Our dearest podcast listeners - we have a special, important message for you from our founder Damian Barr, as we say a very fond but sad farewell to the Literary Salon... Some of you have come along in person or online or listened to our podcast for years. Thank you for being there—readers bring a book to life, and that’s what you’ve done for Salon. It’s been fifteen years since our first night at Shoreditch House and we’ve grown beyond any dream Damian dared have. So in this special final episode, Damian shares his decision with you, takes us on a joyful trip down memory lane, and gives you a sneak peek of the next chapter... Damian Barr's Literary Salon was founded 15 years ago by award-winning writer, columnist and broadcaster Damian Barr. Find out more about Damian and subscribe to his personal newsletter on his website - www.damianbarr.com. Follow Damian on Twitter/X - @Damian_Barr Follow Damian on Instagram - @mrdamianbarr Podcast produced and edited by presenter/producer Megan Bay Dorman. For any podcast production or presenting enquiries, email Megan on mbaydorman@gmail.com Podcast programmed by Sales, Marketing & Publicity Director Matt Casbourne. For any enquiries email Matt on mcasbourne@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before the summer is out we wanted to share a page-turning holiday read on the podcast. The Orchid Hour takes us back to New York City, 1923, when Zia De Luca’s life is about to be shattered. She lives with her in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library, but when an unassuming patron is murdered, the police investigation focuses on Zia... After another tragedy strikes even closer to home, she learns the crimes are connected to a new speakeasy in Greenwich Village. When the police investigation stalls, Zia decides to find her own answers. As she’s pulled in deeper and deeper, will Zia be able to bring the killers to justice before they learn her secret? This is a great book for anyone who enjoyed Broadway Butterfly by Sara Divello and Last Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman. The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau is published by Lume, an imprint of Joffe Books, and available now. If you enjoy the work we do and would like to support the Literary Salon podcast, you can get a copy (at a discounted price!) from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. W: www.meganbaydorman.com E: mbaydorman@gmail.com Insta: @meganbaydorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Insta: @indiepublishermatt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week is a spellbinding debut novel by writer and commissioning editor on The Observer newspaper, Kathryn Bromwich. In At the Edge of the Woods, Laura lives alone in a cabin deep in the Italian Alps. When she isn’t translating documents, she spends her days climbing the mountains exploring the woods. But while she reconnects with nature, Laura is hiding from the violence of her past. The village where she purchases supplies grows wary of the woman in the cabin and of her increasingly odd behaviour... With a deft hand and slow-burn tension, At the Edge of the Woods is a captivating novel for anyone who enjoyed Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller or Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm. ‘An exceptional debut; uncanny, unsettling, original and subtle.’ - Robert Macfarlane At the Edge of the Woods by Kathryn Bromwich is published by independent press Two Dollar Radio and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. W: www.meganbaydorman.com E: mbaydorman@gmail.com Insta: @meganbaydorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Insta: @indiepublishermatt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week will have you laughing and crying in equal measure! Stand-up comedian Jo Caulfield’s hilarious memoir, The Funny Thing About Death, is about two unconventional girls growing up in the 1970s. Six years ago, Jo was about to go on stage when she found out that her big sister Annie had cancer. Not the best way to start a nationwide comedy tour. But the tour turns out to be a welcome distraction for them both. As Jo reports back from various hotels and service stations, they revisit their childhood and adolescence while navigating Annie's illness, learning through trial and error how to behave when someone you love gets sick. 'It’s a wildly satisfying and moving read... I loved this special book' - Graham Norton The Funny Thing About Death by Jo Caulfield is published by Polygon, an imprint of Scottish independent press Birlinn, and available now. You can get yourself a copy while supporting the Literary Salon and UK indie bookshops by buying from our shop on Bookshop.org. And if you fancy meeting Jo in St Andrews, pop along to a special event with her at Toppings bookshop on 20th September! Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. W: www.meganbaydorman.com E: mbaydorman@gmail.com Insta: @meganbaydorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Insta: @indiepublishermatt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re joined by Paul Dalgarno reading from his thoughtful, existential novel, A Country of Eternal Light. Margaret Bryce has been having a hard time since dying in 2014. In a liminal place, we join Margaret as she revisits her life, from her Aberdeen prefab childhood to the birth of her twin girls, through Thatcher’s Britain, the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster, Australia’s Black Summer bushfires, the death of Princess Diana and the COVID pandemic. But as Margaret struggles to remember her past, there is something she’s also fighting to forget... An emotional journey, A Country of Eternal Light by Paul Dalgarno is published by Polygon (an imprint of Birlinn Ltd) and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can support the Literary Salon's work by visiting our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Catherine Taylor reads from her new book The Stirrings: A Memoir in Northern Time, a story about coming of age in the north of England during the 1970s and 80s. Historical events were happening all around her: from the pursuit and capture of the Yorkshire Ripper, to the anti-nuclear protests and Miners’ Strike. But there were also pressing concerns at home, including her parent’s divorce and a debilitating illness that would define her late adolescence... We're so excited about this memoir and we hope you enjoy this reading from Catherine! Damian will be in-conversation with Catherine this August at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Stirrings is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and available now. If you'd like a copy, you can support the podcast by buying from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode, Booker award-winning author Ben Okri combines fiction, essay and poetry in Tiger Work. This incredible collection, inspired by environmental activism, displays his classic blend of storytelling, fantasy and magic in tales that imagine messages sent to us from beyond the end, from those who saw it coming - exhorting us to change now.  'Both a work of lyrical imagination and a warning about the dangers we will face unless we take immediate action' - New Yorker This is an important and incredible collection, and we hope you enjoy Ben's special reading for us. Tiger Work by Ben Okri is published by Apollo, an imprint of Head of Zeus, and available now. We recommend visiting your local indie bookshop or you can support the Literary Salon by getting a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the Booker longlisted author, and an Irish Times No.1 bestseller - Donal Ryan’s The Queen of Dirt Island is a searing, jubilant novel about four generations of women and the stories that bind them. On a council estate in County Tipperary, Ireland, the Aylward women stick with each other through thick and thin, and always with a wicked sense of humour. The head of the family, Nana, is a woman who has buried two sons. Her daughter-in-law, Eileen, is estranged from her own parents, having 'shamed' them and given birth to Saoirse. And then there's Saoirse herself, eavesdropping on lives she cannot comprehend. It is only when they must battle for the inheritance of Dirt Island - a narrow strip of land adjacent to Eileen's childhood home - that they truly understand the roots that bind their lives together. Listen now for an exclusive reading from Donal himself. 