Meet the Writers
Georgina Godwin in conversation with top authors. Explore their inspirations, writing processes, and the stories behind their books.
Latest Episodes
The writers we met in 2020. Part 2: Dustin Lance Black, Isabel Allende, Oyinkan Braithwaite and Robert Reich
On this best of ‘Meet The Writers’, we bring you highlights from conversations with Academy award-winner and LGBT activist Dustin Lance Black, Chilean author Isabel Allende, best-selling Nigerian-UK novelist Oyinkan Braithwaite and US presidential adviser Robert Reich.
The writers we met in 2020. Part 1: The Booker prize
We revisit our interview with this year’s Booker prize-winner Douglas Stuart, and hear from shortlisted authors Maaza Mengiste, Tsitsi Dangarembga and Brandon Taylor.
Andrey Kurkov
One of Ukraine’s most successful literary exports speaks to Georgina Godwin. Before turning to writing, Kurkov served as a prison warden and later a journalist before trying his hand at fiction. He boasts a wealth of novels and screenplays to his name, including the bestselling ‘Death and the Penguin’. His…
Peter Cardwell
As special adviser to a total of four cabinet ministers, Peter Cardwell worked at the highest levels of government, gaining insight into rarely seen aspects of life in Whitehall. His book, ‘The Secret life of Special Advisers’, reveals all, detailing what the roles of people such as Dominic Cummings and…
Jason Diakite
Jason Diakite is best known for his illustrious career as a hip hop artist in Sweden. Performing in the group Excel and then solo as Timbuktu, he has performed all over the world, including at the Nobel Peace prize ceremony. His critically acclaimed memoir ‘A Drop of Midnight’ has sold…
Peter Hain
Despite growing up in apartheid South Africa, Peter Hain is best known for his career spanning three decades as a UK Labour Party MP. He served in the cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and chaired the UN Security Council. His latest book, ‘The Rhino Conspiracy’, is a…
Booker prize winner Douglas Stuart
The 2020 Booker prize went to ‘Shuggie Bain’ by Douglas Stuart. Only the second Scot to win the prize, he tells Georgina Godwin about growing up with an alcoholic mother in Glasgow, his career in fashion, his move to New York – and now his coronation at the very pinnacle…
Erika Fatland
One of Norway’s most exciting new travel writers, Erika Fatland has gained a reputation for telling unique, often overlooked stories. A social anthropologist by training, she has documented terrorism in Beslan and the 2011 terror attacks in her native Norway. In her latest book, ‘The Border: A Journey Around Russia,’…
Robert Harris
Robert Harris is probably the UK’s best-known thriller writer. A former political editor on broadsheets, his work has explored themes as wide-ranging as contemporary politics, ancient Rome and the Second World War. Many have become bestsellers and been adapted for television and film.
Michael Portillo
Georgina Godwin speaks to former UK defence secretary and shadow chancellor Michael Portillo. Following his career in politics he moved to the BBC, where he presented the popular documentary series ‘Great British Railway Journeys’, which is the inspiration for his latest book.
