Podcasts about literary salon

Visit Nina Lichtenstein's website to pre-order her new memoir Body: My Life in Parts available May 27th! Visit Maine Writer's Studio for information about her October retreat "Embodied Stories", as well as upcoming workshops and the next monthly Literary Salon.Check out Nina Lichtenstein's Substack, The Viking Jewess and Other CuriositiesSign up for Michelle Redo's monthly Daring to Tell podcast newsletter called The Re-do at michelleredo.com.Listen to Nina reading from another Body chapter, Eyes, on episode 43 of Daring to Tell.Check out more of Phil Redo's music.Keep listening!

If you are a bibliophile, author, or have always dreamed of penning a book, you will love to meet Jeffrey James Higgins, host of Elaine’s Literary Salon.  This new show — live from the popular bistro Elaine's in Old Town, Alexandria VA. Our host is the restaurant's owner, Jeffrey James Higgins, a #1 Amazon bestselling author on a mission to help fellow writers share their stories. The author of The Forever Game, Furious and Unseen, Jeff has a reputation for high-stakes, no-frills drama with this taut thrillers that reviewers say do not contain an ounce of fat. Fans know every line of dialogue is a gut punch, and yet he can make a landscape come alive with a single high-impact sentence. Consider this one: “The pier was a mishmash of pulleys and taught metal lines, and it smelled of diesel fumes and saltwater.” Jeff’s 2024 novel, Forever Technology, gives us characters that are so likable, and so on the ropes, that their day-to-day fight for survival is what makes this a page-turner. There's no indication yet that Higgins is planning a series, but we would love to see one centered around this book’s main character, DEA Special Agent Adam Locke. As it stands, what separates Locke from the Jack Reachers of the literary landscape is his hearty, seemingly natural exploration of deeper themes. In this case, it's nothing less than the future of immortality. Jeff is a former reporter and retired supervisory special agent who has wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents. He received both the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor. Jeffrey has been interviewed by CNN, New York Times, Fox News, Investigation Discovery, Declassified, and USA Today, and has won numerous literary awards, including the PenCraft Book Awards Fiction Book of the Year and a Readers' Favorite Gold Medal. Today, Inkandescent Radio + TV producer and founder Hope Katz Gibbs, turns the mike to Jeff. We learn about his background, inspiration, and why he and his wife Cynthia (pictured above) opened a restaurant in the heart of Old Town. Don’t miss it! Check out the live Literary Salon events here. And check back for new episodes of Elaine's Literary Salon on Inkandescent.tv and listen to all the podcasts on InkandescentRadio.com. Elaine’s Literary Salon About Elaine’s: Elaine's modern Mediterranean cuisine is based on exquisite food found in Alexandria, Egypt. The unique style is best described as Middle Eastern with French, Greek, and Italian influences. Elaine's is located at 208 Queen Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. The 1880 building, the previous home of Bilbo Baggins for 38 years, has been completely renovated with a new look and feel. The restaurant is located in the heart of Old Town's Historic District within sight of the Potomac River. Founders Park, The Torpedo Factory Art Center, and Old Town Alexandria Waterfront are only blocks away. Elaine's is named after the owner's grandmother. When the owner was twelve years old in Cairo, Egypt, she promised her grandmother that one day she would own a restaurant and name it after her. The owner is proud to share her family's recipes with the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Make a reservation today: elaines-restaurant.com.

In the third of the five-part series in collaboration with The Coast is Queer Festival, we revisit Juno Dawson's Lovely Trans Literary Salon with Harry Nicholas from 2023's festival. GET TICKETS TO JUNO'S LOVELY TRANS LITERARY SALON AT 2024'S FESTIVAL Find out more about The Coast is Queer and sign up to their mailing list to hear first about the full lineup for this year's festival and get early access to workshops. You can follow them on Instagram here. Use code PODCAST20 for 20% off tickets (available for individual event tickets, not for workshops or festival passes!) With thanks to Brighton-based DJ Louis Stays On for the music.

