The Book Show

Tayari Jones, author of the Women's Prize-winning An American Marriage, returns with Kin, a work of historical fiction that illuminates the inner lives of two motherless girls growing up in the American South during the Jim Crow era. And former Survivor contestant Steven Fishbach reveals the hidden world of reality television in his debut novel, Escape.
In her new novel Kin, award‑winning American author Tayari Jones unpacks her parents' experiences living under segregation in the American South. The book follows two motherless girls whose tightly bound childhood eventually gives way to very different futures. Tayari also reflects on growing up in the post-Jim Crow American South and how reproductive rights have fundamentally changed women's lives.
Former Survivor contestant, Stephen Fishbach was the self-declared nerd and fan favourite during his 2009 and 2015 appearances on the American series. But he always wanted to be a writer and now he's released his first novel Escape. Unsurprisingly, it's about a reality show on an island but in this game, the stakes are higher and the producers will go to any lengths to create groundbreaking TV.

Your favourite fiction authors share the story behind their latest books.

A stolen kiss propels Patrick Ryan's American epic, Buckeye, which traces the loves, loss and lies of two Ohio couples. And Sita Walker on her inventive debut novel, In a Common Hour, which unfolds over a single school lunch break as a troubled but beloved teacher confronts his demons.
Patrick Ryan's bestselling sixth book, Buckeye, traces America's shifting social landscape from the end of World War II to the Vietnam War and explores the idea of the "kind lie". At its heart are two Ohio couples whose lives become irrevocably intertwined when a secret is left to fester for decades. Patrick shares how the story began with an unbelievable anecdote about his grandmother and he reflects on how his own experience as a gay man shaped the narrative.
Brisbane based English teacher Sita Walker brings classroom life to the page in her spellbinding debut novel, In a Common Hour. It explores the fragile bonds between students and teachers and the unexpected revelations that unfold over one lunchtime, when they scatter into the forest bordering the school and are forced to reckon with their actions. Read this profile of Sita Walker.

American author George Saunders reflects on why death is such fertile ground for fiction and how it shapes his haunting new novel Vigil. Plus, Australian writer Michael Mohammed Ahmad discusses writing through childhood trauma in his courageous and confronting novel Bugger.
Booker Prize-winning author George Saunders (Lincoln in the Bardo) talks about his haunting new novel Vigil. Beginning with an angel's fall to Earth to usher an oil tycoon toward death, the book continues Saunders' exploration of mortality and the strange spaces between worlds. Saunders explains the challenge of writing this novel and why he enjoys getting stuck.
Michael Mohammed Ahmad is a fearless Australian writer known for placing his own life at the centre of his work. He is best known for his acclaimed autobiographical trilogy — The Tribe, The Lebs, and The Other Half of You — and as the founder of the Sweatshop Literacy Movement in Western Sydney. Ahmad discusses his unflinching new novel, Bugger, a confronting exploration of child sexual abuse that draws on his own lived experience.

Doctor‑turned‑memoirist‑turned‑comedian Adam Kay makes his fiction debut with A Particularly Nasty Case, a medical murder mystery set inside a hospital. And Perth based author Jay Martin discusses her debut novel, Boom Town Snap, a story that shifts between the snowfields of Canada and outback Western Australia.
Adam Kay's medical memoir, This Is Going to Hurt, was a global bestseller and made Radio National's Top 100 Books of the 21st Century list. Now, Kay has released his first novel, A Particularly Nasty Case, a crime story that blends his medical background with fiction. Set inside a hospital, the book follows a doctor‑turned‑detective who might be one of the most unreliable narrators you'll ever meet.
Jay Martin's first novel Boom Town Snap follows Georgie from Western Australia to the Canadian oil fields in pursuit of her dreams and love life (mirroring Jay's own journey). All the while, she grapples with working in the mining sector as her values pull her towards a different lifestyle.