Trent Dalton and David Malouf — Brisbane's favourite sons

Trent Dalton's new novel Gravity Let Me Go is about a middle aged journalist who can't let go of a good story, and David Malouf reflects on a life of writing and the hold of Brisbane on his imagination.

Trent Dalton is the bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, All Our Shimmering Skies and Lola in the Mirror. His new novel Gravity Let me Go, is about a Brisbane crime journalist with a big story, an aching body and a family who could be in peril. Trent tells Claire Nichols that this book was a reckoning with who he is now as a middle aged family man with a serious story addiction. He also explains why he thinks of Brisbane as akin to Paris, London or New York for its romance, dark side and storytelling potential. 

Trent Dalton also shares his favourite book for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books with a special shout-out to Geraldine Brooks. Vote for your favourite book of the 21st Century here. 

David Malouf was one of the first writers to put modern-day Brisbane on the literary map with his semi-autobiographical novel Johnno and says the city he wrote about was his own invention. Now at 91, David tells Claire Nichols about the place of fiction in his life and what it means to reissue three collections of poetry: An Open Book, Earth Hour and Typewriter Music.