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Australian author Charlotte Wood's latest book Stone Yard Devotional was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Stone Yard Devotional talks about finding inspiration in personal upheaval and the stories that shaped Charlotte's childhood while merging with an entirely invented story about an enclosed religious community. Described as "one of Australia's most original and provocative writers" Charlotte Wood is the author of seven novels and three books of non-fiction. She's appearing at Word Christchurch at the end of this month.
We're switching it up a little bit this episode, as the Booker Prize Long List has just been released and it's fun to talk about what they've chosen — plus, the judges this year are really interesting! These are "chosen from 153 submissions, celebrates the best works of long-form fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025." Some of the books we've read, some we've just heard about, some we have no idea about. Play along! Here's the list as we tackle it: - "Seascraper," by Benjamin Wood, which is not available in the U.S. - "The Rest of our Lives," by Ben Markovitz, which is not available in the U.S. (though Ben is from the U.S. and used to be a professional basketball player) - "Audition," by Katie Kitamura, which is so out there that Hannah legit doesn't know how to talk about it. No one seems to know what's happening with this book. - "Endling," by Maria Reva, which we talked about quite a bit in EP92 (not 94, as Sam says on the pod, for no good reason), and is a substantive, interesting, weird novel, but maybe not Sam's favorite. - "Flashlight," by Susan Choi, a National Book Award winner, which Hannah started out super excited about, but then her fervor sort of faded... There's some great stuff in here about Japan-Korea history and the immigrant story, in general. - "The Land in Winter," by Andrew Miller, which Hannah hasn't read, but she does remember that "The Optimists" was big and she meant to read it. - "Love Forms," by Claire Adam, who was published by Sarah Jessica Parker, who also happens to be a judge! But we're sure it's a coincidence. "Like a Claire Keegan novel written by Elizabeth Strout," apparently. - "Universality," by Natasha Brown, which we know is short and is all about words and meaning. - "Misinterpretation," by Ledia Xhoga, which is similarly about words and meaning. We don't know much, really. But there seems to be a theme here. - "The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny," by Kiran Desai, who has a Booker Prize under her belt. This book is going to be big. - "One Boat," by Jonathan Buckley, which is about a murder and a love affair on a Greek island. - "The South," by Tash Aw, which is this year's young gay love story, Hannah thinks, though she's not sure, but it is the first of a quartet of novels, "a reimagined epic for our times." - "Flesh," by David Szalay, which is a stylish Hungarian novel, a coming-of-age sort of thing.
It's not easy to adapt a classic of contemporary literature into an epic TV series, but that's exactly what Selwyn Seyfu Hinds has done with “Washington Black,” the Booker Prize-shortlisted novel by Canadian author Esi Edugyan. Set in a steampunk reimagining of the 19th century, the story follows a young boy named George Washington Black who is born on a Barbados sugar plantation. His globetrotting travels take him on a journey around the world, including Virginia, Halifax, and even the Arctic. For this project, Selwyn wore many hats, including creator, executive producer and showrunner. He joins guest host Garvia Bailey to tell us how “Washington Black” mirrors his own journey as a Guyanese immigrant, and how the theme of resistance was his guiding North Star to making the novel shine on screen.
Jeff and Rebecca break down the 2025 longlist for the Booker Prize, digest the news of a new book from Kamala Harris, lament the demise of class (behavior, not socio-economic status), and much more. Jeff and Rebecca decide what the It Book of August will be. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky. Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter. Book Riot is hiring a digital content specialist! If you love books and know the ins and outs of social media strategy, and especially social video, consider joining the team. Find details and apply by August 22, 2025, at riotnewmedia.com/careers. Use code BOOKRIOT to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan at https://incogni.com/bookriot This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Discussed in this episode: Kamala Harris to publish memoir about presidential race in September The 2025 Booker Prize longlist And a possible conflict of interest on the Booker panel We're getting a new George Saunders novel in January Maggie by Katie Yee The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan Everyone is Lying to You by Jo Piazza The Feather Detective by Chris Sweeney The Brain at Rest by Joseph Jebelli Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On this episode, Chloe Waryan, a librarian and horror fan, discusses how the job of a librarian affects the reading life, their favorite types of horror books, and the way that an audiobook can work really well for her. You'll learn a bit more about the Chicago Public Library and we discuss the anticipation for the Booker Prize longlist, which came out after this was recorded. Chloe on Substack Chloe on Instagram Books mentioned in this episode: What Betsy's reading: Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee They Dream in Gold by Mai Sennaar Books Highlighted by Chloe: Grey Dog by Elliot Gish Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai Build Your House Around my Body by Violet Kupersmith The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan Uzumaki by Junji Ito Turtles All the Way Down by John Green All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page. Other books mentioned in this episode: Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids by Jamie Rix Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz & Stephen Gammell The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez Eynhallow by Tim McGregor The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander The South Side by Natalie Y. Moore Reprieve by James Han Mattson All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
My guest on this special live episode is Anne Michaels. Anne is an internationally award-winning novelist whose books have been translated into more than forty-five languages. She is the winner of the Orange Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Trillium Book Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and has been shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award, the Griffin Poetry Prize and twice for the Giller Prize. She has also been twice longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Her novel Fugitive Pieces was made into a feature film. Her most recent novel, Held, was published by McClelland & Stewart in 2024, and shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Giller Prize. Alice Jolly, writing about Held in The Observer, said that “at the heart of this book lies the question of how goodness and love can be held across the generations. For Michaels, our final task is ‘to endure the truth.'”Anne and I spoke live onstage at Humber Polytechnic's Lakeshore Campus on July 10th, as part of Humber's Summer Workshop in Creative Writing (which I also coordinate). This is an edited version of that conversation.Anne and I talk about how, despite being both an internationally bestselling author and a fairly shy person, she has never developed a public persona for things like onstage interviews, about the importance of, in her words, “distillation, distillation, distillation” in her novel-writing process, and about the idea of writers who revise their work even after it has been published.This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker
