Meet the Writers
Georgina Godwin in conversation with top authors. Explore their inspirations, writing processes, and the stories behind their books.
Latest Episodes
Robert Reich
Robert Reich is a US economist, professor and political commentator who has served in three national administrations, including as US Secretary of Labour. He has written 17 books, and he discusses his latest, ‘The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It’.
Stephanie Scott
Stephanie Scott’s award-winning debut thriller, ‘What’s Left of Me Is Yours’, retells the true story of a Japanese man paid to seduce a married woman. Scott’s novel was the culmination of years of hard work in Japan spent researching the story, the legal system and the way of life.
Curtis Sittenfeld
Author Curtis Sittenfeld cemented her place in the literary scene with her third novel ‘American Wife’, a story loosely based on first lady, Laura Bush. 12 years on, her eagerly anticipated new book ‘Rodham’ explores a similarly ambitious theme, reimagining the life of Hillary Clinton had she not married Bill.…
Amish Tripathi
Amish Tripathi rocketed to fame with the Shiva trilogy, which became the fastest-selling series of books in Indian history. Tripathi’s path to success was not a simple one, however, as he was initially rejected by publishers more than 20 times. As well as continuing to write, he is now a…
Michael Frayn
British author, playwright and translator Michael Frayn is best known for his farcical comedy ‘Noises Off’ and ‘Copenhagen’, which details a 1941 meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. He is also a translator of Russian and has written several English translations of Chekhov. He spoke to us about his…
Humphrey Hawksley
Humphrey Hawksley is an author, commentator and broadcaster. His work as a BBC foreign correspondent took him all over the world, giving him a global perspective that informs his writing. His new book, ‘Man on Edge’, puts the reader at the centre of a geopolitical crisis in Moscow.
Christos Tsiolkas
Christos Tsiolkas is an Australian born to Greek immigrant parents whose breakthrough novel, ‘The Slap’, was longlisted for the Booker prize in 2010. He talks about religion, shame and his most recent book, ‘Damascus’.
Maaza Mengiste
Maaza Mengiste is a bright new force in international literature. She tells Georgina Godwin about her new book, ‘The Shadow King’, which casts a light on the women who went to war in the late 1930s in Ethiopia, the country of Mengiste’s birth.
Timur Vermes
Former journalist Timur Vermes’s debut novel, ‘Er Ist Wieder Da’ (‘Look Who’s Back’), topped the Spiegel Bestseller list in 2011 and has since been translated into 27 languages and adapted for the screen. Vermes’s imagined return of Adolf Hitler to modern Berlin announced the German writer as a bold new…
Kim Ghattas
Emmy award-winning journalist Kim Ghattas, who was born and raised in Lebanon, has spent two decades reporting on the Middle East. Her new book, ‘Black Wave’, examines the destructive rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia post-1979.
