Podcasts about granta best

“It's my mum's favourite book that I wrote!” Benjamin Markovits is here to talk about his new and twelfth novel, THE REST OF OUR LIVES, published by Faber and Faber. Tom Layward has made a pact with himself. After his daughter moves out of college, he's moving out too. His wife had an affair, and he feels like he owes himself a road trip across America. He takes  in the sights, sounds and basketball games of the American heartland and beyond. But he's deferring some health issues and it seems like it's only a matter of time before his body asks him to stop and slow down, some of which was inspired by Ben's own experiences.   Ben's novel, You Don't Have to Live Like This, won the James Tait Black Prize for fiction. He was a Granta Best of Young British Novelists. His writing has featured prolifically in mainstream publications.  We discuss: Are families about power dynamics? Hear about Ben and I reflecting on our family life Is Steph Curry Benjamin's new obsession instead of Michael Jordan? Why is Syme, Ben's first novel, his mum's favourite novel?   ***** Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation! https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984 ***** You can buy THE REST OF OUR LIVES from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages

‘The people I like to write about are what I would describe as moderately successful failures.' Benjamin Markovits is here to talk about his new and twelfth novel, THE REST OF OUR LIVES, published by Faber and Faber. Tom Layward has made a pact with himself. After his daughter moves out of college, he's moving out too. His wife had an affair, and he feels like he owes himself a road trip across America. He takes  in the sights, sounds and basketball games of the American heartland and beyond. But he's deferring some health issues and it seems like it's only a matter of time before his body asks him to stop and slow down, some of which was inspired by Ben's own experiences.   Ben's novel, You Don't Have to Live Like This, won the James Tait Black Prize for fiction. He was a Granta Best of Young British Novelists. His writing has featured prolifically in mainstream publications.  ***** Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation! https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984 ***** You can buy THE REST OF OUR LIVES from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages Rippling Points 2.42 - Why Tom goes on a roadtrip 4.12 - Feelings of failure and sport 7.10 - Constructing the narrator 9.00 - Tom's difference to other narrators of Ben's 11.30 - Pick-up basketball 15.15 - East Coast privilege 16.00 - The NBA - basketball and race 21.20 - Katharina Volckmer in conversation  22.45 - Tom's relationship with his children 23.57 - Tom and Ben's illness 26.58 - Matters of life and death 28.10 - Doctors and writers 29.45 - Ben's next steps Reference Points Philip Roth John Updike Ben's novels The Syme Papers Playing Days You Don't Have to Live Like This The Sidekick

We recently welcomed Catherine Lacey to the bookshop to discuss her vertiginous latest novel Biography of X.Ostensibly the quest of a journalist, C.M. Lucca, to discover more about the life of her late wife—an artist who went by many names, but who she knew only as X—it quickly becomes clear that, in Biography of X, it's not just one life being called into question, but a genre of literature, a method of reading, a manner of telling stories, a concept of history, perhaps even truth itself.Buy Biography of X here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/biography-of-x-5*Catherine Lacey is the author of four books: Nobody Is Ever Missing, The Answers, Certain American States, Pew, and Biography of X. Her work has appeared in Harper's, Vogue, the New York Times and elsewhere. She is a Granta Best of Young American Novelist, a Guggenheim Fellow and the winner of the 2021 New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award.Adam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. His latest novel, Beasts of England, a sequel of sorts to Animal Farm, is available now. Buy a signed copy here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/beasts-of-englandListen to Alex Freiman's latest EP, In The Beginning: https://open.spotify.com/album/5iZYPMCUnG7xiCtsFCBlVa?si=h5x3FK1URq6SwH9Kb_SO3w Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

K Patrick's Mrs. S is one of the most eagerly awaited debuts of the year, having already secured for its author a spot on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list. A queer romance set in the staffroom of an elite English boarding school, Lillian Fishman has described it as ‘a voluptuous performance in the art of withholding'. Patrick was in conversation with editor and writer Amelia Abraham, whose most recent book, Queer Intentions (Macmillan) was nominated for a Polari First Book award in 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sally is reading A Field Guide to Reality, the debut novel by the Granta Best of Young British author Joanna Kavenna, originally published in 2016 and set in a surreal, quantum alternative Oxford University.  Sally will be in conversation with Joanna Kavenna and fellow writer Elizabeth Lowry at Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford, from 6pm on September 5th. They will discuss many of the themes of the podcast; reading, writing and the intersection with life and living - and it's free to attend! More details here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/s-bayley-e-lowry-and-j-kavenna-a-reading-life-a-writing-life-tickets-688044298017 You can find out more about Joanna's writings here: http://www.joannakavenna.com/ And Elizabeth Lowry here: https://elizabethlowry.co.uk/          

