Sean Williams, author of 5 million words, is famous for his hugely successful forays into the worlds of Star Wars, Dr Who, the Marvel Universe, but did you know he also writes ghost stories for young readers? ”Honour Among Ghosts” and “Her Perilous Mansion” are exciting, mysterious, witty and clever reads, officially for 8-12 year olds, but really for anyone who enjoys a rollicking adventure.

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It’s a case of “Art vs Mother’ in two “gloriously unhinged…yet deeply philosophical” novels celebrated by our special guest Associate Professor Kylie Cardell. In “Nightbitch” Rachel Yoder’s protagonist unleashes her inner canine to navigate the new imperatives of motherhood. In “All Fours” Miranda July’s heroine, also at a hormonal crossroad, finds a space to explore who she is and what she will make of her changing reality.

Guests

Sean Williams, author of “Her Perilous Mansion” and “Honour Among Ghosts”. He’s the NYTimes Bestselling author of 50 books and over 120 short stories.

Associate Professor Kylie Cardell teaches and researches life narrative with the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University. She's the author of “Dear World: Contemporary Uses of the Diary” and Editor (with Kate Douglas) of “Telling Tales: Autobiography of Childhood and Youth”. She’s also the essays Editor for the Australian scholarly journal, “Life Writing”.

Other books that get a mention:

Sarah mentions “Shantaram” by Gregory David Roberts.

Michaela mentions “Three Wild Dogs and the Truth” by Markus Zusak and Robbie Arnott’s books, “Dusk” and “Limberlost”

Sean mentions author Georgette Heyer, his own books “Ink” and “Impossible Music” and the series he co-wrote with Garth Nix, “Troubletwisters”

Nikki mentions Hilary Mantel’s books “Wolf Hall” and “Bring up the Bodies” and Anne Patchett’s books “Tom Lake”, “The Dutch House”, “These Precious Days”, “Commonwealth” and “Bel Canto”. She also mentions “Shoe Dog” by Nike’s founder, Phil Knight.

INSTAGRAM

@allenandunwin

@penguinrandomhouse

@aucklanduniversitypress

@adelaidesean

@raijoy

@mirandajuly

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As Mills and Boon Australia celebrates 50 years of taking readers on journeys of love and lust, Annie speaks with Barbara Hannay about her latest novel, "The Wife's Secret", and Michaela discusses medical romance with Amy Andrews, author of "The Outback Doctor's Surprise Bride".

Guests :

Barbara Hannay, author of "The Wife’s Secret"

Amy Andrews, author of "The Outback Doctor's Surprise Bride" and co-founder of the "How to Write Academy" (www.howtowriteacademy.teachable.com)

Barbara’s recommendations:

"Seven Little Australians" by Ethel Turner

Amy’s recommendations:

"Working Class Boy" and "Working Class Man" by Jimmy Barnes

"In Pieces" by Sally Fields

Annie’s recommendations:

"Yellowface" by Rebecca F. Kuang

"James" by Percival Everett

Michaela’s recommendation:

"Other Houses" by Paddy O’Reilly

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Amy Stewart paints a powerful portrait of the human passion for plants in “The Tree Collectors” with fifty different tales of people who, for one fascinating reason or another, devote their life to trees. The book is illustrated with Amy’s vibrant watercolours of the trees and their idiosyncratic owners.

Compared in his heyday to Brett Whitely, painter, printmaker, teacher, writer and ornithologist Don Binney (1940–2012) was an artistic icon in New Zealand in the 1960s. His unmistakable, stylised depictions of birds and the Te Henga coastline are imprinted upon the psyche of that nation. Don Binney was a mercurial, eccentric and often abrasive character whose early brief fame defined his life. In “Don Binney: Flight Path” award-winning author and curator Gregory O’Brien follows the painter from the wild coast of New Zealand through Latin America and Europe, using his letters, journals, and distinctive bird paintings to take us inside Don Binney’s world.

Guests

Amy Stewart, NYT best-selling author of “The Tree Collectors; Tales of arboreal obsession”, “The Drunken Botanist; The Plants that Create the World’s Great Drinks” and “Wicked Plants; The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities”.

Greg O’Brien: Wellington-based poet, painter and curator who has written books on art for young people as well as several other books on artists including Ralph Hotere and Pat Hanly, and co-edited several poetry anthologies besides his solo poetry collections. His most recent book of poems is “House and Contents”, Auckland University Press.

Other books that get a mention

Cath mentions “An Uneasy Inheritance; My family and other radicals” by Polly Toynbee and Shankari Chandran’s new novel “Safe Haven”.

Michaela mentiones “The God of No Good” by Sita Walker.

INSTAGRAM

@amystewart

@text_publishing

@aucklanduniversitypress

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