Rachel and Simon speak with award-winning novelist Elif Shafak. The author of 12 novels and 7 works of non-fiction, her work has been translated into 55 languages. "The Forty Rules of Love" (2009) was chosen by the BBC as one of 100 novels that have shaped the world; "10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World" was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the RSL Ondaatje Prize in 2019; her latest novel, "The Island of Missing Trees" , was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards in 2021 and chosen fo...
Jan 11, 2022•1 hr
Simon and Rachel speak with novelist Howard Jacobson . Born in Manchester, Howard spent his early career as an academic and published his first novel, "Coming from Behind," in 1983. He has now written sixteen novels and six works of non-fiction, and won the Booker Prize for "The Finkler Question" in 2010 (he was also shortlisted in 2014 for "J".) His most recent novel is " Live a Little " and his memoir " Mother’s Boy - A Writer’s Beginnings " will be published in March 2022. We spoke with Howar...
Dec 28, 2021•1 hr 4 min
Rachel and Simon speak with Marianne Tatepo. Currently commissioning editor for Ebury Press and Pop Press, part of Penguin Random House UK, she publishes non-fiction books, with a particular interest in lifestyle, memoir, wellbeing and food. In January 2022 she will take up a new post as publishing director at Square Peg, another PRH imprint. In June 2020 Marianne founded the Black Agents and Editors’ Group ( BAE ), a publishing community and mentoring network; later that year she was named as o...
Dec 14, 2021•59 min
Simon and Rachel speak with bestselling American novelist David Baldacci . A former trial lawyer, after early attempts at screenwriting David published his first thriller, " Absolute Power ", in 1996. A film adaptation followed, with Clint Eastwood as its director and star. David has now published 43 novels for adults; his books have sold 150 million copies worldwide, in over 45 languages and more than 80 countries. David's notable characters include Amos Decker, Aloysius Archer, Atlee Pine and ...
Nov 30, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Rachel and Simon speak with the poet Hollie McNish. After rising to prominence online, she has published four collections of poetry: “ Papers ”, “ Cherry Pie ”, “ Why I Ride ” and “ Plum ”. “ Nobody Told Me ”, a collection of prose and poetry about parenthood taken from Hollie's diaries, was published in 2016 and won the Ted Hughes award for New Work in Poetry. In May she released “Slug...and other things I've been told to hate” , a bestselling poetic memoir. She has also recorded an album of po...
Nov 16, 2021•59 min
Rachel and Simon speak with journalist and author Gary Younge . Born in Hertfordshire to Barbadian parents, in his final year at university Gary won a bursary from the Guardian to study journalism at City University. He started working at the Guardian in 1993, and after reporting from all over Europe, Africa, North America and the Caribbean, he was appointed the Guardian’s US correspondent in 2003. In 2015 he returned to London where he became the Guardian’s editor-at-large. In 2020 he left the ...
Nov 02, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Rachel and Simon speak with novelist Tracy Chevalier . Tracy moved to Britain from America in the 1980s and worked in publishing before completing an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. She is now the author of ten novels, including "Girl With a Pearl Earring" , which has sold more than 5m copies worldwide and been adapted into a film and a play as well as a forthcoming opera . We talked to Tracy about her rigorous research process, the usefulness (or not) of the label "hi...
Oct 19, 2021•56 min
Simon speaks with Alex Wade , a libel lawyer, journalist and author. Alex began life at law firm Carter-Ruck and went on to work as a lawyer for national newspapers. A spell off the rails in his early 30s saw Alex reinvent himself as freelance journalist and take up boxing. His experience of the then-subterranean world of white-collar boxing led to his first book, " Wrecking Machine ". Alex went on to write two books about surfing and, in 2016, his first novel, " Flack's Last Shift ", was publis...
Oct 05, 2021•59 min
Rachel and Simon speak with novelist Val McDermid . After graduating from university Val worked as a journalist for 16 years, earning the nickname “Killer” on account of her determination to always get the story. She left journalism to pursue novel-writing full-time, and to date has sold more than 17m books across the world. Dubbed the “Queen of Crime”, Val is the author of several acclaimed series, following Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan , private detective Kate Brannigan , journalist Linds...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Simon and Rachel speak with William Dalrymple , the award-winning historian and travel writer. While still at university in 1986, William set off to follow on foot the outward route of Marco Polo from Jerusalem to Mongolia and wrote a bestselling account of the journey, " In Xanadu ". In 1999, after three other books of travel, he concentrated on writing history. " White Mughals ", published in 2003, won the Wolfson Prize. " The Last Mughal " won the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize. These books have ...
