Showing titles in Art & Literature

Natalie Goldberg has been writing for the past fifty years. But at the beginning of the pandemic, she suddenly wasn’t able to write anymore. Her imaginative wellspring had dried up, and she was forced to ask herself: what do I do when what has always worked for me doesn’t work anymore? In this beautifully written, inspiring personal account, Natalie shares her harrowing journey out of creative paralysis and back onto the page.

An enigmatic, daring and astonishingly creative designer, Yves Saint Laurent is credited with the elevation of haute couture to fine art, turning the fashion show into a spectacle of breathtaking proportions, and revolutionizing the gendered norms of womenswear.

Kaffe Fassett has led an extraordinary life and is a captivating storyteller with a vivid memory. Born in 1937, he spent much of his youth in Big Sur, California, where his parents bought a cabin from Orson Welles and transformed it into the world-famous Nepenthe restaurant, a gathering place for artists and bohemians. After attending a boarding school run by the disciples of Krishnamurti, an Indian guru, he studied painting at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, then traveled to England, where he made his home.

In his widely anticipated memoir, Ai Weiwei - one of the world's most famous artists and activists - tells a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own extraordinary life and the legacy of his father, Ai Qing, the nation's most celebrated poet. Hailed as 'the most important artist working today' by the Financial Times and as 'an eloquent and unsilenceable voice of freedom' by the New York Times, Ai Weiwei has written a sweeping memoir that presents a remarkable history of China over the last 100 years while illuminating his artistic process. 

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.

Thurlow was born and raised in Scotland and is a former Miss Edinburgh winner. After attending university in England and leaving with a First, Thurlow worked for four years with the Halo Trust in Explosive Ordnance Disposal: locating, de-arming and removing landmines that put lives and livelihoods at risk in former war zones. Thurlow found the work began to take a toll on her health and took a step back. At which point, she was approached to be a contestant on the reality TV show Love Island.

In London during the interwar years, five women's lives intertwined around one address. Mecklenburgh Square, on the radical fringes of Bloomsbury, was home to activists, experimenters and revolutionaries; among them were the modernist poet H. D., detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, classicist Jane Harrison, economic historian Eileen Power, and author and publisher Virginia Woolf.  

Brought to you by Penguin. Sleep. Sleep. Like money, you only think about it when you have too little. Then you think about it all the time, and the less you have the more you think about it. It becomes the prism through which you see the world and nothing can exist except in relation to it...

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 is English comedian, novelist and actress Jenny Eclair. Jenny's most recent novel is called Inheritance. The book, set in Cornwall, centres around the mansion Kittiwake, which has seen many pass through its doors since it was bought by American heiress Peggy Carmichael 70 years ago. Over the decades, the keys have been handed down through the family, and now it’s where Lance will be celebrating his 50th birthday, and Bel is invited. But in going back to Kittiwake, Bel will be returning to the place where it all began....

The famous journalist and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich documents his front row seat at the pivotal events leading up to World War II. In the second of a three-volume series, William L. Shirer tells the story of his own eventful life, detailing the most notable moments of his career as a journalist stationed in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich. Shirer was there while Hitler celebrated his new domination of Germany, unleashed the Blitzkrieg on Poland, and began the conflict that would come to be known as World War II.

A searing confessional infused with the darkest humor, Permanent Midnight chronicles the opiated abyss of a Hollywood screenwriter and his formidable climb into sobriety. Made into a major motion picture starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, Permanent Midnight is revered by critics and an ever-growing cult of devoted fans as one of the most compelling contemporary memoirs.

Joining us at Audible Studios is Dan Abnett, British comic book writer and novelist, who has contributed to series for Marvel, DC Comics and Games Workshop's Black Library. Abnett is one of the Black Library's main authors, and certainly one of their best sellers. Writing within the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Abnett has authored infamous series such as Horus Heresy, Gaunt's Ghosts and Eisenhorn. Abnett has also written prolifically for Marvel and DC, as well as 2000 AD.

Joining us at Audible Studios is Kerry Daynes, an English forensic psychologist and consultant who has worked as an expert witness and within the family law courts as well as opening her own private practices. Daynes has released her new book, The Dark Side of the Mind: True Stories from My Life as a Forensic Psychologist. Kerry Dayes has worked in maximum security prisons and secure hospitals, working alongside some of the most complex and challenging criminals and victims of crime.

Joining us at Audible Studios is Rachel Reeves, British economist and Labor Party politician. We spoke about her new book, Women of Westminster, which details the stories of women MPs from 1919-2019. In the past century, a total of 491 women have been elected to parliament. However, it wasn’t until 2016 that the total number of women ever elected eventually surpassed the number of male MPs in a single parliament. We spoke about Rachel about interviewing Teresa May for the book and how being a woman MP has affected her career.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about his narration of the classic Charles Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit is lauded British actor and stage director Derek Jacobi. With a commanding stage presence, Jacobi has had a hugely successful stage and screen career, which includes his appearance in productions such as Hamlet and Oedipus the King. Twice awarded the Laurence Olivier Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award, Derek Jacobi now narrates the audio version of Charles Dickens’ Martin Chuzzlewit.

Author of the best-selling Inspector McLean series and the Ballad of Sir Benfro series, James Oswald is back with a brand-new book, No Time to Cry, published in July 2018. James Oswald talks to us about what inspired his new lead character, playing detective while he’s writing and how eye-opening it was to write a female protagonist.

Author Rebecca Smith speaks to Elise Italiaander in the Audible Studios about her latest book, The Jane Austen Writers' Club.

Sci-fi author Miles Cameron joins Gabriel Fleming in the Audible Studios in the UK to discuss his work. Exclusive interview.