John Simopoulos is back today with another in our series of Books That Matter to tell us about an author who John knew personally: Joyce Cary. "By the end of his life", wrote Brad Leithauser in the New York Review of Books, "Cary's confident and fluent books received a critical and popular success, yet the path to this success was wearisomely tortuous. Cary was approaching forty-five when his first novel, Aissa Saved, appeared in 1932. More than two decades of literary floundering, of false starts and punctured enthusiasms, were required before Cary saw one of his many attempted novels published—to poor reviews and poorer sales." A tragic story in some ways, but one which John gives great human dimension. "A gentleman rider through life", says John.

The bestselling children's author MG Harris is our guest today in our Books That Matter series; her choice is a book by one of Italy's finest postwar writers, Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter's Night a Traveller. “I can think of no finer writer to have beside me while Italy explodes, Britain burns, while the world ends”, said Salman Rushdie.

Happy Labor Day to all our American listeners! Today’s Eve’s Salmagundi Club kicks back a little and looks at the the way the publishing industry used to be - when London and New York were the centers of the publishing world... and when publishing itself was at the center of the cultural lives of our nations. Sic transit gloria mundi...

It’s another inimitable blend of the profound and the profoundly peculiar this evening: only on Litopia After Dark can we move transcendentally from the works of John Berger to the World Gravy-Wrestling Championships without missing a beat. Our very own publishing business guru Martyn Daniels is back with us tonight – Martyn is one of the few people to grasp what’s really going on in the publishing business at the moment - and what's more, he can explain it clearly, too! And that’s one of the key subjects tonight: are publishing conglomerates a thing of the past? Or is more consolidation necessary for publishing to compete against the likes of Google, Amazon, Sony, Apple? As Richard Howse puts it (as only Richard can) "Baboo's Jumbalia takes on the Amazoogle eMasterbator!". Don't worry - you'll understand perfectly when you listen. Also on the panel tonight - from Florida, leading lawyer and author of the forthcoming Writer's Guide to the Courtroom Donna Ballman... and from England’s West Country, the master of the fromage á trois - (remember last week?) it's Dave Bartram.

A Congolese accountant is to launch a lawsuit in France against Tintin for racism... the New York Times plays fast and loose with embargoes... the Google deadline is upon us... and how can authors earn more money from publishers? It's an action-packed Write Report today with Donna - who will also be reappearing in just a few hours on Litopia After Dark...

Another in our occasional series of Books That Matter today, courtesy of Oxford don John Simopoulos. "If This Is a Man" by Primo Levi tells of his own experience of the Holocaust. "His tone throughout the memoir is dry-eyed and understated", wrote the Sunday Telegraph, "he makes few references to himself, and they are rarely flattering. But by the end of this short book one is left with a monument to human dignity."

John Simopoulos is back today with another in our occasional series of Books That Matter to propose that you spend a little time with "No Name" by English novelist, playwright, and author - Wilkie Collins. Written in the early 1860s, between "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone", "No Name" was rejected as immoral by critics of its time; but is today regarded as a novel of outstanding social insight, showing Wilkie Collins at the height of his powers. "One of the best books written in the 19th century", says John.

How can you stop people stealing your great ideas? That’s the sujet-du-jour for today’s Eve’s Salmagundi Club.

It’s author branding that gets the limelight tonight – one of the hottest topics in publishing at the moment, but what does it really mean? Can an author really be a brand – and how do you go about creating one for yourself? Luckily, we’ve got marketing guru Jamie Mollart on hand to supply some answers and sage advice – don’t miss it! Also on the panel tonight- from Florida, leading lawyer and author of the forthcoming Writer's Guide to the Courtroom Donna Ballman... from Edinburgh Litopia’s own Salmagundist, Eve Harvey... and from England’s West Country, the master of the fromage á trois - he created it live on air, folks - it's Dave Bartram.

A blogger who described a model as a “skank”, an “old hag” and a “psychotic lying whore” plans to sue Google for $18 million after they were forced to reveal her identity following a court order. On today’s Write Report with Donna, we’re looking at the complexities of this case – and the extremely nasty person whose violent actions precipitated the whole thing. Also today - the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act looks as if it will not actually devastate the children’s/YA publishing sector (another bullet dodged)… and the two-headed monster that is Google decides to impose punishing fines on publishers who fail to deliver books on time… bad Google, bad!