In this event from 2018, Brian Dillon, UK editor of Cabinet magazine and author of several books of essays, fiction, history and art criticism, talked about his first book, In the Dark Room, published by Penguin in 2005 and now available again in a handsome new edition from Fitzcarraldo, with Sophie Ratcliffe, Associate Professor in English, University of Ox ... Show More
Yesterday
Polly Barton & Chal Ravens: What Am I, A Deer?
What Am I, A Deer?, Polly Barton’s debut novel, takes on the vagaries of translation – linguistic translation, self-translation, and reinvention – which she’s previously explored in the much-loved Fifty Sounds, also published by Fitzcarraldo. ‘The protagonist of What Am I, A Deer ... Show More
1h 3m
Jul 8
Luke Kennard & Will Eaves - Black Bag
In an audacious new take on the campus novel Luke Kennard’s protagonist, a penniless out-of-work actor, takes on a job unlike any other. He is hired to sit silently at the back of a lecture hall, concealed within a black bag. Black Bag (John Murray) examines, hilariously, modern ... Show More
1h 2m
Jul 4
Claire-Louise Bennett & Ben Pester: Magic & Mechanics
In Magic and Mechanics, the latest in Scratch Books’ ‘Reverse Engineering’ series, six writers – George Saunders, Claire-Louise Bennett, Mark Haddon, Camilla Grudova, Amber Medland and Colin Barrett – present and disassemble one of their recent short stories. To celebrate its lau ... Show More
58m 29s
Apr 2022
Diane Zinna- “Celery, Cream Cheese, Olives & Paprika”
This week we have the honor of welcoming author and teacher Diane Zinna. Diane is the author of THE ALL-NIGHT SUN (Random House, 2020) which was longlisted for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and the Cabell First Novelist Award. She also teaches a Grief Writing Sundays ... Show More
58m 20s
Jun 2024
Metamorphosis and Myth
This week, Ben Hutchinson on the making of Franz Kafka, a century after the writer's death; and an interview with Roz Dineen about her vision of climate catastrophe and societal collapse.'Kafka: Making of an icon', Weston Library, Bodleian, Oxford, until October 27Accompanying bo ... Show More
52m 8s
Sep 2023
Chapter 9: Grief and Loss
Close friend of Michael Silverblatt’s and Bookworm editor for 30 years, Alan Howard guest hosts this episode on grief and loss. When the two met more than 33 years ago, Michael’s first words were, “What are you reading?” It was a question that brought Howard back to literature. O ... Show More
41m 36s
Jun 2022
Susan Cain & Daniel Pink: Writing, Longing, and the Search for Meaning
What do we lose when we avoid sorrow and chase empty delights, when we mask our pain and feign cheerfulness, when we profess to have no regrets and insist on turning every frown upside down? Those questions are at the heart of two new books by our curators Susan Cain (“Bitterswee ... Show More
56m 17s