In The Good Books with Luke Bateman

History was written by the victors and the wealthy— but Ariel Lawhon is on a relentless mission to resurrect the women they erased.

From an off-grid childhood reading by kerosene light in New Mexico to teaching herself how to write after leaving home at 16, Ariel shares the unconventional roots of her storytelling and why she views historical fiction not as a genre, but as an unflinching lens on human survival. She dives deep into the fierce, 70-year journey of Irish pirate chieftain Grace O’Malley, reveals the Dublin jewelry-shop breakthrough that sparked the novel's "Maiden, Mother, Matriarch" structure, and explains what it truly means to be a "mercenary" author who grips readers by the jugular. Along the way, Ariel touches on why history's deepest truths are found in the home rather than the war room, and finally, reveals the 800-page masterpiece she wishes she could read for the first time all over again.

Stay connected on our socials:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/inthegoodbooks_podcast/ 
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@inthegoodbooks_podcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you hold your ground when speaking the truth makes you a target?

For award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and author Antoinette Lattouf, at least one way is to draw upon the stories of all those who've done it before you.

In this episode, Antoinette unpacks the brutal reality of challenging power and the personal price of unflinching integrity - discussing her own battle against the ABC after speaking out on human rights in Gaza, and many other incredible examples from her book Women Who Win.

Antoinette reveals the books that shaped her, why a First Nations teacher changed the way she saw stories, how reading taught her to question authority and what effective communication really means to her today.

It's a conversation about institutional retaliation, mental health stigma, why women’s stories have so often been written out of history, and what “winning” means when the cost is high.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prepare for a peek inside the one-of-a-kind mind behind some of the most seriously kid-approved stories ever!

In this episode, record-breaking and internationally bestselling children’s author and Australian Children’s Laureate Andy Griffiths shares:

• How telling neighborhood kids fibs about his bath time led to his love of storytelling
• How his path to being an author first led to teaching and punk-rock
• Why iconic children's stories like Hansel & Gretel have a special blend of horror and humour
• The 5 Essential Elements of Children's Fiction
• How Andy still listens closely to his inner ten year old
• Andy's mission as Australian Children’s Laureate to defend endangered school libraries and rebuild long-form focus in a screen-obsessed world.
• How all his books (including his latest You and Me and the Gigantic Knucklehead) are always true stories (even if nothing true happens in them)
• How absurd, uninhibited play is the key to imagination and creativity for anyone

And much much more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luke becomes acquainted with this regency romance classic, with it themes, characters and moments, and what they all have to show us about modern romance today.

Stay connected on our socials:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/inthegoodbooks_podcast/ 
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@inthegoodbooks_podcast 

Thanks to Hachette - for the list of their expert readalikes for Pride and Prejudice and other Good Book Club picks, go to https://www.hachette.com.au/news/in-the-good-books 

and for more, visit www.hachette.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luke is joined by Shen Tao, the brilliant debut author behind The Poet Empress—a novel Luke proudly declares as his favorite book of the year so far! 

But despite being a debut, it was far from Shen's first work. In fact, as she reveals, there were many unpublished books before it...

Shen details exactly what made The Poet Empress different, the breakthrough that allowed its first four chapters to "flow like water," how dark themes of forbidden female literacy and systemic corruption shaped the narrative, and how ancient Chinese philosophy and different views of masculinity helped humanise her complex antagonists.

Plus, she reveals the books that most influence her life, and why writing to her is a true form of magic.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From relentless research, to battling book bans, to a career of 30 bestsellers and counting, Jodi Picoult is a literary force unlike any other.

In this conversation, Luke and Jodi trace her journey from reading at three years old and surviving over 100 agent rejections (and getting the ultimate petty revenge decades later) to the eerie 10-word postcard that inspired her new book, Hollow Bones, and a peek into what she's working on next. Jodi pulls back the curtain on her creative process—explaining the "tornado" moment when a book’s first line finally touches down, and the deeply personal reasons behind the big topics she chooses to explore.

Jodi also pulls zero punches on culture and society, exposing the infuriating inadequacies within women's healthcare, the true political motive behind censorship in schools, and her hot take on why she 'calls BS' on William Shakespeare. Complete with warm reflections on her legacy, this episode is a masterclass in craft, courage, and conviction.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sydney-based author Joshua Hortinella, after becoming beloved in the book industry for over a decade, has just penned Hate You to Love You, one of the most vibrant romance debuts of the year.

Josh spills wild behind-the-scenes secrets of bookselling—including the joys of stocking, heartwarming customer interactions, and mysterious boxes. 
He opens up about how queer representation helped him overcoming feeling like a "side character" in his own life, shares the emotional highs and lows of writing enemies-to-lovers dynamics, how his book was an accidental love letter, and why holding it for the first time was an experience so powerful he almost had a panic attack. 

But most of all, Josh shares his deep love for love itself, including rom-com nostalgia and why queer literature is for everyone, along with his top three recommendations for jus that topic... along with the book he is drawn to read every single winter.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pre-birth prophecy, a contrarian relationship to fear that pushes her toward her deepest discomforts, and years spent studying both the stars and the greatest monsters of our imaginations alike. 
These aren't the notes of a fictional character - this is the lore of V.E Schwab herself!  

In this incredibly candid interview, she tells Luke all about it, along with illuminating insights into her writing philosophy and her most loved works, including:

• How The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue contains her most personal character ever (that's not Addie!)
• How Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil explores not only her favourite monster, but one of her favourite themes
•  How she had the end to her her upcoming novel Victorious, the finale in her Villains Trilogy, from the very start - and exactly what we can expect from it.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are few more beloved voices in fantasy writing than Australia's own Garth Nix - with Luke accounting for a fair share of that love himself.

Here, the two finally sit down to discuss Garth's hesitant awakening as a writer, his process of using 'bad maps' to great novels, how his landmark work Sabriel was originally intended to be very different, his latest venture (and adventure) into science fiction with Massif - and even why he thinks that if he weren't a writer, he might well be in jail!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luke dives into his own personal "Good Book": Raymond E. Feist's fantasy classic, Magician. From picking up a paperback copy fresh out of rehab, to examining how Pug and Tomas's journeys inspired his own path to recovery, Luke shares why this epic story changed his life—and analyzes what it’s like to come back to it now.

Stay connected on our socials:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/inthegoodbooks_podcast/ 
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@inthegoodbooks_podcast 

Thanks to Hachette - for the list of their expert readalikes for Magician and other Good Book Club picks, go to https://www.hachette.com.au/news/in-the-good-books 

and for more, visit www.hachette.com.au

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.