The Book Café - 24/05/2010

Fantasy writer China Mieville on the challenge of keeping the genre fresh in the era of Twilight, Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Making a giant squid the star of his new novel was only the beginning.... When her novel was rejected by most of the publishing houses Georgia Twynham decided to self- publish. We'll be asking her whether it's vanity or really the only way forward for would-be writers at a time when many publishers are sticking with sure-fire hits and well-established authors. Why would we be interested in the story of a golden couple living in luxury in Manhattan? With audacious timing Jonathan Dee's new novel is about wealth, family and what it means to leave the world richer than you found it. He joins us from - where else?- New York and tells us about his morality tale for our age of austerity.