Kiran Desai reads her story “An Unashamed Proposal,” from the August 11, 2025, issue of the magazine. Desai is the author of the novels “Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard” and “The Inheritance of Loss,” which won the Booker Prize in 2006. A new novel, “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny,” from which this story was adapted, will be published this fall. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Madeleine Thien, author of the novel THE BOOK OF RECORDS. The novel tells a time-bending, seven-year philosophical journey of a young girl named Lina, who is taught by her father and neighbors about the lives of three historical figures. They live in a surreal enclave, where Lina and her father have sought refuge after escaping a disaster in China. In the interview, we talked about how she weaves together the stories of three historical figures: Du Fu, an 8th-century Chinese poet; Baruch Spinoza, a 17th-century Dutch Jewish philosopher; and Hannah Arendt, a mid-20th-century German-American Jewish philosopher and political theorist. Lina learns about their theories and ideas and the grief, love, and tragedy they have experienced. Madeleine Thien is the author of four books, including Do Not Say We Have Nothing, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, The New York Review of Books, and elsewhere. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review X - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com
Claire Adam was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. She was educated in the US and now lives in London. Her first novel Golden Child won multiple prizes and was named one of the BBC's '100 Novels that Shaped the World'. On this episode of Little Atoms she talks to Neil Denny about her Booker Prize long listed new novel Love Forms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nach unserer Sommerpause geht es in Folge 72 "Och eine noch! Der Fernseh-Podcast" auf ganz große Kino- und Serienweltreise. Jan und Eric sprechen über die Doku "Der weiße Hai: Die Geschichte hinter dem Blockbuster" bei Disney. Steven Spielberg brachte den Film vor genau 50 Jahren ins Kino. Es folgt noch mehr Küste: Jason Momoas historische Serie "Chief of War" erzählt die Entstehung des Königreiches Hawaii bei Apple. Dann unser Geheimtipp, die israelische Serie "The German" mit Oliver Masucci bei Magenta über Biografien im und kurz nach dem Holocaust. Schließlich ringt Jan mit der niederländischen Krebs-Dramedy "Don't Fall, Dance" (ZDF Mediathek), die Eric ziemlich gut findet. Zum Schluss noch ein paar kürzere Empfehlungen und Warnungen für euch: Es geht um die Komödienserie "Rembetis - Die Geisterjäger" (ZDF Mediathek), den beeindruckenden Dokumentarfilm "Das Srebrenica Tape (ARD-Mediathek) und die dazu passende serbische Politthriller-Serie "Das Attentat - Geheimoperation Belgrad“ (ARTE-Mediathek). Ganz am Ende reden Jan und Eric über den kühnen Genremix der Serie "Washington Black", eine amerikanische Historien-Abenteuer-Rassismus-Serie nach einem Booker Prize nominierten Roman (Disney).
Are male novelists a dying breed? Can women trust apps with their personal data? Are tariffs the only way Donald Trump knows how to do diplomacy?Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Home Affairs Editor John Simpson, Head of Data and Graphics Katie Riley and Consulting Editor for Comment, Erica Wagner. Links to the team's Must Reads here: What do tweens really want?DOGE-pilledRead Erica's piece on the Booker Prize longlist HEREFollow us on Social Media: @ObserverUK on X @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok@theobserveruk.bsky.social on bluesky Host: Giles Whittell, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Producer: Poppy BullardExecutive Producer: Rebecca MooreTo find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Booker Prize winning author John Banville and journalist Geraldine Herbert paid tribute to their friend and colleague Sean Rocks.
Motherland writer Helen Serafinowicz on putting Wayne and Coleen Rooney at the heart of her debut play - The Legend of Rooney's Ring - which has just opened at the Royal Court in Liverpool.Literary critic Alex Clark examines the Booker Prize longlist which was announced today.Love Forms by Claire Adam The South by Tash Aw Universality by Natasha Brown One Boat by Jonathan Buckley Flashlight by Susan Choi The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai Audition by Katie Kitamura The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller Endling by Maria Reva Flesh by David Szalay Seascraper by Benjamin Wood Misinterpretation by Ledia XhogaThis month the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford presented the final stage in its £6.8 million redevelopment with the opening of its new Sound and Vision Galleries. The museum's director, Jo Quinton-Tulloch discusses how the redevelopment has changed what the museum now offers.The artist William Kentridge, known for his charcoal drawings, animations, and films, is presenting his first major sculpture show in the UK - The Pull Of Gravity at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Jo Sperryn-Jones, a Fine Art assistant professor and sculptor reviews.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu
Edel Coffey, Author and Books Editor at The Gloss, discusses the release of the Booker Prize longlist later today
In this episode, I sit down with celebrated South African novelist and playwright Damon Galgut, a literary voice I've admired for years. Damon Galgut is the acclaimed author of The Promise, winner of the 2021 Booker Prize, and has been shortlisted for the prestigious literary award three times over the course of his writing career.We discuss his lifelong relationship with literature, his unique approach to fiction writing, and how his novels grapple with themes of identity, morality, and the political realities of South Africa. Whether you're a passionate reader, a writer yourself, or simply someone who loves discovering new books, this conversation offers rare insight into the creative mind behind some of the most powerful contemporary literary fiction.Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let's get more people listening – and reading!Damon Galgut's four books were:Pig, Roald Dahl (1960)In the Heart of the Country, by J.M. Coetzee (1977)Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy (1985)The Emigrants, W.G. Sebald (1992)
