Nordic Noir and the Moomins

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. Indian-based author and podcaster Purba Chakraborty talks about the history of fiction writing.We hear about the rise in popularity of 'Nordic Noir', following the publication of Henning Mankell's crime novels.Then we listen to BBC archive of writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges - regarded as one of the most influential Latin American writers in history.Plus, the trial of two Soviet writers, Yuli Daniel and Andrei Sinyavsky, accused of smuggling their works to the west.Helen Fielding looks back at her weekly newspaper column about a 30-something, single woman in London, which became a cultural phenomenon in the 1990s.The niece of Finnish writer and artist Tove Jansson talks about her iconic Moomin books - which have been published in more than 60 languages.And finally, we hear the personal story of young Nepalese athlete Mira Rai, which shocked the ultra-running world. Contributors: Anneli Høier - literary agent. Jorge Luis Borges - short story writer and poet. Purba Chakraborty - writer and podcaster. Andrei Sinyavsky - Russian writer and Soviet dissident. Alexander Daniel - son of Yuli Daniel, Russian writer and Soviet dissident. Helen Fielding - journalist and writer. Sophia Jansson - niece of Tove Jansson, author and artist. Mira Rai - Nepalese trail runner.(Photo: Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell and a copy of one of his books. Credit: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images)