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
Stephanie Merritt
July 03, 2022 11:11 - 28 minutes - 26 MBGeorgina Godwin meets the author, journalist and critic, also known by her pen name SJ Parris. She’s penned a historical thriller series and a memoir about her experience of living with depression, and also writes for ‘The Guardian’ and ‘The Observer’ newspapers. Her latest novel is ‘Storm’, a psychological thriller about a party at a grand French chateau that ends in a murder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Every Family Has a Story’
June 30, 2022 22:03 - 19 minutes - 17.4 MBOn ‘Monocle Reads’ this week, we give you a highlight from the Hay Festival, where Georgina Godwin spoke to bestselling author and psychotherapist Julia Samuel about her latest book, ‘Every Family Has a Story’. Diving deep into eight case studies, she reveals how deeply we are influenced by our families and offers insights into how we can face challenges together. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Waheed Arian
June 26, 2022 10:29 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBBorn in Afghanistan, Waheed Arian has lived in a refugee camp, sheltered in cellars from a civil war, and endured malaria, TB and malnutrition. After being incarcerated in Britain as an illegal immigrant, he went on to become a doctor and now runs a global telemedicine charity, working with clinicians on the ground in developing countries. He tells Georgina Godwin his story, which is documented in his book ‘In the Wars: From Afghanistan to the UK and Beyond – a Refugee’s Story of Survival and...
Monocle Reads: ‘The Premonitions Bureau’
June 23, 2022 16:33 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBSam Knight is a staff writer at ‘The New Yorker’ and a renowned longform journalist. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his new book, ‘The Premonitions Bureau’, which is based on a 2019 article he wrote for the magazine entitled, “The Psychiatrist Who Believed People Could Tell the Future”. It is a fascinating insight into one man’s obsession with those who predicted catastrophic events. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Adam Hochschild
June 19, 2022 05:11 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBDescription: The award-winning author, historian and journalist chats to Georgina Godwin. He is possibly best known for his book ‘Kings Leopold’s Ghost’, an account of the exploitation of people in colonial Congo and a personal biography of King Leopold of Belgium. In a far-ranging interview, he discusses his extraordinary life and work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads visits Hay Castle
June 16, 2022 18:30 - 20 minutes - 27.5 MBOn Monocle Reads this week Georgina Godwin visits Hay Castle. Once a great mediaeval stronghold, the castle stands in the heart of Hay-on-Wye which is known as the Town of Books as well as the site of the Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts. Building on this creative tradition, Hay Castle Trust has completed a major restoration, and given the castle a new life as a major centre for culture, arts and education.
Monocle Reads:
June 16, 2022 16:23 - 19 minutes - 18.4 MBSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jonathan Dimbleby
June 12, 2022 11:02 - 28 minutes - 26 MBThe veteran broadcaster, biographer and historian talks to Georgina Godwin about his latest book ‘Barbarossa: How Hitler Lost the War’. It gives a detailed account of the Nazis’ calamitous invasion of the Soviet Union and the political and military decision-making that shaped it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘No Escape’
June 09, 2022 18:53 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBNury Turkel is a Uyghur-American lawyer, human rights advocate and foreign policy expert. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his new book, ‘No Escape: The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs’. The publication is a shocking account of the Chinese government’s persecution of the Muslim minority. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Look Here’
June 06, 2022 14:07 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBAna Kinsella is an Irish writer and journalist living in London. She has written for many publications and is the author of the popular newsletter London Review of Looks. She talks to Georgina Godwin about her newly released debut book, ‘Look Here’, which charts her experiences in London, choosing to meander the streets to establish herself within a city that can so easily swallow one up. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Georgia Pritchett
June 05, 2022 10:50 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBGeorgina Godwin meets Georgia Pritchett, the multi-award-winning screenwriter who has worked on some of the most iconic shows in television. Her writing credits include ‘Succession’, ‘Veep’ and Malcolm Tucker’s foul-mouthed tirades in ‘The Thick of It’. Georgia’s memoir ‘My Mess Is a Bit of a Life: Adventures in Anxiety’, now out in paperback, details her unconventional route to writing and her moving experiences of parenting non-neurotypical children while struggling with her own mental heal...
