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
Kate Mosse
January 23, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin meets Kate Mosse, who is the author of eight novels and short-story collections, as well as works of non-fiction and plays. Her work has been translated into 38 languages and published in more than 40 countries. She is also the co-founder of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the largest annual celebration of women’s writing in the world.
Monocle Reads: Nick Blackburn
January 20, 2022 14:02 - 20 minutes - 27.5 MBNick Blackburn is a therapist with a background in literature and the arts, whose work sits at the intersection of the complexities of the human mind and the written word. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his new memoir, ‘The Reactor: A Book about Grief and Repair’. It is a reckoning with loss, told through fragments uniting the personal with philosophy, music, art and psychology.
Brian Klaas
January 16, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBBrian Klaas is an academic and columnist for ‘The Washington Post’. He has advised governments, worked on political campaigns and written for ‘The New York Times’, ‘The Guardian’ and the ‘Financial Times’. Georgina Godwin talks to him about his new book ‘Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us’, which attempts to answer the age-old question: does power corrupt or are the corrupt drawn to power?
Monocle Reads: Andrew Maunder
January 13, 2022 15:20 - 23 minutes - 32.5 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Andrew Maunder about his latest book, ‘Enid Blyton: A Literary Life’. It tells the story of one of England’s most prolific writers, whose reputation has faced a reckoning since her death in 1968. The book covers the entirety of Blyton’s writing career and how her work has lived on afterwards.
Ian Hislop
January 09, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin meets Ian Hislop, the editor of Britain’s most successful (and indeed only) fortnightly satirical magazine. He has been at the helm of ‘Private Eye’ for 32 years, leading its investigative journalism, spoofs and, of course, iconic covers.
Monocle Reads: Stuart Jeffries
January 06, 2022 15:04 - 20 minutes - 27.5 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Stuart Jeffries about his latest book, ‘Everything, All the Time, Everywhere: How We Became Postmodern’. It is a unique history of postmodernism from the 1970s until today, exploring how behind the notion of the movement as escapism is the more sinister idea of its close relationship with neoliberalism.
The best of Meet The Writers, part two
January 02, 2022 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBTo welcome in the new year, we delve into some of the most interesting and entertaining conversations we had on Meet The Writers in 2021.
The best of 2021, part one
December 26, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBTo celebrate the festive season, we look back at the people behind the prose we’ve featured on the programme this year and highlight some of our favourite interviews.
Pip Burley
December 19, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBBing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’ is the biggest selling song of all time. Pip Burley tells Georgina Godwin the sad tale behind Irving Berlin’s tune and why it continues to capture our imagination so many decades later.
Monocle Reads: Jim Downs
December 16, 2021 18:01 - 23 minutes - 32.3 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to Jim Downs about his latest book ‘Maladies of Empire: How Colonialism, Slavery, and War Transformed Medicine’. It is an in-depth global history which looks at how modern medicine developed and the role of human catastrophe in this. By exploring these connections, the book seeks to find out the true price of medical progress.
Simon Mundy
December 12, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBSimon Mundy is a journalist and the moral money editor at the ‘Financial Times’. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his latest book ‘Race for Tomorrow: Survival, Innovation and Profit on the Front Lines of the Climate Crisis’.
Monocle Reads: David Lan & Christopher MacLehose
December 09, 2021 13:58 - 28 minutes - 38.8 MBThe Walk is a travelling festival of art and cross-border collaboration, at the heart of which is Amal, the giant 3.5 metre-tall puppet, which this year has walked 8,000km in support of refugees. Now, the story of Amal has been put into book form, in the official companion ‘The Long Walk with Little Amal’. Georgina Godwin spoke with David Lan, one of the producers of ‘The Walk’, and Christopher MacLehose, publisher at Mountain Leopard Press.
David Lan & Christopher MacLehose
December 09, 2021 13:58 - 38.8 MBThe Walk is a travelling festival of art and cross-border collaboration, at the heart of which is Amal, the giant 3.5 metre-tall puppet, which this year has walked 8,000km in support of refugees. Now, the story of Amal has been put into book form, in the official companion ‘The Long Walk with Little Amal’. Georgina Godwin spoke with David Lan, one of the producers of ‘The Walk’, and Christopher MacLehose, publisher at Mountain Leopard Press.
Timothy Ogene
December 05, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBTimothy Ogene has a catalogue of academic achievements from some of the world’s most prestigious institutions. He currently lectures at Harvard University, as well as writing fiction and poetry and he tells Georgina Godwin about his second novel, ‘Seesaw’, which tells the story of a writer plucked from obscurity in Nigeria to attend an American writing programme. With a wry and light touch, ‘Seesaw’ explores the world of modern academia, cultural dislocation and what happens when the two coll...
