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 25th March 2007
Science fiction writer China Mieville talks to Mariella Frostrup about his first book for teenagers.
China Mieville Award winning science fiction writer China Mieville has written his first book for young readers.
Un Lun Dun is the story of two teenage heroines who discover a parallel version of London which they must save from the threat of a malevolent Smog, an evil gathering of pollution bent on death and destruction.
Un Lun Dun - China Mieville Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
The Scar - China Mieville Publisher: Tor
Historical books for children Caroline Lawrence, creator of the Roman Mystery series and Mary Hoffman, who has written her first historical detective story for children, join Mariella to discuss how to bring the past alive for young readers.
They explain how they achieve a balance between historical accuracy and a page turning plot.
The Falconer's Knot - Mary Hoffman Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing (2 April 2007)
Amazing Grace - Mary Hoffman Publisher: Frances Lincoln
The Slave-Girl From Jerusalem - Caroline Lawrence Publisher: Orion Childrens (5 April 2007)
Derek Landy Derek Landy is the latest children's author to be described as 'the new J K Rowling'.
He's secured a huge publishing deal for his first book, Skulduggery Pleasant, the story of a magician detective, who just happens to be a skeleton.
Derek talks to Mariella about his sudden success.
Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books (2 April 2007)
The Making of a Marchioness Frances Hodgson Burnett is best known now for her children's books, including The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy.
But in fact she also wrote forty novels for adults. The Making of a Marchioness is the story of genteel but impoverished Emily Fox-Seton and the marriage which transforms her life.
Michelene Wandor, who has dramatised it for Radio 4 and publisher Nicola Beauman reveal why they love the book.
The Making of a Marchioness starts on BBC Radio 4 at 3pm on Sunday 1st April It is published by Persephone.
The Making of a Marchioness - Frances Hodgson Burnett Publisher: Persephone Books
