The Libreria Podcast

In this episode we are listening to writer and translator Kate Briggs and poet, writer and scholar Holly Pester discuss Hélène Bessette’s Lili Is Crying, which has been translated by Kate and published in the UK by Fitzcarraldo Editions. Hélène Bessette (1918–2000) published thirteen novels with Gallimard between 1953 and 1973, won the Cazes prize in 1954 and was twice in the running for the Gonco...

In this episode we are listening to acclaimed writers Adam Weymouth and Jay Griffiths  discuss their new books, Lone Wolf and How Animals Heal Us. which was recorded live in the bookshop.  From Adam Weymouth, the winner of the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, comes Lone Wolf, an epic walk across the Alps in the footsteps of a wolf, throwing unique light on Europe's mountainous hinterla...

In this episode we are listening to critically acclaimed writer Yoko Tawada and interdisciplinary artist Tice Cin discuss Yoko’s novel Spontaneous Acts. which was recorded live in the bookshop.  In Spontaneous Acts, Patrik is a literary researcher living in Berlin, a city just coming back to life after lockdown. Though his beloved opera houses are open again, Patrik cannot leave the house and hard...

In this episode we are listening to Rumaan Alam and Lloyd Sowerbutts discuss Rumaan’s recent novel Entitlement, which was recorded in October 2024, at Bloomsbury Publishing’s Headquarters in Central London. The discussion touches on money, the role of the state, the value attributed to commodities, canonical authors, and being outwitted by the intentions of a novel. Rumaan Alam is the author of fo...

In this episode we welcome Aamna Mohdin to discuss her memoir, Scattered: The Making and Unmaking of a Refugee. Aamna is the Guardian’s first community affairs correspondent, reporting on the social, political and economic experiences of the UK’s diverse communities, with a focus on Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Aamna spent her early years in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, Saudi Arab...

In this episode we are listening to South London writer and storyteller Aniefiok Ekpoudom and bestselling writer, photographer and filmmaker Caleb Azumah Nelson, as they discuss ⁠the music and modern social history detailed in Neef's outstanding book; Where We Come From: Rap, Home & Hope in Modern Britain, published by Faber in 2024. Libreria wishes to thank Aniefiok, Caleb and Faber for the o...

In this episode we are listening to renowned poet, activist and icon Nikki Giovanni, who visited Libreria for an intimate night of readings and discussion with a small audience. In this first of two episodes, we are listening to the live readings of: Ego Tripping (from Re: Creation , 1970), Still Life with Apron (from Chasing Utopia , 2013) & Vegetable Soup (from Make Me Rain, 2020). We will f...

In this episode we are listening to renowned poet, activist and icon Nikki Giovanni, who visited Libreria for an intimate night of readings and discussion with a small audience. In this second of two episodes, we are listening to Nikki share her thoughts and feelings about the world, her fascination with space travel, a love of jazz, food and Black women, and some laugh-out-loud anecdotes. This sp...

In this episode we are listening to Ros Taylor discuss her book The Future of Trust, recently published by Melville House, as part of their FUTURES series.    We touch on the ideas of interpersonal and institutional trust, when events and public figures continue to undermine and erode them, but it’s not a doom-laden chat!  Libreria wishes to thank Ros Taylor and Melville House for the opportunity...

In this episode we welcome Colum McCann, the National Book Award-winning author of Let the Great World Spin, and the Booker Prize-nominated Apeirogon, to discuss his first non-fiction book, American Mother. which tells the story of Diane Foley – mother of beheaded journalist James Foley – who has come face-to-face with her son’s killer and continues to campaign for the safety of journalists and re...

In this episode we are listening to Benjamin Moser and Lauren Elkin discuss Ben’s recent publication The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Masters, which was recorded in October 2023, live in the bookshop. With the company of some of the finest artists known, Benjamin Moser discusses art, life, and death, with the passion of a knowledgeable guide who dismantles the hierarchical barrier th...

In this episode we are listening to Marie Darrieussecq and Brian Dillon discuss Marie’s recent publication Sleepless, which was recorded in October 2023, live in the bookshop. Plagued by insomnia for twenty years, Marie Darrieussecq recounts her own experiences alongside those of fellow insomniacs, mostly fellow writers like Ovid, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, Marguerite Duras, Franz Kafka, and G...

