Violeta (livestreamed)

Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of a number of bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including A Long Petal of the Sea, The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, The Stories of Eva Luna and Paula. Her books have been translated into more than forty-two languages and have sold more than seventy-five million copies worldwide. She lives in California.

Dr Kate Evans has a PhD in history and too many books. She regrets neither.

She has worked in publishing, universities, TV and radio, and joined RN in 1997. In that time, she has worked as both a producer and presenter, on historical programs like Hindsight and Rear Vision, ideas programs including Australia Talks, Movie Time and Life Matters, and in recent years has specialised in interviews with authors on Books and Arts, Books Plus and The Bookshelf.

She has a PhD in history and regularly hosts live events at writers festivals.

Reading is both intensely personal and private and an entrée into entire imaginative and critical worlds. Reading is also a shared, vital activity — which is why Kate enjoys sharing that conversation about books on air with Cassie McCullagh, with writers, with critics, and with all of you who care about those printed words.

Melanie Saward is a proud descendant of the Bigambul and Wakka Wakka peoples. She is a writer, editor, and university lecturer based in Tulmur (Ipswich). Her writing has been published in Flock, Overland, Kill Your Darlings, and New Australian Fiction 2019 and she is the managing editor of Djed Press.