It's been a remarkable eighteen months for Dutch-Israeli author Yael van der Wouden. Her debut novel, The Safekeep, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and this year it won the Women's Prize for Fiction. Set in the Netherlands 15 years after the end of World War II, The Safekeep is the story of a reclusive young woman living in her family's isolated country home, whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of an unpredictable house guest. In this episode, Yael sat down with host Mythili Rao to talk about her approach to writing historical fiction, the enduring legacy of the 20th century's greatest tragedy and the ways in which her novel challenges the Dutch national narrative about World War II and its treatment of Jewish people during and after the war. Yael van der Wouden Yael lives and works in the Netherlands, where she lectures in creative writing and comparative literature. The Safekeep is available now in paperback. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this episode, the hosts review The Girls Who Grew Big, the powerful new novel by Leila Mottley.Set in a small Florida town, the story follows a group of teenage mothers who form a fierce and unconventional sisterhood while navigating the challenges of young motherhood, fractured families, and societal judgment. With Mottley's signature lyricism and emotional depth, the novel examines themes of identity, survival, and the resilience of girls growing into women in a world that often fails them. Through rich characters and poignant storytelling, The Girls Who Grew Big invites readers to consider what it means to come of age while raising a baby and yourself. *Please be advised this episode is intended for adult audiences and contains adult language and content. We are expressing opinions on the show for entertainment purposes only.Dedication: To our patrons as always!! We love you!Moni: To teenage moms and their families Kat: Takashi Murakami and the exhibit in Cleveland Museum of Art and the staff About the author: https://www.leilamottley.com/ Leila Mottley (born 2002) is an American novelist and poet.[1] She is The New York Times bestselling author of Nightcrawling, which was nominated for numerous awards, including the Booker Prize, making her the youngest author to have been nominated for the award. In 2018, at age 16, she was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, California.About the book: 352 pages, HardcoverFirst published June 24, 202: Audio book 11 hours 50 mins Narrated by: AhDream Smith, Erin Spencer and Khaya Fraiteshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219520677-the-girls-who-grew-bigMentioned on the show: FAB podcast Episode 101, Night Crawling by Leila Mottley:https://www.spreaker.com/episode/episode-101-a-review-nightcrawling-by-leila-mottley-we-had-no-idea--54114107FAB podcast Episode, , https://www.spreaker.com/episode/review-of-ketera-of-punishment-island-on-netflix--56231879**Stranger than Fiction:
Hope Hopkinson talks to director Athina Rachel Tsangari and actor Herry Melling about their new film, Harvest. The latest feature from celebrated filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari (Chevalier, Attenberg), HARVEST is a spellbinding and thrillingly distinctive period piece like no other. Telling a story steeped in folk horror, and featuring another strikingly memorable performance from Caleb Landry Jones (Nitram), Tsangari presents a study of superstition, the trauma of modernity, and the looming threat of the outsider. Set over seven hallucinatory days in an undefined era, an idyllic rural Scottish village with no name faces a period of great uncertainty when the community's traditional way of life is suddenly disrupted by seismic economic turmoil. Townsman-turned-farmer Walter Thirsk (Landry Jones) and local landowner Master Kent (Harry Melling, The Tragedy of Macbeth) are childhood friends who lay witness to a series of unexpected invaders from the outside world, whose arrival brings about irrevocable – and potentially damaging – change. Adapted from Jim Crace's Booker Prize-nominated novel and co-starring Rosy McEwen, Arinzé Kene, Thalissa Teixeira, and Frank Dillane, HARVEST is an eerie, atmospheric and deeply immersive cinematic experience, blending beautifully textured storytelling with an exploration of what happens when people decide what a society should be. If you'd like to send us a voice memo for use in a future episode, please email podcast@picturehouses.co.uk. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on Spotify. Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with @picturehouses. Find our latest cinema listings at picturehouses.com. Produced by Stripped Media. Thank you for listening. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends. Vive le Cinema.
Tom Sutcliffe with reviewers Bidisha and Caroline Frost discuss the TV adaptation of Richard Flanagan's Booker Prize-winning novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North, the cringe comedy film Friendship, starring Paul Rudd, and the wedding comedy Till The Stars Come Down, which has transferred from The National to London's West End. Also the latest advance in AI; beyond the uncanny valley
It's been said that Muriel Spark's career was not so much a life as a plot, and she did indeed repeatedly reinvent herself, closing one chapter of her life and opening another, regardless of how many friends and business associates she abandoned along the way. This month the Slightly Foxed team were joined by Muriel Spark's biographer Martin Stannard, and Spark enthusiast Emily Rhodes of Emily's Walking Book Club, to discuss the work of this highly original and somewhat forgotten writer and learn how Muriel first invited Martin to write her biography and then did her best to prevent it seeing the light of day. Born in 1918, Muriel grew up in a working class family in Edinburgh – the setting for her most famous novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which was based on a charismatic teacher at her own school. At the age of 19 she closed that chapter of her life by marrying an older maths teacher, Sydney Oswald Spark, known (appropriately) thereafter as SOS, and going with him to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where their son Robin was born. Unfortunately it soon became obvious that Sydney had severe psychiatric problems and in 1943 Muriel left husband and son and returned to London where she began her career as a novelist. Several times shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and much admired by Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene, Muriel produced 22 novels, most of them drawing on events in her own life. Everyone at the Slightly Foxed table had their favourites, including The Girls of Slender Means, A Far Cry from Kensington, Loitering with Intent, and Memento Mori, a clear eyed and also very funny look at old age. Everyone agreed on the brilliance of her writing with its dark humour, preoccupation with the supernatural and with the presence of evil in unlikely places. Her life was equally fascinating, moving from poverty to great wealth and success, and from the shabbier parts of London to intellectual life in New York centred on The New Yorker magazine, to which she became a contributor. In 1954 she was received into the Roman Catholic church and for some time she lived in Rome, relishing the glitter of Italian high society, finally settling in Tuscany with her friend Penelope Jardine, where she died in 2005. Summer reading recommendations included Caledonian Road by Andrew O'Hagan, Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson, Homework by Geoff Dyer and Of Thorn and Briar by Paul Lamb. Martin also praised Electric Spark, the new – and very different – biography of Muriel Spark by Frances Wilson. For episode show notes, please see the Slightly Foxed website. Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major by Bach Hosted by Rosie Goldsmith Produced by Philippa Goodrich
Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues Colm Toibin: “Long Island,” sequel to “Brooklyn” Colm Tóibín discusses his latest novel, “Long Island,” which follows characters from his earlier best-seller, “Brooklyn” twenty years later. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Colm Tóibín was born in Enniscorthy, Ireland, in 1955. He is the author of 11 novels including The Master, Brooklyn, The Testament of Mary, Nora Webster, House of Names and The Magician. His work has been shortlisted for The Booker Prize three times, has won the Costa Novel Award and the IMPAC Award. He has also published two collections of stories and many works of non-fiction. Special thanks to the folks at BookShop West Portal in San Francisco for their assistance. Complete Interview. Martin Amis: “The Zone of Interest” Martin Amis (1949-2023), in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studio on a book tour for “The Zone of Interest,” October 29, 2014 Novelist and essayist Martin Amis died of cancer on May 19, 2023 at the age of 73, leaving behind such novels as The Rachel Papers, London Fields, The Information, and his last memoir-cum-novel, Inside Story. On October 29th, 2014, Richard Wolinsky conducted the last of five interviews with Martin Amis, about Amis's then most recent novel, The Zone of Interest. A new film adaptation of that novel recently opened to rave reviews. Complete Interview Review of “& Juliet” at BroadwaySF Orpheum through July 27, 2025. Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors' positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others for shorter periods each week. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended. Book Stores Bay Area Book Festival See website for highlights from the 110th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, May 31 – June 1, 2025. Book Passage. Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events. Books Inc. Mix of on-line and in-store events. The Booksmith. Monthly Event Calendar. BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar. Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months. Green Apple Books. Events calendar. Kepler's Books On-line Refresh the Page program listings. Live Theater Companies Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. Summers at John Hinkel Park: Cymbeline opens July 4; The Taming of the Shrew opens August 16. See website for readings and events. Actor's Reading Collective (ARC). All readings at 7 pm: The Thin Place by Lucas Hnath, July 13 Aurora; Appropriate by Brandon Jacob Jenkins, July 20 Aurora, July 21 Z Below. The Best We Could by Emily Feldman, July 27 Aurora, July 28 Z Below; Recipe by Michael Gene Sullivan, August 4 Aurora; August 5 The Magic. African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar. Afro-Solo Theatre Company.See website for calendar. American Conservatory Theatre Young Conservatory: Hadestown, Teen Edition, August 8-17, Strand. Kim's Convenience by Ins Choi, Sept 18 – Oct 19, Toni Rembe Theatre. Aurora Theatre The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Jane Wagner, with Marga Gomez, July 12 – August 10. Awesome Theatre Company. See website for information. Berkeley Rep. The Reservoir .by Jake Brasch, Sept. 5 – Oct 12, Peets Theatre. See website for summer events. Berkeley Shakespeare Company See website for upcoming events and productions. Boxcar Theatre. The Illusionist with Kevin Blake, live at the Palace Theatre. Tony Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for events listings. The Heat Will Kill Everything written and performed by Keith Josef Adkins, July 17-19. BroadwaySF: & Juliet, July 1-27, Orpheum. See website for complete listings for the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theaters. Broadway San Jose: Moulin Rouge!, The Musical. July 8-13. See website for other events. Center Rep: Indecent by Paula Vogel, September 1 – 28. Lesher Center. Central Stage. See website for upcoming productions, 5221 Central Avenue, Richmond Central Works The Last Goat by Gary Graves, June 28 – July 27. Cinnabar Theatre. Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood by Ken Ludwig, September 12-28, Sonoma State. Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings. Contra Costa Civic Theatre Pippin, August 30 – Sept. 14. See website for other events. Golden Thread The Return by Hanna Eady and Edward Mast, August 7 – 24, The Garret at ACT's Toni Rembe Theatre. Hillbarn Theatre: Murder for Two, a musical comedy, October 9 – November 2, 2025. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. See website for specific workshops and events. Los Altos Stage Company. Guys & Dolls, July 18 – 27, Los Altos Youth Theatre. Lower Bottom Playaz August Wilson's Two Trains Running, August 8 -31. August Wilson's King Hedley II, November 8 -30. BAM House, Oakland. Magic Theatre. Aztlan by Luis Alfaro, World Premiere, June 25 – July 20 (extended). See website for additional events. Marin Shakespeare Company: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, June 13 – July 13, Forest Meadows Amphitheatre. See website for other events. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Ride the Cyclone, the musical, July 11 – August 15. New Performance Traditions. See website for upcoming schedule Oakland Theater Project. Les Blancs (The Whites) by Lorraine Hansberry, July 11 – 27. Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming. Palace of Fine Arts Theater. See website for event listings. Pear Theater. Constellations by Nick Payne, June 27 – July 20. See website for staged readings and other events. Playful People Productions. See web page for information on upcoming shows. Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances. Ray of Light: 9 to 5, the Musical. September 2025. Ross Valley Players: See website for New Works Sunday night readings and other events. San Francisco Playhouse. My Fair Lady, July 3 – Sept. 13. SFBATCO. See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows. The Day The Sky Turned Orange by Julius Ernesto, Sept 5 – Oct. 5, Z Space. San Jose Stage Company: See website for events and upcoming season Shotgun Players. The Magnolia Ballet by Terry Guest, July 12 – August 10. South Bay Musical Theatre: The Sound of Music, September 27 – October 18. Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday. The Breath Project. Streaming archive. The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream. Theatre Lunatico See website for upcoming events and producctions. Theatre Rhino Kyles' by Olivia Bratco, July 3-18.Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean, A New Musical, June 18 – July 13. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Word for Word. See website for upcoming productions. Misc. Listings: BAMPFA: On View calendar for Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings. Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2025 Season. Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar. Fort Mason Center. Events calendar. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows. San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. See schedule for upcoming SFGMC performances. San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings. San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings. Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog. If you'd like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org . . The post July 10, 2025: Colm Toibin – Martin Amis appeared first on KPFA.