'Beautiful, compassionate... Donal Ryan at his inimitable best' - MAGGIE O'FARRELL The Queen of Dirt Island is published by Transworld and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can support the work we do and the podcast by visiting our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast programmed by Matt Casbourne Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our next guest on the podcast is Essie Fox, reading from her instant Sunday Times bestseller, The Fascination. It’s a Victorian story about the estranged grandson of a wealthy collector of human curiosities, who becomes fascinated with teenage twin sisters, leading them into a web of dark obsessions... And we love this dazzlingly gothic novel from the bestselling author of The Somnambulist. ‘A magical, macabre masterpiece’ - A.J. West, author of The Spirit Engineer  This is a perfect pick for anyone who enjoyed Laura Shephard-Robinson's The Square of Sevens or Liz Hyder's The Illusions. (And if you’d like a non-fiction book on the subject of Victorian circuses and curiosities, then read John Woolf’s The Wonders.) The Fascination by Essie Fox is published by independent publisher Orenda Books and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Or you can grab a special signed and numbered first edition with beautiful sprayed edges from our indie bookshop friends Goldsboro Books. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve got a literary thriller in store for you this week! In the seaside town of Kinlough, Ireland, three old friends are thrown together for the first time since the disappearance of their friend Kala... Fifteen years later Helen has reluctantly returned for her father's wedding; Joe is a world-famous musician back in town for a gig; and Mush has never left, too scared to venture beyond the counter of his mother's café. When two more girls go missing, the past and present collide as these estranged friends are forced to confront the events that led to Kala's disappearance, and to try to stop history from repeating itself... Colin Walsh’s debut novel Kala is published by Atlantic Books and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. 'A gritty heartbreaker of a thriller... Part heartfelt coming-of-age tale, part brutal Irish noir, this is a spectacular read for Donna Tartt and Tana French fans.' - Kirkus Podcast programmed by Matt Casbourne Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deep in Brazil's neglected Bahia hinterland, two sisters find an ancient knife beneath their grandmother's bed and, momentarily mystified by its power, decide to taste its metal. The tragedy that follows marks their lives and binds them together forever... Heralded as a new masterpiece and the most important Brazilian novel of this century, Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior merges folklore with the plight of Afro-Brazilian subsistence farmers, covering themes of family, spirituality, slavery and its aftermath. It has received the Prémio Leya, a prestigious Portuguese literary prize, and is Itamar’s English language debut novel. This gripping tale has been skilfully translated by Johnny Lorenz, who also reads this exclusive extract for us on the podcast. A perfect story for lovers of The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante, or Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor. Crooked Plow is published by independent publisher Verso and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning actor and creator of a myriad of unforgettable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Gertrude Stein, Miriam truly is a national treasure - and possibly our very favourite lesbian. She made us wait a long time for her extraordinary life story, and it's far richer and stranger than any part she's played. From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, her memoir This Much Is True is packed with brilliant stories, several of which Miriam shared with us in this live Literary Salon at the London Library. As you might expect from Miriam and her potty mouth, the conversation with Damian gets explicit and sweary at times, as well as being honest, intelligent and HILARIOUS - enjoy!   Interview and reading recorded live at Damian Barr's Literary Salon, at the London Library, in December 2021. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Live audio recorded by Jake Clark-Darby Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smart, accessible, thoughtful, entertaining and frank: our Book of the Week is Black Girl, No Magic by Kimberly McIntosh. Informed by years of social policy research and campaign work, as well as her own personal experiences, this debut essay collection investigates the intersection of race and class in the UK. She discusses dismantling the myth of social mobility for those who conform to expectations, how systematic injustice impacts us all, and many other urgent questions.  Don’t worry if you’re not an expert on any of the above; this is a great place to start no matter your background.   ‘Witty, fresh and full of life’ Liv Little, founder of gal-dem  'This book is a glowing achievement by one of the best essayists of her generation' Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, writer and managing editor of Skin Deep magazine  A book for fans of Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino and Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, Black Girl, No Magic by Kimberly McIntosh is published by The Borough Press and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A grand hotel, a famous opera star and a psychoanalyst with a hidden agenda. Our Book of the Week offers a glamorous, thrilling ride through murder, madness and the darkest recesses of the mind, set at Birmingham’s Regent Hotel in 1929, where guests sip absinthe cocktails on velvet banquettes and nothing is as it appears... Hokey Pokey by Kate Mascarenhas is published by Apollo, an imprint of beloved publisher Head of Zeus, and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can get a copy from Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re thrilled to bring you a reading from And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode Somtochukwu. This is the inaugural title from a new publisher on the scene: Roxane Gay Books, an imprint of Grove Atlantic. Roxane Gay is of course the bestselling author of Bad Feminist and her press will publish beautifully written, provocative, intelligent writing including underrepresented fiction, nonfiction and memoir.  And Then He Sang a Lullaby is a passionate and heartbreaking debut from a Nigerian writer and queer liberation activist, exploring what love and freedom cost in a society steeped in homophobia. It’s a poignant and searching book, reminding us of the work to be done around the world to ensure the safety and rights of our LGBTQ+ community. ‘A courageous, heart-in-mouth debut about the lives and loves of young gay Nigerians. I can't wait to see what Ani Kayode Somtochukwu writes next.’ - Patrick Gale, author of Mother’s Boy We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re bringing you a brilliant, poignant and darkly comic novel by Irish author Alice Ryan.  Molly Black has been running away since her parents died. But this time, or so says her note, she's gone for good... There's Been a Little Incident is an award-winning debut novel about grief, family and the people who are there for you when you can't be there for yourself. 'Warm, wry and genuinely funny' - Marian Keyes Perfect for readers of Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan and Snowflake by Louise Nealan, we can’t wait for you to discover this fantastic book for yourself! There’s Been A Little Incident is published by Head of Zeus and available now in paperback in all good bookshops, or from our shop on Bookshop.org. Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time for some sex positivity! This week we’ve invited sex and relationship columnist Zachary Zane to read to you from his painfully funny memoir, Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto. The New York based author bares all in this memoir-manifesto, exploring how, even today, we live in a world that shames people for the sex they have and the sexualities they inhabit. Through the lens of his bisexuality and self-described sluttiness, Zachary breaks down how this sexual shame impacts our lives, and how we can unlearn the harmful, entrenched messages society imparts to us. We recently featured a very popular interview with Zachary on our Instagram Live, in which he opened up about his sexual experiences, exploring polyamory, orgies, anonymous encounters and his thoughts on how to lead a fulfilling sex life in a long-term relationship, not to mention bi-visibility and dismantling toxic masculinity. Do head on over to that after you've enjoyed this special podcast episode with a brilliant reading from Boyslut! ‘Reading about Zane’s own sexual adventures is like getting invited to Sunday brunch by your wittiest, sluttiest, funniest friend and getting to listen to him recount his crazy weekend.’ - Dan Savage Boyslut, perfect for readers of Unprotected by Billy Porter or Here for It by R. Eric Thomas, is published by Abrams Image, an imprint of Abrams & Chronicle Books. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne            Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve got another page-turner on the podcast this week, this time by internationally bestselling author Joanne Harris!   In Broken Light, Bernie Moon has given her life to other people: her husband, her son, her friends. At nineteen she was full of dreams and ambitions; now almost fifty, and going through the menopause, she's fading, fast. When a young woman is murdered in a local park, it sparks a series of childhood memories and a talent that has lain dormant most of her adult life. But what will she do with this power and who will she become when she decides to use it..? Perfect for readers of Naomi Alderman’s The Power and Stephen King’s Carrie. 