Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux. Born in Massachusetts, as a young man he worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi and taught at universities in Uganda and Singapore. He published his first novel, "Wal

#183: Madhumita Murgia, journalist and author

24 days ago 59m 42s

Simon and Rachel speak with the journalist and author Madhumita Murgia. She is currently the Financial Times' first Artificial Intelligence Editor, where she covers developments in AI globally and broader issues including surveillance, data pri

#182: Nicholas Shakespeare, novelist and biographer

Mar 19th, 2024 1h 1m

Simon and Rachel speak with the novelist and biographer Nicholas Shakespeare. He began his career as a journalist, working for the Times and the Telegraph, before turning to book-writing in the 1980s. His debut novel, "The Vision of Elena Silve

#181: Juliet Mabey, co-founder and publisher, Oneworld Publications

Mar 5th, 2024 58m 26s

Rachel and Simon speak to Juliet Mabey, co-founder and publisher of Oneworld Publications. She established the company in 1986 with her husband, Novin Doostdar, as an independent publishing house focusing on non-fiction. Its books have covered

#180: Jo Nesbø, novelist

Feb 20th, 2024 53m 36s

Simon and Rachel speak with Jo Nesbø, one of the world's bestselling crime writers. Jo's writing career began when he was commissioned to produce a memoir about life on the road with his band, Di Derre, and he instead came up with the plot for

#179: Jhumpa Lahiri, novelist and short-story writer

Feb 6th, 2024 57m 24s

Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist and short-story writer Jhumpa Lahiri. Her bestselling debut story collection, “Interpreter of Maladies”, won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 2000 and was translated into more than 30 languages. Her debu

#178: Adam Thirlwell, novelist

Jan 23rd, 2024 54m 6s

Simon and Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist Adam Thirlwell. The author of four novels - the first of which, "Politics", was published in 2003 when he was 24, and the latest of which is "The Future Future" - Adam's work has been translate

#177: Philippa Gregory, novelist and historian

Jan 9th, 2024 57m 32s

Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist and historian Philippa Gregory. She began her career in journalism and worked at BBC Radio before publishing her first historical novel, "Wideacre", in 1987 while she was completing a PhD in 18th-century

#176: Henry Jeffreys, drinks writer

Dec 26th, 2023 54m 45s

Simon and Rachel speak to the drinks writer Henry Jeffreys, who won Fortnum & Mason Drink Writer of the Year for 2022/23. Henry is the author of four books on alcohol: "Empire of Booze", a history of Britain and its empire told through the orig

#175: Kassia St. Clair, journalist and author

Dec 12th, 2023 1h 4m

Rachel and Simon speak to the journalist, author and former co-host of Always Take Notes, Kassia St. Clair. She has written for Architectural Digest, The Economist, the Times Literary Supplement and Wired, and had a column in Elle Decoration fo

#174: Adam Sisman, biographer

Nov 28th, 2023 51m 20s

Simon and Rachel speak with the biographer Adam Sisman. After an initial career in publishing, Adam's first book, a biography of historian A.J.P. Taylor, appeared in 1994. His second, "Boswell's Presumptuous Task" (2000), won the US National Bo

#173: Victoria Hislop, novelist

Nov 14th, 2023 59m 7s

Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist Victoria Hislop. After studying English at university, Victoria worked in book publishing, PR and journalism. She turned to fiction in 2005 with “The Island”, a love story set on Spinalonga, Greece’s for

#172: Anjan Sundaram, journalist and author

Oct 31st, 2023 56m 1s

Simon and Rachel speak with Anjan Sundaram, an award-winning author, journalist and television presenter, whose war correspondence has won a Frontline Club Award and a Reuters prize. Anjan's previous books are "Bad News: Last Journalists in a D

#171: Sarah Braybrooke, publishing director, Ithaka Press

Oct 20th, 2023 1h 4m

Rachel and Simon speak with Sarah Braybrooke, publishing director at Ithaka Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK. Sarah started her career in publicity, first at Profile, then at Scribe, an independent publishing house based in Australia. She

#170: Frank Cottrell-Boyce, author and screenwriter

Oct 3rd, 2023 1h 4m

Simon and Rachel speak with the author and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce. "Millions", his debut children's novel, published in 2004, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal. He is also the author of "Noah's Gold", "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again"

#169: Helen Macdonald, nature writer and novelist

Sep 19th, 2023 1h

Rachel and Simon speak with the nature writer and novelist Helen Macdonald. "H is for Hawk", a memoir of grief and falconry published in 2014, won several prizes including the Costa Book of the Year and the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction.

#168: Lee Child, novelist

Sep 5th, 2023 1h 16m

Simon and Rachel speak with the novelist Lee Child, one of the world’s leading thriller writers. Lee - real name James Grant - was born in Coventry in 1954, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in the United States. He began his writing career a

#167: Megan Nolan, novelist and journalist

Aug 22nd, 2023 50m 30s

In this episode Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist and journalist Megan Nolan. Her essays and reviews have been published by the Guardian and the New York Times, among other publications. Her debut novel, "Acts of Desperation", was publis

#166: James Daunt, managing director, Waterstones, CEO, Barnes & Noble

Aug 8th, 2023 57m 8s

Simon and Rachel speak to James Daunt, who runs both Barnes & Noble, the world’s largest retail bookseller, and Waterstones, the largest retail bookseller in the United Kingdom. James currently oversees approximately 600 Barnes & Noble shops in

#165: Francesca Main, publisher, Phoenix Books

Jul 25th, 2023 1h

Rachel and Simon speak to Francesca Main, publisher of Phoenix Books, an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group which in turn is part of Hachette. She started her career at Penguin, first in the rights department and then as an editorial assista

#164: Albert Read, managing director, Condé Nast Britain

Jul 11th, 2023 56m 2s

Simon and Rachel speak with Albert Read, who runs magazine publisher Condé Nast in the UK and recently published a book called "The Imagination Muscle", about the genesis of ideas. Albert has launched and led businesses for Condé Nast in the UK

#163: Abigail Bergstrom, literary agent and novelist

Jun 27th, 2023 57m 52s

Rachel and Simon speak with the literary agent and novelist Abigail Bergstrom. She started her career at the publisher Simon & Schuster in 2011; by 2014 she had been promoted to commissioning editor. She was then headhunted to set up and launch

#162: Nels Abbey, author and co-founder of the Black Writers Guild

Jun 13th, 2023 1h 3m

Simon and Rachel speak with Nels Abbey, a British-Nigerian writer, media executive and satirist who co-founded the Black Writers Guild in 2020 in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. A former banker, Nels's first book, "Think Like a Wh

#161: Sophie Lambert, literary agent, C&W

May 30th, 2023 58m 8s

Rachel and Simon speak with the literary agent Sophie Lambert. After working as a bookseller and a book buyer in London for several years, Sophie moved to New York and spent three years there as an assistant at Janklow & Nesbit. She moved back

#160: Jed Mercurio, screenwriter and novelist

May 16th, 2023 52m 39s

Simon and Rachel speak with the screenwriter and novelist Jed Mercurio. A former hospital doctor and Royal Air Force officer, Jed made his entry into television after he answered an advert in the British Medical Journal seeking advisors for a h