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Caoilinn Hughes is an Irish poet and writer whose debut novel Orchid And The Wasp was published in 2018 to rave reviews. Her third and latest novel, The Alternatives, might be her best yet, and this week she sits down with Michael to discuss it. 
Reading list:Gathering Evidence, Caoilinn Hughes, 2014Orchid And The Wasp, Caoilinn Hughes, 2018The Wild Laughter, Caoilinn Hughes, 2020The Alternatives, Caoilinn Hughes, 2024
Enter Ghost, Isabella Hammad, 2023Long Island Compromise, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, 2024
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Caoilinn Hughes

Rodney Hall might be the greatest Australian writer you’ve never heard of. He is a two-time Miles Franklin Award winner and has published dozens of books of fiction, poetry and memoir across his long career. Now 88, Rodney has just released his 14th novel titled Vortex and it might be his best. This week, Michael sits down with Rodney to discuss his new book and why writing is always a collaborative process between author and reader.
Reading list:The Ship on the Coin: A Fable of the Bourgeoisie, Rodney Hall, 1972Just Relations, Rodney Hall, 1982Kisses of the Enemy, Rodney Hall, 1987Captivity Captive, Rodney Hall, 1988The Second Bridegroom, Rodney Hall, 1991The Grisly Wife, Rodney Hall, 1993The Island in the Mind, Rodney Hall, 1996The Day We Had Hitler Home, Rodney Hall, 2000The Last Love Story, Rodney Hall, 2004Love Without Hope, Rodney Hall, 2007Popeye Never Told You, Rodney Hall, 2010A Stolen Season, Rodney Hall, 2018Vortex, Rodney Hall, 2024
I Claudius, Robert Graves, 1934Claudius the God, Robert Graves, 1935The White Goddess, Robert Graves, 1948
An Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis, 1961The New Science, Giambattista Vico, 1725Death at the Sign of the Rook, Kate Atkinson, 2024
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Rodney Hall

Roxane Gay is a prominent American author, professor, and cultural critic known for her unflinching honesty, quick wit, and razor-sharp intellect. She has gained acclaim for her essays, fiction, and memoirs that explore identity, gender, race, and body image. This week, Roxane joins Michael for a conversation about what it means to be a public intellectual and how this has shifted throughout her career.
Reading list:Ayiti, Roxane Gay, 2011An Untamed State, Roxane Gay, 2014Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay, 2014Difficult Women, Roxane Gay, 2017Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, Roxane Gay, 2017The Banks, Roxane Gay, 2019Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business, Roxane Gay, 2023
Jazz, Toni Morrison, 1992The Source of Self-Regard: Essays, Speeches, Meditations, Toni Morrison, 2019
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
Roxane Gay appears at Carriageworks in Sydney, as part of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (24-25 August) and at Melbourne Town Hall (27 August), presented by the Wheeler Centre and Now or Never. For more information head to their websites.
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Roxane Gay

Elif Shafak is an award-winning British Turkish novelist whose work has been translated into fifty-five languages. She is a self-described “citizen of the world” and has become a notable public intellectual and human rights activist. Elif's latest novel, There are Rivers in the Sky, stretches across millennia, following a single drop of water. This week, Michael chats with Elif about her new book and why she is not just a storyteller but a silence teller, too.
Reading list:The Bastard of Istanbul, Elif Shafak, 2006The Forty Rules of Love, Elif Shafak, 2009Honour, Elif Shafak, 201110 Minutes 38 Seconds In this Strange World, Elif Shafak, 2019The Island of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak, 2021There are Rivers in the Sky, Elif Shafak, 2024
Orlando: A Biography, Virginia Woolf, 1928When Cops Are Criminals, Veronica Gorrie, 2024
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Elif Shafak

Eric Beecher is a news man. As a journalist, he’s worked for some of the most well-respected newspapers in the world, including the Sydney Morning Herald and the Wall Street Journal. As his career progressed, Eric climbed the media ladder: he’s currently the head of Private Media, which runs the website, Crikey. This week, Michael sits down with Eric to discuss his new book, The Men Who Killed the News.
Reading list:The Men Who Killed the News, Eric Beecher, 2024Woo Woo, Ella Baxter, 2024
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Eric Beecher

