Podcast: Books and Authors

Shahidha Bari discusses EM Forster's A Passage to India with Neel Mukherjee, Elizabeth Lowry and Dr Chris Mourant.

ABSENT IN THE SPRING by Agatha Christie (writing as Mary Westmacott) (HarperCollins), chosen by Simon Brett
IN THE GARDEN OF THE FUGITIVES by Ceridwen Dovey (Penguin), chosen by Denise Mina
HIDE MY EYES by Margery Allingham (Penguin), chosen by Harriett GilbertCrime writers Denise Mina and Simon Brett join Harriett Gilbert to read each other's favourite books.Simon chooses Agatha Christie under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, with Absent In The Spring. It’s a story without any detective and one that, perhaps, reveals a more personal side to Christie's writing.Denise picks the novel In the Garden of the Fugitives by South African-Australian author Ceridwen Dovey, an epistolary novel which begins with a letter that breaks seventeen years of silence between a rich, elderly man with a broken heart and his former protegee, a young South African filmmaker.And for the occasion of having two crime authors, Harriett Gilbert picks a golden age crime book, Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham, where private detective Albert Campion finds himself hunting down a serial killer.Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol
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Johny Pitts talks to Kevin Barry about his new novel, The Heart in Winter

QUARTET IN AUTUMN by Barbara Pym, chosen by Samantha Harvey
MRS CALIBAN by Rachel Ingalls, chosen by Harriett Gilbert
PHARMACOPOEIA: A DUNGENESS NOTEBOOK by Derek Jarman, chosen by Darran AndersonTwo award-winning writers share books they love with Harriett Gilbert.Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio

Claire Messud, Kafka and Jiaming Tang

Historian and author Kathryn Hughes and No Such Thing As a Fish presenter Dan Schreiber recommend favourite books to Harriett Gilbert. Kathryn chooses Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes, an exploration of the French writer's life in the form of a novel. Dan's choice is very different - John Higgs taking on the conceptual artists and chart toppers The KLF. Harriett has gone for Michael Ondaatje's novel Warlight, set in a murky and mysterious post-war London.Presenter: Harriett GilbertProducer for BBC Audio Bristol: Sally Heaven

Octavia Bright talks to Maggie Nelson about Like Love, an anthology of essays which explore art and friendship and criticism. And a new prize for climate fiction.Presenter: Octavia Bright
Producer: Nicola Holloway

Sarah Perry talks to Shahidha Bari about her new novel, Enlightenment

Hari Kunzru talks to Shahidha Bari about his new novel, Blue Ruin

Sunjeev Sahota talks to Alex Clark about his new novel, The Spoiled Heart

Sinéad Gleeson talks to Octavia Bright about her new novel, Hagstone.

Percival Everett

Mariella Frostrup presents a special edition examining the rise of Young Adult fiction, with the help of three leading YA novelists - Malorie Blackman, Marcus Sedgwick and Gemma Malley.

Mariella Frostrup talks to Barry Humphries about his five favourite books, novelist Mohsin Hamid discusses Antonio Tabucchi and Christopher Brookmyre on what makes a good title.

Mariella Frostrup speaks to writers Peter Ackroyd and Kevin Crossley-Holland about the legend of King Arthur.
Novelist Philip Kerr talks about his new book Field Grey.
And writer Paul Bailey discusses the life, work and letters of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lamedusa, author of The Leopard

Mariella Frostrup talks to author of Brick Lane, Monica Ali, about her new novel inspired by the life of Princess Diana. Seventy years after her death, novelist and critic James Runcie assesses the legacy of Virginia Woolf. And librarians, listeners and writers defend public libraries.

Mariella Frostrup talks to Mann Booker Prize winner, DBC Pierre about his latest book, discuss Graham Greene in Africa and the Reading Clinic explores contemporary novels inspired by the classics.

Mariella Frostrup talks to American author Michael Cunningham, author of the The Hours, adapted into a film starring Nicole Kidman. Cunningham discusses his new novel, By Nightfall, which follows the story of a New York based couple.
Two novelists discuss second novel syndrome as the follow-ups to their hugely successful debuts are published.
And writer Joanna Trollope on the radio adaptation of Miss MacKenzie, her choice of Open Book Neglected Classic.

Mariella Frostrup talks to Orange prize nominated novelist Jennifer Egan about her book, A Visit From The Goon Squad. Writers Hisham Matar and Mirza Waheed examine how the experience of living in a region with ongoing political conflict translates into fiction. Children's author Anthony Horowitz and his son offer literary advice to teenage boys.

Mariella Frostrup talks to the bestselling novelist Ken Follett about his new book, Fall of Giants. It's the first in a trilogy of novels about twentieth century history, and takes in the outbreak of the First World War and the emanicpation of women. Also on the programme, Mariella is joined by the novelists Rebecca Hunt and Tim Lott to explore how depression has been portrayed in fiction. Plus, she finds out what shapes the decision to bring a book back into print, following a query on the subject from an Open Book listener.