Fresh from Washington D.C., literary critic, essayist and historical novelist Thomas Mallon gives the skinny on the capital. Sometimes compared to Gore Vidal – who he used to edit at GQ – his novels navigate 20th century USpolitics and display crisp wit as well as finely-grained historical context. Mallon’s latest Finale: A Novel of the Reagan Years has received glowing reviews. Tim Wilson grills the author on the process of massaging facts into a fictional collage, and the 2016 battle for control of the White House.

Auckland Writers Festival podcasts are also available via itunes so you can download and listen on the go.