Sep 07, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Simon and Rachel speak with Aminatta Forna, a novelist and non-fiction writer. She is the author of a memoir, “ The Devil that Danced on the Water ”, about her father—a dissident who was executed in Sierra Leone—as well as several award-winning novels, including “ Happiness ”, “ The Hired Man ”, “ The Memory of Love ” and “ Ancestor Stones ”. She has recently published “ The Window Seat ”, a collection of essays. Her work has been translated into more than 20 languages and she is a fellow of the...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 4 min
Rachel and Simon speak with Henry Winter , chief football writer at the Times . Henry has been writing about football for 35 years, covered England since 1994 and attended eight World Cups. He joined the Independent at its launch in 1986, moved to the Daily Telegraph in 1994, and joined the Times in 2015. Alongside his newspaper journalism, Winter ghost-wrote the autobiographies of Liverpool players Kenny Dalglish, John Barnes and Steven Gerrard, and co-wrote " FA Confidential " with former FA c...
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Simon and Rachel speak with Lennie Goodings, chair of Virago Press . Born in Canada, Lennie came to Britain in the 1970s and joined Virago as a publicist in 1978. In subsequent roles—first in marketing, then as publisher—Lennie has worked with authors including Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, Sarah Waters and Linda Grant. She won the Bookseller 's Industry Award for Editor and Imprint of the Year in 2010, a Lifetime's Achievement Award at the Women of the World festival in 2018 and was elected as...
Jul 27, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Rachel and Simon speak with historical novelist Simon Scarrow . Simon worked first as a schoolteacher, before becoming a full-time writer. His Roman-era "Eagles of the Empire" series has sold over 4 million copies in the UK alone, and his work has been translated into 24 languages. His other work includes a quartet of novels about the lives of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte , a novel about the 1565 Siege of Malta, a contemporary thriller written with Lee Francis, and "Blackout" , ...
Jul 13, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Simon and Rachel speak with novelist Kate Mosse. The author of nine novels and short-story collections, as well as four plays and three works of non-fiction, her writing has been translated into 38 languages and published in more than 40 countries. " Labyrinth ", the first volume in her hit "Languedoc Trilogy", was the bestselling title in Britain in 2006. Kate is also the founder and director of the Women's Prize for Fiction , the largest annual celebration of women's writing in the world. We s...
Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Rachel and Simon speak with William Boyd, bestselling novelist and prolific screenwriter. William was born in Ghana and grew up there and in Nigeria. His novels include " A Good Man in Africa ," " The New Confessions ," " Any Human Heart ," " Restless " and most recently " Trio ." He has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Prix Jean Monnet. Twenty of his screenplays have been filmed, including " The Trench ", which he also directed, and he has published fi...
Jun 15, 2021•59 min
Rachel and Simon speak with Terri White, editor-in-chief of Empire magazine and author. She began her journalism career working on titles including Woman & Home and Marie Claire before joining the launch team of Nuts in 2003 . In 2010, aged 29, Terri became the editor of ShortList, a men's lifestyle magazine, and moved to New York in 2014 to run Time Out New York . During that time, Terri's mental health deteriorated and she ended up in a psychiatric ward—an experience she chronicled in her ...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr
Rachel and Simon speak with Jonny Geller , one of the best known literary agents in London. Jonny joined Curtis Brown in 1993 as an assistant after a short career as an actor. He became a literary agent in 1995 after discovering a novel on the unsolicited pile which went on to sell rights worldwide. He became CEO of the agency in 2012 and is now also CEO of the overall Curtis Brown Group. Jonny's clients include novelists William Boyd , Monica Ali , Tracy Chevalier, David Mitchell and Elif Shafa...
May 18, 2021•59 min
Rachel and Simon speak with journalist and novelist Leaf Arbuthnot. She has written for publications including the TLS , the Sunday Times and the New Statesman and she is currently the film critic and acting features editor at Tatler . Her first novel, “Looking for Eliza” , about the unlikely friendship between two lonely women in Oxford, was published by Orion in 2020. She has also written “The Birthday Party”, a serialised novel, and is working on a play about the Magnitsky Act. We spoke to Le...
May 04, 2021•1 hr
Simon and Rachel speak with Simon Sebag Montefiore , a historian and novelist whose books have been published in 48 languages. His history books include " Catherine the Great and Potemkin ", which was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson and Duff Cooper Prizes, " Young Stalin ", which won the Costa Biography Award (UK) and " Jerusalem: The Biography " which won the Wen Jin Prize in China. His Moscow trilogy of novels comprises " Sashenka ", " Red Sky at Noon " and " One Night in Winter ." We spoke...