Sarah Winman
May 29, 2022 11:08 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBSarah Winman is an actor-turned-author of several critically acclaimed novels. Her 2011 debut ‘When God Was A Rabbit’ took the literary world by storm and saw her win new writer of the year at the Galaxy National Book Awards. Since then she has published three novels, most recently ‘Still Life’. Spanning more than 40 years, Still Life transports readers from Florence to London and explores family, truth and love. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: Charleston House
May 26, 2022 16:17 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBGeorgina Godwin visits Charleston, the former home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, which was a retreat for the historic Bloomsbury group as well as a gathering place for some of the 20th century’s most radical artists, writers and thinkers. Today it is run by the Charleston Trust and continues to be a focal point for writers, who gather annually for the Charleston Literary Festival. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Alice Sherwood
May 22, 2022 11:22 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBGeorgina Godwin meets Alice Sherwood, senior research fellow at King’s College London’s Policy Institute and former documentary maker. Her new book, ‘Authenticity: Reclaiming Reality in a Counterfeit Culture’, tells stories of fraud, fakery and realness across art, technology, business and nature. Its author asks what authenticity is – and isn’t – and why it matters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: A Little History of Art
May 19, 2022 16:33 - 19 minutes - 18.2 MBOn Monocle Reads this week Georgina Godwin speaks to Charlotte Mullins, art critic and former editor of ‘Art Review’, about her latest book, ‘A Little History of Art’. It is a comprehensive and thrilling journey through 100,000 years of art, from the first works ever made to the role art plays in contemporary culture. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Charlotte Van den Broeck
May 15, 2022 11:21 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBGeorgina Godwin meets Charlotte Van den Broeck, award-winning Flemish poet and author. Her newly translated book ‘Bold Ventures: Thirteen Tales of Architectural Tragedy’ is about architects whose design errors proved fatal, as they took their own lives or at least that’s the rumour. It is a personal, reflective and philosophical exploration of the connection between creation and creator. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
‘Sounds Wild and Broken’
May 12, 2022 16:38 - 26 minutes - 24 MBDavid George Haskell is a Guggenheim fellow and a professor of biology and environmental studies, who has written about biology, ethics and culture for ‘The New York Times’ and other publications. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his fascinating new book, ‘Sounds Wild and Broken’, which charts the first sounds in the atmosphere that predate life on Earth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Sounds Wild and Broken’
May 12, 2022 15:19 - 26 minutes - 35.7 MBDavid George Haskell is a Guggenheim fellow and a professor of biology and environmental studies, who has written about biology, ethics and culture for ‘The New York Times’ and other publications. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his fascinating new book, ‘Sounds Wild and Broken’, which charts the first sounds in the atmosphere that predate life on Earth.
Corinne Chateau
May 08, 2022 11:17 - 27 minutes - 25 MBThis week, Georgina Godwin speaks to Corinne Chateau, the American actress, director and writer. She discusses working with Elia Kazan, Anne Bancroft, Shelley Winters, Katharine Hepburn and Ellen Burstyn; her book ‘The Road to Cali’; and her most recent project, the award-winning documentary ‘Safer in Silence’, which explores her Jewish-Polish heritage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
‘The Secret Lives of Church Ladies’
May 05, 2022 19:59 - 24 minutes - 22.6 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to American writer, essayist and public speaker Deesha Philyaw about her latest book, ‘The Secret Lives of Church Ladies’. The award-winning collection of short stories explores the lives and relationships of black women and girls in the US, and the tension between their own needs and desires and the expectations set for them by the church and by society. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘The Secret Lives of Church Ladies’
May 05, 2022 15:10 - 27 minutes - 37.1 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to American writer, essayist and public speaker Deesha Philyaw about her latest book, ‘The Secret Lives of Church Ladies’. The award-winning collection of short stories explores the lives and relationships of black women and girls in the US, and the tension between their own needs and desires and the expectations set for them by the church and by society.
Clare Conville and DBC Pierre
May 01, 2022 11:20 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBThis week, Georgina Godwin speaks to Clare Conville, founder of literary agency Conville and Walsh. She also meets DBC Pierre, the Booker Prize-winning author of ‘Vernon God Little’. His latest work is ‘Big Snake Little Snake’, an exploration of risk and gambling. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
‘The Language Game’
April 29, 2022 09:19 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Nick Chater, professor of behavioural science at Warwick University Business School, about his new book ‘The Language Game’, co-written with colleague and friend Morten H Christian. The book offers a new theory of language development, arguing that we learn to communicate not with fixed meanings and rules but through the chaotic improvisation and creativity of everyday speech. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘The Language Game’
April 28, 2022 21:29 - 24 minutes - 33 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Nick Chater, professor of behavioural science at Warwick University Business School, about his new book ‘The Language Game’, co-written with colleague and friend Morten H Christian. The book offers a new theory of language development, arguing that we learn to communicate not with fixed meanings and rules but through the chaotic improvisation and creativity of everyday speech.