In this episode we are listening to Lars Iyer and Jon Day discuss Lars’ recent novel My Weil, which was recorded live in the bookshop in September 2023.  My Weil is the third in a loose trilogy of novels, where significant continental thinkers are brought into contemporary academic scenarios that skewer academia, and the parochial ways of British life. Bordering on the unruly and brimming with sat...

In this episode Libreria welcomes Pulitzer Prize winner, MacArthur Fellow and esteemed sociologist, Matthew Desmond. Matthew is the author of Poverty, by America, and Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.  Libreria wishes to thank Allen Lane publishers of the Penguin Random House group for the opportunity to host a live discussion with Matthew Desmond at Libreria bookshop.

In this episode the microphone is passed on to Libreria bookseller Buitumelo, who has invited debut author Santanu Bhattacharya, to chat about his recent novel One Small Voice, which was published by Fig Tree.  Santanu Bhattacharya’s debut novel One Small Voice introduces us to the epic tale of a young man's life and journey through India, starting in the early 90s. We bear witness to Shubhankar’s...

In this episode Libreria welcomes Turkish writer and political thinker Ece Temelkuran, whose recent publications Together: A Manifesto Against a Heartless World and How To Lose A Country: The 7 Steps From Democracy to Dictatorship focus on fascism, rising populism, and morals in the 21st century.  In this discussion, Ece and Lloyd talk about witnessing political changes, her desire  to tell the gl...

In this episode Libreria welcomes John Grindrod, author of Concretopia and Outskirts. Together with Iconicon these books form a loose trilogy about how the British have planned, built, lived and worked over the last 80 years.  During the conversation John mentions the following books and authors: The City and The City - China Miéville Capital - John Lanchester City of the Mind - Penelope Lively

In this episode Libreria welcomes established writer and poet JJ Bola ahead of the publication of his new novel, The Selfless Act of Breathing. In this wide-ranging and candid conversation, we jump off from JJ’s recent work to discuss masculinity, purpose, searching, discovery and failure. During the conversation, JJ cites the following books and authors: bell hooks - The Will to Change bell hooks...

In this episode Libreria welcomes writer, translator and lecturer Dennis Duncan. In his new book “Index, A History of the” Dennis enthuses about how the book index came to be, its uses and abuses - featuring the classic anecdote about Norman Mailer’s vanity - and the influence of the index on the internet and Google.

In this episode Libreria welcomes two legends in psychedelic research, the award-winning author Michael Pollan and the brilliant ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna, as we discuss how psychoactive plants impact our brain and culture.

In this episode Libreria welcomes Brazilian writer and editor Emilio Fraia and translator Zoe Perry. Emilio has been selected by Granta magazine as one of the best Brazilian writers of his generation, and is the first Brazilian writer to be translated into English for the New Yorker magazine. Zoe Perry’s translation of Emilio’s Sevastopol has been published by Lolli Editions. Zoe’s translations of...

Libreria is privileged to be joined by Franco Stevens, founder of Curve magazine, which was created to offer greater visibility of the queer and lesbian community. We chatted briefly about her life, work and legacy, which is the subject of the documentary, “Ahead of the Curve”. To learn more about The Curve Foundation’s work visit thecurvefoundation.org

Libreria is joined by Veronica O’Keane, Professor of Psychiatry and practicing Consultant Psychiatrist at Trinity College Dublin. Her book The Rag and Bone Shop distils a lifetime of practice and her understanding of memory, offering insights into psychiatry, neuroscience and literature.

Collective, the double Oscar-nominated documentary by Alexander Nanau follows a team of investigative journalists whose tireless work uncovers a shocking fraud, revealing the price of corruption and ultimately, the price of truth. Libreria and Second Home are joined by the director and Roger and James Deakins to discuss Alexander's film and its intentions. Made possible by Magnolia Pictures, Parti...

Koa Beck, former editor-in-chief of Jezebel, is joined by Katrine Marçal to discuss how capitalism’s focus on the individual is inhibiting feminism’s progress towards true equality for the collective.