Yann Martel: Son of Nobody

Yann Martel: Son of Nobody

Author: Sydney Writers' Festival August 5, 2026 Duration: 54:53

The story of the Trojan War, like so many wars real and imagined, is a story most often told by the victors, the princes and the powerful.

In this new imagining of the ancient legend, Son of Nobody, Yann Martel tells the familiar tale from an unheard perspective: that of a commoner and goatherd who becomes a soldier, Psoas, the son of nobody. Acclaimed for his Booker Prize–winning Life of Pi, adapted into an Oscar-winning film, Yann’s first novel in a decade sings a universal song about the power of story.

Unravel ancient traditions with Yann, in conversation with ABC Radio National’s Claire Nichols (The Book Show).

This episode was recorded live in May at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. 

Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.

After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:

Instagram: @sydwritersfest
Facebook: @SydWritersFest
TikTok: @sydwritersfest

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Step into the vibrant heart of Australia's largest celebration of literature, stories, and ideas with the Sydney Writers' Festival podcast. This audio companion captures the festival's dynamic spirit year-round, offering front-row access to conversations you might have missed. Each episode pulls you into the room for live, unscripted discussions with a remarkable lineup of international authors, sharp journalists, groundbreaking scientists, and provocative public intellectuals. The range is deliberately broad, reflecting the festival's own eclectic programming-you'll find deep dives into the craft of fiction alongside frank explorations of societal issues, business innovation, and cultural critique. It’s more than just author interviews; it’s where books meet the big ideas they inspire. The Sydney Writers' Festival podcast serves as a permanent record of those fleeting, brilliant moments of connection and insight, all curated by the festival team. For anyone curious about the world and the words we use to describe it, this series provides a regular dose of intellectual stimulation and narrative pleasure. Tune in to hear the arguments, the stories, and the questions that shape our contemporary conversation, all delivered with the authentic energy of the live event.
Author: Language: en-au Episodes: 50

Sydney Writers' Festival
Podcast Episodes
Roddy Doyle in Conversation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:53
Dubbed the “undisputed laureate of ordinary lives” by The Sunday Times, Irish Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle has kept us laughing and crying in equal measure.From his prize-winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha to The Commitmen…
Lily King:  Heart the Lover [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:52
After her New York Times bestseller, Writers & Lovers, Lily King returns to themes of love, desire, forgiveness and loss in Heart the Lover. Our narrator is a successful writer who is familiar with the classic tropes of…
Trent Dalton: Gravity Let Me Go [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:43
After being crowned the number one book of the 21st century by ABC Radio National, Australian literary sensation Trent Dalton’s newest book mixes gruesome true crime with a personal exploration of love and marriage. Noah…
Grand Ambition: Paul Keating and James Curran in Conversation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:34
There used to be a time when political leaders didn’t limit themselves to an election cycle.In his latest book, Grand Ambition, international affairs expert and historian James Curran draws on never-before-seen archival…
Tayari Jones: Kin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:41
Two motherless girls begin their lives in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, but they take paths that are worlds apart. Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage, winner of the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction, has written another…
Susan Choi: Flashlight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:08
Louisa goes for a walk along the beach with her father, but only she returns. The new novel from Susan Choi, multi-award-winning writer including the National Book Award and a Lambda Literary Award, is a sweeping, intern…
Maria Reva: Endling [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:59
Longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, Endling is an inventive, bold and original debut which follows three angry women and one endangered snail on a road trip across contemporary Ukraine. Named a Best Book of 2025 by The…
An Evening with Patrick Radden Keefe [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:06
His deeply researched and intricately crafted non-fiction has captivated the world. Award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker and bestselling author Patrick Radden Keefe is known for his international bestsellers, inc…
Amitav Ghosh in Conversation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:26
An incomparable storyteller, lucid analyst and eloquent polemicist, acclaimed writer Amitav Ghosh’s rich body of fiction and non-fiction work has shaped our contemporary understanding of history and the environment. List…
Florence Knapp: The Names [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:02
[Content warning: Family violence] Instant bestseller and “best debut novel in years” (The Sunday Times) starts in a literal and metaphorical storm. While registering her son’s birth, Cora faces a decision that could cha…