On this episode we speak to Alejandro Zambra about his latest book, Childish Literature; a chronicle of early fatherhood. Written in a 'state of attachment', it is a beautiful collection of roaming essays, poetry and short stories - that show how the birth and growth of a child changes not only the present and the future but also reshapes our perceptions of the past. We also hear from Alejandro's close friend and translator Megan McDowell on the process of their working relationship and ...

Two suitably spooky novels on this episode.First up, Erin E. Adams and her debut, Jackal. Published in the UK by Dead Ink Books and set in contemporary Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Jackal is the story of one woman’s determination to uncover the truth around the disappearance of a number of young black girls. A taught, psychological thriller, Erin’s skill is undoubtedly in underscoring the existent horror within US society today. 'A tight, thought provoking novel that transcends genre'...

On this episode we speak to poet Raymond Antrobus about his recently published collection Signs, Music. Comprised of two extended sequences Signs, Music centres on both the imminence and the realisation of a new and overwhelming love. At times compulsive, at others reflective it captures the trepidation and courage of early parenthood. But, more than that, Signs, Music asks us to consider the worlds we create for each other, to question the conditions we place on the love that we offer and to...

As the film adaptation of Starve Acre is released we speak to Andrew Michael Hurley about the origins and evolving life of his much loved novel. Set in the seventies, in the deceptive and unforgiving northern landscapes that fill Andrew’s work, Starve Acre is the story of a family with a bitter inheritance. Sudden tragedy leads to costly obsession and primeval forces are unearthed in an unnerving and sinister return, truly fertile ground for cinema.Directed by Daniel Kokotaljo (who many ...

On this episode we catch up with Rachelle Atalla to hear more about her latest novel The Salt Flats. A tale of many threads, it centres around Martha and Finn a couple who have come to find themselves at the end of their relationship. In a bid to save what’s left between them they travel to a mysterious retreat on the Bolivian salt flats as part of a group of privileged tourists. There, they undergo a series of ceremonies to unlock the fears that separate them. But as each hallucin...

On this episode we meet Mateo García Elizondo to hear more about his debut novel Last Date in El Zapotal. First published in Mexico in 2019 it won the City of Barcelona Literature Award that year but has had to wait until 2024 to be published in English by Charco Press. At first glance Last Date is the story of a man who’s given up on life. Already almost a ghost, he arrives in El Zapotal with enough heroin to see him through his final days of longing and despair. But as the hallucinatio...

On this episode we meet the wonderful Evie Wyld to find out more about her latest novel, The Echoes. As with Evie’s previous books, The Echoes is bold in its use of time and space, spanning generations and moving from one side of the world to the other.It’s a book filled with thrilling misdirections - so no spoilers here friends.We can tell you that - The Echoes is deeply moving, very funny and provocative throughout. It is a book that draws so much from the reader. A beautiful reminder...

On this episode we speak to Ella Frears about her incredible fictional memoir Good Lord. Taking the form of a single 30,000 word email it is a genre-defying, stream of consciousness address directed toward Ava, an unsuspecting estate agent. Ella’s writing is both fearless and full of energy, ranging widely across the common spaces of our lives to take in the wild precarity of the housing market, endemic violence towards women in the UK today and much more. Good Lord is provocative, disco...

On this episode we sit down with Noreen Masud to hear more about her incredible memoir A Flat Place. Shortlisted this year for both the Women’s Prize for Non Fiction and the Jhalak Prize, it is an exploration of both the flat landscapes Noreen loves and ‘the flat place’ she identifies within herself.Taking in the Fens, the Orkneys, Morecombe Bay and more Noreen writes on the contradictions of these places, their stark beauty, immediacy and evasive nature. And through them she finds a way to e...

On this episode we’re joined by Katie Hale to discuss her upcoming novel The Edge of Solitude. Set on a lone ship that's slowly drifting toward the heart of the Antarctic, it's a book which asks us to consider the risks of the planet’s future being left in the hands of a few insanely wealthy individuals. The Edge of Solitude is a story of ambition, principle and above all fallibility that foregrounds our current climate emergency in the near future. A time of hubris and disa...

On this episode we meet Lara Haworth to discuss her wonderful new novel Monumenta. It tells the story of Olha Pavic whose house has been requisitioned by Belgrade city council. They aim to bulldoze it and build a monument to an unspecified massacre in its place. Three architects pay Olga a visit in turn pitching their ideas for the monument that will replace her family home. The novel is in turns searching and surreal, but always a tender portrayal of a family moving through the flood of...

To mark the publication of its paperback edition, this episode is a discussion with Octavia Bright around her wonderful memoir, This Ragged Grace. Published last year, many of you will already know it as an unsparing yet hopeful navigation of unravelling and recovery. It is a deeply human piece of work that asks us to consider the value of ambivalence and the acceptance we can offer ourselves. A book that remains long after reading with much to say about the cycle we're bound in.'To lov...