Biography of X is one of the most intriguing, compelling and vertigo-inducing reads of recent years. Structured and referenced like a biography—written by one CM Lucca—the central contention of the book is Lucca's quest to unearth the origins and influences of X, the celebrated artist known by a single letter. It also calls into question how much we — as biographers, as readers, as fans, as lovers — can ever really pin down “who” anybody is at all.Buy Biography of X here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/product/7949265/lacey-catherine-biography-of-x*In addition to Biography of X, Catherine Lacey is the author of four books: Nobody Is Ever Missing, The Answers, Certain American States and Pew. Her work has appeared in Harper's, Vogue, the New York Times and elsewhere. She is a Granta Best of Young American Novelist, a Guggenheim Fellow and the winner of the 2021 New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award. Adam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. Buy a signed copy of his novel Feeding Time here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/product/7209940/biles-adam-feeding-timeListen to Alex Freiman's Play It Gentle here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4gfkDcG32HYlXnBqI0xgQX?si=mf0Vw-kuRS-ai15aL9kLNA&dl_branch=1 Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**Find out more about our Year of Reading here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/product/7486597/shakespeare-and-company-year-of-reading **Kamila Shamsie's new novel Best of Friends begins in Karachi in 1988, a year that would prove pivotal in the political history of Pakistan. Zahra and Maryam are teenagers, on the cusp of adulthood, finding their feet in a world where they have to keep one eye on the intrigues of the school yard and the other on the lives into which they are expecting or expected to step. Lives of vast opportunity but also uncertainty. In fact perhaps the only certainty for both Zahra and Maryam is their friendship. Rock solid since the age of four. But then something happens, or perhaps better to say almost happens, that continues to cast a shadow thirty years later when the story picks up again in London.Buy Best of Friends here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/product/5782828/kamila-shamsie-shamsie-best-of-friends*SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR BONUS EPISODESLooking for Friends of Shakespeare and Company read Ulysses? https://podfollow.com/sandcoulyssesIf you want to spend even more time at Shakespeare and Company, you can now subscribe for regular bonus episodes and early access to Friends of Shakespeare and Company read Ulysses.Subscribe on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/sandcoSubscribe on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/shakespeare-and-company-writers-books-and-paris/id1040121937?l=enAll money raised goes to supporting “Friends of Shakespeare and Company” the bookshop's non-profit, created to fund our noncommercial activities—from the upstairs reading library, to the writers-in-residence program, to our charitable collaborations, and our free events.*Kamila Shamsie was born and grew up in Karachi, Pakistan. Her most recent novel Home Fire won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2018. It was also longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017, shortlisted for the Costa Best Novel Award, and won the London Hellenic Prize. She is the author of six previous novels including Burnt Shadows, shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and A God in Every Stone, shortlisted for the Women's Bailey's Prize and the Walter Scott Prize. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages. Kamila Shamsie is a Fellow and Vice President of the Royal Society of Literature and was named a Granta Best of Young British Novelist in 2013. She is professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester. She lives in London. Adam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. Buy a signed copy of his novel FEEDING TIME here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/S/9781910296684/feeding-timeListen to Alex Freiman's Play It Gentle here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4gfkDcG32HYlXnBqI0xgQX?si=mf0Vw-kuRS-ai15aL9kLNA&dl_branch=1 Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Novelist Kamila Shamsie discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Kamila Shamsie was born and grew up in Karachi, Pakistan. Her novel, Home Fire, won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2018. It was also longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017, shortlisted for the Costa Best Novel Award, and won the London Hellenic Prize. She is the author of six previous novels including Burnt Shadows, shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and A God in Every Stone, shortlisted for the Women's Bailey's Prize and the Walter Scott Prize. Her work has been translated into over 30 languages. Kamila Shamsie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was named a Granta Best of Young British Novelist in 2013. She is professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester and lives in London. Her new novel is Best of Friends, which is available at https://www.waterstones.com/book/best-of-friends/kamila-shamsie/9781526657862. Kamila Shamsie is in conversation with Nesrine Malik at London's Southbank Centre on Wednesday 28th September. Tickets are available at https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/literature-poetry/kamila-shamsie-best-friends?eventId=907048. The Peshawar Museum https://aboutkp.kp.gov.pk/page/peshawar_museaum Women's cricket https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-womens-cricket-from-englands-greens-to-the-world-stage-132904 How to dress on scorchingly hot days https://www.gearpatrol.com/style/a736579/how-to-dress-cool-through-hot-weather/ The Pakistan floods https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/world/asia/pakistan-floods.html Ada I and II of Caria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_of_Caria City walks https://www.ft.com/content/9d190dfe-97d5-4a9a-b8a3-8019589e9cee This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

