She may not call herself a journalist, but Anna Funder’s work is a fearless meditation on truth, and a masterclass in pushing the boundaries of genre to capture it.

Her writing tackles the great arcs of 20th-century history, from the totalitarian state of East Germany, to the rise of Nazism, to the shackles of patriarchy, always through the lives of real people whose courage, resilience, and quiet heroism shine through.

As part of our ongoing in-profile series, Anna joined Tina Quinn in studio to talk about her journey from Melbourne to East Berlin — the city where the stories that became her award-winning debut book, Stasiland, first began to take shape.

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Profile: In Conversation With Anna Funder (Part 1)