Can books survive the age of algorithms?

What impact is reading on your Kobo or Kindle having on your brain? As AI turns up in writing, reviewing and literary prizes, how do we decide what's genuinely human creativity? And how is the Australian publishing industry changing as a result of BookTok, Bookstagram and Goodreads?

GUESTS:

• Anna Burkey, CEO of Australia Reads.
• Bec Kavanagh, senior tutor in creative writing and publishing at the University of Melbourne, and former bookseller.

Bec & Anna's book recommendations:

• Anna says Jaclyn Moriarty who wrote Time Travel for Beginners (2026) has an incredible way with words.
• Bec prefers works in translation (writing translated from one language to another) as well as short fiction writers. She says Rita Bullwinkle's Headshot (2025) was phenomenal, and that Dahlia de la Cerda's Reservoir Bitches (2024) is top of her TBR list.

Voting is still open for the ABC Radio National's Top100 Books countdown. You can vote for your favourite Australian books here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/radionational/top-100-books-2026/106621398

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This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Burramattagal, Darug, Gundungurra, and Wurundjeri peoples.

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