27 March 2022
Episode 330
30 minutes
John L Williams is a biographer and novelist, as well as the co-founder and director of a literary and arts festival in Wales. Earlier in his career he was a music writer, working for publications such as ‘The Face’, ‘GQ’ and ‘NME’. His latest book is ‘CLR James: A Life Beyond the Boundaries’, a biography of the revolutionary Trinidadian historian, Marxist campaigner and cricket writer.
27 March 2022
Share episode
DownloadWant more radio episodes like these in your inbox?
Sign up to Monocle’s email newsletters to stay on top of news and opinion, plus the latest from the magazine, radio, film and shop.
Meet the Writers - latest episodes
Charlotte Van den Broeck
Georgina Godwin meets Charlotte Van den Broeck, award-winning Flemish poet and author. Her newly translated book ‘Bold Ventures: Thirteen Tales of Architectural Tragedy’ is about architects whose design errors proved fatal…
Monocle Reads: ‘Sounds Wild and Broken’
David George Haskell is a Guggenheim fellow and a professor of biology and environmental studies, who has written about biology, ethics and culture for ‘The New York Times’ and other publications. He speaks to Georgina…
Corinne Chateau
This week, Georgina Godwin speaks to Corinne Chateau, the American actress, director and writer. She discusses working with Elia Kazan, Anne Bancroft, Shelley Winters, Katharine Hepburn and Ellen Burstyn; her book ‘The Road…
Monocle Reads: ‘The Secret Lives of Church Ladies’
Georgina Godwin speaks to American writer, essayist and public speaker Deesha Philyaw about her latest book, ‘The Secret Lives of Church Ladies’. The award-winning collection of short stories explores the lives and relat…
Clare Conville and DBC Pierre
This week, Georgina Godwin speaks to Clare Conville, founder of literary agency Conville and Walsh. She also meets DBC Pierre, the Booker Prize-winning author of ‘Vernon God Little’. His latest work is ‘Big Snake Little…
Monocle Reads: ‘The Language Game’
Georgina Godwin speaks to Nick Chater, professor of behavioural science at Warwick University Business School, about his new book ‘The Language Game’, co-written with colleague and friend Morten H Christian. The book offers…
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
Georgina Godwin meets Dutch author and poet Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, whose best-selling novel ‘Grand Hotel Europa’ has just been translated into English. It is a moving and addictive masterpiece looking at European identity…
Monocle Reads: ‘Wet Paint’
Georgina Godwin sits down with Chloë Ashby to talk about her debut novel ‘Wet Paint’. Ashby is an award-winning arts journalist and author, and a regular contributor and former editor at Monocle.
NoViolet Bulawayo
Georgina Godwin meets Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo. Her first novel, ‘We Need New Names’, was shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, making her the first Zimbabwean and first black African woman to make the…
Monocle Reads: ‘Africa is Not A Country’
Georgina Godwin speaks to Dipo Faloyin, senior editor of global news at ‘Vice’, about his debut book, ‘Africa is Not A Country’. It is a study on modern Africa that pushes back on harmful stereotypes to show the diversity…
Celia Paul
Georgina Godwin speaks to Celia Paul, an artist and a chronicler of family life and connection through the medium of portraiture. Her first book, ‘Self Portrait’, was published to critical acclaim and her second is an…
Monocle Reads explore book fairs and book festivals
Georgina Godwin finds out all there is to know about book fairs and book festivals. She speaks with Cristina Fuentes La Roche, international director at Hay Festival, and visits the London Book Fair, where she meets Edward…
Jean Oelwang
Georgina Godwin speaks to the president of Virgin Unite, the charitable arm of Virgin. Jean Oelwang worked in telecoms for two decades and across six continents before shifting to philanthropy. Her new book ‘Partnering:…
Monocle Reads: ‘The Subplot’
Georgina Godwin sits down with Megan Walsh, a journalist and author who specialises in Chinese arts and culture. They discuss her latest book, ‘The Subplot: What China is Reading and Why it Matters’, which takes the reader…
John L Williams
John L Williams is a biographer and novelist, as well as the co-founder and director of a literary and arts festival in Wales. Earlier in his career he was a music writer, working for publications such as ‘The Face’, ‘GQ’…