Maryam Diener
December 02, 2021 14:47 - 27.5 MBThe surrealist movement of the 20th century produced cultural icons including André Breton, Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí. While the enduring names of the movement are of men, women played a pivotal role in surrealism not merely as muses but as artists. Georgina Godwin speaks to Maryam Diener, whose book ‘Exquisite Corpse’ brings together the stories of some of these women and helps cement their rightful place in history.
Monocle Reads: Maryam Diener
December 02, 2021 14:47 - 20 minutes - 27.5 MBThe surrealist movement of the 20th century produced cultural icons including André Breton, Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí. While the enduring names of the movement are of men, women played a pivotal role in surrealism not merely as muses but as artists. Georgina Godwin speaks to Maryam Diener, whose book ‘Exquisite Corpse’ brings together the stories of some of these women and helps cement their rightful place in history.
Mark Freestone and Gwen Adshead
November 28, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin sits down with Mark Freestone, author of ‘Making a Psychopath’ and Gwen Adshead, co-author of ‘The Devil You Know’ to discuss the dark world of psychopaths. Both have spent time in the company of psychopaths, either fictional or in real life, and know a little more than most about what makes them tick. This conversation was originally recorded at The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival.
Monocle Reads: Jennifer Otter Bickerdike
November 25, 2021 18:00 - 24 minutes - 33.2 MBJennifer Otter Bickerdike is an author and a rock ’n’ roll cultural historian who has been in the centre of the music industry for the last 30 years. She sat down with Georgina Godwin to discuss her latest book, ‘Being Britney: Pieces of a Modern Icon’.
Hilma Wolitzer
November 21, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBHilma Wolitzer started writing as a child and had her first poem published at the tender age of nine. But it wasn’t until decades later, once she had had and raised her children, that her career really took off. Since then she has published 14 books and her daughter, Meg, has also become a successful novelist. Georgina Godwin speaks to Wolitzer about ‘Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket’, her new book of short stories, which spans her extensive literary career.
Monocle Reads: Patrick Radden Keefe
November 18, 2021 17:56 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBAuthor and ‘The New Yorker’ staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe was this week named the winner of the 2021 Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction. He sits down with Georgina Godwin to discuss his winning book, ‘Empire of Pain’, about the rise and fall of the Sackler dynasty.
Robert Peston
November 14, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBBefore he became political editor of ITV News, Robert Peston’s career included stints as a journalist and presenter for the likes of ‘The Sunday Telegraph’ and the BBC. The author of multiple non-fiction books, he’s now turned his hand to fiction, although the theme doesn’t stray too far from what he knows. He talks to Georgina Godwin about his first novel ‘The Whistleblower’, a thriller centred around a lobby journalist at the time of the UK’s 1997 general election.
Monocle Reads: Caitlin Davies
November 11, 2021 14:52 - 21 minutes - 30 MBCaitlin Davies is a novelist, non-fiction writer and teacher whose work is inspired by women forgotten by history. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her latest book ‘Queens of the Underworld’, which tells the story of Britain’s female criminals, whose stories haven’t had the same exposure as the likes of Ronnie Biggs or the Kray twins but are no less extraordinary.
Richard Powers
November 07, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin meets Richard Powers, an acclaimed writer with an array of awards under his belt – including a Pulitzer prize for fiction. While at university, he switched from majoring in physics to English literature but science has remained a central part of his writing. His new novel ‘Bewilderment’ was shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize. It uses fiction to explore urgent questions of how we treat the environment and just how close we might be to the edge.
Monocle Reads: 2021 Booker winner Damon Galgut
November 04, 2021 14:07 - 16 minutes - 22.2 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to the winner of the 2021 Booker prize, Damon Galgut. Having published his first novel at the age of 17 and having been shortlisted for the coveted prize twice before, Galgut’s time finally came in 2021. ‘The Promise’ is an ambitious novel, spanning four decades of South Africa’s history, told through a family saga. In the words of the Booker judges, it poses the knotty question, “Does true justice exist in this world?”
Elif Shafak
October 31, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBElif Shafak is a bestselling author in several countries around the world and her work has been translated into a staggering 55 languages. A political scientist by training, her books are revered for their ability to weave intricate threads into enthralling stories. She talks to Georgina Godwin about her new novel, ‘The Island of Missing Trees’, a unique story of memory, immigration and generational trauma.
Monocle Reads: Mark McGurl
October 28, 2021 18:08 - 17 minutes - 23.8 MBUS literary critic Mark McGurl is the Albert Guérard professor of literature at Stanford University, where his work centres on the relationship of literature to social, educational and other institutions. He tells Georgina Godwin about his new book, ‘Everything and Less: The Novel in the Age of Amazon’, which explores what happens when literature and corporations become inextricably linked.
