Colm Toibin is one of Ireland's finest writers, whose books explore issues such as Catholicism, immigration and homosexuality. His 2009 novel Brooklyn won the Costa novel of the Year, and his latest The Testament of Mary is a controversial re-imagining of the life of the Virgin Mary. In an extended interview recorded at the Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival at The Sage Gateshead on Saturday 3 November, Philip Dodd talks to Colm Toibin about his own life, his ideas, and thoughts on literature.