'Profound, moving and utterly unforgettable' - CATRIONA WARD Broken Light by Joanne Harris is published by Orion and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prepare to be dazzled by our Book of the Week, Eyes Guts Throat Bones, an anthology of macabre tales at the end of civilisation. Moïra Fowley's spellbinding imagination will captivate your senses in an irresistible collection that explores our darkest impulses and deepest fears, interlaced with stories of queer love.  ‘One of my favourite storytellers. These tales lingered, morphed, consumed me.’ Kiran Millwood Hargrave Eyes Guts Throat Bones by Moïra Fowley is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and out now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re delighted to bring you a new instalment of The Darkland Tales! In this series, leading Scottish authors offer dramatic retellings of stories from their nation's history, myth and legend. Last season we brought you Hex by Jenni Fagan. This season we’re spotlighting Nothing Left to Fear From Hell by award-winning author Alan Warner. In this story, Bonnie Prince Charles flees from the disastrous Battle of Culloden with a small band of companions through the mountainous landscapes of the north-west Highlands of Scotland. Dive into the past with this page-turning reimagining!  Nothing Left to Fear From Hell by Alan Warner is published by Polygon, an imprint of Scottish indie press Birlinn, and is available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Make room in your heart for our book of the week! Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out by Ryan Love is the feel-good book you need to read right now. When 79-year-old Arthur comes out to his family the announcement is met with mixed feelings and leads his grandson Teddy to reconsider sharing his own secret... Now the two must navigate a new world of love, heartbreak and finding their place in the queer community.  ‘Uplifting and emotional’ Justin Myers If you enjoyed page-turning books like Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper or Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare, you’ll love this novel.   Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out is published by HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne     https://harpercollins.co.uk/collections/hq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re bringing you a gripping literary thriller set in the world of dark academia, for fans of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and Katy Hays The Cloisters.  In Joanna Margaret’s debut novel The Bequest, PhD student Isabel Henley arrives to study at St Andrew’s University but when her friend Rose disappears she must solve a 450 year-old mystery to save both their lives... 'Richly atmospheric and irresistibly readable' Joyce Carol Oates The Bequest by Joanna Margaret is published by Head of Zeus and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re beyond thrilled to welcome Max Porter onto the podcast to read from his highly anticipated and acclaimed new novel, Shy! Max is the bestselling author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers and Lanny. His latest story is about adolescent rage, struggles with mental health, imagination and coming-of-age in an alienating world, about being lost in the dark and the uncertainty of whether you’ll ever find yourself. ‘Shy is the strangest, most beguiling and affecting of all his books.’ Ian Rankin Shy by Max Porter is published by independent press Faber and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s episode is especially for fans of folklore and readers of marvellous myths. White Cat, Black Dog contains seven modern fairytales from Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link, featuring illustrations by award-winning artist Shaun Tan. Each is inspired by a classic fable retold with a modern twist, breathing new life into old favourites with Kelly’s signature imagination and wit. If you enjoyed Salt Slow by Julia Armfield or The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter then this collection is for you! White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link is published by Head of Zeus and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. 'This book is sublime' - Emma Straub Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you could save the life of a loved one by trading in years of your own life, how many years would you give? How many lives could you save? Would you know when to stop? Francis Broad has negotiated the day of his death and now he must come to terms with the decisions he has made. Three Gifts by Mark A. Radcliffe is our thought provoking, page-turning book of the week. Published by Brighton-based independent publisher Epoque Press, this book is available now and will appeal to readers of The Lovesong of Miss Queenie Hennessey by Rachel Joyce and One Day by David Nicholls: both authors who we adore and have hosted on the Literary Salon. We recommend buying a copy of this beautiful book from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop at bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love platforming talented new voices on the podcast and this week we're thrilled to be joined by debut author Krystle Zara Appiah, as she reads from her new book, Rootless. When an unplanned pregnancy forces Efe and Sam to confront their differences, they’ll discover if what they really want is still each other… A poignant, heart-breaking story about a British-Ghanaian marriage in crisis, Rootless explores themes of friendship, family expectations, societal obligation and motherhood. But above all, it’s a story of love. Readers who loved Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson and One Day by David Nicholls will especially enjoy this gem. ‘A poignant debut which marks Krystle Zara Appiah out as one of Britain’s best new young writers’ - HARPER’S BAZAAR Rootless by Krystle Zara Appiah is published by The Borough Press and available now. Show a debut author some love and grab your copy from your local independent bookshop or from our shop on bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to this special episode sharing a conversation between Jojo Moyes and Alex Clark about Jojo's new novel, 'Someone Else’s Shoes'! Jojo's novels have sold over 51 million copies worldwide, hit the Number One spot in 12 countries, have been translated into 46 languages and one of her bestselling books was adapted into a film starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. Someone Else’s Shoes is her 16th novel, and we were incredibly excited to have her on a special Instagram Live last month, just 24 hours after it hit UK bookshops! In the book we meet Nisha Cantor and Sam Kemp, two very different women whose lives become unexpectedly intertwined after a bag mix-up at the gym. Nisha lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband inexplicably cuts her off entirely. Sam is struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. Now Nisha’s got nothing and Sam’s walking tall in a pair of Louboutins that catch eyes – and give her career an unexpected boost. Except Nisha wants her life back - and she’ll start with her shoes . . .  Our guest host for this conversation, Alex Clark, is a journalist and broadcaster often seen in the pages of the Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement and heard on BBC Radio 4. A wildly experienced interviewer and chair of live events, her recent guests include Kazuo Ishiguro, Tessa Hadley and Melissa Harrison. We hope you'll enjoy this podcast of the Instagram Live interview, and do keep your eyes peeled on our Insta for more Lives with your favourite authors this year! Someone Else’s Shoes is published by Michael Joseph and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org Podcast introduced, produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re delighted to welcome award-winning author Sebastian Barry to the podcast, reading from his new novel Old God’s Time. Recently retired policeman Tom Kettle is settling into the quiet of his new home, but when two former colleagues turn up at his door with questions about a decades-old case, one which Tom never quite came to terms with, he finds himself pulled into the darkest currents of his past... A beautiful novel in which nothing is quite as it seems, Old God's Time is about that which haunts us. Published by independent press Faber, you can buy a special signed Independent Bookshop edition of the book featuring exclusive endpapers through Booka Bookshop. And as always, copies are available on our shop on Bookshop.org. 