Baroness Hale
October 24, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBBaroness Hale is a trailblazer who was the first woman to serve in the role of president of the UK Supreme Court. While judges don’t tend to become too well-known, her ruling on the Brexit process shot her into the public eye – both for her judgement and a rather eye-catching brooch. Georgina Godwin speaks with Baroness Hale about her new memoir, ‘Spider Woman’.
Monocle Reads: London Literature Festival
October 21, 2021 15:09 - 17 minutes - 23.3 MBThe London Literature Festival runs at the Southbank Centre from 21 to 31 October, bringing 10 days of the very best of live literature to the capital. This year the festival invites you to celebrate the joys and complexities of friendship with writers, poets, musicians, scientists and comedians. Georgina Godwin took a walk around the venue with Ted Hodgkinson, head of literature and spoken word at the Southbank Centre.
Sylvia Whitman
October 17, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin is in conversation with Sylvia Whitman, who spends her days surrounded by words but is not the one putting pen to paper. She is the proprietor of the Shakespeare & Company bookshop in Paris, a legendary landmark.
Monocle Reads: Russell Jones
October 14, 2021 16:01 - 23 minutes - 31.8 MBRussell Jones is a sensory consultant who is fascinated by how our senses change how we feel, think and act every day. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his new book ‘The Power of your Senses’, which details his “sensory prescriptions” for everything from waking up to going to bed – and everything that happens in between.
Agnes Poirier
October 10, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBAgnes Poirier is a journalist, author and political commentator. Georgina Godwin speaks to her about her latest book, ‘Notre-Dame: The Soul of France’, which explores the magnificent history and uncertain future of one of the world’s most iconic buildings. Containing personal accounts of the day when it went up in flames, and the cultural war over its future, it explains why Notre-Dame is so important to the nation – and the world.
Monocle Reads: the Cheltenham Festival team
October 07, 2021 16:01 - 21 minutes - 29.6 MBOn ‘Monocle Reads’ this week Georgina Godwin visits the team behind the Cheltenham Festival, including head of programming Nicola Tuxworth, for an insight into the process behind the world's oldest literature festival. This year’s theme is “Read the World” and the Festival runs from 8 until 17 October.
Annie Macmanus
October 03, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBAnnie Macmanus is a household name, though not necessarily as a writer. As Annie Mac, she has had a long and incredibly successful career as a DJ and broadcaster, having hosted programmes for 17 years on BBC Radio 1 until this summer. Georgina Godwin speaks to her about her debut novel ‘Mother Mother’, which this year became a ‘Sunday Times’ bestseller.
Monocle Reads: Martin Bailey
September 30, 2021 17:30 - 24 minutes - 33.1 MBMartin Bailey co-curated Tate Britain’s 2019 exhibition ‘Van Gogh and Britain’. He is the author of several books on the artist and writes the weekly newsletter ‘Adventures with Van Gogh’ for ‘The Art Newspaper’. Bailey tells Georgina Godwin about his latest book, ‘Van Gogh’s Finale: Auvers & the Artist’s Rise to Fame’, a comprehensive analysis of the artist’s suicide and what followed.
Robert McCrum
September 26, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBAcclaimed writer, journalist and broadcaster Robert McCrum has had a distinguished career, including stints as editor in chief of Faber & Faber and literary editor of ‘The Observer’. Throughout, William Shakespeare has served as a guide and comfort, not least after McCrum suffered a stroke and rediscovered his sense of the world through the bard’s words. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his new book ‘Shakespearean: On Life and Language in Times of Disruption’.
Monocle Reads: Deborah Feldman
September 23, 2021 17:54 - 24 minutes - 34.3 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to German-American writer Deborah Feldman. Born into a strict Hasidic community in New York, Feldman longed for more and in 2012 she released her autobiography ‘Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots’. The best-selling story of how she left to find freedom and independence has inspired the hit Netflix drama ‘Unorthodox’.
Sebastian Faulks
September 19, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBSebastian Faulks has been an indomitable force of the British literary scene since his first novel was published in 1984. His 1993 novel ‘Birdsong’ sold more than 2 million copies in the UK and regularly features as one of the nation’s favourite books. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his new novel ‘Snow Country’, the second in a loose trilogy set in Austria, which explores consciousness and the human psyche.
