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The Book Show

British comic Ben Elton on the Aussie inspiration for writing fiction, and Miles Franklin winner Sofie Laguna on the collision of puberty and Roman mythology in her novel The Underworld. Plus the rules for reading Austen's Pride and Prejudice with Irish writer Colm Tóibín.

It seems Ben Elton can do anything. Since his first writing gig at 21 for the BBC sitcom The Young Ones, he's been a stand-up comedian, a TV presenter and a writer for Blackadder (and many other film and TV productions). He's also had a prolific career as a novelist with 16 titles to his name, including Stark. So how does he manage his ego, being edited and the constant tussle of new ideas inside his mind? He's just released his autobiography, What Have I Done? and Claire Nichols visited him before a gig at Perth's Regal Theatre to find out.

Australian author Sofie Laguna writes for adults and children and is a past winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award (The Eye of the Sheep 2015). Sofie has a special affinity with the inner lives of young people and her latest novel, The Underworld, opens in 1973, when the main protagonist, Martha is 14 years old and dealing with puberty. She's an awkward outsider but she's also clever and brave. Sofie tells Claire Nichols why she was so taken with this character.

In a Jane Austen novel, what does it mean if a character is in the Navy? Irish author of Brooklyn and Long Island, Colm Tóibín, has the answer and shares some "rules" for reading Austen's most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice. This is the second episode in our Dear Jane series which is a celebration of Austen's enduring legacy 250 years after her birth.

Ben Elton and the case for popular fiction

In a Jane Austen novel, what does it mean if a character is in the Navy? What role do aunts and silly characters play? And what's the significance of the lavish balls? 

Irish author of Brooklyn and Long Island, Colm Tóibín, has the answers and shares some "rules" for reading Austen including her most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice. 

This is the second episode in The Book Show's Dear Jane series which is a celebration of Austen's enduring legacy 250 years after her birth.

02 | Dear Jane — the perfectly plotted Pride and Prejudice

We're celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday with Dear Jane, a brand-new series about her life, her books and her legacy. 

In the first instalment, Roller Derby Austen fanatic and academic Devoney Looser busts some myths and explains why she believes Jane Austen was wild, not mild.

Devoney's new book is Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane.

01 | Dear Jane — the wild, not mild, Jane Austen

The British-Hungarian author David Szalay restrained novel Flesh has won the 2025 Booker Prize. 

The prize was presented to Szalay by Samantha Harvey, winner of the previous year's prize. 

Flesh follows the dramatic life of István from his teens in Hungary to being a social climber in England to a somewhat dejected middle-age.

Szalay says that while the book was a risk to write he enjoyed the process. It's obviously paid off as he receives £50,000 for the win and will likely see a big increase in sales of his book.

Pod extra: David Szalay wins the Booker Prize

Patricia Lockwood's latest book is the third exploring her inner state, just don't call it a trilogy. A call to all Jane Austen lovers with the beginning of our new series Dear Jane, and Markus Zusak on the wonder of books.

Chronically online American author Patricia Lockwood blurs the lines between fiction and memoir in her latest book, Will There Ever Be Another You. Patricia is best known for her memoir Priest Daddy and the Booker Prize shortlisted novel, No One is Talking About This. Her new book is inspired by her own experience of long COVID and what it did to her mind. She tells Claire Nichols about over-ordering at the Wendy's franchise, the connections between her three books and feeling well again.

We're celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday with Dear Jane, a brand-new series about her life, her books, her legacy, and why authors are still inspired by her novels. In the first instalment, Roller Derby Austen fanatic and academic Devoney Looser busts some myths and explains why she believes Jane Austen was wild, not mild. Devoney's new book is Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was voted in at second place in our recent Top 100 Books countdown. This year also marks 20 years since this beloved book was published. It's about Leisel, a feisty German girl who finds power in stealing books and was inspired by Markus's parents' experiences in Europe during World War Two. It's a novel of big ideas and huge creative risks including Death as the narrator. Claire spoke to Markus for The Book Show's series My Biggest Book.

Listen to the Top 100 Books countdown.

Download a printable list of the Top 100 Books.

Patricia Lockwood on Dolly the sheep and long covid

Become a Booker Prize expert and meet the shortlisted authors before the winner is announced in a ceremony featuring classic British pomp and fanfare.

These are the shortlisted books:

 • Flashlight by Susan Choi
 • The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller
 • The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
 • Audition by Katie Kitamura
 • Flesh by David Szalay
 • The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits.

The Booker Prize is arguably the most prestigious literary prize in the English-speaking world, the winning author receives £50,000, while the shortlisted authors all receive £2,500. Importantly, the winner makes history and joins literary alumni including Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and Peter Carey and can expect a sharp rise in sales.