Leila Mottley gained critical acclaim at 19 with her debut novel Nightcrawling, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Now, she returns with her second novel, The Girls Who Grew Big. It follows a group of teenage mothers in the Florida Panhandle who form a close-knit community to support each other through the challenges of young motherhood. Mottley talks about why she views this novel as a response to the current political moment surrounding reproductive rights.And TV critic David Bianculli reviews the season premiere of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and its crossover with Abbott Elementary.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Leila Mottley gained critical acclaim at 19 with her debut novel Nightcrawling, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Now, she returns with her second novel, The Girls Who Grew Big. It follows a group of teenage mothers in the Florida Panhandle who form a close-knit community to support each other through the challenges of young motherhood. Mottley talks about why she views this novel as a response to the current political moment surrounding reproductive rights.And TV critic David Bianculli reviews the season premiere of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and its crossover with Abbott Elementary.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Join hosts Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about TikTok, Booktrovert, Meta, and training AI on copyright books. Then, stick around for a chat with Ewan Morrison!Ewan Morrison: Described as the ‘most fluent and intelligent Scottish writer of his generation' by Booker Prize judge Stuart Kelly, Ewan Morrison is an award winning novelist and screenwriter and an essayist. Morrison's writing has been praised by renowned authors Lionel Shriver, Ian Rankin, Fay Weldon, Douglas Coupland, James Frey, Irvine Welsh, James Robertson, Luke Rhinehart and Hanif Kureishi among others. Ewan's eighth book, the 'darkly comic thriller', HOW TO SURVIVE EVERYTHING was published by Contraband in the UK in 2021, and in the US with Harper Perennial in 2022. It tells the story of a teenage girl who is abducted by her survivalist father, who believes that a world ending pandemic has begun.In November 2022, the book was optioned for a TV series and developed by Made Up Stories (Nine Perfect Strangers, Pieces of Her), Fifth Season & Kindling Pictures.
Late Show Book Club chats with Samantha Harvey, author of the Booker Prize-winning novel, "Orbital," our June book club pick. Find out which book Harvey would take into space with her, the significance of the International Space Station being deorbited in 2030, and her advice for aspiring writers. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Orbital is the kind of novel that could inspire hours and hours of conversation. Kimberly can't imagine a single person who feels like they apprehended the thing with just one read. If you're curious about how she pulled it off, how she uses language to describe the undescribable, or plenty of other aspects--indulge yourself in a more fulsome experience of this gorgeous Booker Prize winner now!
Dieses Buch ist Familienroman, Nachkriegstragödie und Liebesgeschichte in einem - 300 Seiten, die es auf die Shortlist des Booker Prize 2024 geschafft haben. Von Christine Westermann.
Abdulrazak Gurnah is emeritus Professor of Post-Colonial Literatures at the University of Kent and the 2021 Nobel Prize winner in Literature. Born in Zanzibar in 1948, the second of six children, Abdulrazak grew up in the dying days of the island's status as a British protectorate before independence was declared in 1963. The revolution which followed made Zanzibar an undesirable and unsafe place to live in for young men of Arab heritage. In 1967, he left to seek opportunities in Britain.He subsidised his studies through a series of low paid jobs which included strawberry picking, factory work and time as a hospital porter. In the evenings he was studying at night school and after gaining a PhD in English, he joined the University of Kent, eventually becoming a Professor.Alongside his academic career, Abdulrazak was writing and it took him twelve years to find a publisher for his 1987 debut novel, Memory of Departure.He has published ten more novels since then, including 1994's Paradise and 2001's By the Sea (short and longlisted for the Booker Prize respectively) which explore themes of exile, displacement, belonging and colonialism. He was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature for his body of work and “for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fates of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents”. He lives in Kent, with his wife, the Guyanese-born scholar, Denise de Caires Narain. DISC ONE: Hit the Road Jack - Ray Charles DISC TWO: Petite Fleur - Sidney Bechet DISC THREE: Nipepee - Seif Salim DISC FOUR: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 7 - 1. Allegro maestoso. Composed by Clara Schumann. Performed by Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano) and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Holly Mathieson DISC FIVE: A Day in the Life - The Beatles DISC SIX: Kaira - Toumani Diabaté DISC SEVEN: So What - Miles Davis DISC EIGHT: Folon - Salif Keita BOOK CHOICE: That Glimpse of Truth: The 100 Finest Short Stories Ever Written selected by David Miller LUXURY ITEM: A nail clipper CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Petite Fleur - Sidney Bechet Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor
What happens when the state, with the pretext of protecting public safety, can detain indefinitely certain individuals whose dreams seem to indicate they may be capable of committing a crime? Set in a precarious world where sleep-enhancing devices and algorithms provide the tools and formulae for making one's unconscious a witness to one's possible waking life, this novel touches on a myriad of political, philosophical, and moral concerns as they particularly connect to issues of gender, race, ethnicity, privacy, and the security state.In this episode of Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with award-winning novelist Laila Lalami about her new novel, The Dream Hotel. Laila Lalami is the author of five books, including The Moor's Account, which won the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, and the Hurston / Wright Legacy Award. It was on the longlist for the Booker Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was a national bestseller, won the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction. Her books have been translated into twenty languages. Her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Nation, Harper's, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She has been awarded fellowships from the British Council, the Fulbright Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University. She lives in Los Angeles.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_placeEpisode WebsitePhoto credit: Beowulf Sheehan
What happens when the state, with the pretext of protecting public safety, can detain indefinitely certain individuals whose dreams seem to indicate they may be capable of committing a crime? Set in a precarious world where sleep-enhancing devices and algorithms provide the tools and formulae for making one's unconscious a witness to one's possible waking life, this novel touches on a myriad of political, philosophical, and moral concerns as they particularly connect to issues of gender, race, ethnicity, privacy, and the security state.In this episode of Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with award-winning novelist Laila Lalami about her new novel, The Dream Hotel. Laila Lalami is the author of five books, including The Moor's Account, which won the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, and the Hurston / Wright Legacy Award. It was on the longlist for the Booker Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was a national bestseller, won the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction. Her books have been translated into twenty languages. Her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Nation, Harper's, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She has been awarded fellowships from the British Council, the Fulbright Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University. She lives in Los Angeles.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_placeEpisode WebsitePhoto credit: Beowulf Sheehan
