RADIO CHOICE

MALORIE BLACKMAN writes great books for children. Pig Heart Boy, her novel about a child whose life is saved by a transplant, was adapted for TV, and her bestseller Noughts & Crosses, about racism, is in production for the BBC. Malorie (pictured) is one of the judges for this year’s 500 Words short story competition and she’ll be in the studio with KEN BRUCE (RADIO 2,

9.30AM) giving advice to hopeful young entrants.

DAVID NOTT is a leading surgeon who spends much of his working life in London hospitals, but for the past 25 years, he has worked as a volunteer in warzones and disaster areas. David, who is also a pilot, had his first frontline experience in Sarajevo and has developed a set of skills for these dangerous missions. All this week, he reads from his own

account of his experiences, WAR DOCTOR (RADIO 4, 9.45AM (FM), 12.30AM).

EVERYTHING was going well for the economist Umair Haque when he was struck down by an illness that left him experiencing stabbing pains and unable to eat. Two doctors thought he was in the last stages of cancer, but he actually had an extremely rare genetic condition that meant sunlight was, for him, lethal — it would cause his organs to fail. In LOSING THE NIGHT (RADIO 4,

9PM), Umair describes his life, which is spent in darkness, but is one full of activity and fulfilment.