Apr 20, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Rachel and Simon speak with Rosie Nixon, editor-in-chief of Hello! and novelist. Rosie has worked in the magazine industry for more than 20 years and has previously held senior roles at Grazia , Glamour and Red . In 2017 Rosie was named Editor of the Year by the British Society of Magazine Editors in the entertainment and celebrity category. She is also the author of three novels, “The Stylist” , “Amber Green takes Manhattan” and “Just Between Friends” . Her first non-fiction book, “Kindness Cou...
Apr 06, 2021•55 min
In an episode with a difference Rachel interviews her Always Take Notes co-cost Simon to mark the publication of his book " The Changing of the Guard ," which tells the story of the British Army since 9/11. After a complicated gestation the book was published last month and has generated extensive debate on the review pages, along with excerpts in the FT magazine , the Atlantic and GQ. Rachel also asks Simon about his magazine journalism and balancing time as a freelancer. You can find us online...
Mar 23, 2021•1 hr
Simon and Rachel speak with Samira Shackle, a freelance writer and author. Her first book, “Karachi Vice” , is a modern history of Pakistan’s largest city through the testimony of five ordinary citizens. It was chosen as a Radio 4 Book of the Week in February. She is the editor of the New Humanist magazine , a quarterly journal of ideas, science and culture, and a regular contributor to the Guardian Long Read. We spoke to Samira about the research and reporting of “Karachi Vice”, writing narrati...
Mar 09, 2021•54 min
Rachel and Simon speak with Jack Thorne, a writer of film, television and theatre. Jack has won five BAFTAs for his television work; his latest credits include " National Treasure ", "The Virtues" and the BBC’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s "His Dark Materials". In film, his credits include "Wonder", "The Aeronauts" and " Enola Holmes ". In theatre, his play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" won multiple Olivier Awards including Best New Play and multiple Tony awards including Best Play. We s...
Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Simon and Rachel speak with Natalie Haynes. Following an education as a classicist and a career as a stand-up comedian, Natalie has written three novels— “The Amber Fury” , “The Children of Jocasta” and “A Thousand Ships” (which was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020)—as well as two non-fiction books, “The Ancient Guide to Modern Life” and “Pandora’s Jar” . Natalie has also written for publications including the Times, the Independent, the New Humanist, the Guardian and the Ob...
Feb 09, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Rachel and Simon speak with business journalist and author James Ashton . James was city editor and executive editor of the Evening Standard and Independent titles and before that city editor of the Sunday Times . He has also written for the Telegraph , Times , Daily Mail , Scotsman , Business AM and Reuters . His book “The Nine Types of Leader” chronicles the different categories of CEO he has encountered in over twenty years of journalism. We spoke to James about the art of the CEO interview, ...
Jan 26, 2021•55 min
Rachel and Simon speak with feature writer Sirin Kale. After a stint in lobbying, Sirin turned to journalism and worked at Dazed & Confused and Vice UK . Now freelance, she contributes to publications including the Guardian , where she writes the widely read “Lost to the Virus” series, Observer , Vogue , Wired , GQ and 1843 Magazine . We talked to Sirin about her decision to change careers, the importance of time management and reporting sensitive stories. You can find us online at alwaystak...
Jan 12, 2021•57 min
Simon and Rachel talk with magazine editor Ed Needham. Today Ed single-handedly writes and edits Strong Words , a literary journal for book lovers who want to locate their next great read more accurately amid an ocean of new product. Formerly Ed was editor of FHM in London during its million-selling heyday in the 1990s, then moved to New York in 1999 to launch and edit the American edition. In New York he was also managing editor of Rolling Stone and editor-in-chief of US Maxim , at a time when ...
Dec 29, 2020•1 hr 3 min
Simon and Rachel talk with the nature writer Rebecca Giggs . Rebecca, who is from Perth, Australia, writes about how people feel towards animals in a time of technological and ecological change. Her work has appeared in the Atlantic , the New York Times Magazine , Granta , and in anthologies including Best Australian Essays and Best Australian Science Writing . We spoke with Rebecca about “Fathoms: the World in the Whale” , her debut non-fiction book, her exhaustive research process and about th...
Dec 15, 2020•59 min
Rachel and Simon talk to magazine writer and author Samanth Subramanian . Samanth is a contributing writer to the Guardian Long Read, and his writing has also appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine , WIRED , Granta, Harper's and 1843, among other publications. He is the author of three books, “Following Fish: Travels Around the Indian Coast,” (which won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize in 2010), “This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War” (winner of the 2015 Crosswor...
Dec 01, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 96
