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What is spec fic? Rebecca Lim explains

Have you heard of the term 'spec fic'? What is speculative fiction? If you're interested in reading some, why not find out more about the books that Rebecca Lim refers to.

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Jennifer Byrne Presents: Teen titles dominate! The YA publishing industry

The Young Adult, or YA, publishing industry has exploded in recent years. But what is driving this surge in novels for teenagers? Join a panel of YA writers as they explore why this once niche market has become a literary phenomenon.

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Radio National: Shakespeare sweated it!

Ben Jonson, a 17th-century playwright and critic, said of Shakespeare that 'a great poet is not just born, but made'. Enjoy this discussion between Phillip Adams and John Bell, Australian actor and director of the Bell Shakespeare company. They explore soliloquies, authorship and why Shakespeare came to be considered the ...

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Jennifer Byrne Presents: Anything's possible

What are writers of Young Adult (or YA) fiction seeking to achieve? What obligations do they have to their audience, if any? In this clip, listen as four successful authors share their ideas on these things.

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Radio National: Is the Great Gatsby 'tilting at windmills'?

Intertextuality is about the process of making connections, either consciously or subconsciously, and can shape the way we interpret a text. In this audio clip, explore the intertextual link between two classic novels: 'The great Gatsby' by F Scott Fitzgerald and 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. This clip ...

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Radio National: Lies, deceit and bad driving in 'The Great Gatsby'

Questions of morality are frequently probed by writers. F Scott Fitzgerald explores the human propensity for deceit in one of the most intriguing characters in 'The great Gatsby', Jordan Baker. This clip from 'Books and arts daily' on Radio National is one in a series of eight.

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Heywire: Life-changing moments: from basketball to guitar

Sometimes devastating events have a silver lining. Brendon Reynolds's life changed completely after a major injury during a basketball game. Hear how as you listen to his Heywire audio story.<br /><br />Could you write or record a story about yourself and/or your community? The ABC's Heywire competition calls for stories ...

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Jane Eyre: Fairytale and realism

Do you detect a hint of the supernatural in Jane Eyre? Professor John Bowen, Professor of Nineteeth-century Literature at the University of York, says, 'It is a novel with a lot of haunting in it.' Listen as Professor Bowen discusses the fairytale and gothic elements in Charlotte Bronte's classic novel. This clip from The ...

Audio

Heywire: Hip hop against waste dump

Many hip hop artists have expressed concerns about the world through their music. The Northern Territory's Kylie Sambo is no exception. Listen to her protest against the construction of a nuclear waste dump on her people's lands in Muckaty, near Tennant Creek. Could you write or record a story about yourself and/or your ...

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First Tuesday Book Club: The Australianness of 'Cloudstreet'

Could 'Cloudstreet' be the great Australian novel? Jennifer Byrne, Peter Garrett, Mem Fox, Marieke Hardy and Jason Steger discuss Tim Winton's novel, trying to pinpoint just what makes it a classic example of modern Australian writing. This panel discussion is aimed at people who have already read 'Cloudstreet'.

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First Tuesday Book Club: A moral minefield: Christos Tsiolkas's 'The Slap'

'The Slap', a novel from Australian author Christos Tsiolkas, created plenty of controversy when it was published. Why is it that some novels seem to stir people up more than others? Learn how the novel affected a group of panel members discussing popular Australian books.

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George Orwell’s '1984'

1984 is a novel by British author George Orwell, published in 1949. How has that period - the late 1940s - shaped the novel? What world event and its consequences led to Orwell writing such a dystopian novel? Professor Bowen claims the Senate House, formerly Ministry of Information, is the basis for the novel's Ministry ...

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Heywire: Fortissimo frogs frustrate family

How could words convey the nightly racket of hundreds of croaking frogs outside your bedroom window? Can you think of ways to engage readers' senses so that they 'experience' the frog chorus? A use of imagery is one of them. It's something we'll explore in this humorous story about the perils of frogs. Could you write or ...

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First Tuesday Book Club: The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' is a dystopian novel set in the fictional Republic of Gilead. What are some hallmarks of dystopian novels? What are some similarities and differences between this novel and another dystopian novel mentioned in this video, Orwell's '1984'?

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Ways to tell stories

In this video, student writers Noa and Francis discuss the creative choices they made when writing the short stories they've recently had published. Why might structuring a story as a letter be a good way to tell a story about a personal experience? Why was it important for Francis to use a first person narrative voice ...

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Wuthering Heights: Landscape

The moorland near the West Yorkshire town of Haworth in northern England shapes the characters, settings and events in Emily Bronte's novel, Wuthering Heights. Professor John Bowen reflects on the significance of the moor and the importance of setting to Emily Bronte and her sisters, Charlotte and Anne. This clip is one ...

Audio

Radio National: Was Shakespeare psychic, or just a smart guy?

Shakespeare's plays are strangely relevant to today's world. Could he see what the world would be like 400 years into the future, or is it just that humans haven't changed much? Hear Phillip Adams and John Bell (actor and director of the Bell Shakespeare company) discussing Shakespeare's enduring relevance, as well as his ...

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First Tuesday Book Club: Pride and Prejudice

We all like different types of novels. But how do we go beyond just saying a novel is 'good' or 'bad'? Discover what the First Tuesday Book Club panellists say about the classic and perhaps first romantic comedy, Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'.

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The Book Club: Is 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' a "perfect" book?

What makes 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' by Mark Haddon such a "perfect" book for many of the panellists? If you have read the book, do you agree? If you haven't read the book, do you think you would feel the same way as the panellists based on how they've decribed the book? When you think of your ...

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Heywire: Visits from a Christmas Island crab

Discover the lush beauty and extraordinary wildlife of Christmas Island, a tropical paradise in the Indian Ocean more than 1,500 kilometres off the Western Australian coast. In this Heywire audio story, Isabelle Bolland shares some of her experiences of life on Christmas Island and reminds her audience that there is far ...