Books and Authors

DJ Taylor talks to Barry Unsworth, who shared the 1992 Booker Prize for his historical novel Sacred Hunger, about his sequel The Quality of Mercy. Indian-born novelist Anita Desai discusses her latest book The Artist of Disappearance, a trio of novellas. And literary critic Peter Kemp traces the history of the novella.

D J Taylor talks to Joe Dunthorne about his newly-published second novel Wild Abandon. Susie Harries, talks about the writing of The Buildings of England, and two architectural writers, Jonathan Glancey and Hugh Pearman, reflect on the quirks that make this magnum opus such a pleasure to read. And the novelist Adam Thirlwell explains his passion for Petersburg, a strange and wonderful book by the Russian writer Andrei Bely, set in the city of the same name.

Crime writer Dreda Say Mitchell talks to Ruth Rendell about "Vault", her 23rd Inspector Wexford novel. They are joined by Newcastle born writer Martyn Waites to discuss how writers write the city in their books. And critic Michael Carlson profiles Ira Levin author of Rosemary's Baby,The Stepford Wives, A Kiss Before Dying and The Boys From Brazil.

In the final part of her history of women's writing Mariella Frostup considers developments in female fiction since the publication of Bridge Jones's Diary in 1996. What is the state of writing by women a century after women achieved emancipation? Is the idea of women's writing outmoded now, where does `chick lit' fit in, and is feminism a concept which young female novelists consider central to their work? The programme also asks whether the literary establishment itself is suffering from gender bias.

Harriett Gilbert talks to Alexander Waugh and Xanthe Clay about their favourite books.

In the third instalment of her history of women's twentieth-century writing, A Book of One's Own, Mariella investigates the era of sexual liberation in the 1960s & 70s and how it ignited feminist fiction. She also traces the explosion in feminist literary theory. And as this year's Harrogate Crime Writing Festival ends, Mariella asks if the genre has become too gory.

Harriett Gilbert talks to Raymond Tallis and Allegra Stratton about their favourite books.

Mariella presents the second part of her series examining the history of women's writing in the last hundred years. This week, she explores fiction of the 1930s and 40s - a time when the vote had been won but sexual inequality was still rife. Plus as the bicentenary of William Makepeace Thackeray's birth approaches, comedian Al Murray tells us about his great, great, great grandfather and why Vanity Fair is still as relevant today as it was when it was first written in 1848.

Satirical writer John O'Farrell and historian Juliet Barker talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books - all of which use an unusual blend of fact and fiction. They evoke the lives of the Brontes, the worst civilian disaster of World War II and the British mandate in Palestine.

Mariella presents the first in a four part series examining the history of women's writing in the last hundred years. In A Book of One's Own: How Women Wrote The Twentieth Century, she speaks to leading novelists, critics and publishers to trace the evolution of women's emancipation in fiction. Part 1 explores the literature of the suffrage movement with the aid of Shirley Williams - daughter of the iconic feminist author Vera Brittain - and asks why the names of so many groundbreaking suffrage writers have been erased from our literary history. Also, Ross Raisin, author of God's Own Country, discusses his new book Waterline.

Fay Weldon and Louise Welsh talk to Harriett Gilbert about the books they love.

Broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli and comedian Simon Evans talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books.

Harriett Gilbert discusses favourite paperbacks with writer Fleur Adcock and comedian Laura Solon. Their choices include a modern classic by Evelyn Waugh and two coming-of-age novels, one set in France and the other in the north of England.

John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black, discusses the fourth novel in his Dublin mystery series A Death In Summer. How publishers are responding to the growing demand for short form fiction with writers Kevin Barry and Laura Dockrill on the phenomenon of the low priced short story download. And novelists Mary Hoffman and Lucille Turner look at the implications of writing books about iconic pieces of art.

Margaret Drabble discusses the new collection of her 13 short stories, published between 1966 and 2000. John Crace (the man behind the Guardian newspaper's Digested Reads) recommends books to read while relaxing on a beach and stands up for the classics. And author Helen Oyeyemi talks about her new novel Mr Fox, a modern day re-telling of the Bluebeard tale.