San Clemente

Viktoria is the first autistic author nominated for the Booker Prize. All the Little Bird Hearts explores the autistic perspective through motherhood, new friendship and class as the arrival of a glamorous couple one summer in the Lake District threatens life as she knows it.  We talk about writing from a neurodivergent perspective, Sicilian folklore and developing character. It’s really a masterc...

It's not often you get to talk to an author about their seminal novel. Dinah's Lord Jim at Home shocked readers in the 70's and now has an intro from Ottessa Moshfegh for its republication. We talk about the public school system, making a murderer and her time in the Osho cult. Of course, I got her answer on how to become a writer.

Poet, Novelist, Translator and lecturer at NYU & Princeton (deep breath) Idra Novey talks about polarisation, rural America, Brooklyn and how to just DO it. Her book Take What You Need is out . READ IT.

Sîan is both a Seamus Heaney Award Winning poet and a Book Prize Longlisted author. We talk about ghost stories, memory, the Gawain Poet, and the Old English classic Perl. Her gorgeous book Pearl is out now.

Booker Longlisted and Winner of the Seamus Heaney Award, Sîan is the writer/poet we aspire to be. Her book Pearl is stunning and available where you buy books (maybe even some places you don't). This episode gets into the meaning of place, killing your darlings and writing about complex mental health. Part 2 is out on Wednesday! Get ready for more on the original poem Pearl and GHOST STORIES (...

Everything you wanted to know about curating, art to look out for and what makes a video art not film. Noelle curated this year's exhibition of the finalists for the prize so she has a [rather helpful] insight into some truly fascinating works. Don't say we don't keep you artistically well fed. If you haven't already, go listen to Alia's interview for more art this season. See...

Forensic Architecture is a multidisciplinary research group based at Goldsmiths, University of London that uses architectural techniques and technologies to investigate cases of state violence and violations of human rights around the world.  Their investigations have provided decisive evidence in a number of legal cases, including in national and international courts in Germany, The Hague, Greece...

Women's Prize Shortlisted Author Jacqueline Crooks talks about her stunning debut Fire Rush. It's a love letter to Black British music in the 70's and the people who made it. She shares her journey to finding her voice, writing advice, methods of decolonising the English language and her iconic wardrobe of one-off pieces. Pages discussed in the intro: 167-68, 180-81 Check out Dionne Ed...

The second part of Carmel's beautiful interview covers EVERYTHING from grief and Catullus, Impressionism, New York in the 90's, AI, book recs and much more. Her book In Ordinary Time is out in hardback right now so go find yourself a copy and cancel any and all plans so you can read uninterrupted.

Alia Al-Senussi works around the world bringing talented artists to major galleries and projects. She talks to Grace about how art can bring social change, her favourite artists and her passion for art from the Middle East. If you want to impress your friends at dinner parties or strangers moving further away from you on public transport, look no further. For more art go to the San Clemente site o...

Irish Essayist Carmel McMahon talks about decolonising storytelling, bringing healing to the past and what time means to us. Her book In Ordinary Time  is a brilliant memoir about her personal history and that of her country. She manages to make the heavy and uncomfortable feel remarkably approachable and freeing.  For more literary adventures go to our website or listen to the previous episode wi...

Bestselling Novelist Claire Fuller won the 2021 Costa Novel Award and was Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction with her latest work Unsettled Ground, published with Penguin Random House.  Today, she joins Grace to talk about her relatively recent turn to literature as well as the legality of burying bodies in your garden, the ethics of eating octopuses and what authors owe vs what fi...

This week film composer Will Bates talks about his work on the upcoming film The Estate. We also cover theremin museums, how to build your own orphanage for musical instruments and finding your path as a musician.  Read the interview with Tim Mackenzie-Smith about the incredible Cymande and his documentary on them 

Marta Franceschini, Fashion Researcher, Fashion Historian and Co-Curator of the Fashioning Masculinities Exhibition at the V&A talks Made In Italy, Tom Ford and obviously the viral moments from Harry Styles and Timotheé Chalamet. Find about the meaning of the suit and the development of menswear to date. Like the exhibition, this conversation goes beyond the binary and keeps in mind the playfu...

Grace talks to games designer Nick Murray about his work on the upcoming Poetry Games Exhibition at the National Poetry Library for this year's London Literature Festival. Like his work, this is an unguided exploration of the human condition, namely,  being 'niche', the Queen's passing and the importance of zombie unions. If you're looking to start a cult or reconnect with your dead tamagotch...