Nicky Harman, is a leading translator and promoter of Chinese literature. She was interviewed for The BookBlast® Diary in 2016 and Xu Xiaobin's Crystal Wedding reviewed. Our conversation about writing from a non-English speaking world that is 4,834 miles away from the UK takes in the dark side of socialism and government censorship, what strengths are drawn by Chinese writers from the richness of their cultural background and national identity, issues faced by translators, Chinese women...

Robert Elms talks to Georgia de Chamberet about The BookBlast® 10x10 Tour in association with Waterstones. A carnival of authors, poets, translators and independent publishers visit 9 major cities across England, 11 September to 15 November, holding live talks at flagship stores and  inspiring readers to immerse themselves in authentic, offbeat new writing. Interview date: 01 September 2018

Most famous for the group portrait of four women who escaped the conventional constraints of domestic life, The Wilder Shores of Love, Lesley Blanch was a scholarly romantic and a bold writer with a lifelong passion for Russia, the Balkans and the Middle East. Her posthumously published memoirs collects together the story of her marriage with Romain Gary, previously published only in French; her journalism on the artistic melting pot that was London between the wars; and a selection of her...

Celebrated author and distinguished traveller, Lesley Blanch, MBE (1904-2007), talks to Teresa Cherfas about her love of Russia and of the mysterious family friend whom she referred to as The Traveller. Although to some it may seem that Blanch excelled in magnifying her own peculiarities to become larger than life, even mythic, she was always true to herself. Her private life was so inaccessible as to be virtually unimaginable. Blanch gave this interview the day after coming out of hospital,...