracks:’Vulnerable ?Angie Hudson;

‘When I get There’ ? Lucie Thorne

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Lance Balchin ‘Mechanica’ ; Jack Heath – ‘The Cut Out’ ; Fleur Ferris – ‘Black’

Episode seventeen:Lance Balchin ‘Mechanica’ ; Jack Heath – ‘The Cut Out’ ; Fleur Ferris – ‘Black’

   

         

This week three  fabulous authors who are classed as ‘Young Adult’- which means really, anyone over the ages of 14 will enjoy them. Lance Balchin reads from ‘Mechanica’ – of a  world without insects and animals, Jack Heath’s ‘The Cut Out’ , his  protagonist also inhabits a future world, one where he is forced to act as double  for the good of the government, while Fleur Ferris in ‘Black’ explores that classic stage set- the reputed ‘haunted house’.

Music track:‘Call the Police’ by Robert Childs from ‘Elastic Band’

Mark Balchin and Fleur Ferris were recorded at the Somerset Festival of Youth Literature  2017 and Jack Heath was recorded at Sydney Writers Festival 2017

Keenan Malik- ‘From Fatwah to Jihad’

Episode sixteen: Keenan Malik- ‘From Fatwah to Jihad’

   

Keenan Malik is an Indian-born British writer, lecturer and broadcaster, trained in neurobiology and the history of science . he is also a writer, lecturer and broadcaster and a  presenter of Analysis, BBC Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme and a panelist on the Moral Maze.

It is 20 years since the late Ayatollah Khomeini declared that everyone involved in the publication and sale of Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses should be killed. Keenan Malik’s book FROM FATWAH TO JIHAD – The Rushdie Affair and Its Aftermath attempts to understand the legacy of its publication  and questions the  notions of political correctness it has led us into in our debates about cultural differences.

Keenan opened our interview by explaining the context for his book and the significance of its publication date. Because it is such  an important  and complex issue , Keenan’s read and interview will be our whole show this week.

Music Track : ‘ Bollyrock ‘by Fourplay from Cd ‘Now to   the Future’

Keenan Malik was recorded at the Byron Writers Festival 2017

Keenan Malik- ‘From Fatwah to Jihad’

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Keenan Malik- ‘From Fatwah to Jihad’

Keenan Malik is an Indian-born British writer, lecturer and broadcaster, trained in neurobiology and the history of science . he is also a writer, lecturer and broadcaster and a  presenter of Analysis, BBC Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme and a panelist on the Moral Maze.

It is 20 years since the late Ayatollah Khomeini declared that everyone involved in the publication and sale of Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses should be killed. Keenan Malik’s book FROM FATWAH TO JIHAD – The Rushdie Affair and Its Aftermath attempts to understand the legacy of its publication  and questions the  notions of political correctness it has led us into in our debates about cultural differences

Check out this episode!

A little romance and a lot of adventure for the holidays!

Episode fifteen:Lesley Truffle –‘The Fabulous  Hotel du Barry ‘ &’The Scandalous Life of  Sacher Torte’ and  Cassandra Dean –‘Silk and Scars’

      

  

Two authors and three novels in this edition. Romance but really adult fiction and wonderful escapist stuff for the holidays. Lesley Truffle’s novels are set in  olden Tasmania and in her interview she tells me why  while Cassandra Dean sets her heroine in that wonderful standby for creepy Georgian carryings on – the Moors of England !

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Featured music track: ‘Silvermines’ by Shane Howard from ‘Clan’.

Lesley Truffle and Cassandra Dean recorded in Melbourne 2017

Lesley Truffle and Cassandra Dean

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Lesley Truffle ?’The Fabulous  Hotel du Barry and ‘The Scandalous Life of  Sacher Torte’ with  Cassandra Dean ?’Silk and Scars’

Two fabulous romance/adult/fiction writers to while away the holidays.

Lesley Truffle’s heroines are feisty and lusty, and never say die no matter how grim the situation. Cassandra Dean’s heroine is a poor scribe who becomes involved with a mysterious scarred, Duke. Well written and good escapist fun!

Lesley and Cassandra read a short passage from their novels and then give us an insight to their working processes. Interviwed by the award winning broadcaster, Karena Wynn-Moylan

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