What happens when the state, with the pretext of protecting public safety, can detain indefinitely certain individuals whose dreams seem to indicate they may be capable of committing a crime? Set in a precarious world where sleep-enhancing devices and algorithms provide the tools and formulae for making one's unconscious a witness to one's possible waking life, this novel touches on a myriad of political, philosophical, and moral concerns as they particularly connect to issues of gender, race, ethnicity, privacy, and the security state.In this episode of Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with award-winning novelist Laila Lalami about her new novel, The Dream Hotel. Laila Lalami is the author of five books, including The Moor's Account, which won the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, and the Hurston / Wright Legacy Award. It was on the longlist for the Booker Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was a national bestseller, won the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction. Her books have been translated into twenty languages. Her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Nation, Harper's, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She has been awarded fellowships from the British Council, the Fulbright Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University. She lives in Los Angeles.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_placeEpisode WebsitePhoto credit: Beowulf Sheehan
What happens when the state, with the pretext of protecting public safety, can detain indefinitely certain individuals whose dreams seem to indicate they may be capable of committing a crime? Set in a precarious world where sleep-enhancing devices and algorithms provide the tools and formulae for making one's unconscious a witness to one's possible waking life, this novel touches on a myriad of political, philosophical, and moral concerns as they particularly connect to issues of gender, race, ethnicity, privacy, and the security state.In this episode of Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with award-winning novelist Laila Lalami about her new novel, The Dream Hotel. Laila Lalami is the author of five books, including The Moor's Account, which won the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, and the Hurston / Wright Legacy Award. It was on the longlist for the Booker Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was a national bestseller, won the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction. Her books have been translated into twenty languages. Her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Nation, Harper's, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She has been awarded fellowships from the British Council, the Fulbright Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University. She lives in Los Angeles.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_placeEpisode WebsitePhoto credit: Beowulf Sheehan
What happens when the state, with the pretext of protecting public safety, can detain indefinitely certain individuals whose dreams seem to indicate they may be capable of committing a crime? Set in a precarious world where sleep-enhancing devices and algorithms provide the tools and formulae for making one's unconscious a witness to one's possible waking life, this novel touches on a myriad of political, philosophical, and moral concerns as they particularly connect to issues of gender, race, ethnicity, privacy, and the security state.In this episode of Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with award-winning novelist Laila Lalami about her new novel, The Dream Hotel. Laila Lalami is the author of five books, including The Moor's Account, which won the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, and the Hurston / Wright Legacy Award. It was on the longlist for the Booker Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was a national bestseller, won the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction. Her books have been translated into twenty languages. Her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Nation, Harper's, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She has been awarded fellowships from the British Council, the Fulbright Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University. She lives in Los Angeles.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_placeEpisode WebsitePhoto credit: Beowulf Sheehan
This summer we'll be interviewing a handful of interesting people who are living with Parkinson's. First up: the novelist Linda Grant. Linda started life as a journalist before becoming acclaimed fiction writer who won the Women's Prize in 2000 for her novel When I Lived in Modern Times, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2008 for The Clothes on Their Backs. Here, she talks for the first time about her Parkinson's diagnosis, how it has impacted her writing, and how she plans to become (maybe) the first writer to bring to life a protagonist living with PD.Don't forget to sign the Parky Charter petition by going to ParkyPetition.com!Sponsored by Boardwave, who support Cure Parkinson's.Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardell, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Sir Nicholas Mostyn and Jeremy Paxman.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.Sound mixing by Ewan Cameron.Music by Alex Stobbs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey, co-novelists Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché; and investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov share their favourite photographs of themselves, and explore how writers navigate self-presentation. Recorded Live at Borris Festival of Writing & Ideas 2025.
Tina Knowles, the mother of icons Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, has just published her memoir Matriarch. It tells the story of how a resilient little girl, born in difficult times, became a powerhouse, guiding her daughters to their potential. How she, the great-granddaughter of two enslaved women, went from what she describes as a little, two-bedroom “poor house” with seven people in Galveston, Texas, to being the head of one of the most successful and high-profile families in the world. Ms Tina joined Nuala McGovern in the Woman's Hour studio.For the first time since 1973 women will walk out to compete at Queen's Club as the Queen's Tennis tournament gets underway. To mark this moment, the Lawn Tennis Association is launching a series of initiatives to support the health and wellbeing of British women's tennis players. Anita Rani spoke to the LTA's Chief Medical Officer Dr Guy Evans and former British Number One and Tournament Director of Queen's, Laura Robson.Dr Grace Spence Green's spine was broken when a man fell on her in a shopping centre. At that time, Grace was part-way through her medical degree, and found herself going from being a trainee doctor learning about how to work with patients, to being a patient herself with serious injuries. Ten months after her injury, Grace continued her degree and later qualified as a doctor who is also a wheelchair user. Grace told Anita about her experiences, as described in her new book, To Exist As I Am.Bernardine Evaristo is the winner of The Women's Prize Outstanding Contribution Award - a one-off literary honour to mark the 30th anniversary year of the Women's Prize for Fiction. Bernardine joined Nuala to discuss her huge body of work and career highlights including winning the Booker Prize in 2019 for her novel Girl, Woman, Other, and her role as a champion for women and women of colour in the creative industries.Model Hailey Bieber has sold her make-up company Rhode in a deal worth up to $1 billion. She joins a list of other celebrities earning millions from their cosmetic brand. Nuala was joined by make-up artist to the stars Val Garland and Beauty Editor for the Telegraph, Sonia Haria, to discuss.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Rebecca Myatt
Bernardine Evaristo is the winner of The Women's Prize Outstanding Contribution Award - a one-off literary honour to mark the 30th anniversary year of the Women's Prize for Fiction. Bernardine joins Nuala McGovern to discuss her huge body of work and career highlights including winning the Booker Prize in 2019 for her novel Girl, Woman, Other, and her role as a champion for women and women of colour in the creative industries. Yesterday South Korea voted in its new president Lee Jae-myung, but many women are concerned about the leader's silence on gender equality in a country where the gender pay gap is one of the largest in Asia. Min Hee Go is Professor of Political Science at Ewha Women's University in Seoul, she tells Nuala McGovern about the growth of anti-feminist rhetoric within South Korea's political establishment, and the future of women's rights in the country.Consumed by paranoia, superstition and a ruthless sense of justice, a climate of fear and mass hysteria sweeps through the town of Salem, Massachusetts when rumours grow that a group of girls are practising witchcraft. What lies are the townspeople prepared to tell themselves in order to survive? A new production of The Crucible is currently on stage at the Globe Theatre in London. Nuala is joined by Ola Ince the director and Hannah Saxby who plays Abigail Williams – the primary instigator of the witch trials that follow.
