Booker Prize shortlisted Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma joined Claire Nichols at Byron Writers Festival to discuss his latest novel The Road to the Country about civil war in Nigeria.

Now based in the US, Chigozie Obioma's first two novels The Fishermen (2015) and An Orchestra of Minorities (2019) were shortlisted for The Booker Prize. His third novel The Road to the Country is about the Biafran War that tore through Nigeria from 1967 to 1970. 

At the Byron Writers Festival, he reflected on the idea imparted by his mother that 'stories of war are never complete', why she hasn't read his book and tells Claire Nichols what it was like growing up in a large family. 

First Broadcast 19 August 2024

American writer Gregory Maguire joins Claire Nichols in a rare and revealing conversation about the evolution of his Wicked series that inspired the popular musical and movies. Once again, with Elphie: A Wicked Childhood, Gregory draws on the iconic Wizard of Oz characters and settings, this time concentrating on the childhood years of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Also, meet Nuzo Onoh, who is described as the African Queen of Horror. An award-winning Nigerian British writer, her latest novel, Where the Dead Brides Gather, is a tale of ghostly brides and a supernatural child.

A small family lives on a remote island, the father a caretaker for the world's seeds. Then in the rising seas, a woman is washed up to shore. Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore is a mystery, a story of love, and a warning. Melbourne-based writer Sean Wilson offers an empathetic glimpse into the fractured mind of an elderly woman with dementia in his novella, You Must Remember This. And Chris Flynn, in his latest speculative fiction Orpheus Nine begins at a regional junior soccer game where something very weird is happening, and the world is changed forever.

A mother escapes a controlling husband. But that is just the beginning. Nesting, the debut novel from award-winning Irish writer Roisin O'Donnell takes us to the next step, finding a safe home. 

Also, English Ghanaian author Maame Blue, who now lives in Melbourne, on the struggles of uncovering memories in her novel The Rest of You, and in Love Unedited Australian author Caro Llewellyn explores a passionate romance between an editor and a writer.

Award-winning Moroccan American author Laila Lalami imagines a world where the most intimate aspects of life are mined for data in her speculative fiction, The Dream Hotel. Australian Chinese writer Steve MinOn goes on a generational discovery tour with a corpse in his debut novel First Name Second Name. And Madeleine Ryan's The Knowing reflects on the anxieties of modern life and ambition.

A story of finding family, Bernhard Schlink's latest novel The Granddaughter, examines the lingering impact of a divided Germany and the rise of the far right. Italian author and translator Vincenzo Latronico chronicles an expat couple living in Berlin and their search for authenticity in an age of social media in his novella Perfection. Also, Diana Reid's Signs of Damage, is a gripping psychological study of memory, trauma, and blurred morals, set in idyllic locations in Europe.

American writer Rachel Kushner joins Claire Nichols on the stage at Adelaide Writers Week for a conversation about the Booker-shortlisted Creation Lake, her latest philosophical and darkly funny novel involving French eco-activists, a bold and ruthless infiltrator, and a cave-dwelling idealist.

Recorded at Adelaide Writers Week 2025.

In his latest book Twist, New York-based Irish writer Colum McCann dives into the digital age, travelling deep under the ocean into a tangled world of ruptured fibrous connections, its human cost, and repair. And Robert Lukins' Somebody Down There Likes Me takes an acerbic look at the downfall of a rich Connecticut family. Also, Jane Yang tells a story of female empowerment in her historical novel Lotus Shoes, which includes the ancient Chinese practice of binding the feet of young girls.

Penobscot Indian Nation writer Morgan Talty's Fire Exit is a story of family bonds that go beyond bloodlines.

Charles is a white man who must not only confront his past but decide whether to reveal his identity to the daughter he watches from across the river that borders the Native American Reservation of the Penobscot people. 

A compassionate account of family, love, and connections, it also explores the complications that may arise from truth-telling.

In this final episode of My Biggest Book, where prominent authors reflect on their defining books, Markus Zusak reminisces about the literary phenomenon that is The Book Thief.

The story of Liesel, a feisty German girl who finds power in stealing books in a world where words and ideas can both save and destroy lives is full of unforgettable characters and magic moments. 

Markus Zusak reflects on the family stories about life in Austria and Germany during WW 11 told around the kitchen table and how even classroom writing exercises inspired a book that is still popular 20 years after publication.

And the entire series of My Biggest Book is now available on the ABC Listen App. Audrey Niffenegger on The Time Traveler's Wife, Hanif Kureishi on The Buddha of Suburbia, Emma Donoghue on Room, Nikki Gemmell on The Bride Stripped Bare, and Roddy Doyle on The Commitments.