This week's guest is Booker-shortlisted Nadifa Mohamed discussing The Fortune Men a gripping fictional portrayal of a real miscarriage of justice in 1950s Cardiff.Buy The Fortune Men here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/I/9780241466940/the-fortune-men-shortlisted-for-the-costa-novel-of-the-year-awardBrowse our online store here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/15/online-store/16/bookstore*SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR BONUS FEATURESIf you want to spend even more time at Shakespeare and Company, you can now subscribe for regular bonus episodes including: An initiation into the world of rare book collecting; The chance to expand your reading horizons as our passionate booksellers recommend their favourite titles; Handpicked classic interviews from our archive; And an insight into what makes your favourite writers tick as they answer searching questions from our Café's Proust questionnaire.Subscribe on Spotify here: https://anchor.fm/sandcoSubscribe on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/sandcoSubscribe on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/shakespeare-and-company-writers-books-and-paris/id1040121937?l=enAll money raised goes to supporting “Friends of Shakespeare and Company” the bookshop's non-profit, created to fund our noncommercial activities—from the upstairs reading library, to the writers-in-residence program, to our charitable collaborations, and our free events.*Mahmood Mattan is a fixture in Cardiff's Tiger Bay, 1952, which bustles with Somali and West Indian sailors, Maltese businessmen and Jewish families. He is a father, chancer, some-time petty thief. He is many things, in fact, but he is not a murderer. So when a shopkeeper is brutally killed and all eyes fall on him, Mahmood isn't too worried. It is true that he has been getting into trouble more often since his Welsh wife Laura left him. But Mahmood is secure in his innocence in a country where, he thinks, justice is served. It is only in the run-up to the trial, as the prospect of freedom dwindles, that it will dawn on Mahmood that he is in a terrifying fight for his life - against conspiracy, prejudice and the inhumanity of the state. And, under the shadow of the hangman's noose, he begins to realise that the truth may not be enough to save him.*Nadifa Mohamed was born in Hargeisa, Somaliland, in 1981 and moved to Britain at the age of four. Her first novel, Black Mamba Boy, won the Betty Trask Prize; it was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize and the PEN Open Book Award. Her second novel, Orchard of Lost Souls, won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Prix Albert Bernard. Nadifa Mohamed was selected for the Granta Best of Young British Novelists in 2013, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. The Fortune Men was shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. Nadifa Mohamed lives in London.Adam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. Buy a signed copy of his novel FEEDING TIME here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/S/9781910296684/feeding-timeListen to Alex Freiman's Play It Gentle here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4gfkDcG32HYlXnBqI0xgQX?si=mf0Vw-kuRS-ai15aL9kLNA&dl_branch=1 Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the S&Co podcast takes its summer break for a few weeks, we leave you with this fascinating and funny conversation between Pola Oloixarac and John Freeman, recorded on the bookshop terrace on 19th July. Many thanks to John, Pola and the NYU Creative Writing Program for making this very special evening possible. * Buy Pola Oloixarac's books here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/search?q=Pola+Oloixarac&type=books Buy John Freeman's There's a Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/I/9780593314692/theres-a-revolution-outside-my-love-letters-from-a-crisis Browse our online store here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/15/online-store/16/bookstore Become a Friend of S&Co here: https://friendsofshakespeareandcompany.com * Pola Oloixarac was born in Buenos Aires, where she studied Philosophy at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. She's the author of the novels Savage Theories, Dark Constellations and Mona. She's the recipient of the 2020 Eccles Centre Prize, and was named one of Granta Best of Young Spanish Novelists in 2010. Her pieces about culture and politics have appeared in The New York Times, BBC and La Nación, where she writes a political column. She lives in Barcelona. John Freeman is the founder of Freeman's and an executive editor at Alfred A. Knopf. The author and editor of ten books, his work includes the anthologies Tales of Two Planets and The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story; a book-length essay, Dictionary of the Undoing, and two collections of poems; Maps and The Park. His most recent book, co-edited with Tracy K. Smith, is There's a Revolution Outside My Love. He is Artist in Residence at NYU. Adam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. Buy a signed copy of his novel FEEDING TIME here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/S/9781910296684/feeding-time Listen to Alex Freiman's Play It Gentle here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4gfkDcG32HYlXnBqI0xgQX?si=mf0Vw-kuRS-ai15aL9kLNA&dl_branch=1

