Sara Wheeler speaks with Caroline Sanderson about the sources of her inspirations as a travel writer and biographer, why the future of travel writing is bright and why the writer’s job is to find hope and celebrate the individual human spirit’s survival.
Rebecca Watts and our host Julia Copus discuss ‘My Grandmother’s Love Letters’ by twentieth century American poet Hart Crane, in Poetry Break.
Gwyneth Lewis speaks with John Greening about being the first national poet of Wales, attempting to sail from Cardiff to Brazil, her experience of severe depression, the joy and challenge of finding out what you mean in both poetry and prose and her desire always to be trying new techniques in her writing.
Gwyneth Lewis speaks with John Greening about the unpredictable inspiration of a self-described ‘odd mind’, the attraction of sequences and the importance of fun as a motivator, writing about her astronaut cousin and the influence of Joseph Brodsky.
In this installment of 'My Favourite Book', we hear from Royal Literary Fund fellows about what makes particular books special to them, from subject matter and style to larger-than-life characters and those all-important opening lines.
Malachy Tallack speaks with Caroline Sanderson about how moving to Shetland as a child influenced his writing preoccupations, particularly his sense of place and the role of belonging , and how these things have come to imbue his varied fiction and non-fiction writing.
Adriana Hunter speaks with Ann Morgan about writing other people’s books, how sex scenes change between languages, the art of word games and the novels that never get to speak English.
Ian Ayris reveals how stories have been his constant companions, accompanying him through the darkest periods of his life and ultimately shaping his identity.
Elizabeth Cook explores how losses of all kinds shape us and may sometimes lead us to richer discoveries.
Alexandra Benedict speaks with Doug Johnstone about writing fiction and audio drama in the Doctor Who universe, co-writing works such as the Lovecraft-themed audio drama Arkham County with her partner Guy, and her sometimes stress-inducing habit of having many writing projects on the go simultaneously.
Alexandra Benedict speaks with Doug Johnstone about taking up writing at the age of three, her enduring fascination with dark and disturbing themes, the role of place in her creative output and how synaesthesia has influenced her use of unusual sensory details in her writing.