Our dearest podcast listeners - we have a special, important message for you from our founder Damian Barr, as we say a very fond but sad farewell to the Literary Salon... Some of you have come along in person or online or listened to our podcast for years. Thank you for being there—readers bring a book to life, and that's what you've done for Salon. It's been fifteen years since our first night at Shoreditch House and we've grown beyond any dream Damian dared have. So in this special final episode, Damian shares his decision with you, takes us on a joyful trip down memory lane, and gives you a sneak peek of the next chapter... Damian Barr's Literary Salon was founded 15 years ago by award-winning writer, columnist and broadcaster Damian Barr. Find out more about Damian and subscribe to his personal newsletter on his website - www.damianbarr.com. Follow Damian on Twitter/X - @Damian_Barr Follow Damian on Instagram - @mrdamianbarr Podcast produced and edited by presenter/producer Megan Bay Dorman. For any podcast production or presenting enquiries, email Megan on mbaydorman@gmail.com Podcast programmed by Sales, Marketing & Publicity Director Matt Casbourne. For any enquiries email Matt on mcasbourne@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before the summer is out we wanted to share a page-turning holiday read on the podcast. The Orchid Hour takes us back to New York City, 1923, when Zia De Luca's life is about to be shattered. She lives with her in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library, but when an unassuming patron is murdered, the police investigation focuses on Zia... After another tragedy strikes even closer to home, she learns the crimes are connected to a new speakeasy in Greenwich Village. When the police investigation stalls, Zia decides to find her own answers. As she's pulled in deeper and deeper, will Zia be able to bring the killers to justice before they learn her secret? This is a great book for anyone who enjoyed Broadway Butterfly by Sara Divello and Last Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman. The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau is published by Lume, an imprint of Joffe Books, and available now. If you enjoy the work we do and would like to support the Literary Salon podcast, you can get a copy (at a discounted price!) from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. W: www.meganbaydorman.com E: mbaydorman@gmail.com Insta: @meganbaydorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Insta: @indiepublishermatt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week will have you laughing and crying in equal measure! Stand-up comedian Jo Caulfield's hilarious memoir, The Funny Thing About Death, is about two unconventional girls growing up in the 1970s. Six years ago, Jo was about to go on stage when she found out that her big sister Annie had cancer. Not the best way to start a nationwide comedy tour. But the tour turns out to be a welcome distraction for them both. As Jo reports back from various hotels and service stations, they revisit their childhood and adolescence while navigating Annie's illness, learning through trial and error how to behave when someone you love gets sick. 'It's a wildly satisfying and moving read... I loved this special book' - Graham Norton The Funny Thing About Death by Jo Caulfield is published by Polygon, an imprint of Scottish independent press Birlinn, and available now. You can get yourself a copy while supporting the Literary Salon and UK indie bookshops by buying from our shop on Bookshop.org. And if you fancy meeting Jo in St Andrews, pop along to a special event with her at Toppings bookshop on 20th September! Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. W: www.meganbaydorman.com E: mbaydorman@gmail.com Insta: @meganbaydorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Insta: @indiepublishermatt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're joined by Paul Dalgarno reading from his thoughtful, existential novel, A Country of Eternal Light. Margaret Bryce has been having a hard time since dying in 2014. In a liminal place, we join Margaret as she revisits her life, from her Aberdeen prefab childhood to the birth of her twin girls, through Thatcher's Britain, the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster, Australia's Black Summer bushfires, the death of Princess Diana and the COVID pandemic. But as Margaret struggles to remember her past, there is something she's also fighting to forget... An emotional journey, A Country of Eternal Light by Paul Dalgarno is published by Polygon (an imprint of Birlinn Ltd) and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can support the Literary Salon's work by visiting our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Booker award-winning author Ben Okri combines fiction, essay and poetry in Tiger Work. This incredible collection, inspired by environmental activism, displays his classic blend of storytelling, fantasy and magic in tales that imagine messages sent to us from beyond the end, from those who saw it coming - exhorting us to change now.  'Both a work of lyrical imagination and a warning about the dangers we will face unless we take immediate action' - New Yorker This is an important and incredible collection, and we hope you enjoy Ben's special reading for us. Tiger Work by Ben Okri is published by Apollo, an imprint of Head of Zeus, and available now. We recommend visiting your local indie bookshop or you can support the Literary Salon by getting a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning actor and creator of a myriad of unforgettable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Gertrude Stein, Miriam truly is a national treasure - and possibly our very favourite lesbian. She made us wait a long time for her extraordinary life story, and it's far richer and stranger than any part she's played. From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, her memoir This Much Is True is packed with brilliant stories, several of which Miriam shared with us in this live Literary Salon at the London Library. As you might expect from Miriam and her potty mouth, the conversation with Damian gets explicit and sweary at times, as well as being honest, intelligent and HILARIOUS - enjoy!   Interview and reading recorded live at Damian Barr's Literary Salon, at the London Library, in December 2021. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Live audio recorded by Jake Clark-Darby Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you could save the life of a loved one by trading in years of your own life, how many years would you give? How many lives could you save? Would you know when to stop? Francis Broad has negotiated the day of his death and now he must come to terms with the decisions he has made. Three Gifts by Mark A. Radcliffe is our thought provoking, page-turning book of the week. Published by Brighton-based independent publisher Epoque Press, this book is available now and will appeal to readers of The Lovesong of Miss Queenie Hennessey by Rachel Joyce and One Day by David Nicholls: both authors who we adore and have hosted on the Literary Salon. We recommend buying a copy of this beautiful book from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop at bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our 250th episode! My how time flies when you're enjoying phenomenal books. Since it's a very special episode, we have a very special guest to celebrate with us - the one and only internationally bestselling Jojo Moyes! We couldn't be more thrilled to have Jojo join us with a wonderful reading from her new book, Someone Else's Shoes.  Sam and Nisha should never have crossed paths. But after a bag mix-up at the gym, their lives become intertwined - even as they spiral out of control. Nisha is a woman who loses everything, including the clothes off her back, while Sam finds new confidence in wearing a pair of Louboutins - a new experience that triggers a change in her otherwise humdrum life. So enjoy this exclusive reading, and then tune in to a special interview with Jojo over on the Literary Salon's Instagram with our guest host, Alex Clark! Someone Else's Shoes is published by Michael Joseph and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org   Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and journalist. His memoir, Maggie & Me, won Stonewall Writer of the Year and Sunday Times Memoir of the Year. His debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here, was shortlisted for six major awards and named a Book of the Year in the Observer, Guardian and Mail. He's written columns for The Times and Sunday Times and hosted Front Row on BBC Radio 4 as well as his own series Guide Books.  In 2019, Damian brought books back to television with 'The Big Scottish Book Club', now in its fourth series and syndicated internationally. Also on BBC TV, he presented 'Shelf Isolation' and the landmark documentary for Sir Walter Scott's 250th. Damian holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He started his world-famous Literary Salon in 2008. He lives in Brighton.Damian's ChoicesA Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee WilliamsBeloved by Toni MorrisonTales of the City: Book 1  by Armistead Maupin Other books mentionedA Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara Illborn by Daniel T JacksonThe Sandman by Neil GaimonThe Graveyard Book by Neil GaimonListener's Choice (Dedra L Stephenson)Spare by Prince HarryLinks to other things discussedJulia's article on marketing for debut authors (part one, part two)Ed's magical writing practice: Pomodoro TechniqueDamian's favourite writing haunt: Gladstone LibrarySUPPORT GROUPSLGTBQ+ Mental Health Service: Mind OutFor children in need of help: Childline (0800 1111)Support for recovery from child abuse: NAPAC  (0808 801 0331)You can buy books mentioned in this episode on our Bookshop.org Affiliate page (UK Only). By purchasing here, you support both small bookshops AND our podcast. Keep  in touchWe love our listeners, and we want to hear from you. Please leave a review on one of our podcast platforms and chat with us on social media: Twitter: @twolitchicks Instagram: @two_lit_chicks TikTok: @two_lit_chicks Email: hello@twolitchicks.org If you do one thing today, sign up to our newsletter so we can keep you updated with all our news. Thank you so much for listening.    Listeners, we love you. Two Lit Chicks Podcast is recorded and produced by Your Voice HereSupport the show

Enjoy the world's first reading and interview with award-winning author Kit about her brand new book 'Without Warning And Only Sometimes', published this week! Kit is the award-winning and bestselling author of 'My Name Is Leon' and edited the pioneering collection 'Common People'. 'Without Warning & Only Sometimes: Scenes from an Unpredictable Childhood' is her story of growing up in a household of opposites and extremes. Her haphazard mother was a devout Jehovah's Witness who believed the world would end in 1975. Her father was the opposite. Kit was caught between three worlds: Irish, Caribbean and British in 1960s Birmingham. It's funny, honest and as compelling as her fiction. Kit joined us in May 2022 at a live in-person Literary Salon to share the world premiere of her effervescent memoir. Also joining us with a world premiere that night was BAFTA-winning writer of The Split, Suffragette and The Iron Lady, Abi Morgan OBE - and you can listen back to Abi's episode which was released in May. 'Without Warning And Only Sometimes' is out now and you can support the Salon to keep our podcasts free by picking up a copy from our shop on bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our latest episode is for all the It's A Sin fans out there. That spectacular show won our hearts and was celebrated by the Literary Salon and almost a thousand of you at a virtual event starring its screenwriter/producer Russell T Davies. So now we're absolutely thrilled to bring you a reading from 'the real life Jill'! Jill Nalder shares her new memoir - Love From the Pink Palace - which tells the true story of her and her friends' lives during the AIDS crisis. Jill juggled a busy West End career while campaigning for AIDS awareness and research, educating herself and caring for the sick. Most of all, she shines a light on those who were stigmatised and shamed, and remembers those brave and beautiful boys who were lost too soon. 'Jill met the crisis head on… She held the hands of so many men. She lost them, and remembered them, and somehow kept going...' - RUSSELL T DAVIES Love From the Pink Palace is published by Headline and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Abi Morgan OBE is the BAFTA and Emmy-winning playwright and screenwriter who created the BBC's rave series The Split, The Iron Lady, Suffragette, The Hour and much more. She shifts from screen to page for her first book This Is Not A Pity Memoir, and we were thrilled to have the world premiere at a very special Literary Salon. Poignant and heart-breaking but resolutely unwilling to rely on sentimental platitudes, Abi's memoir about a tragic change in her family circumstances is a profoundly powerful and perceptive read on love, grief and the eternal promise of hope. Abi joined us at The London Library on 5th May 2022 to share a very powerful reading and conversation with Damian Barr. Not to be missed! Podcast introduced and produced by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EXTRA SPECIAL EPISODE ALERT! Enjoy this full-length Literary Salon with Douglas Stuart, hot-off-the-press! Last week we held a very special evening with Douglas in conversation with Damian at an in-person Salon in Brighton - it was an incredible conversation, and we're still thinking about it. So join us as we celebrate Douglas' brilliant new novel 'Young Mungo', the story of two boys, two tribes and two Scotlands. Catholic James and Protestant Mungo live in the violent, macho world of Glasgow's council schemes. They dream of escaping the gangs and the grey, fractured city. Will their dream come true? 'Thanks so much for a wonderful Salon Damian. I could have listened to Douglas all night. Such a tender, interesting and poignant interview.' - Araminta Hall Young Mungo is out now and a definite must-read for 2022. If you'd like to support the Salon podcast and indie bookshops at the same time, you can grab a copy from our shop at bookshop.org (where you can also pick up a copy of Douglas' Booker-winning debut, Shuggie Bain). Podcast introduced, produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the weather warms, we're bringing you a sun-drenched mid-century novel from the international bestselling author Adriana Trigiani. In 'The Good Left Undone', we're treated to a family saga that spans a century, taking us from Italy to the UK and back again. Through the generations, the Cabrellis have been subject to the tides of history and it is up to Matelda, the matriarch nearing the end of her life, to pass on their legacy before it's too late. Trust Adriana to offer up lush descriptions that will transport the senses in a book that you'll want to savour, about love, family, and long-held secrets... ‘Rich in all the elements that make a story memorable… Adriana is, indeed, a storyteller second to none'  - Heather Morris, bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz You can buy the book from your local indie or from our shop at Bookshop.org (which supports both the Literary Salon and indies across the UK with each purchase). Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a remarkable novel to share with you this week. At Certain Points We Touch by Lauren John Joseph is lyrical, sexy, and will appeal to readers of Garth Greenwell's Cleanness, which, if you haven't read the book, is highly rated by everyone at the Literary Salon!  At Certain Points We Touch is a story of first love and last rites, conjured against a vivid backdrop of London, San Francisco and New York - a riotous, razor-sharp coming-of-age story that marks the arrival of an extraordinary new talent. 'A stone-cold masterpiece' OLIVIA LAING Published by Bloomsbury, the book is available now. We recommend ordering from your local indie bookshop or you can support us by buying a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode , Damali discusses how to remain resilient during these stressful times by gaining strength through others with Robin H. Williams, award winning educator, curriculum writer, educational consultant, mentor, teacher, and so much more. Robin is active in her community and currently serves as President of the Greater Hudson Valley, New York Chapter of the Links Incorporated. She also serves as the national and regional Chair Protocol for Jack and Jill of America Incorporated, and curator of the Literary Salon of the Eastern Area of the Links Arts Committee. Robin is also a former President of the North Manhattan Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. Building partnerships and fund development are just two of Robin's key strengths. She's partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Mount Vernon, Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures, The Newer Show, White Plains chapter of Kappa Alpha Five Fraternity Incorporated, Capital League Program, Peak Skill Youth Bureau, Theater, Young Community Center, White Plains Youth Bureau, The Children's Village, and more to activate programs benefiting underserved youth and their families. She has served as fundraising chair for several organizations, generating funds for scholarships and community outreach programs.

Oh what a night! A full 19 months after our first live show, here's our second - our World's Worst Literary Salon with special guests Jay Foreman, Bec Hill and Ria Lina, recorded in front of a REAL ACTUAL PROPER AUDIENCE OF HUMANS on 10th October 2021 at the Backyard Comedy Club in London. Featuring all manner of awfulness, from the poetry of McGonagall to the sex scenes of Morrissey, with a whole host of dead moose on Broadway, a feral mongoose courtesy of Bram Stoker and a trek across the Andes. With special thanks to our sound recordist James Hingley. Follow us on Twitter: @worstfoot @bazmcstay @benvandervelde @jayforeman @bechillcomedian @rialina_ Join us on our Discord server! https://discord.gg/9buWKthgfx Visit www.worstfootforwardpodcast.com for all previous episodes and you can donate to us on Patreon if you'd like to support the show during this whole pandemic thing, and especially as we work on our first book and plan more live shows! https://www.patreon.com/WorstFootForward Worst Foot Forward is part of Podnose: www.podnose.com

Sold by her mother. Enslaved in Pompeii's brothel. Determined to survive. Her name is Amara. Welcome to the Wolf Den… We've seen this book in just about every bookshop and we're so glad to be hosting Elodie for an episode of the Literary Salon's podcast.  By day, Amara walks the streets with the Wolf Den's other downtrodden women, finding comfort in their dreams and the laughter that they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learnt that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her? The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper is published by Head of Zeus and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. 'Rich in historical detail, beauty and brutality, The Wolf Den brings to vivid life the doomed city of Pompeii and the powerlessness of its women. I loved it.' Caroline Lea, author of The Glass Woman Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Robbie Fehler's sudden death, his wife and daughters unite in their struggle to save their pest control company's finances and the family's future. To survive, they must overcome a political chasm that threatens a new civil war as the values that once united them now divide the very foundation they've built. Through alternating point-of-views, grief and regret gracefully give way to the enduring strength of the hive.  The Hive by Melissa Scholes Young is published by Turner Publishing and available now in all good bookshops. Order it through your local indie bookshop and tell them the Literary Salon sent you. Or, order it through our shop on Bookshop.org (where a share goes to support indies around the UK). ‘The Hive has all the eccentricity and yearning of some of my favourite sister stories, like We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson and Sisters By a River by Barbara Comyns. From the very first chapter, The Hive is a deft, delightfully weird, and often comical family saga.' - Timothy Schaffert, author of The Perfume Thief Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our second pop-up literary salon is coming up this weekend. We are featuring two lowcountry authors Bill Doar of Georgetown, SC, and William Baldwin of McClellanville, SC. For full book lists and show notes for this episode, visit the blog at FoxAndHeronBooks.wix.com/salons. To purchase these or any of the books we discuss on our podcasts from independent bookstores, go to bookshop.org/shop/foxandheronlit. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/foxandheron/message

A photograph is hung on a gallery wall for the first time since it was taken two decades before. It shows a slaughter house in rural Ireland, a painting of the Virgin Mary on the wall, a meat hook suspended from the ceiling - and, from its sharp point, the lifeless body of a man hanging by his feet. The story of who he is and how he got there casts back into Irish folklore, of widows cursing the land and of the men who slaughter its cattle by hand.  Note: Damian mentions that The Butchers was shortlisted for the 2021 RSL Ondaatje Prize as our episode was recorded before the announcement on 11th May 2021. We're delighted to add that The Butchers is now the winner of this year's prize!!! The Butcher's by Ruth Gilligan is published by Atlantic Books and available now in paperback. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. If you enjoyed this episode, listen back to our archives for readings and complete Literary Salon interviews with hundreds of your favourite authors! Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the fourth episode of The Literary Edit Podcast, I was joined by the divine Damian Barr. Author, broadcaster, and creator and host of the Literary Salon, which started at Shoreditch House in 2008, Damian hosts live literary events worldwide.   You can read about Damian Barr's original list of Desert Island Books here, and the ones we discuss in this episode are:   Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin The Colour Purple by Alice Walker The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell This is Not About Me by Janice Galloway A Scots Dictionary of Nature by Amanda Thomson Scabby Queen by Kirstin Innes The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong   Other books we spoke about included The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, The Third Life of Grange Copeland by Alice Walker, Damian's books, Maggie and Me and You Will be Safe Here and Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart.   If you'd like to buy any of the books we discussed in the episode, please consider doing so from the list I created on Bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. If you're based in Australia, please consider buying them from Gertrude & Alice. To contact me, email lucy@thelitedit.com   Facebook The Literary Edit   Instagram: @the_litedit @mrdamianbarr @damianbarrliterarysalon   Twitter: @thelitedit @Damian_Barr  

Bibliotherapist and author (with Susan Elderkin) of classic books about books The Novel Cure and The Story Cure, Ella Berthoud's most recent work is The Art of Mindful Reading, a practical guide that promises to help people to read more mindfully, bringing their lives to books and books into their lives equally. As you might expect we have a lot of book recommendations in this show, plus advice on everything from how to keep a successful book journal to what to do when you're not enjoying your book club book – we've all been there. Listen in and learn how to make the very most of your precious reading time, and even find out how to carve out more of it. Book recommendations What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey, The Pisces by Melissa Broder, Elijah's Mermaid by Essie Fox, The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar, Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towes and There But For The by Ali Smith You can keep up with Ella via her website, ellaberthoud.com and don't miss her themed sessions on Damian Barr's Literary Salon facebook page and her Instagram and YouTube channels. And if you're in need of a literary makeover or have something you want to work through in your life you can sign up for a bibliotherapy session at the School of Life website. • sign up for our weekly newsletter here • Follow us on Instagram  • Follow us on Facebook • Follow us on Twitter • Check out our website

Our latest Salon Exclusive is particularly dear to us. Deborah Orr was a friend of Damian - they grew up in the same corner of Scotland at different times and both wrote memoirs about it. ‘Motherwell’ is Deborah’s memoir and it is as brilliant as the woman herself was. Deborah was a glittering regular at our Salons over the years- maybe you met her there or in the pages of the Guardian, where her interviews and features were legendary. Deborah died before ‘Motherwell’ was published. Her memoir was an instant Sunday Times bestseller but she never saw its success. It’s out in paperback this month, and we’re pleased to share with you this very special reading which gives a taste of her incredible life and extraordinary talent. This extract is read by her friend and literary peer Andrew O'Hagan and also features a tribute from Damian. In ‘Motherwell’ Deborah unpacks the emotional baggage she was burdened with by her mother Win whose expectations shaped her childhood and ultimately her future. It’s a memoir about how a deeper understanding of the place and people you have come from can bring you towards redemption. The Observer describes it as 'A fitting legacy left by a blazing talent'. Waterstones have made ‘Motherwell’ their non-fiction book of the month. To discover this story for yourself, we recommend picking up a copy of the newly published paperback from Waterstones or your local independent bookshop. ‘Motherwell’ (published by Orion) is also available through our shop on Bookshop.org where you can support an indie and the Literary Salon with every purchase.   Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen in to our exclusive launch of 'Some Body To Love' with Alexandra Heminsley. In this special online Salon we celebrate the brilliant new book from the author of 'Running Like A Girl' and 'Leap In' on her publication day! In her latest memoir Alex takes her body as her subject: we wince at every needle as she reveals what IVF is really like and rejoice with her as she gets the family she's given so much for. When her partner begins to question their gender and starts to transition, this fledgling family is put to the test. It's beautiful and brave and expands the idea of family. We hope you enjoy listening to Alex's conversation about it all with Damian. Or if you'd prefer to watch the event, you can find it on our Instagram grid, on our IGTV channel or here on our Facebook. Alex's book is out now from all good bookshops and is one you definitely won't want to miss in 2021. To hear about when our next events are (including plenty of free live events and bibliotherapy sessions!), as well as being in with the chance of winning lots of lovely literary gifts, sign up to our occasional newsletter here. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re thrilled to introduce you to another stellar debut author - Robert Jones, Jr. And his novel The Prophets. Robert is founder of the social media community Son of Baldwin, which speaks powerfully from a Black queer perspective. Robert famously said: ‘We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.’ The Prophets is one of THE novels to watch out for this year: a beautifully written work of fiction about two black teenage slaves in a forbidden relationship on a plantation in 19th century Mississippi. This story of black, queer love is a must-read. A multi-layered novel you’ll want to sit with to fully appreciate all the thought that’s gone into it. Booker winner Marlon James described the book as ‘Epic in its scale, intimate in its force, and lyrical in its beauty…That shuffling sound you hear is Morrison, Baldwin, and Angelou whooping and hollering both in pride, and wonder.’  The Prophets is published by Riverrun and available from all good bookshops. As always we encourage you to buy from your local indie! You can also support the Literary Salon and indies at the same time by buying a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org.  Robert has also provided us with a tempting list of books that have inspired his writing! Read about them here. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bringing vintage class and naughty sass is the award-winning international Bookish Babe and the Bard of Burlesque...Lacy Knickers! Lacy Knickers is a graduate of both the Rose City School of Burlesque and All That Glitters Burlesque Academy in Portland, Oregon. They have performed up and down the west coast in Oregon, Washington, and California and have appeared in both the 2016 and 2019 Oregon Burlesque Festival, the 2017 Hollywood Burlesque Festival, the 2019 Bohemian Burlesque Festival in Prague, and the December 2018 Wunder Kabarett in Paris. They also received Best Overall and Master of Bump & Grind in the 2020 BurlyPicks Croatia competition.  Lacy performs genderbending draglesque as the debonair drag king/draglesque persona, Nick Lacy as well.Lacy is also the producer, artistic director, and writer of the world's sexiest literary salon, Booklover’s Burlesque, as well as other Lacy Productions' such as MasterTease Theatre Burlesque, Burly Night Live: A Tribute to Saturday Night Live, Tease As Old As Time: A Tale Inspired by Beauty & the Beast, The Burlesque Over Broadway Spectacular, Glitter Fever: A Burlesque Tribute to Disco, Phantom Burlesque: A Tribute to Phantom of the Opera, Storylesque: A Storytelling & Burlesque Medley, Cabaret des Arts: A Fusion of Visual Arts & Burlesque, The Bitch is Back: A Burlesque Tribute to Elton John,  A Burly Carol: A Tale Inspired by A Christmas Carol, CinemaLesque: A Tribute to Classic Hollywood, co-produced the entertainment for Magical Beats: A 1920's Evening in the Wizarding World & The Enchanted Forest Ball for the Time Traveler's Costume Guid, and created the pre-show for the Experience Theatre Project's "The Rise of Houdini" and "The Witching Hour."  During our Quarantine time, Lacy curates the Booklover's Burlesque: Bedtime Stories Series on YouTube page and at  www.bookloversburlesque.com website, bringing international  burlesque, drag, theatre, and literary arts communities together to bring joy, pleasure, and empowerment for our audience during this time.  They also directed and curated the virtual artist salon Le Chat Noir Moderne with the Experience Theatre Project as well co-produced THROUGH THE AETHER: A Virtual Vaudevillian Cabaret and RHINESTONE THE VOTE.https://www.bookloversburlesque.comhttps://www.facebook.com/lacyproductions/https://www.instagram.com/lacyknickers123/----------------------------------------------------------------Visit Show Pony Express at www.missmaryjanegreen.com/show-pony-express.htmlAffiliate Partner of Glam’r Gear www.ponypod.club/glamrgearGet in touch:www.instagram.com/missmaryjanegreenwww.instagram.com/pony.podwww.instagram.com/show_pony_expressmoxie@missmaryjanegreen.comPony Pod is the media arm of ‘Show Pony Express’, an online boutique for traveling performers curated by Miss Mary Jane Green.If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe, leave a review and tell your friends.Are you or do you know a traveling performer? Interested in being featured on the show? Interview queries accepted via email.

Douglas Stuart has just won The 2020 Booker Prize for his incredible debut novel 'Shuggie Bain', so to celebrate we're releasing the never-published-before Literary Salon we held with Douglas in June! In a special private event Douglas joined us online all the way from New York, along with viewers from around the world, and treated us to the very first UK reading from Shuggie Bain. Listen in to enjoy his reading and a heartfelt, honest, humorous and thought-provoking interview about the book that was 12 years in the making. Shuggie Bain is the unforgettable story of a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in the run-down public housing of Glasgow. Shuggie's mother, Agnes, walks a wayward path: she's Shuggie's guiding light but also a burden as she finds increasing solace in drink, draining away the lion's share of each week's benefits. Shuggie is meanwhile struggling to somehow become the normal boy he desperately longs to be as it becomes evident he's hiding a secret. A story of addiction, sexuality, and love, Shuggie Bain is an epic portrayal of a working-class family rarely seen in fiction. We’ve been behind Shuggie Bain since we received an early proof and we couldn't be more delighted for Douglas, who adds the Booker to a long list of awards and accolades for his debut. To hear another longer reading Douglas gave us exclusively for our podcast before publication, click here or search our podcast listings from June 2020. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celine’s Salon was formed in November 2015 at The Society Club, an arts and culture bookshop in the daytime and a private members bohemian cocktail lounge in the evening featuring book launches and art shows.This perfect setting has allowed Celine’s Literary Salon to flourish and platform both new and established writers within a friendly and creative atmosphere to read their new works and gain positive feedback from an appreciative audience.Each month has a different theme where writers are encouraged to write a new work we cover all forms of writing and close each salon with a guest author.This is the Soho Radio podcast, showcasing some of the best broadcasts form our online radio station, right from the heart Soho London.Across our Music and Culture channels, we have a wide range of shows covering every genre, along with chat shows, discussions and special broadcasts.To catch up on all Soho Radio shows from both our music and culture channels head on over mixcloud.com/sohoradio or tune in live anytime at sohoradiolondon.com.This is a Soho Radio Productions Podcast.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/soho-radio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Celine’s Salon was formed in November 2015 at The Society Club, an arts and culture bookshop in the daytime and a private members bohemian cocktail lounge in the evening featuring book launches and art shows.This perfect setting has allowed Celine’s Literary Salon to flourish and platform both new and established writers within a friendly and creative atmosphere to read their new works and gain positive feedback from an appreciative audience.Each month has a different theme where writers are encouraged to write a new work we cover all forms of writing and close each salon with a guest author.This is the Soho Radio podcast, showcasing some of the best broadcasts form our online radio station, right from the heart Soho London.Across our Music and Culture channels, we have a wide range of shows covering every genre, along with chat shows, discussions and special broadcasts.To catch up on all Soho Radio shows from both our music and culture channels head on over mixcloud.com/sohoradio or tune in live anytime at sohoradiolondon.com.This is a Soho Radio Productions Podcast.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/soho-radio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Premiering at the Literary Salon we have Neil Blackmore’s wildly seductive new novel. Raised in isolation, Edgar and Benjamin Bowen have lived a cloistered life. But now they’re on a Grand European Tour to improve their station in the world they're discovering that climbing the social hierarchy is not without its perils. If you liked The Talented Mr Ripley, you’ll love The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle, an eighteenth century love story between Benjamin and Horace Lavelle - a man whose cruelty is only matched by his beauty and charisma. In a time and place where ‘mollies’ and all sorts of outsiders are feared and persecuted, Mr Lavelle is refreshingly unashamed which inspires and eventually ensnares the impressionable Benjamin.  The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle is published in the UK by Hutchinson on 13th August 2020 and is available from all good bookshops. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celine’s Salon was formed in November 2015 at The Society Club, an arts and culture bookshop in the daytime and a private members bohemian cocktail lounge in the evening featuring book launches and art shows.This perfect setting has allowed Celine’s Literary Salon to flourish and platform both new and established writers within a friendly and creative atmosphere to read their new works and gain positive feedback from an appreciative audience.Each month has a different theme where writers are encouraged to write a new work we cover all forms of writing and close each salon with a guest author.This is the Soho Radio podcast, showcasing some of the best broadcasts form our online radio station, right from the heart Soho London.Across our Music and Culture channels, we have a wide range of shows covering every genre, along with chat shows, discussions and special broadcasts.To catch up on all Soho Radio shows from both our music and culture channels head on over mixcloud.com/sohoradio or tune in live anytime at sohoradiolondon.com.This is a Soho Radio Productions Podcast.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/soho-radio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Celine’s Salon was formed in November 2015 at The Society Club, an arts and culture bookshop in the daytime and a private members bohemian cocktail lounge in the evening featuring book launches and art shows.This perfect setting has allowed Celine’s Literary Salon to flourish and platform both new and established writers within a friendly and creative atmosphere to read their new works and gain positive feedback from an appreciative audience. Each month has a different theme where writers are encouraged to write a new work we cover all forms of writing and close each salon with a guest author.This is the Soho Radio podcast, showcasing some of the best broadcasts form our online radio station, right from the heart Soho London.Across our Music and Culture channels, we have a wide range of shows covering every genre, along with chat shows, discussions and special broadcasts.To catch up on all Soho Radio shows from both our music and culture channels head on over mixcloud.com/sohoradio or tune in live anytime at sohoradiolondon.com.This is a Soho Radio Productions Podcast.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/soho-radio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What is the feminine beauty ideal? Who decided that ideal and why is it what it is? Does it help anyone or does it just push everyone to want more? Listen as Alexandra D'Italia and Lenya Wilson explore their personal history of beauty culture, what is expected of women in the workplace, and how different the experience is for white women and Black women. Alexandra probes as Lenya unpacks the details about what styles and aspects of Black culture are misappropriated and offensively misused, why it’s offensive, and how to remedy this mistake to show respect. Sources: The Swirl Suite, https://www.swirlsuite.com/ Links to Lenya’s sources for her talk on Cultural Appropriation at Alexandra’s 2019 Writing Leap Art & Literary Salon, which celebrated Fashion & Identity. Mackenzie Wagoner, The Dreadlocks Debate: How Hair is Sparking the Conversation of the Moment, Vogue, https://www.vogue.com/article/dreadlocks-hair-debate-moment, Elle Magazine, Update: Marc Jacobs Responds to Backlash Over Spring 2017 Dreadlicks Look, https://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a39304/marc-jacobs-spring-2017-dreadlocks-controversy/ Steven Reidy & Meher Kanigiri, How are Ethnic Hairstyles Really Viewed in the Workplace?, https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=student Trevor Noah, Black Americans in the Workplace, The Daily Social Distancing Show, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=289587739117002 Where Alexandra volunteers: Jacaranda School for Orphans, http://www.jacarandafoundation.org/ -- Want to talk about this with your friends? Use our conversation prompts to get you going: Who did you want to look like when you were in grammar school, if anyone. How much diversity was in your childhood world? Segregated? What picture books did you love...and those early novels, if any? Any black protagonists? Female? When you were friends, what magazines did you read? Who did you think was the prettiest? Why? . How did high school look? Cliques? Beauty? Who was the prettiest? Why? In twenties and thirties...who was your beauty ideal? Has that changed at you aged? -- Please rate and review this podcast if you enjoyed it; they greatly helps new listeners see this podcast is worth their time. You can find Women Bridging the Gap on Apple Podcasts and Podchaser. We want to hear from you! Let us know how you’re speaking about these issues with your friends. Let us know what topics you want to hear! Email us at Lenya.Alexandra.BridgingtheGap@gmail.com You can find us at: WomenBridgingtheGap.com You can find Lenya at: Instagram - @Lenya_ goddess_ that_bitch You can find Alexandra at: Instagram - @a_xandra17 and @thewritingleap This podcast was edited by Brendan Hutchins from Podcast Advocate. Go to PodcastAdvocate.Network or find him on Twitter @PodcastAdvocate to learn more.

What is the feminine beauty ideal? Who decided that ideal and why is it what it is? Does it help anyone or does it just push everyone to want more? Listen as Alexandra D'Italia and Lenya Wilson explore their personal history of beauty culture, what is expected of women in the workplace, and how different the experience is for white women and Black women. Alexandra probes as Lenya unpacks the details about what styles and aspects of Black culture are misappropriated and offensively misused, why it's offensive, and how to remedy this mistake to show respect. Sources: The Swirl Suite, https://www.swirlsuite.com/ Links to Lenya's sources for her talk on Cultural Appropriation at Alexandra's 2019 Writing Leap Art & Literary Salon, which celebrated Fashion & Identity. Mackenzie Wagoner, The Dreadlocks Debate: How Hair is Sparking the Conversation of the Moment, Vogue, https://www.vogue.com/article/dreadlocks-hair-debate-moment, Elle Magazine, Update: Marc Jacobs Responds to Backlash Over Spring 2017 Dreadlicks Look, https://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a39304/marc-jacobs-spring-2017-dreadlocks-controversy/ Steven Reidy & Meher Kanigiri, How are Ethnic Hairstyles Really Viewed in the Workplace?, https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=student Trevor Noah, Black Americans in the Workplace, The Daily Social Distancing Show, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=289587739117002 Where Alexandra volunteers: Jacaranda School for Orphans, http://www.jacarandafoundation.org/ -- Want to talk about this with your friends? Use our conversation prompts to get you going: Who did you want to look like when you were in grammar school, if anyone. How much diversity was in your childhood world? Segregated? What picture books did you love...and those early novels, if any? Any black protagonists? Female? When you were friends, what magazines did you read? Who did you think was the prettiest? Why? . How did high school look? Cliques? Beauty? Who was the prettiest? Why? In twenties and thirties...who was your beauty ideal? Has that changed at you aged? -- Please rate and review this podcast if you enjoyed it; they greatly helps new listeners see this podcast is worth their time. You can find Women Bridging the Gap on Apple Podcasts and Podchaser. We want to hear from you! Let us know how you're speaking about these issues with your friends. Let us know what topics you want to hear! Email us at Lenya.Alexandra.BridgingtheGap@gmail.com You can find us at: WomenBridgingtheGap.com You can find Lenya at: Instagram - @Lenya_ goddess_ that_bitch You can find Alexandra at: Instagram - @a_xandra17 and @thewritingleap This podcast was edited by Brendan Hutchins from Podcast Advocate. Go to PodcastAdvocate.Network or find him on Twitter @PodcastAdvocate to learn more.

The incandescent John Niven treated us to a brilliant reading and at turns hilarious at turns terrifying conversation at our recent online Salon (relocated from the Savoy). The F*ck-it List is John's new satire, set in a near-future America that’s so horribly real it veers dangerously close to non-fiction. This America survived two terms of Donald and is now in the first term of Ivanka. Frank Brill, a small-town newspaper editor in a post-print world, lives in a world of Trumpian horror where the economy has collapsed and morality with it. Frank’s already endured more than his fair share of misfortune when he’s given a terminal diagnosis. What now? *Be warned, this brilliance contains a lot of swearing and is definitely NSFW (well, depending on your workplace)!* Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polly Samson and family regaled us with exclusive readings and a Q and A at our very first live online Salon, relocated from the Savoy, attracting 50,000 viewers from around the world! Listen in as Polly and family read to us from her latest novel, 'A Theatre For Dreamers'. Set in 1960, the world is flirting with revolution and disaster and the Greek island of Hydra is a heady microcosm, home to a now-legendary circle of artists living messy tangled lives and all ruled over by writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston, troubled king and queen of bohemia. Everyone is drawn into the drama between magnetic writer Axel Jensen, his dazzling wife Marianne Ihlen, and a young Canadian poet called Leonard Cohen. What, or who, is the price of paradise? Can utopia last? Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen in for the world premiere of Broken Greek from the brilliant journalist and broadcaster Pete Paphides (recorded at our very first online Salon, relocated from the Savoy). When Pete’s parents moved from Cyprus to Birmingham in the 1960s in the hope of a better life, they had no money and only a little English. Everything changed. The Paphides family opened a fish-and-chip shop in Acocks Green - The Great Western Fish Bar is where Pete learned about banter and Britishness. And music—all the music. Pete stopped speaking from 4 to 7 seeking refuge in bittersweet pop. From ABBA to The Police, songs provided a safe space from domestic tensions. This warm-hearted coming-of-age memoir will have you craving salty chips and a vinyl collection.  We’re delighted to share Pete’s world premiere of Broken Greek with you, and if you'd like to hear more be sure to tune in to BBC Radio 4 from 4th May when it will be their official Book Of The Week. Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr is an award-winning writer and columnist. Maggie & Me, his memoir about coming of age and coming out in Thatcher's Britain, was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and Sunday Times Memoir of the Year, and won the Paddy Power Political Books 'Satire' Award and Stonewall Writer of the Year Award. Damian writes columns for the Big Issue and High Life and often appears on BBC Radio 4. He is creator and host of his own Literary Salon that premieres work from established and emerging writers. His debut novel You Will Be Safe Here is out now in paperback. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Anna and Amanda discuss how you can support your local bookstores during the COVID-19 shutdown - including Annie's store Mostly Books and ordering online via Hive in the UK. Our book of the week is You Will Be Safe Here by Damian Barr, host of the fabulous Literary Salon  and The Big Scottish Book Club.  This is a novel set in South Africa during the Second Boer War and modern times, when Willem aged 16 is sent to a training camp to 'turn boys into men'. An Observer, Guardian and Financial Times book of the year and a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime, we loved this one.  Next week, Anna and Annie will be reading Weather by Jenny Offill. Follow us! Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com Facebook: Books On The Go Instagram: @abailliekaras and @amandalhayes99 Twitter: @abailliekaras LItsy: @abailliekaras Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz

Listen in for this exclusive interview and readings from the brilliant Maggie O’Farrell, who returned to the Salon to give us yet another world premiere with Hamnet, the novel she’s wanted to write for over thirty years. Maggie's first foray into historical fiction takes us back to a summer day in 1596. A young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to bed with a fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, is distraught. Their mother, Agnes, is a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London. His name is William. This is the heart-stopping story behind Shakespeare’s most famous play. Recorded by Russell Finch Edited by Harry Eyers Produced by Megan Bay Dorman Photography by Daisy Honeybunn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kerry Hudson attended nine primary schools and five secondaries living in B&B's and council flats as she and her mum were forced to move again and again by poverty. Now Kerry is a rightly acclaimed novelist, activist and columnist and her life is unrecognisable. But how did she get from there to here and is her journey complete? What of the places she left? Listen to her incredible conversation with Damian Barr and her readings from Lowborn, a memoir like no other and essential for our times. Recorded at Damian Barr's Literary Salon at The Savoy, 18th October 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jojo Moyes - Literary Salon - July 2019 by Damian Barr's Literary Salon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even books editors have to go on holiday sometimes, so Spectator Books is taking a hiatus for a couple of weeks. But so there's not a gaping gap in your life where the podcast used to be, we're bringing out some of our favourite episodes from our archive. Sam is joined by the critic Alex Clark and Damian Barr — memoirist and host of the Savoy’s Literary Salon — to talk about summer reading. What do you take? What do you regret taking? Kindle, dead-tree or — 19th-century-style — cabin trunk full of books sent on ahead? Our discussion yielded a host of recommendations — from the brand new to the reliable old friends — that we hope will help you plan your own travelling library. For those who like the sound of some of these, we’ve picked them out and listed them here (https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/08/spectator-books-books-for-the-beach/) for your convenience…

