麻豆约拍

The Age of Shiva by Manil Suri
Mariella Frostrup talks to Manil Suri about his new novel The Age of Shiva. Set in India in 1955 it takes the form of an extended love letter from the protagonist Meera to her son Ashvin tracing the fortunes of one family in the aftermath of Indian independence. Manil Suri was born in Bombay and is now a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. His first book Death of Vishu was on the Booker long list.

Booksellers: what its like to work in a bookshop
A number of writers have worked in bookshops from George Orwell to David Mitchell. Open Book decided to go behind the scenes and talk to three very different booksellers talk about their respective jobs. Best selling author of The Cutting Room Louise Welsh used to run a second hand bookshop in Glasgow in the early 90s. Guy Ramage is manager of Borders Superstore in London鈥檚 Oxford Circus. Robert Williams, winner of the 2007 National Book token Competition whose own book is being published by Faber, is a bookseller in Waterstones in Manchester.

The Rise of Independent Publishers
This week Templar children鈥檚 publishers won the Independent Publisher of the Year Award, in the face of stiff competition from the increasingly successful independent sector. Random House keen to cash in on their success are founding their own independent imprint Preface. Joel Rickets deputy editor of the Bookseller looks at the reasons behind the buoyancy of independent publishing including the impact of technological advances.

Reading Clinic
Anne McElvoy, former foreign correspondent on the Times answers listeners request for books about Berlin where she herself lived and worked.