Is writing a muscle? Kamila Shamsie, prize winning novelist, fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Granta Best of Young British author, talks to Lucy Scholes about her great-aunt, Attia Hosain, whose books are newly reissued with her introductions on the Virago Modern Classics list, and how she once took her aside to say, ‘Never stop writing'. In their conversation, they traverse the psychological journey of refugees, remember how reading Woolf for the first time felt like coming up for air and ask how much courage it takes to write. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The devil's daughter features in a new novel from Jenni Fagan; Salena Godden's debut novel imagines Mrs Death. To discuss conjuring fear, they join Shahidha Bari alongside a pair of historians - Tabitha Stanmore, who researches magic from early modern royal courts to village life, and Daniel Ogden, who has looked at werewolf tales in ancient Greece and Rome. Jenni Fagan's latest novel is called Luckenbooth, and her first book, The Panopticon, has been filmed. Fagan was listed by Granta as one of the 2013 Granta Best of Young British Novelists. There is more information about her drama and poetry collection, There’s A Witch In The Word Machine, on her website - https://jennifagan.com/ Salena Godden's novel is Mrs Death Misses Death, published on 28 January 2021, and she's been made a new Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. You can find more about her poetry and her radio show, Roaring 20s, on her website - http://www.salenagodden.co.uk/ Tabitha Stanmore is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, working on witchcraft. Daniel Ogden is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Exeter. His book is called The Werewolf In The Ancient World. You might be interested in other episodes looking at witchcraft: Author Marie Dariessecq - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0000qkl The relevance of magic in the contemporary world - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000kvss Historians Marina Warner and Susannah Lipscomb look at Witchfinding - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06kckxk Novelists Zoe Gilbert, Madeline Miller and Kirsty Logan compare notes on Charms - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b1q0xc Producer: Emma Wallace

In The Power the world is a recognisable place: there's a rich Nigerian kid who lounges around the family pool; a foster girl whose religious parents hide their true nature; a local American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But something vital has changed, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power - they can cause agonising pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world changes utterly. This extraordinary novel by Naomi Alderman, a Sunday TimesYoung Writer of the Year and Granta Best of British writer, is not only a gripping story of how the world would change if power was in the hands of women but also exposes, with breath-taking daring, our contemporary world. give it a'listen OOooooo babeeeey we didn't talk much plot but we talked all about them sweet, sweet themes during this episode. This episode also revealed that Ash has more vengeance in her heart than Candace, we argued about whether or not Polar Bear's Christmas counts as a book (it does), and we waxed poetic about zodiac signs. Give it a listen, or we'll give you a *ZAP*! Mentioned Links Are you a nerd? Wanna run some more? Then check out Zombies, Run! a fitness app co-created by Naomi Alderman.Learn more about Naomi Alderman at her website over here.70 Books to Make You Feel Hopeful!!!!What Bob's Burgers Character Are You Based on Your Zodiac???? Goodreads We'd love to have you join us in opining over on Goodreads. You can find this book: The Power by Naomi Alderman and of course join our discussion group here. Spotify Playlist Ash mixes up playlists for our books - here's a sample for this week. You can check out our Spotify profile for like, all of them if you want to see more. image credit: © M.E. MULDER/SHUTTERSTOCK

Kamila Shamsie is the author of seven novels and one book of non-fiction. Among many other accolades, Kamila is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 2013 was named a Granta Best of Young British Novelist. She joined us in the Granta offices for an interview about her new novel Home Fire, published by Bloomsbury. Home Fire was longlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize.

