The Burley Fisher Podcast

Today Ant and Dan are joined by the punk polymath Dr. Habib William Kherbek to talk everything from his terrifying theory of 'Technofeudalism', writing Britain authentically as an immmigrant, to his remix-novel of Don Quixote, New Adventures. Strap in for a wild ride, for your brain will be throbbing when this one is done. Bonus Content: An Exciting Announcement about the future of Burley Fisher i...

Today's episode is 100% bibliophilia, as Sam and So celebrate the re-opening of the bookstore and return of all our book-loving customers, and talk to the author of the year's bookiest book, Eley Williams, whose debut novel The Liar's Dictionary is a riot of linguistic invention AND Sherlock Holmes queer fanfic Easter eggs. Prepare for verbal bartitsu!

In this episode So is joined by Katy Derbyshire to talk about the integral role of translators in mediating between international literature and the Anglophone world, the perils of book-buying during lockdown in Berlin. What's more, Katy shares some off-kilter recommendations from the buzzing contemporary German scene and discusses her role in creating the Warick Prize for Women in Translation.  ...

On today's podcast, we get emotional about Burley Fisher re-opening, and So talks solidarity, workers' rights, friendship, filmmaking, the power of self-expression and why poetry is sexy with contributors to Hustling Verse: An Anthology of Sex Workers' Poetry. SWARM: https://www.swarmcollective.org/ Scot-PEP? http://www.scot-pep.org.uk/home Sex Worker Open University: https://www.nswp.org/members/...

In today's episode Dan and Ant are back in contact with friends from the Indian subcontinent. Today they are joined with Naveen from Seagull Books, a Kolkata-based publisher which specialises in translated fiction. They talk the ethos and history of Seagull, along with their unique approach to trans-national publishing.   - Produced by Dan Fuller Music by Antony Hurley

On today's episode we're off to Oz to talk about the importance of fantasy – as a genre, and as a way of imagining otherwise – with Melbournian writer, editor and activist Alison Croggon, whose new children's book The Threads of Magic has just been published in the UK, if you're after pacy escapism with a socialist feminist twist (who isn't)! To talk about what art can do – and so why and how it s...

On today’s episode the team are joined by the musician Sam Amidon. In a wide ranging conversation Sam recounts his musical journey from Vermont to New York City set against the backdrop of folk revivals through the generations. Sam delves into the collaborators and improvisers that coruscate through his music and reflects on the storytelling of his songwriting fuelled by his deep interest in books...

Today So is joined by Jessie Kindig, editor at Verso US. They talk about whether cats are anarchists, imagining a robust community-oriented book world, and how leftist publishers are addressing the current crisis, including Verso's forthcoming ebook by Dean Spade on mutual aid.   - Produced by Dan Fuller Music by Antony Hurley

Today Dan is joined by Siim-Kosmos Sinamäe, a producer on the literary computer game Disco Elysium. Together they walk the line between literature and non-traditional media, exploring how a small development team from Talinn, Estonia used their writing chops to create one of the finest video games of the last decade. With backroad meanders into Russian Constructivism, Dungeons and Dragons and the...

Today Dan and Ant are joined by Maria Cuervo, editor of Hellebore, the magazine of Folk Horror and all things Weird Albion. Ant and Dan are led on a psychedelic journey through the origins of Folk Horror in Gothic Literature, the Mythic practices which inspire contemporary art and the aesthetics of the Folk Horror Revival.   - Produced by Dan Fuller Music by Antony Hurley  

Today Dan and Antony are joined by Mandira Sen from Stree-Samya Books, a Kolkata-based publisher that specialises in Indian Social Studies and Dalit Literature. In a wide-ranging conversation that covers the plight of women, the legacy of colonialism and the realities of the modern caste system, kick back for a few hours to enjoy an eye-opening and warm conversation that will give you a sneak peek...

In this episode Dan is joined by Owen from Weird Walk, who guides him through his psychedelic rambling philosophy by way of medieval graffiti, folk music and lost historic wonders found in the strangest of places. Meanwhile, Sam catches up with Peter from Books Peckham, to see how the 'zine magnate of Rye Lane is navigating the lockdown.   - Produced by Dan Fuller Music by Antony Hurley

Today we're joined by writer and organiser Lola Olufemi, who talks to So about her new book Feminism Interrupted: Disrupting Power, part of Pluto's Outspoken Series. So and Lola get into why critical feminism is a conversation and a form of nourishment, how radical groups are organising during lockdown (and what you can do), and how the current crisis shows up our urgent need for intersectional th...

Today we begin our series from literary figures from around the globe, as Athenian poet and translator Theo Chiotis leaps headlong into the Greek discourses of crisis. Ranging from the bodily aspects of crisis, punitive lockdown fines and the legacy of authorotarian rule in Mediterrenean states, Theo leads So and Dan deep into the Athenian literary reality.   - Produced by Dan Fuller Music by Anto...

Today we are joined by Matt Green who discusses the Black Death and the parrallels with the Covid-19 epidemic. We hear the ramblings of freelance preachers, tales of abandoned villages and stirrings of the birth of fashion. With lively sojourns into conspiracy and economic turmoil, join Matt as he weaves a vivid tapestry of the characters and events that have marked historical pandemics, and maybe...

The latest episode of the Isolation Station is a bookseller bonanza. We transform ourselves into armchair flaneurs as we visit other independent booksellers around London to ask how they're dealing with the crisis, what they're reading and what they're eating. It's important work we're doing. If you would like to get in touch with any of the bookshops we speak with the details are below: Pickled P...

Today in the Isolation Station, Sam is joined by Ruth Gilligan, who discusses her new novel The Butchers: a blood-soaked, folkloric tale set during the '96 BSE crisis in Ireland. Sam and Ruth cover the clash of modernity and tradition, the timeliness of the novel and yet more toilet paper books. Also included is another exclusive extract of Dan’s plague journal. The Butchers was published by Atlan...

In this episode our resident poet So Mayer speaks to Will Harris and Nisha Ramayya about the how current situation is making our acquaintance with our subconscious uncomfortably close, guiding us through the past, future and the isolation dreamworld. They also settle, once and for all, the question on all of our lips: what even is language? Will's debut collection, Rendang, was published by Granta...

Today the team at Isolation Station are joined by poet, writer and filmmaker Caleb Femi to discuss his debut collection, Poor, published by Penguin Books in July. With Anthony Hurley, he talks about growing up in South London, the aethetics of urban living and the intersection of estate living with art. Dan also gives us an exclusive reading of his plague journal. To pre-order Poor, please visit o...

Today Preti Taneja joins us on the Isolation Station to talk about her Desmond Elliott award-winning novel We That are Young, what Shakespeare really did in quarantine, and the need for compassion, connection and creativity. Plus we introduce a new feature you can play along with at home, and announce our next guest.   - Produced by Dan Fuller Music by Antony Hurley

In this inaugural episode we talk to Emma Glass about how tired we are, and her new book REST AND BE THANKFUL: a book of fiction built out of real dreams. Intrigued? You should be.  Please do get in touch at podcast@burleyfisherbooks.com if you would like to order REST AND BE THANKFUL, DUCKS, NEWBURYPORT, or any of the Shirley Jackson books mentioned in the pod.   - Produced by Dan Fuller Music by...