Main content

Judy Blume

Presented by Mariella Frostrup. Judy Blume, one of America's best known and best loved novelists, talks about her new book for adults, In the Unlikely Event.

Mariella is joined by the American writer Judy Blume who is best known for her groundbreaking teen fiction including Forever and Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. She discusses her new adult novel In The Unlikely Event. It's set against the extraordinary events of 1952 when three planes crashed in Elizabeth, New Jersey over the space of 58 days.

We discuss two books which explore opposite ends of German society just before Hitler came to power. Blood Brothers by Ernst Haffner is set amongst a band of teenage boys in the underbelly of Berlin. While Reunion by Fred Uhlman is a beautifully rendered tale of a friendship which is destined not to survive. Mariella talks to Blood Brothers' translator Michael Hofmann and Rachel Seiffert, who has written the afterword to Reunion.

And the joys of writing a novel with a friend. Gavin Kovite, a former soldier turned army lawyer and writer, and Christopher Robinson, a poet and writer, reveal how they joined forces to create War of the Encyclopaedists, a novel about a friendship conducted partly online.

Available now

28 minutes

Chapters

  • Judy Blume

    Duration: 11:20

  • Rachel Seiffert and Michael Hofman

    Duration: 09:10

  • Christopher Robinson and Gavin Kovite

    Duration: 06:43

Read the first chapter of In The Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

by Judy Blume

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Mariella Frostrup
Interviewed Guest Judy Blume
Interviewed Guest Michael Hofmann
Interviewed Guest Rachel Seiffert
Interviewed Guest Gavin Kovite
Interviewed Guest Christopher Robinson

Broadcasts

  • Sun 19 Jul 2015 16:00
  • Thu 23 Jul 2015 15:30

This Week's Book List

Read along with us - a list of books discussed in each programme

Books and Authors Podcast

Books and Authors Podcast

Open Book for author interviews and A Good Read for recommended reads

Listen now to books on Â鶹ÊÓƵAV Sounds

Listen now to books on Â鶹ÊÓƵAV Sounds

Escape with books & stories