One of the highlights of the 2016 Adelaide Writers Week – a fiery conversation about the English poet Ted Hughes.

We meet Libyan writer Hisham Matar, whose new book is a powerful, unflinching account of his struggle to find out what happened to his father, who disappeared during the dictatorship of Colonel Gaddafi; Claire Cunningham on her unique dance pieces, which incorporate the crutches she's used since she was 14 years old; and Bangarra's new work about kinship and family.

Richard Roxburgh on Cleaver Greene, Chekhov, and writing for kids; then we unpack Cry the Beloved Country by South African writer Alan Paton, one of the most admired and acclaimed novels in South African literature; and we remember the Australian writer Cory Taylor, who died last year.

A feisty conversation with Angela Flournoy, Emily Maguire, Rosalyn D'Mello and Celeste Liddle on feminism and writing, live from the Melbourne Writers Festival.

A very tender conversation with poet Dennis Haskell, about his book Ahead of Us, a collection of poems which documents his experience of his wife dying from cancer. And we meet the much-loved Australian children’s author and illustrator, Jeannie Baker, who followed a long-legged wading bird to Alaska, China and South Korea for her new book, Circle.

Irish author Maggie O'Farrell discusses her complex and technically inventive new novel about a perfect marriage that goes off course; Pulitzer prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee discusses his new book on the great frenemies of modern art; a new book on the history of Perth's beautiful art deco cinemas; and Hanya Yanagihara on her masterpiece.

A 2016 Sydney Writers' Festival special: a conversation with Jamaican writer Marlon James, whose novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, won the Man Booker Prize for fiction.

Zombie expert Roger Luckhurst joins us for a wide ranging discussion on the cultural history of the Zombie; writer Stefan Hertmans on his Flemish World War I story; a new play, devised by artists and former prisoners, that asks us to re-examine our understanding of the criminal justice system; and David Crystal, a leading historian of the English language, explains the history of commas, apostrophes and semicolons.

We go on an art detective story in pursuit of a lost painting by the Spanish artist Velazquez; Sam Neil on his latest Kiwi film, The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, set in the wild New Zealand landscape; Lally Katz puts the spotlight on her parents in her latest plat and Meg Rosoff's canine inspired rom-com.

Jonathan Franzen discusses his latest novel, Purity, in a special hour length public conversation from the Brisbane Powerhouse.