Open Book - 19/09/2010

Mariella Frostrup is joined by the award-winning crime novelist Val McDermid to discuss her latest book, Trick of the Dark. McDermid is best known for her Tony Hill series of thrillers, which were adapted for television as Wire In The Blood. She talks to Mariella about her ongoing love affair with writing crime and why she invented the category of Tartan Noir to describe her books. Also on the programme, the writer behind The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith, shares his insights into the art of writing prolifically. Mariella finds out how McCall Smith, like other prolific novelists, is able to continue producing a book a year - something many writers feel clashes with the artistry of fiction writing. Plus, as Pakistan continues to reel from the damage created by flood waters, how are the country's writers responding? Two of Pakistan's new generation of novelists, Kamila Shamsie and Daniyal Mueenudeen, join Mariella to discuss, and to shed light on the renaissance that Pakistani writing is undergoing. Producer: Sally Spurring.