Mark Sarvas is the award-winning author of the novels @UGMAN (ITNA Press), MEMENTO PARK (FSG, Picador) and HARRY, REVISED (Bloomsbury). MEMENTO PARK is the winner of a 2019 American Book Award (Before Columbus Foundation), and the 2019 American Jewish Library Association Fiction Award. It was a finalist for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, and was shortlisted for the JQ Wingate Literary Prize and longlisted for the Sophie Brody Medal. His debut novel, HARRY, REVISED, was published in more than a dozen countries around the world, earning raves from Le Monde to The Australian. A finalist for the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association's 2008 Fiction Award and a Denver Post 2008 Good Read, HARRY, REVISED has been called "A remarkable debut" by Booker Prize winner John Banville, and was compared to John Updike and Philip Roth by the Chicago Tribune. He was awarded a 2018 Santa Monica Arts Fellowship and is a 2021 Guild Hall Artist in Residence. Want to be a guest on Book 101 Review? Send Daniel Lucas a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/17372807971394464fea5bae3 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Madeleine Thien is the author of four books, including Do Not Say We Have Nothing, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, The New York Review of Books, and elsewhere. She lives in Montreal. Her new novel is The Book of Records. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
MJ Franklin, who hosts the Book Review podcast's monthly book club, says that whenever someone asks him, “What should I read next?,” Yael van der Wouden's “The Safekeep” has become his go-to recommendation. So he was particularly excited to discuss the novel on this week's episode.Set in the Netherlands in 1961, “The Safekeep” is one of those books it's best not to know too much about, as part of its delight is discovering its secrets unspoiled. As the reviewer for The New York Times coyly wrote in her piece about the book, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2024: “What a quietly remarkable book. I'm afraid I can't tell you too much about it.”Here are some other books discussed in this week's episode:“The Torqued Man,” by Peter Mann“The Little Stranger,” by Sarah Waters“Mice 1961,” by Stacey Levine“The New Life,” by Tom Crewe Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
A season of endings, but also beginnings: our first Barbara Pym! The celebrated British novelist had a bit of a career slump; after publishing six novels between 1950 and 1961, she couldn't find a home for her seventh, and didn't publish anything for more than a decade. Then, in 1977, Quartet in Autumn appeared, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. A true comeback victory. We chose this book because it deals with a different kind of ending: retirement. Four aging office workers are on their way out, and each is sad in their own way. The book's kind of a bummer, but also funny? Like a certain podcast you all know and love. We're joined by frequest guest Dave Housley, author of several sad/funny novels, including one about an office. If you're a fan of the show, and want more of it in your life, we're still posting new episodes every two weeks to our Patreon. Five bucks a month also gets you access to a pretty deep back catalog, including our Hunt for the Worst Book of All Time: https://www.patreon.com/c/BookFight
Eine Familie im Strudel von Willkür, Machtmissbrauch und Totalitarismus. Mit diesem Plot gewann der Ire Paul Lynch den Booker Prize, den wichtigsten Preis für englischsprachige Literatur. Mit Olivia Röllin spricht der Autor von «Prophet Song» über Empathie, Meditation und die Kraft von Geschichten. Als Paul Lynch sein neustes Buch schrieb, dachte er, dass «Prophet Song» seine Karriere beenden könnte. Denn der Roman, in dem Irland ein totalitärer Staat wird, trifft Lesende mit voller Wucht. Vom ersten Satz an zeichnet Lynch in intimster Klarheit nach, was mit einer Familie geschieht, die in den Strudel von staatlicher Gewalt, Willkür und Verfolgung gerät. Dass seine Geschichte in einem westeuropäischen Land mit einer gefestigten Demokratie spielt, macht es noch verstörender. 2023 erhielt der irische Autor dafür den begehrten Booker Prize. Seither steht seine Welt Kopf, und er gibt nach eigenen Aussagen fast nur noch Interviews. Lynch ist ein Sprachvirtuose, der sich in innere Kontemplation begeben muss, um schreiben zu können. Er spricht von einem Versuch in radikaler Empathie. Was nicht immer einfach sei, denn er sei in erster Linie Vater von zwei Kindern. Mit Olivia Röllin spricht er über existenzielle Kipppunkte, die Revolution des Mitgefühls und das Schreiben als Daseinsform.
Booker Prize long-listed English author Susanna Clarke is one of the most influential fantasy writers of our time.
