Writers and Company from CBC Radio

A conversation with one of Pakistan's leading Urdu poets, Fahmida Riaz. From early in her career, her bold poetic expression has captured attention for its feminist voice and powerful use of language.

Performance poet, journalist, and former drug addict, Jeet Thayil. His debut novel, "Narcopolis", has won the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2013. Set in the opium dens of Bombay, the novel was also shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Pr

Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard's six-volume, 3600-page memoir, "My Struggle", is a literary sensation at home, and now, around the world.

From Switzerland, the highly-acclaimed novelist, playwright and journalist, Peter Stamm. His latest book to be translated into English is called "We're Flying".

On December 16th we aired (on the podcast and streaming audio versions only) our 1995 interview with Marina Warner about Fairy Tales. Now, in this brand new interview, Marina Warner talks about Scheherazade and her book "Stranger Magic: Charmed States a

Our 2006 conversation with Robert Hughes, the Australian art critic and social historian. He spoke with Eleanor Wachtel about his memoir, "Things I Didn't Know". Sadly, Robert Hughes died last August at age 74.

"Them: A Memoir of Parents" by novelist and biographer, Francine du Plessix Gray. We go back to our 2006 interview when Eleanor Wachtel spoke with her about her portrait of her mother and step-father - a "power couple" whose lives reflect the upheaval and

Eleanor Wachtel goes back to her 2004 conversation about "Cloud Atlas" - the book. Six novels in one from England's David Mitchell. Exhilarating, entertaining, and elegant, it's now been made into a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry.

Fairy Tale special: Due to copyright reasons, the Rohinton Mistry interview is not available as a podcast or as streaming audio. Instead - because all things fairy tale are huge at the moment - our 1995 conversation with Marina Warner about her book "From

From Australia, novelist Gail Jones. Her quietly lyrical, powerful novels look at time, memory, and Australia's colonial past.

Eleanor Wachtel brings together an international panel of writers to discuss the lighter side of dark humour in their work. With Howard Jacobson from England, A.L. Kennedy from Scotland, and from Norway, Erlend Loe.

In a candid and personal conversation, Fran Lebowitz talks about her upbringing in New Jersey, about her early success, and about her writer's block--or, as she calls it, a writer's "blockade"--an ongoing problem that she explores with Eleanor. But she re

In observance of Remembrance Day, we're rebroadcasting our 1997 interview the late Paul Fussell. His award-winning book, "The Great War and Modern Memory" was a ground-breaking work that explored how war is remembered and mythologised in literature and in

Pakistani writer, Mohammed Hanif, is the author of a dark, subversive, funny - as he says - "alleged novel", "A Case of Exploding Mangoes", about the death of General Zia. His latest book, set in today's Karachi, is called "Our Lady of Alice Bhatti".

English writer, John Lanchester's novel, "Capital" is a big Dickensian take on modern London on the brink of the 2008 financial meltdown.