Alexis Wright’s 2023 novel Praiseworthy has just been awarded the Miles Franklin Award. It also won the Stella Prize and has been described as “an astonishing feat of storytelling and sovereign imagination.” In this special episode, Alexis joins Michael for a conversation about Praiseworthy and reveals why she decided very early on in her literary career that she wasn't going to be trapped in anyone’s box.
Reading list:Carpentaria, Alexis Wright, 2006The Swan Book, Alexis Wright, 2013Tracker, Alexis Wright 2017Praiseworthy, Alexis Wright, 2023
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Alexis Wright

Evie Wyld writes dark and often trauma-informed books, but she also has a remarkable capacity to capture the tenderness of memory. Her novels have been a critical and commercial success, with her second, All The Birds Singing, winning the Miles Franklin and her third, The Bass Rock, taking home the 2021 Stella Prize. This week, Michael sits down with Evie for a conversation about her latest book The Echoes, which explores how we tell stories around, and into the absences that define us.
Reading list:After the Fire, A Still Small Voice, Evie Wyld, 2009All The Birds, Singing, Evie Wyld, 2013The Bass Rock, Evie Wyld, 2020The Echoes, Evie Wyld, 2024
Only Sound Remains, Hossein Asgari, 2023Wall, Jen Craig, 2023 Anam, Andre Dao, 2023The Bell of the World, Gregory Day, 2023Hospital, Sanya Rushdi, 2023Praiseworthy, Alexis Wright, 2023
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Evie Wyld

Michael Robotham began his career as a ghost writer, working on more than a dozen bestselling books for people like Tony Bullimore and Geri Halliwell, before he published a novel under his own name. Twenty years later, he has just released his 18th book, a new crime novel titled Storm Child. This week, the two Michaels sit down together for a conversation about crime writing, truth wizards and what’s next.
Reading list:The Suspect, Michael Robotham, 2004Life or Death, Michael Robotham, 2014Good Girl, Bad Girl, Michael Robotham, 2019When She Was Good, Michael Robotham, 2020Storm Child, Michael Robotham, 2024
Stalking the Feature Story, William Ruehlmann, 1977For Life, Ailsa Piper, 2024
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Michael Robotham

Dylin Hardcastle has been publishing their writing since they were 21, having now completed a memoir, a book of YA fiction and two novels. In their latest work, Dylin takes the reader back to 1972, and across three decades, explores the parallel lives of two women, shaped by their contrasting experiences of desire. This week, Michael sits down with Dylin Hardcastle for a wide-ranging conversation about this new novel, A Language of Limbs.
Reading list:A Language of Limbs, Dylin Hardcastle, 2024Below Deck, Sophie Hardcastle, 2020Breathing Underwater, Sophie Hardcastle, 2016Running Like China, Sophie Hardcastle, 2015
In the Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado, 2019Voice of the Fish: A Lyric Essay, Lars Horn, 2022The List, Yomi Adegoke, 2023
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Dylin Hardcastle

Gerald Murnane doesn’t have readers, he has acolytes. The New Yorker described him as “the reclusive giant of Australian letters”. He’s written 10 novels, several collections of short stories and essays, and a memoir about horse racing. Together these books represent one of the most formidable and singular bodies of work in literature. This week, Michael drives out to the Goroke golf course to chat with Gerald on his home turf.
Reading list:Tamarisk Row, Gerald Murnane, 1974A Lifetime on Clouds, Gerald Murnane, 1976The Plains, Gerald Murnane, 1982Inland, Gerald Murnane, 1988Emerald Blue, Gerald Murnane, 1995 Barley Patch, Gerald Murnane, 2009 A History of Books, Gerald Murnane, 2012A Million Windows, Gerald Murnane, 2014Something for the Pain: A Memoir of the Turf, Gerald Murnane, 2015 Border Districts, Gerald Murnane, 2017 A Season on Earth, Gerald Murnane, 2019 Last Letter to a Reader, Gerald Murnane, 2021
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
Articles on Gerald MurnaneIs the Next Nobel Laureate in Literature Tending Bar in a Dusty Australian Town?An Idiot in the Greek SenseThe Reclusive Giant of Australian Letters
Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Gerald Murnane