Nicole Krauss has been hailed by the New York Times as 'one of America's most important novelists'. She is the author of the international bestsellers, Great House, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Orange Prize, and The History of Love, which won the Saroyan Prize for International Literature and France's Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, and was short-listed for the Orange, Médicis, and Femina prizes. Her first novel, Man Walks Into a Room, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book of the Year. In 2007, she was selected as one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists, and in 2010 she was chosen by the New Yorker for their 'Twenty Under Forty' list. Her fiction has been published in the New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, and Best American Short Stories, and her books have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Her latest novel is Forest Dark. Kamila Shamsie is the author of six previous novels: In the City by the Sea; Kartography (both shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize); Salt and Saffron; Broken Verses; Burnt Shadows (shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction) and A God in Every Stone, which was shortlisted for the Baileys Prize, the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. Three of her novels have received awards from Pakistan's Academy of Letters. Kamila Shamsie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 2013 was named a Granta Best of Young British Novelist. Her latest novel, Home Fire has been longlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dame Judi Dench talks about her friend Sir John Gielgud, as the actor is honoured with an English Heritage blue plaque at his former London home. AM Holmes and Granta editor Sigrid Rausing discuss the new Granta list of the best young American novelists.Tim Robey pays tribute to the director Jonathan Demme, whose films include Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, and whose death was announced today.

Naomi Alderman is the author of four novels. In 2006 she won the Orange Award for New Writers, and in 2007 she was named Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, as well as being selected as one of Waterstones' 25 Writers for the Future. All of her novels have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Book at Bedtime. In 2013 she was selected for the prestigious Granta Best of Young British Writers. Naomi's latest novel is The Power. Petina Gappah is a Zimbabwean writer with law degrees from Cambridge, Graz University and the University of Zimbabwe. Her debut story collection, An Elegy for Easterly, won the Guardian First Book Prize in 2009. She is the author of a novel, The Book of Memory, and now a second short story collection Rotten Row. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Her debut The Still Point was inspired by the Arctic, and Amy Sackville heads north again with her second novel, Orkney, which confirms that this startlingly original writer is heading for the literary big league. The same is true for Evie Wyld, who has been named one of 2013’s Granta Best of Young British Novelists – her new book, All the Birds Singing, is about an outsider living on a British island. In this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, the two novelists get together to discuss their work with Jenny Brown.

Her debut The Still Point was inspired by the Arctic, and Amy Sackville heads north again with her second novel, Orkney, which confirms that this startlingly original writer is heading for the literary big league. The same is true for Evie Wyld, who has been named one of 2013’s Granta Best of Young British Novelists – her new book, All the Birds Singing, is about an outsider living on a British island. In this event, recorded live at the 2013 Edinburgh International Book Festival, the two novelists get together to discuss their work with Jenny Brown.

Benjamin Markovits is the author of six books: The Syme Papers, Either Side of Winter and Playing Days as well as a trilogy on the life of Lord Byron — Imposture, A Quiet Adjustment, and Childish Loves. He is also the only Granta Best of Young Novelists who is known to be able to dunk. In this podcast with Yuka Igarashi, he discusses his time playing minor-league basketball for a team in southern Germany, and the ways in which this and his other experiences inform his work as a writer. He also talks about his new novel, extracted in the issue, about a group of university friends who get involved in a scheme to regenerate Detroit.

With Mark Lawson. Front Row reveals the Best of Young British Novelists, as selected by Granta magazine, and featuring 20 writers under 40. The prestigious list, which was first published in 1983, is released once a decade: the class of 1983 included Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie and Rose Tremain. The editor of Granta John Freeman and writer A L Kennedy, who was selected in both 1993 and 2003, unveil the new list and reflect on their judging process. The White House is the setting for the action film Olympus Has Fallen, starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman. After the US president is taken hostage by terrorists, a disgraced former guard (Butler) finds himself playing a vital role. Elaine Showalter reviews. Mark reports from Derry-Londonderry, as it celebrates its 100th Day as City of Culture 2013. Throughout the year hundreds of events will take place, involving both international artists and local people. Mark speaks to the organisers of a photography project which aims to show the personal history of the city, not the news headlines from the Troubles. A record shop owner and local band Strength discuss their participation, and author Brian McGilloway talks about the City of Culture legacy. The conductor Sir Colin Davis died yesterday at the age of 85. Nicholas Kenyon, director of the Barbican Centre, London, reflects on the career of a musician who won international acclaim, most notably for his performances of works by Berlioz and Sibelius. Producer Nicki Paxman.