Monocle Reads: Tom Chivers
September 16, 2021 16:00 - 24 minutes - 33.2 MBTom Chivers is a poet and publisher who has long been fascinated by London, the city he grew up in and continues to call home. His fascination is not with the landmarks and monuments that are easy to spot but with what lies underneath the city: the hidden and submerged past that is buried below its streets. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his new book ‘London Clay’. Combining history, geology and memoir, it takes us on eight fascinating journeys in the depths of the city.
Will Storr
September 12, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin talks to Will Storr. His critically acclaimed books are about everything from ghosts to selfies, but at the heart of his work is a desire to look deep into the human experience and explore just why we think or behave the way we do. His new book ‘The Status Game’ argues that competition for status underpins all human activity.
Monocle Reads: Susanna Clarke
September 09, 2021 17:00 - 14 minutes - 20.4 MBThe Women’s Prize for Fiction is one of the greatest annual, international celebrations of female creativity. It is now in its 26th year and it honours outstanding, ambitious, original fiction written in English by women from anywhere in the world. The 2021 award was won by Susanna Clarke for her novel ‘Piranesi’. Georgina Godwin went along to the party to celebrate her success.
Christopher Clarey
September 05, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBWriting for ‘The New York Times’, Christopher Clarey has captured the drama of sport for more than 25 years. He speaks to Georgina Godwin about his new book ‘The Master’, which tells the story of the greatest player in men’s tennis, Roger Federer.
Anuradha Roy and Christopher MacLehose
September 02, 2021 17:00 - 36 MBGeorgina Godwin meets publisher Christopher MacLehose and acclaimed Indian author Anuradha Roy. MacLehose, a leader in translated literature in the UK, is reported to have brought works into English from 34 languages. He recently launched Mountain Leopard Press, which focuses on translation as well as contemporary literature. One of its lead titles is ‘The Earthspinner’, the fifth novel by Anuradha Roy.
Monocle Reads: Anuradha Roy and Christopher MacLehose
September 02, 2021 17:00 - 26 minutes - 36 MBGeorgina Godwin meets publisher Christopher MacLehose and acclaimed Indian author Anuradha Roy. MacLehose, a leader in translated literature in the UK, is reported to have brought works into English from 34 languages. He recently launched Mountain Leopard Press, which focuses on translation as well as contemporary literature. One of its lead titles is ‘The Earthspinner’, the fifth novel by Anuradha Roy.
Phil Manzanera
August 29, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBThis edition of ‘Meet The Writers’ takes a slightly different direction as Georgina Godwin speaks to Phil Manzanera. He is a writer – but one who uses notes and staves rather than words. Manzanera shot to fame in the 1970s as lead guitarist with seminal band Roxy Music and is also a record producer, who has worked with some of the most celebrated musicians in the world.
Monocle Reads: John Wiseman
August 26, 2021 10:37 - 23 minutes - 32.5 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to academic John Wiseman about his new book ‘Hope and Courage in the Climate Crisis: Wisdom and Action in the Long Emergency’, which draws on science, philosophy, indigenous cultures, spiritual traditions and more to inspire action as we face ecological calamity.
John Wiseman
August 26, 2021 10:37 - 32.5 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to academic John Wiseman about his new book ‘Hope and Courage in the Climate Crisis: Wisdom and Action in the Long Emergency’, which draws on science, philosophy, indigenous cultures, spiritual traditions and more to inspire action as we face ecological calamity.
Sarfraz Manzoor
August 22, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBGeorgina Godwin speaks to author, broadcaster and screenwriter Sarfraz Manzoor about his new book ‘They’, which examines divisions between white and Muslim communities in the UK and the possibility of a brighter future.
Monocle Reads: Deborah Moggach
August 19, 2021 16:00 - 24 minutes - 33 MBGeorgina Godwin sits down with Deborah Moggach in the acclaimed author’s garden on the UK’s south coast to discuss her brilliant new novel, ‘The Black Dress’. It follows Pru, who becomes a serial funeral crasher in the hope of curing her loneliness after her husband leaves her out of the blue.
Deborah Moggach
August 19, 2021 16:00 - 33 MBGeorgina Godwin sits down with Deborah Moggach in the acclaimed author’s garden on the UK’s south coast to discuss her brilliant new novel, ‘The Black Dress’. It follows Pru, who becomes a serial funeral crasher in the hope of curing her loneliness after her husband leaves her out of the blue.
Nicholas Royle
August 15, 2021 12:00 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBMany people describe themselves as book lovers but there is no doubt about Nicholas Royle’s devotion to the printed word. As a writer, editor and creative writing teacher, books are fundamental to his life. Georgina Godwin meets Royle to discuss his new book. ‘White Spines: Confessions of a Book Collector’ is part memoir, part non-fiction and explores the secondhand shops that Royle used to build his 1,000-book collection of Picador fiction.