The winner is announced 10 November.

Another book extravaganza that has everyone talking is the Top 100 Books countdown. Listen again to the highlights here. 

Download a printable copy of the Top 100 Books list here.

Who will win the Booker Prize?

The American elegy, Dream State by American author Eric Puchner is one of Claire's favourite books of the year, Australian crime novelist Jane Harper explores grief and loss in Last One Out , and we revisit Paul Murray's The Bee Sting which made it into the Top 100 Books countdown.

Set under the vast Montana sky, American author Eric Puchner traverses time, changing landscapes and the sometimes grim consequences of both small and large deeds in his latest novel. Dream State begins as a love triangle and sweeps across generations, encompassing many themes; from grief, guilt, long term love, male bonds, climate change, skiing and so much more, including a glimpse at a wolverine.

Since the publication of the The Dry almost ten years ago, Jane Harper has become a household name in crime fiction. Her latest is a standalone novel set in a rural New South Wales town that's been overtaken by a mine, forcing many people to leave and resentment to brew. She tells Sarah L'Estrange Last One Out is about Ro, who's returned to the town for her son's memorial and she's still trying to understand what led to his disappearance five years ago. 

And as a special treat we revisit a conversation with the Irish writer, Paul Murray about his book The Bee Sting. A contemporary family story, it came in at number 71 in the Top 100 Books of the 21st century. It begins with a disaster as a bride is on her way to the church.

Listen to the Top 100 Books countdown.

Download a printable list of the Top 100 Books.

An American elegy with Eric Puchner and Jane Harper on grief and the disappeared

The Top 100 Books of the 21st Century countdown is complete and now it's time to find out the inspiration behind some of Australia's favourite books with the authors: Trent Dalton, Hannah Kent and Barbara Kingsolver.

Trent Dalton's debut novel Boy Swallows Universe was voted in as your number one read of the 21st century. A coming of age story, it follows the young boy, Eli Bell, who has a missing dad, a silent brother, a drug addicted mother and a notorious criminal for a babysitter. The novel is made all the more remarkable for how closely it's based on Trent Dalton's own life growing up on the Brisbane fringe. Trent shares his recollections of writing the book with Claire Nichols and what it means to be voted number one in the Top 100 Books. 

American writer Barbara Kingsolver's novel Demon Copperhead is a modern day retelling of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Women's Prize for Fiction and now, it came out at number eight in the Top 100 Books countdown. Demon Copperhead is about Damon, known as Demon, who is just 12 when we meet him living a hard-scrabble life in Appalachia, USA. Barbara Kingsolver also calls this area home and in 2022, she told Claire Nichols about wanting to write a book about a new generation of lost boys highlighting issues of poverty, foster care and the opioid crisis in America.

Another debut novel to crack the top ten was Burial Rights by the Australian writer Hannah Kent which was voted in at number six. This novel fictionalises the life of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman to be executed in Iceland. It was inspired by Hannah Kent's own time in Iceland which she's documented in a new memoir called Always Home, Always Homesick.

Download a printable list of the Top 100 Books.

Listen to the Top 100 Books countdown.

Celebrating Australia's favourite reads with Trent Dalton, Hannah Kent and Barbara Kingsolver

Heather Rose found writing her latest novel challenging because it's partly based on some murky family secrets. The author of The Museum of Modern Love and Bruny Island among other award winning novels, has now written A Great Act of Love: an historical saga of murder, migration, transformation and enduring familial bonds. It has a surprising effervescent setting; making French style champagne in colonial Tasmania. 

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 second novel. Fierceland exposes the dark side of Malay politics and trade in palm oil, but is also a story of family and love.

Australian author Natalia Figueroa Barroso also draws on family and culture in her debut novel Hailstones Fell Without Rain. From single migrant mothers making a life in Western Sydney to women surviving and resisting political oppression in Uruguay, it's a multigenerational celebration of strength and renewal.

Heather Rose, Omar Musa and Natalia Figueroa Barroso on champagne, ghosts and the disappeared

For journalist and writer Nikki Gemmell her Biggest Book was a huge commercial success, but it had a sensational effect on her life and work.

The Bride Stripped Bare delves into the secret life of a married woman, her frustrations, longings and sexual fantasies with graphic details of her encounters. The woman in her 30s has mysteriously disappeared and her body never found. Like her unnamed character, Nikki Gemmell wanted to embrace what she saw as the subversive freedom of anonymity, when it was first published in 2003. As Nikki tells Claire, her life was stripped bare after it was leaked that she was the author.

My Biggest Book 04 | Nikki Gemmell on The Bride Stripped Bare

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