Meet the Writers
Georgina Godwin in conversation with top authors. Explore their inspirations, writing processes, and the stories behind their books.
Latest Episodes
Monocle Reads: Julia Hobsbawm
Julia Hobsbawm is a writer, speaker, social entrepreneur and strategist whose work focuses on finding solutions for humans in an ever-changing world. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her latest book, ‘The Simplicity Principle: Six Steps Towards Clarity in a Complex World’.
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.
Monocle Reads: ‘Afraid of the Light’
The coronavirus crisis has prompted a number of charitable publishing initiatives. One of those is ‘Afraid of the Light’, an anthology of short fiction featuring 14 crime writers. Georgina Godwin speaks to one of the writers behind the project, Jo Furniss. Jo is also the author of ‘All the Little…
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.…
Monocle Reads: Mojie Crigler
Mojie Crigler tells Georgina Godwin about her new book, ‘Under the Big Tree’, which tells the story of the people who suffer from Neglected Tropical Diseases, as well as the global movement of extraordinary people working together to defeat them.
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…
Monocle Reads: ‘Warriors, Witches, Women’
Kate Hodges speaks to Georgina Godwin about her new book, ‘Warriors, Witches, Women: Celebrating Mythology’s Fiercest Females’. From feminist fairies to bloodsucking temptresses, half-human harpies and protective voodoo goddesses, the book does away with stereotypes and explores these historical and spiritual figures from a feminist perspective.
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…
Monocle Reads: Dan Gretton
Writer and activist Dan Gretton’s disturbing debut work, ‘I You We Them’, is a culmination of Gretton’s career-spanning interest in “desk killers” – perpetrators of crimesagainst humanity, who murder through the cold mechanisms of bureaucracy. ‘I You We Them’ merges history, reportage and memoir to meditate on questions of responsibility…
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.