Two wonderful books on this episode. First up we hear from Elizabeth O' Connor about her incredible debut novel Whalefall. Set on a remote island off the coast of Wales in the run up to World War Two it is a story that maps the tension between home and the hope that exists in a young heart for a life of their own. We loved this book, the island is as wild & windswept as you'd want and the themes of imposition and the violence of 'progress' felt so timely. Do look it out, it's brilliant.Ke...

On this episode we meet Will Burns to hear about his latest poetry collection Natural Burial Ground. Many of you will know Will from his fantastic (lockdown set) novel The Paper Lantern, a portrait of a transforming social & physical landscape during the strangest of years. It is a book flooded with new found time unlike Natural Burial Ground. Instead there, Will’s voice is open to the complexities and trials of loss. Both books though urge the reader to look again at the wider worl...

On this episode we meet up Vida Adamczewski and Catherine Prasifka. First up, Vida to discuss Amphibian her vividly inventive short story collection. It is provocative storytelling infused with a radical compassion that finds voice in new places and reimagines the body as a territory, a swamp we are invited to wallow in by the cover. Amphibian is published by the wonderful Toothgrinder press - www.toothgrinder.co.uk - Do search out them out and get yourself a copy. Many of you will...

On this episode of the Ramble we meet Richard Norris to hear about his memoir of a lifetime in music, Strange Things Are Happening. The book spans the entirety of Richard’s career from an early pivotal meeting with John Peel, via the birth of Acid House to Californian adventures with Joe Strummer.  But Strange Things Are Happening is much more than a series of anecdotes.  At its heart are a series of reflections on forty years of creative practice, a lifetime of collaborations and innovations...

On this episode we speak to author Niamh Mulvey about her upcoming debut novel The Amendments. Many of you will know Niamh from her short story collection Hearts and Bones. (Head back to episode 6 of the pod if not to hear our interview with her shortly after H&B’s publication.) With The Amendments (published by Picador on April 11th) Niamh takes the titular story from the collection and crafts it into what is a beautifully wrought  novel.  Set between London and Ireland The Amendments...

On this episode we hear from Sinéad Gleeson about her upcoming debut novel Hagstone. Set on a rugged island somewhere in the wild Atlantic it centres around the life of Nel an artist who draws inspiration from the landscape, folklore and unexplained phenomena that surround her. The island is also home to a reclusive community of women, the Inions, who task Nel with the creation of a new artwork, a request that leads her to uncover truths both about them and herself.  If you’ve read Sinéad’s...

On this episode we meet Balsam Karam to hear about her latest novel The Singularity. Set in an unnamed coastal town the story follows the impact of one woman’s death on another. It is a study of loss, migration and motherhood and a book that remains with you long after you’ve put it down.  Through bold formal experimentation Balsam builds a language of post trauma, moving from separate narratives that co-exist on the same line to episodic, crystalline remembering. This is definitely a book...

On this  episode of the Ramble, an interview with Magogodi oaMphela Makhene in which we discuss her stunning, debut short story collection, Innards. Set in Soweto (where Magogodi was raised) her stories map the lives of a small group of residents living under and after apartheid. By turns shockingly violent and deeply funny Innards is beautiful wrought from the first page. It is fiction that lays bare the enduring nature of trauma and celebrates the capacity of people to pursue life amid...

On this episode of Field Ramble, an interview with  Aniefiok Ekpoudom to discuss his incredible work of narrative non fiction Where We Come From. Set between communities in South London, South Wales and the West Midland’s Neef’s book documents the rise of UK Rap and Grime. Beginning with the tenacious community hubs of Pirate Radio in Birmingham under the guiding hand of Cecil Morris to the emergence of artists such as Stormzy and Dave, Aniefiok documents the early years and emergence of the...

Field Ramble is back  with award winning Irish novelist Mary Costello to hear about her latest short story collection Barcelona. It follows firmly in the footsteps of her debut novel Academy Street ( Novel of the Year 2014, The Irish Book Awards) and her first collection The China Factory in its fearlessness. Never afraid to shine a light on our darker side, Barcelona is unsparing in its exploration of cruelty and, in Mary's own words, our straining for consciousness.  In this bumper episode...

January is grim, there’s no two ways about it. So here are two fantastic debuts to keep you tucked up indoors and out of whichever storm has just landed. First off  a chat with Lottie Hazell whose novel Piglet is published on 25.01.  An unrelenting story of compulsion and unfulfilled hunger, it majors on love, class and the lack at the centre of modern life. (It also has one of the most insane wedding scenes you’ll read this year.) Follow the link below to order a...

Happy 2024 people! In our first episode of the year we hear from author Ali Millar about her debut novel Ava Anna Ada. Many of you will know Ali from her incredible memoir The Last Days, a courageous and unsparing account of her upbringing in and break from the Jehovah’s Witness Cult. It was an incredible read and is a huge recommend if you’ve yet to get to it Described by Ali as her 'strange little book,'  her much anticipated debut novel  braids together themes of climate chaos, social...