What makes a novel uniquely Australian? How do our stories stack up on the world stage?

Writer, critic and former diplomat Nick Jose joins Lynda Ng—Oz Lit scholar and literary critic—for a deep dive into the Australian novel and its shifting place in global literature.

Through powerful readings from literary giants like Patrick White, Peter Carey, Alexis Wright, and Christina Stead, we ask:

How has fiction shaped the idea of ‘Australia'?

How has that idea changed from the nineteenth to the twentieth century?

Nicolas Jose is a novelist, essayist and playwright, whose thirteen books include the novels Paper Nautilus, Avenue of Eternal Peace (shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award), The Custodians (shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize) and Original Face; two short story collections; a volume of essays, Chinese Whispers; and the memoir Black Sheep.

Dr Lynda Ng is a Lecturer in World Literature (including Australian Literature) at The University of Melbourne. She is the editor of Indigenous Transnationalism: Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria(2018), and is the recipient of an ARC Discovery Grant for a collaborative project on J. M. Coetzee and the Margaret Church Memorial Prize for the best essay published in MFS: Modern Fiction Studies.

Her research frequently considers Australian literature within a transnational paradigm, touching on the intersection between economics and literature as well as the environmental humanities. She is currently completing a project on Chinese diasporic writing.

An Australian Girl by Catherine Martin, read by Regina Botros

For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke, read by Tug Dumbly

The Tree of Man by Patrick White, read by Humphrey Bower (with thanks to Audible)

The Middle Parts of Fortune by Frederic Manning, read by Glen Phillips

For Love Alone by Christina Stead,...