Books And Authors

Editor of The Lady, Rachel Johnson, and journalist and broadcaster Martin Kelner pick their favourite books to discuss with Harriett Gilbert: 'Still Missing' by Beth Gutcheon, 'London Belongs to Me' by Norman Collins and 'The Bottle Factory Outing' by Beryl Bainbridge.

Mariella Frostrup continues her celebration of funny books and funny writers with award winning writer A L Kennedy selecting Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One as her favourite funny book. The second installment of Open Book's mini-history of comic writing invites actress Fiona Shaw to join our resident expert John Mullan, Professor of Literature at UCL to explore the impact of Shakespearean and Restoration comedy on the development of the comic novel. And Sarah Hall, award winning writer of four novels, talks about her first collection of short stories The Beautiful Indifference.

Award-winning singer-songwriter Nerina Pallot and the computer games industry pioneer Peter Molyneux join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books: The Sportswriter by Richard Ford; The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers.

Mariella Frostrup talks to Penelope Lively about her new novel How it All Began. Ex-Python and Chaucer-enthusiast Terry Jones is joined by Professor John Mullan to discuss medieval bawdy humour. And kicking off the series, John Sessions defends his pick for Open Book's Funniest Book.

Harriett Gilbert is joined by actor David Morrissey and Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Trevor Phillips to discuss some of their favourite books; The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain, The War of the End of the World by Peruvian Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa and A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh.

Harriett Gilbert is joined by the BBC's Economics Editor Stephanie Flanders and novelist and journalist Roisin McAuley to discuss favourite books; The Great Crash 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith, Peripheral Vision by Patricia Ferguson and Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh.

Mariella Frostrup talks to Victoria Hislop about her latest novel, The Thread, a romantic saga set against the backdrop of turbulent Greek history. Kavita Bhanot and Pakistani novelist H.M Naqvi discuss issues currently surrounding young Asian writers. And Swedish crime-writing duo Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom talk about how they tackle contemporary issues… but not how they work together.

Christopher Frayling and Nikki Bedi talk to Harriett Gilbert about the books they love.

Mariella Frostrup talks to the Canadian Booker prize winning author Margaret Atwood about her latest book "In Other Worlds. Award winning short story writer Helen Simpson joins Margaret Atwood to discuss the challenge of making issue based fiction readable.And as Haruki Murakami's epic trilogy 1Q84 is published in English simultaneously in America and the UK, writer Hari Kunzru considers whether it lives up to the hype.

Rick Stein and Michael Dobbs recommend favourite books to presenter Harriett Gilbert.

Ian Rankin talks to Mariella Frostrup about his latest crime thriller The Impossible Dead, and world famous photographer Don McCullin gives us his five of the best books

Classicist Mary Beard and writer Bidisha talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books, at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

Robert Harris talks about his latest book The Fear Index with Mariella Frostrup and discusses why he wanted to base it around the money orientated world of Swiss Hedge Fund managers. We discover the unprecedented appeal of The Iliad. Two debut novels have been shortlisted for Man Booker prize - Suzi Feay discusses if this is the place for new writing and how to find that great first novel.

Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo joins short story writer Sara Maitland and presenter Harriett Gilbert to talk about the books they love, and share their enthusiasm for their choices.

Open Book marks the 50th anniversary of Joseph Heller's bestseller, Catch 22, as soldier turned author Andy McNab and Professor Christopher Bigsby discuss why this 1961 novel remains so popular. We look at the role of writers in residence with Horatio Clare, writer-in-residence for Maersk lines and Naomi Alderman, soon to be writer-in-residence at the Gladstone Library. And literary apps: responding to your feedback on them and looking at what the publishing industry has in store for us in the future.

Charles Frazier, bestselling author of Cold Mountain, discusses his long awaited third novel Nightwoods which is once again located in the forests and mountains of North Carolina. Travel writers Sara Wheeler and Michael Jacobs look at the nature of travel writing and if the genre will survive in the age of the internet, cheap flights and apps. And Lev Grossman and Erin Morgenstern discuss why they felt compelled to write magic literature for adults and how their books differ from traditional children's fantasy novels.

Meg Rosoff discusses her latest book There is no Dog. South African novelist Christopher Hope and Dr Andrew van der Vlies, senior lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London discuss why South Africa remains such a potent source of inspiration. And literary agent Carole Blake explains how the book world has responded to the technology boom in applications for smart phones and what types of literary apps are available.

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.