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
April 24, 2022 11:06 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBGeorgina Godwin meets Dutch author and poet Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, whose best-selling novel ‘Grand Hotel Europa’ has just been translated into English. It is a moving and addictive masterpiece looking at European identity, nostalgia and the end of an era. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Wet Paint’
April 21, 2022 17:08 - 22 minutes - 21 MBGeorgina Godwin sits down with Chloë Ashby to talk about her debut novel ‘Wet Paint’. Ashby is an award-winning arts journalist and author, and a regular contributor and former editor at Monocle. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
NoViolet Bulawayo
April 17, 2022 11:15 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBGeorgina Godwin meets Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo. Her first novel, ‘We Need New Names’, was shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, making her the first Zimbabwean and first black African woman to make the shortlist. Her new novel ‘Glory’, set in an animal kingdom called Jidada, tells the story of dashed hopes, corruption and greed following the fall of a dictator. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monocle Reads: ‘Africa is Not A Country’
April 14, 2022 15:09 - 27 minutes - 37.3 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Dipo Faloyin, senior editor of global news at ‘Vice’, about his debut book, ‘Africa is Not A Country’. It is a study on modern Africa that pushes back on harmful stereotypes to show the diversity of the continent’s thriving cultures.
Celia Paul
April 10, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Celia Paul, an artist and a chronicler of family life and connection through the medium of portraiture. Her first book, ‘Self Portrait’, was published to critical acclaim and her second is an intimate insight into her affection and admiration for artist Gwen John.
Monocle Reads explore book fairs and book festivals
April 07, 2022 15:26 - 22 minutes - 31.4 MBGeorgina Godwin finds out all there is to know about book fairs and book festivals. She speaks with Cristina Fuentes La Roche, international director at Hay Festival, and visits the London Book Fair, where she meets Edward Nawotka of Publishers Weekly and Tinatin Beriashvili, executive director of the Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association.
Jean Oelwang
April 03, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to the president of Virgin Unite, the charitable arm of Virgin. Jean Oelwang worked in telecoms for two decades and across six continents before shifting to philanthropy. Her new book ‘Partnering: Forge the Deep Connections that Make Great Things Happen’ is the result of her observations of leaders and changemakers and the deep relationships that made their work possible.
Monocle Reads: ‘The Subplot’
March 31, 2022 16:00 - 24 minutes - 33 MBGeorgina Godwin sits down with Megan Walsh, a journalist and author who specialises in Chinese arts and culture. They discuss her latest book, ‘The Subplot: What China is Reading and Why it Matters’, which takes the reader through the vast country’s complex but often overlooked literary landscape.
John L Williams
March 27, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBJohn L Williams is a biographer and novelist, as well as the co-founder and director of a literary and arts festival in Wales. Earlier in his career he was a music writer, working for publications such as ‘The Face’, ‘GQ’ and ‘NME’. His latest book is ‘CLR James: A Life Beyond the Boundaries’, a biography of the revolutionary Trinidadian historian, Marxist campaigner and cricket writer.
Monocle Reads: ‘Words of Love’
March 24, 2022 15:06 - 18 minutes - 25.7 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Teymour Shahabi – author of the award-winning YA mystery thriller ‘The Secret Billionaire’ – about his new novel, ‘Words of Love’. The book is written entirely in text messages, emails, social-media posts and journal entries, and the genders of the two protagonists are never revealed.
John Happ
March 20, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin sits down with John Happ to discuss his new book 'The Navigation Case' about one of the greatest campaign victories in the history of the US air force.
Monocle Reads: ‘The Car’
March 17, 2022 15:46 - 22 minutes - 30.9 MBGeorgina Godwin sits down with award-winning journalist and author Bryan Appleyard to discuss his latest book, ‘The Car’. It tells the story of the cultural impact of the automobile and how it has informed our sense of mobility, possibility and imagination over the past 150 years.
Viv Groskop
March 13, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin meets journalist and comedian Viv Groskop, author of ‘The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature’ and ‘How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking’. Most recently, she has written about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s transition from actor to wartime leader.
