Rippling Pages: Interviews with Writers

"This book is begging to be written...It has this a frontier-ness to it..." Bruce Omar Yates is here to discuss his upcoming novel published by Dead Ink Books, THE MUSLIM COWBOY .  In a contemporary and entertaining novel set in aftermath of the Iraq war, a man who is obsessed with old Western movies dresses in double denim and roams a lawless landscape in search of his own Western story.  Ripplin...

"The smotheringly neutral voice" Claire Carroll is here to talk about her new and debut collection of short stories THE UNRELIABLE NATURE WRITER. A truly candid insight into the workings of craft and being a writer from one of the most exciting and upcoming fiction writers today. THE UNRELIABLE NATURE WRITER is published by Scratch Books - more here Rippling Points 2.00 - Claire's dreams and readi...

"The garden is a co-author" Marchelle Farrell is here to talk about her essay in a new anthology from Daunt Books, BY THE RIVER: ESSAYS FROM THE WATER'S EDGE . I've wanted to talk to Marchelle since the publication of UPROOTING: FROM THE CARIBBEAN TO THE COUNTRYSIDE - Canongate Books), so it was great to have her here when she's part of an anthology featuring the likes of Caleb Azumah Nelson and T...

"I wanted to be talking choice in a way that was routed in a social context, and that was true to the particularity and intimacy that I shared with my mum at the end of her life." Marianne Brooker is here to talk about her Women's Prize for Non-Fiction shortlisted essay, INTERVALS, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions. Marianne talks about her life and living with her mother who was diagnosed with p...

"That whole question of the invisible life...that there's something going on we cannot see that determines our health and the future of the planet." Dawn Garisch, one of South Africa's most pre-eminent writers, joins the Rippling Pages to talk about Breaking Milk , published in the UK by Heloise Press. Shortlisted for the prestigious Sunday Times South Africa/CNA Literary Awards '21, it finally la...

"Wounds, whilst they open us to the world...they can be points of infection."  Welcome to 2024 and a new episode of the Rippling Pages. Rachel Mann is a poet, scholar, novelist and Anglican priest. She is Rachel Mann is here to talk about her new collection, Eleanor Among the Saints ( Carcanet) , which takes inspiration from the life of Eleanor 'John' Rykener. A trans woman, seamstress, embroider,...

"Kathy had a documentary impulse that is teaching us now." Jo Scott-Coe returns to the Rippling Pages to talk about her latest book, UNHEARD WITNESS: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF KATHY LEISSNER WHITMAN (University of Texas Press) Jo is a previous guest of the podcast, joining us in Series 2 to discuss MASS (Pelekinesis), an account of Charles Whitman, the Texas Tower Shooter.  Listen to that episode here...

"It's not confessional...but it's absolutely full of concrete details of things that I've observed or really happened." Charlotte Eichler joins the Rippling Pages to discuss her new collection, SWIMMING BETWEEN ISLANDS , published by Carcanet Tickets to Tom Branfoot launch that I'm hosting here:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/boar-book-launch-tickets-733576425837 Rippling Points Fruit bats: the m...

"There was a lot of solitude quiet and silence, and I believe poetry exists in relation to silence." Baron Wormser, a former National Endowment for the Arts and Guggenheim Fellow, is here to talk about his eleventh collection of poetry, THE HISTORY HOTEL, and THE ROAD WASHES OUT IN SPRING , an account of a poet living life off the grid.  Tickets to Tom Branfoot launch that I'm hosting here: https:...

"it took a lot of courage to keep going and channel that sadness and melancholy into pictures of such joy and exuberance " Leslie Smolan, widow and creative partner of the photographer Rodney Smith is here to talk about a new book celebrating his life and work.  A LEAP OF FAITH, with essays from Paul Martineau, Rebecca Senf, and Graydon Carter, is also packed full of Rodney's iconic images. It's p...

"We live in a world where we increasingly want to control everything...I hope that in fictional spaces, the effort of trying to keep up becomes so much you eventually say, hey, let's go." Nii Ayikwei Parkes is here to discuss his second novel, Azúcar, published by Peepal Tree Press. How do we grow in... Fictional spaces: understanding when we're not in control Real spaces: understanding control an...

"I hate judging characters - you have to have respect for people's origins." James Clarke is here to talk about his new novel, Sanderson's Isle, published by Serpent's Tail ( buy here ) Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! -  https://ko-fi.com/liambishop Rippling Points Ebullient characters: stepping into the sixties and using real-life...

