In the Free Republic of East Australia where everything is just bonza and we all toe the line because whatareya a tall poppy or something?! Julian Ferryman’s been summoned home lest he lose his spot on Bass for his band’s sophomore album. Julian’s not returning alone though; he’s seen the world and the FREA doesn’t love outsider perspectives. Julian’s also seen the future courtesy of the new designer drug ‘F’, but once you’ve seen your future, where does that leave your present?

Evie Wyld is the award winning author of five novels including the 2021 Stella Prize winning The Bass Rock.

Max Porter is the critically acclaimed author of Grief is the Thing With Feathers and Lanny.

On today's show Tim Ayliffe is in conversation with the indomitable Felix Shannon!

Get your favourite bookish costume ready it's time to celebrate Book Week 17th - 23rd August

Rachel has left Australia and is determined to find herself in the world. When London fails to offer her the adventures she is seeking, Rachel and a friend travel first to Egypt and then into Israel. Rachel still feels unsure of herself, but surely somewhere in the world she’ll discover the person she’s meant to be?

The Echoes is a novel about trauma and the ways we deal with or avoid it. As she did in The Bass Rock, Wyld reminds us that we are not alone in time but that we must look to the stories that have come before us to understand our place.

Patrick Holland is a novelist and short story writer. He is the author of seven books, most notably The Mary Smokes Boys (2010), which was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award.

Jordan Prosser is a writer, filmmaker and performer from Victoria. His short story ‘Eleuterio Cabrera’s Beautiful Game’ won the Peter Carey Short Story Award in 2022. Big Time is his first novel.

Esther awakens in a strange room. Strapped to a table, hooked up to machines and with a breathing tube down her throat, Esther has no memory of what this place is and how she got here.

Oblivion transports the reader into a world far above the everyday.

It’s not nice being invisible but there’s also a lot you can get away with when no one’s looking.

Tom Edwards has spent most of his life running the farm by himself. He’s not well pleased that his kids never came back to take their place on the land as he wanted. Tom’s also dying and so he’s come up with a plan. His kids will return to the farm and build him a coffin, in four days no less. They’ll build him a coffin and they’ll do it right, or he’ll disinherit the lot of them.

Esther awakens in a strange room. Strapped to a table, hooked up to machines and with a breathing tube down her throat, Esther has no memory of what this place is and how she got here. As the days pass Esther is attended by a single woman. Grace is attentive but Esther is in no mood for mystery and in her disoriented state she struggles to understand her situation. Where are her children and how did she get here?

Jenna Lo Bianco is a writer, teacher and Italophile. Her debut novel The Italian Marriage came out in 2023 with Pan Macmillan, part of a three book deal. Today Jenna joins us with her latest; Love & Rome.

Xiang is working as a translator at Sydney’s Chinese Consulate when it’s discovered he really doesn’t speak much Chinese. Going viral online as the #BadChinese he is drawn into the orbit of megalomaniacal director/entrepreneur Baby Bao. Whisked off to the Ghost City of Port Man Tou, Xiang is about to star in the city wide production of Baby Bao’s simulation of reality, itself a strange echo of a distant Emperor and his quest to build a city and a dynasty that will carry his legacy into perpetuity.

The art scene in New York is one of the toughest in the world. After years of struggle Lally is finally making her gallery work; supporting emerging artists and paying the bills. Patrick feels like he is teetering on the verge of something. It feels like everyone in Sydney’s antiquities scene is suitably antique but maybe, with the right connections he can lower the age range. Lally and Patrick both know they have to prove themselves. That success might as well be a synonym of sacrifice, but maybe there’s more than just The Work…

Back in 2013, when I was just a little baby radio producer starting out on Final Draft some incredible books came out. I’d like to say I read them all but that would be a lie. Today’s book for book club has been on my radar since that time and so to inspire you all to dive deep into your to be read pile I’ve got Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites.

Victoria Purman is a bestselling author in Australia and the US. Her historical fiction includes A Woman’s Work, The Nurses’ War, The Women’s Pages, and The Land Girls. Victoria’s new novel is The Radio Hour.

The Gorgon Flower is a wonderful collection of dark and macabre stories. I’ve always thought of short story collections like albums or mixed lolly bags. The best of them have something for everyone but you’re probably still not going to share because you love it all.

Dana Gibson has more than a little on her mind when she accompanies her colleague Lachlan on a welfare check in the town of Killarney. With local tensions simmering, possible drug running through the town and an allegation against a member of the clergy things are starting to look bad. Then torrential rain breaks the banks of the river trapping Dana in Killarney.

The art scene in New York is one of the toughest in the world. After years of struggle Lally is finally making her gallery work; supporting emerging artists and paying the bills. Patrick feels like he is teetering on the verge of something. It feels like everyone in Sydney’s antiquities scene is suitably antique but maybe, with the right connections he can lower the age range. Lally and Patrick both know they have to prove themselves. That success might as well be a synonym of sacrifice, but maybe there’s more than just The Work…

John Richards debut short story collection, The Gorgon Flower is a wonderful blend of dark and macabre stories ranging from the historical, speculative fiction and the joyfully uncanny.