Sunday 16:00-16:30, repeated Thursday 16:00-16:30, except first Sunday in the month when it is replaced by Book Club.
Open Book spotlights new fiction and non-fiction, picks out the best of the paperbacks, talks to authors and publishers, and unearths lost masterpieces.
This week
Sunday 12 March 2006
Ghostwriter Andrew Crofts on making good reading from tragic life stories and teenage novelist Philip Reeve on completing his Mortal Engines quartet.
Andrew Crofts
Mariella Frostrup talks to Andrew Crofts, the ghostwriter behind bestselling true life stories as Sold, The Kid and The Little Prisoner - all autobiographies by the victims of terrible abuse. His latest, For A House Made of Stone, is Gina French's story: she grew up in the Philippines, endured a violent marriage and ended up on trial for murder in the UK.
For a House Made of Stone: Gina's Story - Gina French, Andrew Crofts Publisher: Vision Paperbacks / Satin Publications ISBN: 1904132790
Sold: Story of Modern-day Slavery - Zana Muhsen, Andrew Crofts Publisher: Time Warner Paperbacks ISBN: 0751509515
The Kid - Kevin Lewis, Andrew Crofts Publisher: Penguin Books ISBN: 0141014628
The Little Prisoner - Jane Elliott, Andrew Crofts Publisher: Harper Element ISBN: 0007208936
Bestsellers
Jeremy Neate of Neilsen Bookscan explains how the weekly bestseller lists are calculated and Tim Waterstone, founder of the Waterstones chain, joins Mariella to discuss how bookshops and publishers might help books into the top ten.
Philip Reeve
Teenage author Philip Reeve has just completed his Mortal Engines quartet with A Darkling Plain. He talks to Mariella Frostrup about the inspiration behind his warring cities and evil stalkers and the pleasure of making up names for his characters.
A Darkling Plain - Philip Reeve Publisher: Scholastic Press ISBN: 0439949971
Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve Publisher: Scholastic Point ISBN: 0439979439
Predators Gold - Philip Reeve Publisher: Scholastic Point ISBN: 0439977347
Infernal Devices - Philip Reeve Publisher: Scholastic Point ISBN: 0439963931
Re-reading
In Open Book's continuing series on the joy of reading a book more than once, novelist Louise Welsh explains why she still has a soft spot for Alan Breck the hero of Kidnapped who she first discovered as as teenager.
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (Wordsworth Classics) - James Hogg Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd ISBN: 1853261882
Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 0140621067