Monocle Reads: ‘The Year the World Went Mad’
March 10, 2022 15:59 - 23 minutes - 31.6 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious diseases and epidemiology at Edinburgh University. They discuss his newly released scientific memoir ‘The Year the World Went Mad’, a confronting and fascinating look at the UK’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Okechukwu Nzelu
March 06, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBOkechukwu Nzelu’s debut novel, ‘The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney’, won the Betty Trask Award, as well as a host of other accolades. His second book, ‘Here Again Now’, is a compelling novel about lovers, fathers and sons, intimacy and generational trauma that asks how you can move forward when the past keeps pulling you back? Georgina Godwin meets the author in our studio in London.
Monocle Reads: ‘The Lonely Hunter’
March 03, 2022 15:53 - 20 minutes - 27.5 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to writer and performer Aimée Lutkin about her new book ‘The Lonely Hunter’. Part memoir and part social commentary, it explores the rise of singledom, the realities of loneliness and whether it is possible to detach from romance, sex and dating.
John Altman
February 27, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to one of the most prolific musicians and composers in the business. John Altman’s work includes ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ from Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’ – which he arranged, conducted and whistled – and the score for ‘Goldeneye’. His new memoir, ‘Hidden Man: My Many Musical Lives’, details his extraordinary life and career.
Monocle Reads: ‘Death by Shakespeare’
February 24, 2022 15:12 - 25 minutes - 34.3 MBThis week Georgina Godwin speaks to author and chemist Kathryn Harkup about her latest book, ‘Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts’. It looks into the different ways the bard killed off his characters, as well as what actual events might have inspired him.
Coco Mellors
February 20, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBCoco Mellors has written for ‘The New York Times’, ‘The Stack’ and ‘Flash Fiction Magazine’ among many other publications. She has now turned her hand to novels and her debut, ‘Cleopatra and Frankenstein’, details the whirlwind romance and marriage of 24-year-old British artist Cleo and forty-something advertising executive Frank. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her book, which goes beyond a conventional love story.
Monocle Reads: ‘My Pen is the Wing of a Bird’
February 17, 2022 15:20 - 20 minutes - 28.6 MBGeorgina Godwin sits down with Lucy Hannah, founder and director of Untold and its Write Afghanistan project, and Shekiba Habib, translator and journalist with the BBC Afghan service, to discuss ‘My Pen is the Wing of a Bird’, a new collection of fiction written by Afghan women. Untold is an initiative to develop and amplify the voices of marginalised writers.
Anne Morrison
February 13, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBJim Morrison, frontman of The Doors, was just 27 when he died in 1971. ‘A Guide to the Labyrinth: The Collected Works of Jim Morrison’ is a vast new collection of his never-before-seen poetry, songwriting and personal diaries. Georgina Godwin speaks to Anne Morrison, the singer’s younger sister and the co-executor of his works, about this revelatory and intimate anthology.
Monocle Reads: ‘Anonymous Sex’
February 10, 2022 12:34 - 16 minutes - 22 MBThis week Georgina Godwin speaks to authors Hillary Jordan and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan. They are the editors of ‘Anonymous Sex’, a groundbreaking new anthology of erotic short fiction. Featuring some of the biggest names in literature, including winners of the Pulitzer, National Book award, Pen awards, Women’s Prize and more, these 27 stories appear with no bylines.
Michael Crick
February 06, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to esteemed broadcaster and founding member of the Channel 4 news team, Michael Crick. His new book ‘One Party After Another: The Disruptive Life of Nigel Farage’ profiles one of the UK’s most controversial political characters, Nigel Farage.
Monocle Reads: Beth Morrey
February 03, 2022 15:37 - 18 minutes - 24.7 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to the author of best-selling novel ‘Saving Missy’, Beth Morrey, about her new book, ‘Em & Me’. It tells the tender story of single mother Delphine Jones who is worried about her past catching up with her while she tries to establish the best future for herself, her father and her beloved daughter Em.
George Kay
January 30, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin meets the man behind hit Netflix show, ‘Lupin’. The French mystery thriller has had magnificent success and was the most-viewed title on the streaming service in the first three months of 2021.
Monocle Reads: Nicholas Jubber
January 27, 2022 12:35 - 24 minutes - 33.3 MBNicholas Jubber is a travel writer, journalist and award-winning author. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his fifth book, ‘The Fairy Tellers’, which offers a fresh perspective on some of our most well-known stories and recounts their provenance for the contemporary reader. Filled with adventure, tragedy and real-world magic, this bewitching book uncovers the strange lives behind the strangest of tales.