Showing titles in Art & Literature

Coetzee grew up in a new development north of Cape Town, tormented by guilt and fear. With a father he despised, and a mother he both adored and resented, he led a double life - the brilliant and well-behaved student at school, the princely despot at home, always terrified of losing his mother's love. His first encounters with literature, the awakenings of sexual desire, and a growing awareness of apartheid left him with baffling questions, and only in his love of the high veld ('farms are places of freedom, of life') could he find a sense of belonging.

Joining us at Audible Studios is James Windust, writer, public speaker and model. Windust graduated from UCA Epsom with a degree in fashion management and marketing and within six months of their graduation was named as one of London's 1,000 most influential people by The Evening Standard. Windust is a freelance writer and has written pieces for British GQ, Gay Times, The Independent and many more. As well as being a writer, Windust is also a public speaker and has spoken at events for Tommy Hilfiger and TEDxLondonWomen.

Joining us at Audible Studios is award winning comedian, presenter, actor and author Russell Kane, who has just released his book, The Son of a Silverback. Kane was born in London and was brought up in Essex. He initially worked as an advertising copywriter but went on to pursue a career in comedy and in 2004 won the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year. In August 2006 Kane performed his debut comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe, entitled The Theory of Pretension. He has hosted Big Brother's Big Mouth as well as a show on Q Radio.

Joining us at Audible Studios are Sophie Ellis and Darrell Brown, two television producers who have combined forces to bring us podcast Body of Proof. Sophie and Darrell both create factual television, working on programmes aired by the most prominent terrestrial broadcasters. They have worked together over the past two years to create a true crime podcast that will leave you questioning your faith in our justice systems.

The Mister tells the story of well-to-do (and well-off!) Maxim Trevelyan, who is living the high-life with good lucks, aristocratic connections, and no need to work. Things change when Maxim is charged with the responsibility of inheriting his family's wealth, estates and titles. It is not a role well suited to Maxim. In this interview, we spoke to E. L. James about setting The Mister in Albania, Fifty Shades going viral, and the music playlists that accompany her writing.

Joining us at Audible Studios is English actress and model Dani Dyer, who won ITV2's Love Island in the summer of 2018. In her first book, What Would Dani Do?, Dani shares her experiences of growing up, going through bullying, relationships, insecurities...and being Danny Dyer's daughter! She gives advice to fans whilst showing how she’s still figuring it all out herself. We spoke to Dani about including Jack in the book, what she’s learnt from her dad and why hair removal cream should probably be kept away from your upper lip!

A freelance journalist and author, Reni Eddo-Lodge is one of the country’s critical young thinkers, focusing her work on feminism and exposing structural racism. Her debut Jhalak Prize-winning title, Why I’m No longer Talking to White People About Race, was published in June 2017. Reni Eddo-Lodge talks to us about narrating her audiobook, her thoughts on positive discrimination and what makes her hopeful about Britain today.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about her latest book, Why We Get the Wrong Politicians, is political journalist Isabel Hardman. From beginning her career as a senior reporter for Inside Housing magazine, Isabel Hardman is now the assistant editor of The Spectator. Her latest book, Why We Get the Wrong Politicians, was published in 2018. Isabel Hardman talks to us about her latest title, her journalistic career to date and the world of Westminster.

Maria Semple joins Elise Italiaander in the Audible Studios to discuss her latest book.

An avid transparency campaigner named by Powerlist as the ‘UK’s most influential black person’, Gina came to prominence when she successfully challenged the UK government’s authority to trigger Article 50 - the formal notice to leave the EU - without parliamentary approval. Her memoir, Rise, was published in August 2018. Gina Miller talks to us about what her greatest strengths and weaknesses are, how she felt when Article 50 went for parliamentary approval and how we can create more unity in post-Brexit Britain.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about her latest book, The Curious History of Dating: From Jane Austen to Tinder, is British journalist, broadcaster and author Nichi Hodgson. A regular contributor to The Guardian, Vice and The Telegraph on issues of civil liberties, gender politics and sex, and the law, Nichi Hodgson was one of the first British journalists to court-report via Twitter. Her latest book, The Curious History of Dating: From Jane Austen to Tinder, looks at the history of dating in all its various forms.

Author Jonathan Stroud joins Robin Morgan in the Audible Studios to discuss his career, his taste in reading and listening, and his various series of books

Joining us in the Audible Studios is former England and Fiji sevens coach Ben Ryan to discuss his latest book, Sevens Heaven. Ben Ryan is best known for coaching the Fiji sevens team to two Sevens World Series titles and a gold medal in sevens rugby at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Guiding the Fiji sevens team to historic achievements and setting the highest ever record of tournament titles won by a sevens coach, Ryan is arguable the most successful men’s rugby coach in the world. His latest book, Sevens Heaven, was published in May 2018.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to discuss the first book in her latest fantasy series, The Smoke Thieves, is award winning best-selling author Sally Green. Author of the critically acclaimed young adult fantasy series Half Life, Sally Green’s work has been likened to George Orwell but with witches. After winning the Teen category of the Waterstone’s Children’s Books prize in 2015, Sally has embarked on a brand-new epic fantasy series titled The Smoke Thieves, the first of which published in May 2018.

John Hay, Lincoln's private secretary and later secretary of state under presidents McKinley and Roosevelt, and Samuel Langhorne Clemens, famous as "Mark Twain", grew up 50 miles apart on the banks of the Mississippi River in the same rural antebellum stew of race, class, and want. This shared history drew them together in the late 1860s, and their mutual admiration never waned in spite of sharp differences.

In this deeply personal book, the celebrated Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat reflects on art and exile. Inspired by Albert Camus and adapted from her own lectures for Princeton University’s Toni Morrison Lecture Series, here Danticat tells stories of artists who create despite (or because of) the horrors that drove them from their homelands. Combining memoir and essay, these moving and eloquent pieces examine what it means to be an artist from a country in crisis.

The Stephen King Companion is an authoritative look at horror author King's personal life and professional career, from Carrie to The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. King expert George Beahm, who has published extensively about Maine's main author, is your seasoned guide to the imaginative world of Stephen King, covering his varied and prodigious output: juvenalia, short fiction, limited edition books, best-selling novels, and film adaptations.

Author of the acclaimed Summoner series, Matharu gained critical acclaim after publishing his first novel, The Novice, on Wattpad.com, garnering over six millions readers through the platform. Matharu continues to write professionally, with his latest release, the fourth book from the Summoner series, being a prequel. Taran Matharu talks to us about his lauded fantasy series and this latest book, fan fiction and what he thinks of it, and what’s next for the series and his writing. It’s also very hard not to be impressed by the stories of his nine-year-old self.

Award-winning mental health campaigner, film producer, public speaker, writer and vlogger Jonny Benjamin talks to us about the release of his debut audiobook, The Stranger on the Bridge. Jonny first emerged in the public eye in 2014 after launching the #FindMike campaign, and you might remember him as the real-life protagonist of It’s A Wonderful Life, saved from the grips of depression not by an angel but by a stranger on a bridge.

Young people starting out in television sometimes say to me: “I want to be you.” My stock reply is always: “Then you have to take the whole package.” And now, at last, the most important woman in the history of television journalism gives us that “whole package,” in her inspiring and...