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BBC Radio 4 LW

Open Book

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Programme looking at new fiction and non-fiction books

Programme looking at new fiction and non-fiction books, talking to authors and publishers and unearthing lost classics

BBC Radio 4 FM

Mariella Frostrup

Sathnam Sanghera

Ana Maria Machado

Andrea Kidd

Open Book: Brazilian literary scene; Sathnam Sanghera; Harrogate History Festival

29/09/2013

Brazilian literary scene; Sathnam Sanghera; Harrogate History Festival

BBC Radio 4 - Open Book, Brazilian literary scene; Sathnam Sanghera; Harrogate History Festival

Sathnanm Sanghera on Marriage Material, and a look at Brazil's vast literary scene.

With the world looking to Brazil for 2014 football and the 2016 Olympics, Mariella Frostrup explores its vast literary scene. Plus Sathnam Sanghera on his novel Marriage Material.

Sathnam Sanghera made a literary splash with his memoir The Boy with the Topknot. He's now written his first novel, Marriage Material, a contemporary reworking of Arnold Bennett's classic The Old Wives' Tale. Transferring the action to a corner shop in Wolverhampton, his version follows three generations of Sikhs originally from the Punjab. He explains why he felt that Bennett's original lent itself so well to a Punjabi setting and why he felt it was important to tackle the issue of Asian stereotypes in the novel.

With the world looking to Brazil for football next year and for the Olympics in 2016 and a new Festival of Brazilian culture called FLIPside starting in the UK this year, Open Book explores the country's vast literary scene with author Ana Maria Machado, President of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and Dr Charlotte Matthews, lecturer in Portuguese and Brazilian literature of the University of Edinburgh.

Harrogate's world renowned Crime Writing Festival is the biggest event of its kind in Europe and has put the town firmly on the literary map. Well now they want to build on that reputation and this October sees the inaugural Harrogate History Festival. The CEO of Harrogate International Festivals Sharon Canavar explains why they decided to embrace a history festival as well.

Producer: Andrea Kidd.

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