Lisa discusses The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka. This book was awarded the Booker Prize in 2022, which is one of the most prestigious literature awards internationally. Other books discussed: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Indian author Banu Mushtaq has won this year's International Booker Prize 2025. The annual literary Booker Prize award goes to a living author from anywhere in the world for work available in English and published in the UK or Ireland.
Charlotte Wood is the author of seven novels and three books of non-fiction. Her novel Stone Yard Devotional was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. It was described by the UK Guardian as ‘a quiet novel of immense power' and has been praised by authors Anne Enright, Tim Winton, Karen Joy Fowler, Hannah Kent and Paula Hawkins among others. Her previous books include The Luminous Solution, a book of essays on the creative process; the international bestseller, The Weekend; and The Natural Way of Things which won a number of prizes including The Stella Prize and the Prime Minister's Literary Award. Her features and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Literary Hub, The Sydney Morning Herald andThe Saturday Paper among other publications. In 2023 Belvoir Theatre Company staged an adaptation of her novel The Weekend, and her novel The Natural Way of Thingsfeatured in ABC Television's 2021 series The Books That Made Us. Charlotte joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about pacing a quiet novel, her main character who is never named, why she set the novel at the start of the pandemic, plagues, slowing down your writing and paying attention to small details, her relationship with plot, revision, and voice, and much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It's stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you'll find an album's worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It's perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at writersonwritingpodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners! (Recorded on April 23, 2025) Host: Barbara DeMarco-BarrettHost: Marrie StoneMusic: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)
A year ago, Percival Everett published his twenty-fourth novel, “James,” and it became a literary phenomenon. It won the National Book Award, and, just this week, was announced as the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. “James” offers a radically different perspective on the classic Mark Twain novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”: Everett centers his story on the character of Jim, who is escaping slavery. The New Yorker staff writer Julian Lucas is a longtime Everett fan, and talked with the novelist just after “James” was released. “My Jim—he's not simple,” Everett tells Julian Lucas. “The Jim that's represented in ‘Huck Finn' is simple.” This segment originally aired on March 22, 2024.
Simon and Rachel speak to the novelist and non-fiction writer Andrew O'Hagan. Born in Glasgow, Andrew is the author of seven novels – including "Be Near Me", "Mayflies" and "Caledonian Road" – and three books of non-fiction: "The Missing", "The Atlantic Ocean" and "The Secret Life". He is editor at large at the London Review of Books and has written over 150 pieces for the publication, starting with a Diary in 1993 about James Bulger's murder and the cruelty of children to other children. Other LRB pieces have covered the sinking of his grandfather's ship, the Grenfell Tower disaster and Prince Harry. Andrew has has been nominated for the Booker Prize, was voted one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists in 2003, and won the E. M. Forster Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. We spoke to him about coming to London from Scotland and making his way, combining journalism and fiction, and his latest novel, "Caledonian Road". We've also made another update for those who support the podcast on the crowdfunding site Patreon. We've added 40 new pages of material to the package of successful article pitches that goes to anyone who supports the show with $5 per month or more, including new pitches to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the BBC. This means the whole compendium now runs to a whopping 160 pages. And we're excited to announce that for people who contribute $10/month we're now releasing bonus mini-episodes. If you'd like to know what these will sound like, there's a sample episode with Lee Child that you can listen to for free on our Patreon now. Thanks to the help of our sponsors, Scrivener, the first ten new signs-ups at $10/month will additionally receive a lifelong license to Scrivener worth £55/$59.99. This specialist word-processing software helps you organise long writing projects such as novels, academic papers and even scripts. But we only have ten to give out so, if you're interested, please check it out as soon as you can. Other Patreon rewards include signed copies of our podcast book (see below) and the opportunity to take part in a monthly call with the two of us to workshop your own pitches and writing projects. A new edition of “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World's Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is available now. The updated version now includes insights from over 100 past guests on the podcast, with new contributions from Harlan Coben, Victoria Hislop, Lee Child, Megan Nolan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Philippa Gregory, Jo Nesbø, Paul Theroux, Hisham Matar and Bettany Hughes. You can order it via Amazon or Waterstones.You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.
Yael Van der Wouden's first novel The Safekeep is a twisted tale of desire, obsession and loss set in the post-war Netherlands. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, and now the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction.
"The country spoke Irish largely before it spoke English. Grammatically, the structure of Irish is different from English. As Ireland adopted the English language, this sort of hybridization started to occur, where the English language was placed on top of Irish grammatical constructions. You get this slipperiness, this ability to move sentences, to place words in interesting places, and to use constructions that you just wouldn't find in England, for example. The thing about being an Irish writer is there isn't a reverence. There's a sort of implicit freedom to use the language however we like. So long as you have mastery and command of the language, you can push it to the edges."Paul Lynch is the author of five novels. His most recent novel, Prophet Song, won the 2023 Booker Prize and the Dayton Literary Peace Peace Prize for Fiction, and other prizes. Prophet Song presents a dystopian vision of Ireland and a mother's determination to protect her family as her country slides towards totalitarianism. The Booker Prize Jury said, “It's a remarkable accomplishment for a novelist to capture the social and political anxieties of our moment so compellingly.“ In 2024, Lynch was elected to Aosdána, the Irish academy for the arts, honoring distinguished artists. He was the chief film critic of Ireland's Sunday Tribune newspaper. His novels have been translated into 35 languages.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcastPaul Lynch is the author of five novels. His most recent novel, Prophet Song, won the 2023 Booker Prize and the Dayton Literary Peace Peace Prize for Fiction, and other prizes. Prophet Song presents a dystopian vision of Ireland and a mother's determination to protect her family as her country slides towards totalitarianism. The Booker Prize Jury said, “It's a remarkable accomplishment for a novelist to capture the social and political anxieties of our moment so compellingly.“ In 2024, Lynch was elected to Aosdána, the Irish academy for the arts, honoring distinguished artists. He was the chief film critic of Ireland's Sunday Tribune newspaper. His novels have been translated into 35 languages.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast