Meet the Writers
525 episodes - English - Latest episode: 23 days ago - ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsWant to know more about the authors behind your favourite books? Tune in to discover the methods of – and inspiration behind – some of the world’s most exciting writers. Every Saturday, Georgina Godwin hosts an in-depth discussion with the person behind the prose.
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Episodes
Mai Al-Nakib
June 11, 2023 11:00 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBAn associate professor of English and comparative literature at Kuwait University, Mai Al-Nakib’s work has explored gender, cosmopolitanism and postcolonial issues and inspired her writing. Her intimate debut novel, ‘An Unlasting Home’, traces Kuwait’s transformation from a pearl-diving backwater to a thriving cosmopolitan state in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Friends on the Shelf’
June 08, 2023 18:08 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to the editor and art director of independent literary magazine ‘Friends on the Shelf’. Inspired by the art of conversation and a belief that we all take pleasure in hearing about each other’s lives, the magazine aims to showcase true stories from ordinary voices. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Toya Wolfe
June 04, 2023 09:36 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBThis week, Georgina Godwin is joined by Chicago-based author Toya Wolfe to discuss her debut novel, ‘Last Summer on State Street’, an intimate portrait of family relationships and female friendship. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘This Ragged Grace’
June 01, 2023 17:17 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBOctavia Bright is a writer, broadcaster and co-host of popular podcast and NTS Radio show ‘Literary Friction’. Her writing has been featured in publications such as ‘Elle’, ‘The White Review’, ‘Harper’s Bazaar’ and ‘The Sunday Times’. She joins Georgina Godwin to talk about her new work, ‘This Ragged Grace: A Memoir of Recovery & Renewal’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jenny Jackson
May 28, 2023 10:08 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBThe vice-president and executive editor at the publishing house Knopf has worked with renowned authors such as Emily St John Mandel and Kevin Kwan. Now her debut novel, ‘Pineapple Street’, a warm and witty examination of American high society, is a New York Times bestseller. She tells Georgina Godwin about publishing buzzwords, the role of an editor and the time she was fired from a deli job for reading behind the counter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Fans‘
May 25, 2023 17:34 - 24 minutes - 22.9 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to journalist and former science writer Michael Bond about his latest book, ‘Fans: A Journey into the Psychology of Belonging’. It takes a fascinating look at the history of fandom and how we let ourselves be inspired by our heroes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ian Dunt
May 21, 2023 11:08 - 29 minutes - 27 MBThe British journalist and political commentator on his early role at ‘Erotic Review’, how media is funded and why the British political system is broken. Ian’s latest book, ‘How Westminster Works …And Why It Doesn’t’, features a searing look at UK politics as well as a set of solutions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘All the Houses I’ve Ever Lived In’
May 18, 2023 15:25 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBKieran Yates is a London-based journalist, editor and broadcaster who has written for publications including ‘The Guardian’ and Vice, covering culture, technology and politics. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her new book, ‘All the Houses I’ve Ever Lived In’. It is an engaging coming-of-age story that shines a light on the UK’s housing crisis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Louisa Treger
May 14, 2023 10:10 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBThe violinist-turned-historical novelist sits down with Georgina Godwin. Her newest book, ‘Madwoman’, is a historical reimagination of American journalist Nellie Bly, whose extraordinary undercover work helped to uncover the horrors of one of New York’s most notorious asylums. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Parallel Hells’
May 11, 2023 17:54 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBLeon Craig is a Berlin-based, British-born writer whose work has been published in ‘The Times Literary Supplement’, ‘The White Review’ and more. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her debut short-story collection, ‘Parallel Hells’ – an anthology drawing on gothic horror and folklore that explores love, power and identity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nguyen Phan Que Mai
May 07, 2023 09:52 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBThe acclaimed Vietnamese author joins Georgina Godwin to discuss growing up in post-war Vietnam, where the country is today and her latest novel, ‘Dust Child’, about four individuals linked forever by decisions made during conflict. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: The Imagination Muscle
May 04, 2023 18:31 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBAlbert Read is the managing director of Condé Nast Britain where he oversees titles such as British Vogue, GQ, Tatler, Vanity Fair, Wired and Condé Nast Travellers. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his new book ‘The Imagination Muscle’ which examines the history of ideas and the ways to tap into your own imagination in your day to day life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Abi Morgan
April 30, 2023 08:47 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBEmmy- and Bafta-winning playwright and screenwriter Abi Morgan is best known for films such as ‘The Iron Lady’ and ‘Suffragette’. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her first book, ‘This Is Not a Pity Memoir’, which tells the story of how what began as an ordinary weekday changed her and her family’s lives forever. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Neptune’s Projects’
April 27, 2023 16:15 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBPoet Rishi Dastidar joins Georgina Godwin to discuss his latest collection, ‘Neptune’s Projects’, a comedic reshaping of mythology that looks at the climate crisis from the point of view of the god Neptune. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monica Macias
April 23, 2023 11:49 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBBorn in Equatorial Guinea, Monica Macias grew up in Pyongyang, North Korea, under the guardianship of the communist country’s then-leader Kim Il Sung. Kim was a close friend of her father, who later became the dictator president of a newly independent Equatorial Guinea. ‘Black Girl from Pyongyang’ is Monica’s remarkable memoir about identity, versions of the truth and finding meaning in the places that we call home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Agents of Influence’
April 20, 2023 14:50 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBMark Hollingsworth is an investigative journalist, historian, and author of 10 books, including ‘Londongrad: From Russia With Cash: The Inside Story of the Oligarchs’. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his new book, ‘Agents of Influence’, a journalistic window into Russia’s political warfare and its long history of espionage and disinformation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Lydia Sandgren
April 16, 2023 11:21 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBThe Swedish psychologist and author spent 10 years writing her debut novel, which won the prestigious August Prize in 2020 and sold more than 100,000 copies. She joins Georgina Godwin to mark the publication in English of ‘Collected Works’, an epic family drama about a man dealing with the tragic aftermath of his wife’s disappearance a decade ago. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Surrounded by Narcissists’
April 13, 2023 16:38 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBSwedish behavioural expert, lecturer and bestselling author Thomas Erikson speaks to Georgina Godwin about his latest book, ‘Surrounded by Narcissists: Or, How to Stop Other People’s Egos Ruining Your Life’. The book is an insightful, thought-provoking guide to pursuing a more fulfilling life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Adam Gopnik
April 09, 2023 09:49 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBAdam Gopnik is best known for his savvy pieces published in ‘The New Yorker’ but the essayist is a true multi-hyphenate. An author, lyricist and lecturer, you might say Gopnik has mastered the art of literature. His latest book, ‘The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery’, questions the fundamentals of learning and mastering an outlandish skill. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Arrangements in Blue’
April 06, 2023 16:14 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to poet and essayist Amy Key about her new book ‘Arrangements in Blue: Notes on Love and Making a Life’. This beautiful and vulnerable memoir inspired by Joni Mitchell’s 1971 album ‘Blue’ looks at the different ways in which an absence of romantic love shapes a life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sarah Bakewell
April 02, 2023 10:41 - 28 minutes - 26 MBThe award-winning UK author tells Georgina Godwin about a childhood family road trip through south Asia, the US and Australia, working in a tea factory and her new book ‘Humanly Possible: 700 years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry and Hope’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘The Company‘
March 30, 2023 16:23 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBJM Varese is a US novelist and literary historian. He sits down with Georgina Godwin to discuss his new gothic thriller ‘The Company’, which is based on the true story of arsenic-laced wallpaper. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Gary Younge
March 26, 2023 13:25 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBGary Younge is an author, an academic and one of the UK’s most celebrated journalists. He joins Georgina Godwin to discuss his remarkable career in international reporting, his teenage years as a Trotskyist, reporting on the elections of Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama, and his new book, ‘Dispatches from the Diaspora: From Nelson Mandela to Black Lives Matter’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Dog Hearted’
March 23, 2023 17:40 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Rowan Hisayo Buchanan and Jessica J Lee, the editors of a heart-warming anthology of essays about our relationships with dogs, ‘Dog Hearted: Essays on our Fierce and Familiar Companions’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sophie Mackintosh
March 19, 2023 10:26 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBThe Welsh novelist’s debut, ‘The Water Cure’, a feminist dystopia, received critical acclaim and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Sophie sat down with Georgina Godwin to discuss how speaking Welsh has influenced her writing, writing her first stories as a child on her grandad’s computer and her latest novel ‘Cursed Bread’, a darkly sexual story about power and desire. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Who Gets Believed’
March 16, 2023 17:32 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBAward-winning Iranian-American writer Dina Nayeri’s ‘The Ungrateful Refugee’ was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She joins Georgina Godwin to discuss her new book, ‘Who Gets Believed’, which looks at what constitutes believability in our society. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ava Glass
March 12, 2023 11:51 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBSome readers are convinced that this internationally bestselling author has worked as a spy for a British intelligence agency. In fact, her previous work in counterterrorism is where her fascination with espionage began. Ava Glass is a pseudonym for crime writer Christi Daugherty who sits down with Georgina Godwin to discuss her interactions with spies, her clever disguises and ‘The Chase’, the first instalment of her pacy new thriller series. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...
Ava Glass
March 12, 2023 11:51 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBSome readers are convinced that this internationally bestselling author has worked as a spy for a British intelligence agency. In fact, her previous work in counterterrorism is where her fascination with espionage began. Ava Glass is a pseudonym for crime writer Christi Daugherty who sits down with Georgina Godwin to discuss her interactions with spies, her clever disguises and ‘The Chase’, the first instalment of her pacy new thriller series. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...
Monocle Reads: ‘A Stranger in Your Own City’
March 09, 2023 17:55 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBGhaith Abdul-Ahad became a journalist after the US invaded his home country, Iraq, in 2003. He has since earned awards for his work including the Orwell Prize and Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, as well as two Emmys. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his latest book, ‘A Stranger in Your Own City: Travels in the Middle East’s Long War’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Eleanor Catton
March 05, 2023 10:31 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBCelebrated New Zealand novelist Eleanor Catton sits down with Georgina Godwin. At 28, she became the winner of the Booker Prize for her acclaimed second novel, ‘The Luminaries’. After 10 years she is back with the action-packed psychological thriller ‘Birnam Wood’, about a guerilla gardening group whose ideals and ideologies are about to be tested. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Why We Sing’
March 02, 2023 17:54 - 24 minutes - 22.9 MBJulia Hollander is a performer, singing therapist and teacher. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her intriguing new book, ‘Why We Sing’. It is an exploration of the importance of song for our wellbeing, told through stories from Hollander’s life and the latest scientific research. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oksana Zabuzhko
February 26, 2023 11:57 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBOne of Ukraine’s most acclaimed contemporary authors sits down with Georgina Godwin. Oksana’s debut novel, ‘Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex’, is the most translated work of new Ukrainian prose in the world today – but it caused huge controversy on publication in 1996. Since then she has emerged as a leading literary voice in her country, penning more than 20 books. The latest is ‘My Longest Book Tour’, a personal account of living in exile since the Russian invasion and a historical perspective on...
Monocle Reads: ‘Stolen’
February 24, 2023 09:30 - 24 minutes - 22 MBAnn-Helén Laestadius is a Swedish Sami journalist and writer. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her latest book, ‘Stolen’. It is a thought-provoking novel about a young indigenous woman as she tries to protect her culture from xenophobia and defend her family’s reindeer herd from devious hunters and the growing threat of climate crisis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sally Hayden
February 19, 2023 10:15 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBThe Irish journalist and photographer has documented migration, conflict and humanitarian crises across the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Her debut book, ‘My Fourth Time, We Drowned’, about the treatment of refugees travelling to Europe, was named Irish Book of the Year in 2022 and won the Orwell Prize. Sally spoke to Georgina Godwin about the failures of NGOs, UN corruption and how her book began with a Facebook message. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘On Belonging’
February 16, 2023 18:25 - 23 minutes - 21.1 MBKim Samuel is a renowned educator and activist. She is the founder of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness as well as a visiting scholar at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative at the University of Oxford. She sits down with Georgina Godwin to discuss her new book, ‘On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Isolated World’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
February 12, 2023 11:36 - 27 minutes - 25.2 MBAyọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ is a multi-award-winning Nigerian author. Her debut novel, ‘Stay With Me’, was published in 2017 to huge critical acclaim and won the 9mobile Prize for Literature as well as the Prix Les Afriques. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her highly anticipated second novel, ‘A Spell of Good Things’. It tells the story of two young Nigerians from vastly different backgrounds who are brought together in catastrophic circumstances. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Red Memory’
February 09, 2023 18:23 - 23 minutes - 21.7 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to The Guardian’s foreign leader writer and former China correspondent Tania Branigan about her new book, ‘Red Memory: Living, Remembering and Forgetting China’s Cultural Revolution’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
James Crawford
February 05, 2023 10:54 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBThe Shetland-born writer and TV presenter, best known for BBC documentary series ‘Scotland from the Sky’, speaks to Georgina Godwin. His latest book, ‘The Edge of the Plain: How Borders Make and Break our World’, took him to some of the planet’s most contested and fastest-changing borders, from Israel to Mexico and back home to Scotland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Kick the Latch’
February 02, 2023 17:32 - 23 minutes - 22 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Los Angeles-based artist and writer Kathryn Scanlan about her brilliant new novel ‘Kick the Latch’. Based on transcribed interviews, it tells the story of one woman’s life on the racetrack. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Cal Flyn
January 29, 2023 12:36 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBThe award-winning writer from the Scottish Highlands sits down with Georgina Godwin at Cheltenham Literature Festival. They speak about biodiversity, visiting Chernobyl and Flyn’s new book, ‘Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape’, which focuses on the places left behind by humans and reclaimed by nature. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: Call and Response
January 26, 2023 17:27 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to writer Gothataone Moeng about her highly anticipated new collection of short stories, ‘Call and Response’. Set between the rural village of Serowe and the capital Gaborone, the book tells stories of ordinary life in contemporary Botswana. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sarah May
January 22, 2023 10:37 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBThe acclaimed British novelist and playwright speaks to Georgina Godwin about angry women, the suburbs and her latest book ‘Becky’, a modern reimagining of William Thackery’s ‘Vanity Fair’. Its eponymous character is a ferocious young journalist willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead and leave her working-class roots behind. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘The Wife of Bath: A Biography‘
January 19, 2023 17:59 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBMarion Turner is the JRR Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Language at the University of Oxford and an authority on Chaucer. She sits down with Georgina Godwin to discuss her new book, ‘The Wife of Bath: A Biography’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Howard Jacobson
January 15, 2023 11:21 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBThe Booker Prize-winning author joined Georgina Godwin at Cheltenham Literature Festival to talk about his new memoir, ‘Mother’s Boy: A Writer’s Beginning’. Howard talks about becoming a writer at 40 and describes how his mother shaped his love of literature, relationship with religion and gift for writing Jewish characters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Why the F*ck Can’t I Change?’
January 12, 2023 16:57 - 22 minutes - 21.1 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to neuroscientist Gabija Toleikyte about her latest book, ‘Why the F*ck Can’t I Change?’, which takes us on a journey through the human brain and the science behind change. With simple tips and practical tools, it shows us how to develop good habits and how to make them stick. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sally Gardner
January 08, 2023 11:32 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBThe award-winning author and illustrator sits down with Georgina Godwin. They discuss dyslexia, Sally’s early career in theatre and her new novel, The Weather Woman, which touches on topics such as climate change and gender fluidity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Invasion‘
January 05, 2023 17:48 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBLuke Harding is an award-winning foreign correspondent for ‘The Guardian’. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his latest book, ‘Invasion: Russia’s Bloody War and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival’ – the first book of reportage from the front lines of the Ukraine war. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Best of 2022 – Part 2
January 01, 2023 12:18 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBTo welcome in the new year, we look back at the people behind the prose that we’ve featured in 2022. In part two of two, we listen back to some of our favourite interviews with authors NoViolet Bulawayo, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Waheed Arian and Andrei Kurkov. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Best of 2022 – Part 1
December 25, 2022 10:34 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBTo celebrate the festive season we listen back to conversations with the award-winning authors Ruth Ozeki, Katherine Rundell, Percival Everett and the winner of the 2022 Booker Prize, Shehan Karunatilaka. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jarvis Cocker
December 18, 2022 12:12 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBThe musician best known as the frontman of Pulp sat down with Georgina Godwin at Cheltenham Literary Festival. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.