Writers and Company from CBC Radio

Shashi Tharoor, the Indian writer and politician, in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel, for the conclusion of our series South Asian Conversations.

Eleanor speaks with S. Pathmanathan, Sunethra Rajakarunanayake and Ayathurai Santhan - three writers whose work engages, in very different ways, with the complex ethnic, linguistic, and religious realities of Sri Lanka

This week, our special 5-part series South Asian Conversations continues with writer Nayanthara Sahgal. Born in May 1927, she comes from a political family: her uncle, Jawaharlal Nehru, was India's first prime minister; her mother was the country's first ambassador to the U.N.; Indira Gandhi was her first cousin. Sahgal's whole family was involved in the struggle for Indian Independence; both her parents and her uncle were often in jail during her childhood, a period she recalled in her first memoir, Prison and Chocolate Cake. She has written numerous books of fiction and nonfiction, as well as a wide range of literary and political commentary. She spoke with Eleanor onstage at the recent Galle Literary Festival in Sri Lanka.

This week, our special 5-part series South Asian Conversations continues with novelist Meira Chand. Born of Swiss-Indian parentage in London, she mines her own confused identity in fiction that explores the "cracks between cultures." After thirty years living in Japan, she is now based in Singapore, the inspiration for her latest novel, "A Different Sky," a dramatic story set during colonial times in the multicultural city-state.

South Asian Conversations, part 1

Jeanette Winterson extended podcast: "Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal?" From England, Jeanette Winterson reveals the true story behind her hit first novel, "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit".

Steve Sem-Sandberg, the Swedish writer, journalist and translator in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel. His novel, "The Emperor of Lies", about a Jewish ghetto in Poland during the Second World War, is an international sensation.

Michael Holroyd interview: From England, biographer Michael Holroyd on "a treasure trove of hidden lives, uncelebrated achievements, and family mysteries" - his own and others - in "A Book of Secrets".

Dermot Healy interview: Unconventional and original, Healy puts us right inside the world of his authentic characters. His new book is called "Long Time, No See."