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
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:
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
Vancouver by Matt condon ? a young boys recollections of his eccentric father and his involvement with a basket baller
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’
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.
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.
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
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 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
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 ?’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