Writer, salon leader, & literary ambassador for the Savoy, Damian Barr talks about the power of stories, how he chooses his creative projects and how to write a memoir Recorded in a suite at the Savoy Hotel itself on The Strand in London. Join us on a fascinating, fun and emotional journey into the world of writing & books with Damian Barr; author, salon leader and Literary Ambassador to the Savoy Hotel in London. From finding meaning in childhood memoirs to curating inspirational literary salons across the world, Damian shares his thoughts and insights on how he continues to follow his passions and write acclaimed books. Episode Highlights: "You want to feel like you're in conversation with that book, with an idea. Otherwise, you're just being shouted at."  "...A hotel is supposed to be a home from home, and you can't live at home without books." "...Do you really think Charles Dickens would have written all those books if he had Netflix and Twitter?" "...You have to leave space for the reader. I think it's really important when you're telling a story to leave space for the reader." "...You need to stop looking at Twitter, and you need to be there for your book and it involves saying no to all kinds of temptations in the world." "...You can't be that aggressive in fiction or creative non-fiction. You have to let readers think, "actually I like this person or I don't like this person, or I think this happened, or I think that happened". You need to be a bit equivocal. I'm interested in doubt, right? People who are very certain, I find scary." "[On the homophobic section 28 legislation of the 1980s]...Some people struggle to learn maths, homosexuality is a much more advanced skill." "...Stories are my life. What am I without them? I don't want to live without them and I don't want other people to live without them. That's kind of my guiding mission." "...Build in time for spontaneity. But I think that you do need to create these spaces otherwise time just gets used up." "...You've got to make people feel valued, you've got to listen when they're telling you that you're getting something wrong, you've got to listen when they say to you this is what you want for me or I want for me." Bio: Damian Barr FRSA is an award-winning writer, columnist, presenter and playwright and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is currently the Literary Ambassador for The Savoy Hotel in London and also hosts The Literary Salon. Topics covered: Why the Savoy wanted a Literary Ambassador and what it means to be one The key to the success for the Literary Salon. The power of the podcast. How to sign a colostomy bag at a book launch! The benefits of being an independent organisation. Damian's memoir ‘Maggie and Me' - hard truths and how they bring us together. Advice on writing a memoir. The blur between fiction and non-fiction. The origins of his latest book - “You Will Be Safe Here”. A chance meeting with Gerry Adams How Damian got into a good-natured disagreement about cheese with the New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern. So many projects! How to choose what to invest your time and energy into. The importance of planned spontaneity. The power of partnerships and being social Just. Listen. More.   Get full references, links, videos clips and more in the shownotes here     Music provided by Argofox: TheDiabolicalWaffle - My Wish https://youtu.be/sRWEMjYR6e4

No need to RSVP just turn up and tune in to Free Thinking's end of year salon. Matthew Sweet is our host and he's promising wit and wisdom as well as a host of guests: Jake Arnott, Malika Booker, Neil Brand, David Aaronovitch and Katherine Cooper. Malika Booker co-founded Malika's Poetry Kitchen in 2001 to create a nourishing and encouraging community of writers dedicated to the development of their writing. She is currently the Douglas Caster Cultural Fellow at the University of Leeds. Her first poetry collection was called Pepper Seed and she also writes dramas. Jake Arnott is the author of six novels including The Long Firm and The Fatal Tree. He took part in the tenth anniversary tour of the Polari LGBT literary salon. Dr Katherine Cooper teaches at the University of East Anglia and is researching the PEN archive and gatherings involving authors including H.G. Wells, Graham Greene and Margaret Storm Jameson. She is a BBC Radio 3 and AHRC New Generation Thinker. Neil Brand is a composer, dramatist and author and regular silent film accompanist at the BFI National Film Theatre and at the Barbican in London. David Aaronovitch is a journalist, broadcaster and author of books including his memoir Party Animals: My Family and Other Communists; Producer: Zahid Warley

A mellow set I did soon after the presidential election at the wonderful Octopus Literary Salon in Oakland, California. Chicago Transit Authority - Prologue, August 29, 1968 Madonna - I'll Remember (Cassingle) Aloe Blacc - Bailar America - Tin Man (Cassette) Dave Mason ft. Michael Jackson - Save Me INXS - In Vain (Cassette) LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends The Doors - Gloria (Cassette) P ince - Possessed The Cars - Since I Held You (Cassette) The Police - Voices Inside My Head 702 - Steelo (Cassingle) Gil Scott Heron - Whitey on the Moon The Byrds - I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician (Cassette) Linval Thompson - Look How Mi Sexy Janet Jackson - That's the Way Love Goes (Cassingle) King Sun - Hey Love Maxwell - Ascension (Cassingle) Alan Moorhouse - West Coastin Lenny Kravitz - Sugar (Cassette) 13th Floor Elevators - Slip Inside This House Oasis - Gas Panic (Cassette) P ince and the Revolution - Desire The Cure - Scared As You (Cassette) Laura Nyro - Woman's Blues U2 - Hawkmoon 269 (Cassette) Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes - Bad Luck The Postal Service - Such Great Heights (Cassette) I went by DJ alt.rock for 10 years as a tongue-in-cheek diss at lazy rock & roll radio program directors “discovering” '90s alternative rock in the late aughts. DJ alt.rock was also a nod to early rap names that usually contained either "rock" or “ski”… Never in a million years did I imagine that the prefix “alt-” would be so drastically ruined by a former reality TV clown, but that's exactly what happened in 2016/17… I've done my best to clear that name from as many mixes and artwork as possible, but some sets have so many alt.rock DJ-drops in them that I've opted to just post this notice and keep it moving. From now on, I'm using my first name, because nobody can mess it up (other than myself).