Emma Sloley speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her story “The Cassandras,” which appears in The Common’s spring issue. In this conversation, Sloley talks about writing a story based on the fear of men women are taught to have from a young age. She also discusses her decision to include a sort of Greek chorus in the story, apocalyptic isolation in ... Show More
Nov 19
Sharon White, "If the Owl Calls" (WTAW Press, 2025)
As the Sami community (Norway) struggles to protect ancestral lands from the building of a damn in 1979, Oslo detective Hans Sorensen arrives in the north of the country to investigate sabotage on a damn. Then a body is discovered, and Sorensen has to delve into his own past and ... Show More
25m 2s
Nov 19
Zoe Dubno, "Happiness and Love" (Scribner, 2025)
Following a young woman over the course of one outrageous and insufferable downtown dinner party at the home of her estranged best friends—an artist and curator couple, whom she now realizes stands for everything she detests—Happiness and Love (Scribner, 2025) is a piercing debu ... Show More
40m 57s
Nov 15
Stephanie Wambugu, "Lonely Crowds" (Little, Brown and Co., 2025)
In Lonely Crowds (Little, Brown and Co., 2025) Ruth, an only child of recent immigrants to New England, lives in an emotionally cold home and attends the local Catholic girl's school on a scholarship. Maria, a beautiful orphan whose Panamanian mother dies by suicide and is taken ... Show More
43m 14s
Jun 2021
Interview with Kristen Arnett
In this week’s episode, Kendra talks with Kristen Arnett about her most recent novel, With Teeth, which out now from Riverhead.
Check out our Patreon page to learn more about our book club and other Patreon-exclusive goodies. Follow along over on Instagram, join the discussion in ... Show More
47m 33s
Dec 2019
#237 Emma Forrest: Writing & Transcendental Meditation
Today's guest is with Emma Forrest, one of my favourite writers of all time. She has published three novels, an essay collection and the memoir Your Voice In My Head, one of my favourite memoirs on mental health ever. She also recently wrote and directed her feature debut, Untoge ... Show More
33m 5s
Feb 2023
Caitlin Moran (Replay): Middle-age, Marriage and Her New Book
Today's guest (recorded back in 2020) is the brilliant Caitlin Moran! Award-winning columnist, author, scriptwriter. She is the eldest of eight children, grew up in Wolverhampton and she published her first novel at the age of 16. She then became a columnist at The Times aged 18 ... Show More
26m 53s
Feb 2018
Interview with Maggie O'Farrell
Autumn and Kendra chat with Maggie O'Farrell about her first work of nonfiction, her memoir I Am, I Am, I Am. O'Farrell talks about why she wanted to write a memoir after seven novels and about her own relationship with mortality, which inspired her to share the stories her seven ... Show More
30m 35s
Jan 2017
#54 Laura Dockrill (Poet & Author) - You Don’t Have To Be One Thing
Laura Dockrill is a performance poet, author, illustrator and short story writer. She is the author of the Darcy Burdock series and a YA novel, Lorali with a follow up book coming out this year. She has also written a number of adult poetry collections. "My Mum is a Grown Down" i ... Show More
29m 52s
Jul 2022
Why Publish New Classics?
<p>Tsh talks to her good friend, Sarah Mackenzie, about what makes good stories (especially for our kids). She's got a HUGE new project in the works: not only a new children's book, but a new publishing house! When it's hard to publish new classics that tell timeless truths, you ... Show More
58m 28s