'I wanted to write a queer love story, Blackpool is crying out for literary renditions and I'm obsessed by Ulysses.' Helen Palmer is here to talk about her Ulysses inspired queer love story, Pleasure Beach which is published by Prototype ( more info here!) Enjoyed today's episode? Leave a tip!: https://ko-fi.com/liambishop Rippling Points Corrie and the Tower: setting a novel in Blackpool.  Time p...

"There is a genuine search for something - much of the time it turns out to be distraction." Duncan Wiese joins me from Denmark to discuss his new collection of poetry based on Virgil's Eclogues, Tityrus: A Pastoral. Published by Lolli Editions ( more info here!) , the poems were translated by Max Minden Ribeiro (Pelle Hvenegaard’s Dear Zoe Ukhona and Finn Juhl: Life, Work, World by Christian Bund...

"I was interested in stories with stories and how the family used folklore to approach conflict" Soraya Palmer joins me from Brooklyn to discuss her debut novel, recently released in the UK, The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts, published by Serpent's Tail ( more info here !). We speak about hauntings, family narratives, and Anansi the animal trickster! Enjoyed this epis...

It's a Catalan Literature in Translation Special! I'm delighted to welcome Mara Faye Lethem and Tiago Miller to discuss two recently released books from Catalonia Irene Solà's When I Sing, Mountains Dance has has been re-released in paperback translated by Mara for Granta Josep Maria Argemí's The Angel of Santa Sofia has been newly released and translated by Tiago for Fum d'Estampa Enjoyed this ep...

"I was fascinated by the idea of what is real and what isn't real what people perceive to be real and not real" Welcome back to Series 4 of the Rippling Pages. And Seraphina Madsen is here to talk witches, the occult and different realities! Aurora is Seraphina's second novel and is published by Dodo Ink Read an extract here Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the...

"I don't think poetry should be giving a lesson to anyone" Caitlin Stobie is here to talk about THIN SLICES, her new collection from Verve Press ( Pre-order here ) Caitlin examines culture's need for 'origin' myths, as well as asking what is a language for the pre-lingual? We recorded this episode in the run-up to Caitlin's appearance at Ilkley Literature Festival - more of which you can find out...

Both writer and translator of SALT CRYSTALS, Cristina Bendek and Robin Myers, are here to discuss this shape-shifting and history-searching novel.  A book about a woman, Victoria, who explores her own and the island she's from, San Andrés's, history. Find out more about the book here Rippling Points: A momentaneous piece or peace? How can we write about the transient, the changing, in a form which...

"It's a quest to try to collect all of the Picadors..." Nicholas Royle is here to talk about White Spines: Confessions of a Book Collector, and his journey to find Picador books. You can buy the book here   Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambishop Rippling Points The Second Life of Books: the second-hand books...

"All this wouldn't have happened without that experience of cancer..." Caroline Clark is here with one of the most tender and moving books due to be released this year: Own Sweet Time. Caroline's book is about the "hardest thing she's been through physically" and the "hardest things she's found mentally.  Find out more book here:    Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support w...

"As humans, we're really scared of forgetting..." Welcome back for another episode of the Rippling Pages – I’m delighted to speaking to Sarah Schofield, author of the short story collection, SAFELY GATHERED IN ( Comma Press - you can find here ) Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambishop Rippling Points: Safely...

"Song is very powerful...it's not a truth teller, it's a state-changer." Richard Price joins today's show to discuss his collection of 'Three Inuit Stories Retold.' Published by Carcanet, the book was a Scotsman Book of the Year in 2021, and Richard joined me to discuss the challenges of retelling these tales. You can buy the book here: https://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781800171...

"The first thing that came to me? A woman, alone with the sea, and in charge of her own destiny?"   Welcome back to the Rippling Pages and Series Three: Beneath the Surface.    We have Erica Mou and Clarissa Botsford here to discuss Thirsty Sea. Erica is a successful musician with six albums to her name. Her novel is translated by Clarissa and published by exciting new press, Héloïse Press, who ar...

"It's nice to see my imagination dressed with my words...It's very interesting to see a universe in other words." What a pleasure have both Emilio Fraia and Zoë Perry to discuss with me the writing and translating of Emilio's novel Sevastopol ( Lolli Editions - buy here) Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambisho...