Garry Disher, Emily Maguire and David Dyer on a milestone, a myth and the moon landing

The Book Show

Australian crime writer Garry Disher has been writing for almost 50 years but has only recently been able to make a living and now he's published his 60th book, Sanctuary. Emily Maguire explores the medieval urban legend of a female pope in Rapture and in his novel, This Kingdom of Dust, David Dyer imagines what might've happened if the Apollo 11 mission didn't go to plan.

Australian crime-writing legend, Garry Disher has just published his 60th book in a career that ranges over four decades and began at a time when the cultural cringe towards Australian crime fiction meant it wasn't as popular as it is today. His latest novel Sanctuary draws on a side character, Grace, from his Peninsula Crime novels, that he couldn't let go. Garry shares how his love of writing began in childhood when his father told nightly bedtime stories with cliff hangers.

David Dyer's first novel, The Midnight Watch, was about the tragedy of the Titanic, and his second novel takes up another iconic event of the 20th century, the 1969 moon landing. In This Kingdom of Dust David imagines an alternative ending for the Apollo 11 mission.

Australian author Emily Maguire's latest novel, Rapture, is a work of historical fiction and is a sharp turn for Emily, who has made her name with contemporary novels, including Love Objects and her Miles Franklin shortlisted novel, An Isolated Incident. Rapture takes up the story of Joan, the female Pope. According to the legend, Pope Joan disguised herself as a man, followed a lover to a monastery and ended up rising to the throne of St Peter.