'Full of love and heartache, this is an unforgettable novel from one of our finest writers.' DOUGLAS STUART Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love literary memoir by newly discovered Irish authors then have we got the book for you! Carmel Mc Mahon’s In Ordinary Time is a revelation - a multi-layered exploration of memory, grief and addiction that mines the ways that trauma reverberates through time. From tragically lost siblings to the broader social scars of the Famine and the Magdalene Laundries, Carmel sketches the evolution of a consciousness – from her conservative 1970s upbringing to her emigrant’s tale in New York in the 1990s, and back to the much-changed Ireland of today. This is a perfect book for anyone who enjoyed Emilie Pine’s Notes to Self and Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These.  'A vivid, evocative and resonant counterpoint of time, memory and meaning' - JOSEPH O'CONNOR, award-winning author of Shadowplay In Ordinary Time by Carmel Mc Mahon is published by Duckworth Books - celebrating their 125th anniversary as an independent press - and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Publicist to the stars, Georgina Moore, is our beloved guest of the week. Her debut novel The Garnett Girls is the most talked about book of 2023, and trust us when we say: believe the hype! The charismatic Margo is matriarch of the Garnett girls: Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, her three daughters who live in the shadow of their larger than life mother. But in the family home on the Isle of Wight, behind the lavish parties and casual acquaintances with handsome men, Margo is keeping a secret that gnaws away at her and is preventing each of the Garnett girls from finding true happiness. This is a story about mothers and daughters who learn that brave faces will only get them so far in life. Perfect for lovers of character-led novels, summers by the beach and books by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore is published by HQ and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s our 250th episode! My how time flies when you’re enjoying phenomenal books. Since it’s a very special episode, we have a very special guest to celebrate with us - the one and only internationally bestselling Jojo Moyes! We couldn't be more thrilled to have Jojo join us with a wonderful reading from her new book, Someone Else’s Shoes.  Sam and Nisha should never have crossed paths. But after a bag mix-up at the gym, their lives become intertwined - even as they spiral out of control. Nisha is a woman who loses everything, including the clothes off her back, while Sam finds new confidence in wearing a pair of Louboutins - a new experience that triggers a change in her otherwise humdrum life. So enjoy this exclusive reading, and then tune in to a special interview with Jojo over on the Literary Salon's Instagram with our guest host, Alex Clark! Someone Else’s Shoes is published by Michael Joseph and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org   Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We welcome national treasure Michael Rosen onto the podcast this week to share some beautiful, witty and thoughtful reflections from his new memoir, Getting Better. Exploring the roles that trauma and grief have played in his own life, Michael investigates the road to recovery, asking how we can find it within ourselves to live well again after - or even during - the darkest times of our lives. Moving and insightful, Getting Better is an essential companion for anyone who has loved and lost, or struggled and survived. Already a Guardian and BBC book of 2023, it’s a perfect read for anyone who loved This Too Shall Pass by Julia Samuel and A Manual for Heartache by Cathy Rentzenbrink.  Published by Ebury and available now in all good bookshops, we recommend grabbing a copy of Getting Better from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with another episode of the podcast featuring the bestselling literary thriller, Mouth to Mouth, selected as a Best Book of the Year many times over by Vogue, Esquire and even Barack Obama.  Alone on the beach, Jeff spots a drowning man in the rough surf. He rescues and resuscitates him, then quietly leaves when the emergency services take over. But Jeff can't let go of the events of that traumatic day. He begins to feel compelled to learn more about the man whose life he has saved but as he does he can’t help but wonder: would it have been better to let him drown? This book will especially appeal to readers of Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li and The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Written by Antoine Wilson and published by Atlantic, the book is available in paperback now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with our first episode of the new season and we’re starting off with a bang! Debut novel River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer is a deeply affecting work of historical fiction that will transport you to the slave plantations of Barbados in 1834. Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. These are the names of Rachel’s children sold to places across the Caribbean. Unable to wait for her freedom, she escapes the plantation and embarks on a mother's journey to find her lost kin.   Described by the Observer as ‘a tender exploration of one woman's courage in the face of unbelievable cruelty. The heart of the novel lies in its celebration of motherhood and female resilience.'  If you loved Andrea Levy’s The Long Song or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, then this book is for you. River Sing Me Home is published by Headline Review and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'Marple: Twelve New Stories' is a brand-new collection of original tales penned by some of the world’s bestselling female writers. Each story takes inspiration from Agatha Christie’s classic originals to feature a new mystery for Miss Marple to solve. As ever, she knows more than she appears to. Acclaimed authors Kate Mosse and Lucy Foley and sought-after bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud joined Damian Barr for a Special Salon at the British Library to celebrate the return of Marple and to discuss her legendary creator Agatha Christie. Enjoy this special episode packed with exclusive readings and expert insights, celebrating the incomparable, enigmatic spirt of Jane Marple and her legendary creator! This event was held at the historic British Library, the national library of the UK, with its unparalleled archive of books, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, sounds and websites. All of Christie’s first editions are held there and their spirit suffused the evening! Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s our final Book of the Week episode of the season before we take a little break and return next year with more undiscovered gems. But before we go, we want to bring your attention to an incredibly powerful memoir by critically acclaimed author Gavin McCrea, entitled Cells: Memories for My Mother, The author of Mrs Engels and The Sisters Mao unspools an intimate story of feeling out of place in the insular suburb in which he grew up, the homophobic bullying he suffered at school, his brother’s mental illness and drug addiction, his father’s sudden death, his own devastating diagnosis, his struggles and triumphs as a writer, and above all, his relationship with his mother.  Published by independent press, Scribe, we cannot wait for you to read Gavin’s accomplished new book (and is especially perfect for fans of Seán Hewitt’s All Down Darkness Wide). We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An eccentric tinkerer for a father and a cross-dressing woman who can read the language of clouds; The Weather Woman is spellbinding historical fiction with a love story at its heart. We’re delighted to welcome award-winning author Sally Gardner to the podcast for this reading from her immersive new novel. Sumptuous descriptions of Regency London meet captivating characters to produce a page-turning book you’ll want to add to your TBR. Published by Apollo, an imprint of Head of Zeus, The Weather Woman is available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have not one but two bestselling authors joining us this week on the podcast, with readings from their new book Mad Honey. Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan have teamed up in a beautiful collaboration to produce a gripping novel that is at once a murder mystery and a court room drama, exploring questions around identity and gender. Some readers are calling it the book of the year and we’re here for it!   Olivia fled her abusive marriage to return to her hometown and take over the family beekeeping business when her son was six. Now Asher is over 6 feet tall and in his last year of high school, a kind, good-looking, popular ice hockey star with a tiny sprite of a new girlfriend who Olivia loves. Then Lily is found with a catastrophic head injury at the bottom of the stairs - and Asher is arrested on a charge of murder... what was the truth of their relationship? Mad Honey is published by Hodder and Stoughton and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. And if you’d like to see Jodi and Jenny in person, check out their tour schedule here.      Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week is a whip smart and thoughtful memoir by Carrie Marshall. Carrie Kills A Man is about growing up in a world that doesn’t want you, and about how it feels to throw a hand grenade into what appears to everyone else to be a perfect middle-class life. It’s the story of how a tattooed transgender rock singer stopped being a depressed suburban dad and started being her authentic self. When more people think they’ve seen a ghost than met a trans person, it’s easy to believe misconceptions about someone you’ve never met. A great start is to read about the life of Carrie Marshall. Carrie Kills a Man is published by 404Ink and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org    Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our book of the week is a fantastic memoir packed full of wit, warmth and candour. The Marmalade Diaries follows 30-something Ben Aitken as he rents a room from formidable 85-year old Winnie at the start of the very first UK coronavirus lockdown. Their lives interweave, forming an unlikely friendship, where lessons were learnt (heat the red wine in the oven with the plates; preserve or pickle whatever you can; never throw anything away) and grief, both personal and that of a nation, was explored. This is the true story of intergenerational friendship that will have you charmed and chuckling at their shared domestic life. The Marmalade Diaries is published by Icon Books and available now in paperback. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s episode is a meditation on sexuality, mental health and abusive relationships. In this probing and intimate book that combines memoir with social history, Michael Handrick unpicks the narratives and societal expectations of what it means to be a man, working class and gay. Beautifully written and unflinchingly honest, Difference is Born on the Lips is published by Flint Books and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast hosted by Damian Barr Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A psychologically dark and graphic novel haunted by the spectre of Francis Bacon. This week’s episode could not be any spookier. We’re welcoming Tade Thompson onto the show to read from his new novel Jackdaw.  In the book, a psychiatrist hired to write a short piece on Francis Bacon becomes obsessed with the artist, his life, and the characters who surrounded him.  ‘This metafictional memoir-cum-horror… [is a] darkly comic nightmare set on the borderlines of creativity, imagination and madness.’ Guardian, best recent sci-fi and fantasy  Published by independent press Cheerio and available now in all good bookshops! We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org . Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Relive this very special night of stories and poetry at our special Salon celebrating three of Scotland’s most exciting voices: Len Pennie, Courtney Stoddart and Alan Cumming! Len is a champion for Scots and isnae feart! Her poems have been enjoyed by millions online and she appeared with Damian in the BBC documentary In Search of Sir Walter Scott. Courtney is an acclaimed Scottish-Caribbean poet and performer. Her work focuses on racism, imperialism, womanhood and growing up in Scotland. Alan is…Alan and memoir , 'Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life', sees him unpack the lot. It is an honest, poignant and joyful insight into his extraordinary life. He covers career highlights - from winning a Tony and an Olivier to filming with Stanley Kubrick and the Spice Girls. Alan also offers an honest account of the less glamorous, often painful, moments which underpin the values he fights for as a committed social justice and LGBTQI+ activist. And yes, there are Liza Minnelli stories. So settle down and enjoy this honest and joyous recording from late 2021. This Salon raised funds for the Scottish Book Trust - a national charity bringing the benefits of reading and writing to everyone in Scotland since 1998. Find out more about their brilliant work here. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s nothing we like more than to highlight the exceptional talents of our queer literary community, so it’s our pleasure to bring you Am Not Raymond Wallace by debut author Sam Kenyon. Manhattan, 1963: Raymond lands in the New York Times newsroom on a three-month bursary from Cambridge University. To his surprise, he’s tasked with a journalistic investigation into the ‘explosion of overt homosexuality’ in the city. On an undercover assignment, a secret world is revealed to Raymond, one which will awaken repressed desires; a world in which he meets Joey. This is the story of a generation of queer men seeking a community, kinship, love, acceptance, and ultimately redemption. We can’t wait for you to fall in love with it. ‘A beautiful story… elegantly told and utterly heartbreaking. You’ll need tissues.’ - Julie Owen Moylan, author of That Green Eyed Girl The novel is available now, published by independent press Inkandescent. Discover this and many of their brilliant titles including Address Book by Costa shortlisted author Neil Bartlett, as well as Mainstream, an anthology of stories with contributions from writers that we love including Kit de Waal and Kerry Hudson, among others. We recommend buying their books from your local indie bookshop or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week is a dazzling debut novel you need to add to your TBRs. Brimming with compassion, One for Sorrow, Two for Joy by Marie-Claire Amuah is a sensitive portrayal of the consequences of domestic violence and a defiant story of friendship, resilience and hope. 'Intense and beautiful and heartbreaking' - Buki Papillon, author of An Ordinary Wonder One for Sorrow, Two for Joy is published by two-time Booker-winning indie press Oneworld and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org to support the Salon podcast. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week is by a debut author and an independent press - our favourite mash-up! New Skin for the Old Ceremony is a novel by Scottish-Indian author Arun Sood that tells the story of four estranged friends, reunited for a motorcycle trip up the Isle of Skye. They hope to reconcile how their lives have splintered since a transformative road trip in Northern India fourteen years earlier. It’s a novel about youth, the spectres of friendship, and colonial legacies spanning India and Scotland, exorcising past ghosts to face the present. Not to mention a nod to the music of Leonard Cohen - what more could you want from a book? Published by indie press 404 Ink and available now, we recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week is an exceptional meditation on masculinity, male friendship and grief. Poet and author Michael Pedersen lost a cherished friend, Scott Hutchison, soon after their voyage across the Scottish Highlands. Just weeks later, Michael began to write to him. As he confronts the bewildering process of grief, what starts as a love letter to one magical, coruscating human soon becomes a paean to all the gorgeous male friendships that have transformed his life. 'As perfect a portrait of friendship as I've ever read.' STEPHEN FRY Boy Friends by Michael Pedersen is published by Faber and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Exclusive signed copies are also available from Portobello Bookshop. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve got a brilliantly evocative book for your listening pleasure on this week’s episode. The Foghorn Echoes is by Danny Ramadan, an award-winning Canadian-Syrian author and advocate for LGBTQ+ refugees.   Danny’s new novel is about two gay men who find themselves in war-torn Damascus and an alienating Vancouver. It is a tragic love story about coping with traumatic experience, as Hussam and Wassim come to terms with the past and realise the secret that haunts them is not the only thing that binds them. ‘This is a beautiful novel, written by a once hurt child and loved and deeply admired by another, me.’ ALAN CUMMING The Foghorn Echoes by Danny Ramadan is published by Canongate and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love to treat our listeners to the most sought after books and in a podcast world premiere we’re celebrating the launch of Maggie O’Farrell’s hotly anticipated, soon to be chart-smashing historical novel, The Marriage Portrait. That's right, this is the first podcast in the WORLD where you can hear an extract from the book! Winter, 1561. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing her here... He intends to kill her. The Marriage Portrait is an unforgettable reimagining of the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger. It is a MUST read and we hope you enjoy our exclusive message from Maggie and this podcast world premiere reading.  Published by Tinder Press and available now, we recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop. Plus there are exclusive signed editions available at Waterstones for anyone who wants an extra special book. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re in the market for something a little unusual and totally brilliant then let us introduce you to Bobby Palmer’s wholly original debut novel Isaac and the Egg. A man who has lost everything finds a reason to keep going when he discovers a two-foot-tall egg of unknown origin in a forest. What unravels is a story of grief, friendship, humour and heart that will surpass your wildest eggs-pectations!  'A mad, sad, funny debut' PATRICK GALE Destined to be a word-of-mouth book of the year, you can meet the author at one of his upcoming events by clicking here. Published by Headline and available now, grab a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enjoy the world's first reading and interview with award-winning author Kit about her brand new book 'Without Warning And Only Sometimes', published this week! Kit is the award-winning and bestselling author of 'My Name Is Leon' and edited the pioneering collection 'Common People'. 'Without Warning & Only Sometimes: Scenes from an Unpredictable Childhood' is her story of growing up in a household of opposites and extremes. Her haphazard mother was a devout Jehovah’s Witness who believed the world would end in 1975. Her father was the opposite. Kit was caught between three worlds: Irish, Caribbean and British in 1960s Birmingham. It’s funny, honest and as compelling as her fiction. Kit joined us in May 2022 at a live in-person Literary Salon to share the world premiere of her effervescent memoir. Also joining us with a world premiere that night was BAFTA-winning writer of The Split, Suffragette and The Iron Lady, Abi Morgan OBE - and you can listen back to Abi's episode which was released in May. 'Without Warning And Only Sometimes' is out now and you can support the Salon to keep our podcasts free by picking up a copy from our shop on bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One shipwreck. Two misfits. 300 years apart. The Night Ship is a feat of imagination from award-winning author Jess Kidd. We’re delighted to have her read on our podcast from her new novel, an accomplished work of fiction that takes place across dual timelines. In 1629, Mayken is aboard the Batavia which is doomed to crash on the shores of Beacon Island in Western Australia. Gil joins his grandfather on the very same island in 1989 where old rivalries remain unsettled. Their stories mirror one another in unexpected ways to produce a spellbinding and page-turning novel.   ‘Lyrical, haunting, a beautiful and elegant fictional interpretation of history, I loved it’ - KATE MOSSE The Night Ship by Jess Kidd is published by Canongate and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can support the Salon by getting it from our shop at bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our book of the week is for anyone who’s ever felt that they were the “other.” After leaving Egypt when Sara was only six years old, her family slowly learns how to navigate the social dynamics of their new home. Her father refuses to buy his co-workers a ginger beer, thinking it contains alcohol. Her mother won’t wear a hijab, even if it would help them to connect with other local Muslims. And Sara learns that her parents are loving, but flawed in their own ways.  Muddy People is a funny, heartwarming memoir of growing up and becoming yourself in an Egyptian Muslim family living in Australia. Published by Greystone Press and available now.   We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For anyone who loves a poignant, thoughtful, revealing and all round incredibly written memoir, Ali Millar’s The Last Days is a knock-out.   It's 1982 and in the Kingdom Hall we are Jehovah's Witnesses. The state of the world shows us the end is close, and Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking to devour us. Ali is waiting for Armageddon. Her childhood revolves around regular meetings in the Kingdom Hall, where she is haunted by vivid images of the Second Coming, her mind populated by the bodies that will litter the earth upon Jehovah's return. An unforgettable story of one woman's courageous journey to freedom, Ali Millar’s The Last Days is an unmissable memoir for people who loved Tara Westover’s Educated.  We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our latest episode is for all the It’s A Sin fans out there. That spectacular show won our hearts and was celebrated by the Literary Salon and almost a thousand of you at a virtual event starring its screenwriter/producer Russell T Davies. So now we’re absolutely thrilled to bring you a reading from 'the real life Jill'! Jill Nalder shares her new memoir - Love From the Pink Palace - which tells the true story of her and her friends' lives during the AIDS crisis. Jill juggled a busy West End career while campaigning for AIDS awareness and research, educating herself and caring for the sick. Most of all, she shines a light on those who were stigmatised and shamed, and remembers those brave and beautiful boys who were lost too soon. 'Jill met the crisis head on… She held the hands of so many men. She lost them, and remembered them, and somehow kept going...' - RUSSELL T DAVIES Love From the Pink Palace is published by Headline and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our book of the week is by Australian author Sara Schmidt who was long listed for the Women's Prize for her book See What I Have Done. In her new novel, Blue Hour, Eleanor is fleeing her marriage in the wee hours with her daughter in the back seat of their car. Haunted by the voice of her mother and her parents' relationship defined by the second world war, this is a book shaped by conflict and motherhood. It’s poignant, thoughtful and will stay with you long after the final page. ‘One of the authors of the decade’ - Stylist Blue Hour is published by Headline and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back with a deliciously sharp-witted book to share with you. Rebecca Wait is best known for her gripping novel Our Fathers which was a Guardian Book of the Year. Now she shares a reading with us from her new bestseller in the making, I’m Sorry You Feel That Way, about dysfunctional family dynamics between twin sisters Alice and Hanna and their mother Celia.   For Alice and Hanna, saint and sinner, growing up is a trial. There is their mother, who takes a divide and conquer approach to child-rearing, and their father, who takes an absent one. There is the catastrophe that is never spoken of, but which has shaped everything. As adults, Alice and Hanna must deal with increasingly complicated family tensions, and lives that look dismayingly dissimilar to what they'd intended. They must finally choose their own approach to their dominant mother: submit or burn the house down. And they must decide at last whether life is really anything more than (as Hanna would have it) a tragedy with a few hilarious moments. 'SO brilliant. A brutally funny and whip-smart novel. It'll easily be one of my Books of the Year.' - Hannah Beckerman 'I'm Sorry You Feel That Way' is published by Quercus and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Need a beach read? We’ve got you covered. Bolu Babalola’s Honey & Spice is just the summer romance you’ve been looking for.  Kiki Banjo is an expert in relationship-evasion. She’s made it her mission to protect the women of Whitewell University from the dangers of players and heartbreak, supplying advice, tips and essentials to paying men no mind on her student radio show, Brown Sugar. But then Kiki meets a distressingly handsome newcomer who threatens to tear apart the community of women she's fought so hard to protect.  Bolu Babalola is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Love in Colour. Her new novel Honey & Spice is published by Headline and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from one of our favourite indies, Afrori Books, who sell the biggest selection of books by Black Authors in the UK. 'Smart, sexy and energetic. I'm excited for everyone to read this book.' EMMA GANNON Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our book of the week is by Scottish debut author, Claire Alexander. Meredith, Alone is a poignant but optimistic novel about Meredith Maggs, a woman who hasn't left her house in 1,214 days. But she insists she isn't alone. She has her cat and her friend Sadie. There’s also her online support group, the Tesco delivery man and her treacherous memories to keep her company.  But something's about to change. All that stands between Meredith and the world is her own front door… what will it take for her to open it? 'Gorgeous. I shed tears. Very, very touching, sad, sweet and hopeful' MARIAN KEYES Published by Michael Joseph and available now, we recommend buying from your local indie or you can grab a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listeners, prepare for a winding tale: a cascade of true stories by DBC Pierre in his new book Big Snake Little Snake. Written while on his way to make a short film with a parrot in Trinidad, the book examines the nature of gambling and aims to shed light on the invisible odds and outrageous chances of everyday life on Earth. This satisfyingly existential book is published by independent press, Cheerio, and available now in all good bookshops.  ‘Pierre's writing is heady, reaching glorious heights of linguistic invention’ Independent We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org . Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love historical fiction and this week’s featured title, Hex by Jenni Fagan, is simply bewitching. Edinburgh, December 1591. On this, the last night of her life, in a prison cell several floors below, convicted witch Geillis Duncan receives a mysterious visitor – Iris, who says she comes from a future where women are still persecuted for who they are and what they believe. Hex is a visceral depiction of what happens when a society is consumed by fear and superstition, exploring how the terrible force of a violent crusade against ordinary women can still be felt, right up to the present day. ‘Brilliantly real characters shot through with feminist anger, word choice to make you shiver, and that knack of taking the road least expected' Kirstin Innes, author of Scabby Queen Hex is published by Polygon, an imprint of Birlinn, and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re thrilled to feature the latest book from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Queenie on the podcast! Candice Carty-Williams’ novel People Person is about five half-siblings with abandonment issues brought together by crisis in a story of heart, humour, and homecoming. The tension will have you turning the page and the characters will have you laughing to yourself into the wee hours of the morning as you finish this novel in one sitting.   So settle down to enjoy a juicy excerpt, read beautifully by our narrator Danielle Vitalis who also read for the audiobook.  ‘People Person is a triumph… I loved every one of these beautifully rendered characters and I'm sure the world will too. I couldn't put it down.’ Caleb Azumah Nelson   Published by Trapeze, we recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s reading comes to us from Dolen Perkins-Valdez, the New York Times bestselling author of Wench. Her timely new novel, Take My Hand, will get under your skin and stay with you long after the last page.   Montgomery, Alabama. 1973. Civil Townsend works at the Family Planning Clinic and has big plans to make a difference in her community, helping Black women make their own choices for their lives and bodies. But when she discovers the injections they’re giving young women are still experimental, she questions the motives of the clinic. Inspired by true events and a shocking chapter of American history, Take My Hand is a novel that will open your eyes and break your heart.  Published by Phoenix (an imprint of Orion) and available now. Grab a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Abi Morgan OBE is the BAFTA and Emmy-winning playwright and screenwriter who created the BBC's rave series The Split, The Iron Lady, Suffragette, The Hour and much more. She shifts from screen to page for her first book This Is Not A Pity Memoir, and we were thrilled to have the world premiere at a very special Literary Salon. Poignant and heart-breaking but resolutely unwilling to rely on sentimental platitudes, Abi's memoir about a tragic change in her family circumstances is a profoundly powerful and perceptive read on love, grief and the eternal promise of hope. Abi joined us at The London Library on 5th May 2022 to share a very powerful reading and conversation with Damian Barr. Not to be missed! Podcast introduced and produced by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prepare for some sparkling literature that you need to read this summer. That Green Eyed Girl by Julie Owen Moylan has everything we love in a book: a character-driven plot, a dual timeline, and a mystery that gradually unfolds making for a page-turning novel. Ava is a young girl struggling to cope with an absent father and a mother suffering from a debilitating mental illness. She’s managing to keep it together, but only just. And then a parcel appears on her doorstep with a photo of a young woman with the word ‘LIAR’ scrawled across it. The riddle of the sender and its intended recipient become Ava’s obsession... That Green Eyed Girl is published by Michael Joseph and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop. 'I was hooked from the beginning' CLARE CHAMBERS, AUTHOR OF SMALL PLEASURES Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re featuring Poguemahone: a wild, free-verse monologue, steeped in music and folklore, crammed with characters, both real and imagined. It’s an epic 600-page book by twice Booker-shortlisted author Patrick McCabe that takes place in the 1970s, in Northwest London, and in the fractured mind of Una Fogarty. This is a really exciting literary novel that plays with form - the kind of book we love to feature on our show.   Published by Unbound and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. ‘One of the most original literary works in recent times. I bloody loved it’ Adelle Stripe, author of Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EXTRA SPECIAL EPISODE ALERT! Enjoy this full-length Literary Salon with Douglas Stuart! We held a very special evening with Douglas in conversation with Damian at an in-person Salon in Brighton - it was an incredible conversation, and we're still thinking about it. So join us as we celebrate Douglas' brilliant new novel 'Young Mungo', the story of two boys, two tribes and two Scotlands. Catholic James and Protestant Mungo live in the violent, macho world of Glasgow’s council schemes. They dream of escaping the gangs and the grey, fractured city. Will their dream come true? 'Thanks so much for a wonderful Salon Damian. I could have listened to Douglas all night. Such a tender, interesting and poignant interview.' - Araminta Hall Young Mungo is out now and a definite must-read for 2022. If you'd like to support the Salon podcast and indie bookshops at the same time, you can grab a copy from our shop at bookshop.org (where you can also pick up a copy of Douglas' Booker-winning debut, Shuggie Bain). Podcast introduced, produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the weather warms, we’re bringing you a sun-drenched mid-century novel from the international bestselling author Adriana Trigiani. In 'The Good Left Undone', we’re treated to a family saga that spans a century, taking us from Italy to the UK and back again. Through the generations, the Cabrellis have been subject to the tides of history and it is up to Matelda, the matriarch nearing the end of her life, to pass on their legacy before it’s too late. Trust Adriana to offer up lush descriptions that will transport the senses in a book that you’ll want to savour, about love, family, and long-held secrets... ‘Rich in all the elements that make a story memorable… Adriana is, indeed, a storyteller second to none'  - Heather Morris, bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz You can buy the book from your local indie or from our shop at Bookshop.org (which supports both the Literary Salon and indies across the UK with each purchase). Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love a whodunnit then we’ve got just the thing to satisfy that craving. A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon is a novel about Linda, an ordinary middle-aged housewife who keeps herself to herself. That is, until her husband Terry starts keeping strange hours just as a string of young women begin disappearing. There’s something nasty lurking behind the net curtains on Cavendish Avenue…  A darkly funny, character-driven mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, Joanna Cannon’s new novel will have you gripped! A Tidy Ending is published by Borough Press, an imprint of HarperCollins, and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Or if you fancy a signed first edition then Goldsboro Books can oblige! Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may have noticed the rise in popularity of compelling novels written across dual timelines. We say: the more the merrier! This week we’re spotlighting one such novel, Edgware Road. It explores the story of Khalid, an immigrant father and gambler who goes missing in 1981. In 2003, his daughter Alia, now a young academic at Oxford, is on a mission to discover who her father really was. A family mystery, a daughter’s journey, and the exploration of what it means to be an immigrant in London are all explored in this page-turning novel. ‘An elegant and moving book from a highly promising new voice in fiction' Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland Edgware Road by Yasmin Cordery Khan is published by Head of Zeus and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at bookshop.org. Signed copies are also available to purchase from Queen’s Park Bookshop with delivery to anywhere in the UK. And whilst you're looking for upcoming literary loveliness, we have exciting upcoming Salons in April and May 2022, with Booker Prize Winner Douglas Stuart and world premieres from Kit De Waal and Abi Morgan. Tickets and info here! Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In times of need we turn to literature. Maggie’s Gee’s timely modern fable The Red Children is our featured title this week, and just the tonic we all need to make sense of confusing times. Set in a world in crisis, this original, gripping story about migration and global warming restores belief in the power of human kindness. Do yourself a favour and buy this book! Published by Telegram Books, an imprint of independent publisher Saqi Books, and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know we love a debut, and this week’s featured novel is startlingly good.  Something gleeful and malevolent is moving in Lia’s body, learning her life from the inside out. A shape-shifter. A disaster tourist. It’s travelling down the banks of her canals. It’s spreading.  Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is a story of coming-of-age at the end of a life. Utterly heart-breaking yet darkly funny, Maddie Mortimer’s astonishing debut is a symphonic journey through one woman’s body: a wild and lyrical celebration of desire, forgiveness, and the darkness within us all. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer is published by Picador and available now. Grab a copy from your local indie or from our shop at Bookshop.org - plus signed copies are available at Waterstones! Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a remarkable novel to share with you this week. At Certain Points We Touch by Lauren John Joseph is lyrical, sexy, and will appeal to readers of Garth Greenwell’s Cleanness, which, if you haven’t read the book, is highly rated by everyone at the Literary Salon!  At Certain Points We Touch is a story of first love and last rites, conjured against a vivid backdrop of London, San Francisco and New York - a riotous, razor-sharp coming-of-age story that marks the arrival of an extraordinary new talent. 'A stone-cold masterpiece' OLIVIA LAING Published by Bloomsbury, the book is available now. We recommend ordering from your local indie bookshop or you can support us by buying a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A daughter. A cult. A wild unravelling. Lily Dunn reads from her compelling memoir, Sins of My Father .  When Lily was just six years old, her father left the family home to follow his guru to India for the promise of enlightenment with the cult of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Since then he has been a mystery to her. In her quest to understand him, she asks how we can reconcile unconditional love with irreparable damage. ‘I was obsessed. A memoir which combines the emotional and the cerebral in telling the story of a life through the prism of a father's influence… a victory of self-knowledge and compassion.’ - Amy Liptrot  Sins of My Father is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s episode is for our listeners who love historical fiction. Mother’s Boy by Patrick Gale is a finely wrought novel that centres around Cornwall, class, desire and two world wars. Based on the life of poet Charles Causley, Mother’s Boy is the story of a man who is among, yet apart from, his fellows. Charles is being shaped for a long, remarkable and revered life spent hiding in plain sight. As an intensely private young man, Charles joins the navy with the new rank of coder. His escape from the tight, gossipy confines of Launceston to the colour and violence of war sees him blossom as he experiences not only the possibility of death, but the constant danger of a love that is as clandestine as his work. Mother’s Boy is published by Headline and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get a copy from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Soon, the lockdown would start. People would die alone, without any proper ceremony. Charlotte's death would be washed away, the first drop in a downpour. Nobody knew it then but hers would be the last good funeral of the year. It was February 2020, when Ed O'Loughlin heard that Charlotte, a woman he'd known had died, young and before her time. He realised that he was being led to reappraise his life, his family and his career as a foreign correspondent and acclaimed novelist in a new, colder light. He was suddenly faced with facts that he had been ignoring, that he was getting old, that he wasn't what he used to be, that his imagination, always over-active, had at some point reversed its direction, switching production from dreams to regrets. He saw he was mourning his former self, not Charlotte. The search for meaning becomes the driving theme of O'Loughlin's year of confinement. Moving, funny, and searingly honest, The Last Good Funeral of the Year takes the reader on a circular journey from present to past and back to the present: 'Could any true story end any other way?' The Last Funeral of the Year by Ed O’Loughlin is published by Quercus and available now in all good bookshops. Find a copy of the book in your local indie bookshop or support our podcast by buying a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the nights are still long and we’re experiencing some unusually stormy weather, what better way to make the most of this atmosphere than by reading a thriller? On today’s episode of the podcast, we’re featuring Ashley Audrain’s genre-busting The Push. An international bestseller, Ashley has crafted a page-turning psychological drama about a woman whose worst fears come true when she becomes a mother. ‘Gripping, clever, vividly realised… the ending left me flabbergasted.' The Guardian The Push is published by Michael Joseph and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exciting news! In this week’s episode of the podcast we feature rising star Charmaine Wilkerson with her debut novel Black Cake. It’s a truly captivating book about estranged siblings reunited after the death of their mother, encouraged to heal old wounds and share a slice of black Caribbean cake, ‘when the time is right.’ This one will get you right in the feels. And watch out for the upcoming television series which is being produced by none other than Oprah herself!  'A story as meaningful as it is delicious. At turns delightfully juicy and then stunningly wise, Black Cake is a winner' TAYLOR JENKINS REID   Black cake is published by Michael Joseph and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's LGBTQ+ History Month in the UK! We’re celebrating with the release of an episode featuring Jon Ransom’s debut novel The Whale Tattoo. It’s a fine work of queer literature that we’re excited to share with you.  When a giant sperm whale washes up on the local beach and tells Joe Gunner that death will follow him wherever he goes, Joe knows that the place he needs to go is back home. But his return throws sea salt in old wounds and dredges up rumours bubbling beneath the placid surface of this small town.  Please note this excellent reading contains explicit content! The Whale Tattoo by Jon Ransom is published by indie publisher Muswell Press. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Or for a special signed copy, you can order direct from London indie bookshop Gays the Word! 'The Whale Tattoo' is a stunning achievement - one of the most impressive and assured debuts I've ever read' - Matt Cain Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a dazzling memoir featured on the show this week! The Go-Between is a coming-of-age story that shines a light on the life of a young, creative boy growing up in 1980’s Birmingham. Osman Yousefzada grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, in a red-light district amidst divided immigrant communities. Despite these humble beginnings, he is now an internationally celebrated fashion designer who dresses the stars. Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez - all love his artistry. This is his remarkable story. The Go-Between by Osman Yousefzada is published by Canongate and available in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie, or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to our 200th podcast episode! In this episode we're sharing a beautifully written and uniquely told novel about a tragic event in history: the 1966 Aberfan Disaster where a landslide buried a school. William Lavery, a newly certified embalmer, offers up his services to the grieving families. As William soon discovers, giving so much to others can sometimes help us to heal ourselves. This book does so many things, and it does them powerfully. It's a story about masculinity, trauma, and above all - resilience. A Terrible Kindness is a must-read novel written by Jo Browning Wroe and published by Faber. It’s available now and we recommend buying a copy from your local indie, or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. A signed edition is also available from Waterstones.  ‘Utterly and completely brilliant.' JOANNA CANNON Podcast edited and produced by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back listeners to a new year of unmissable books that we can’t wait to share with you. This week we’re bringing you a reading from Irish author Megan Nolan’s sensational novel Acts of Desperation - one of the biggest books of the year!  In Megan’s visceral novel about love, loss and self-effacing obsession, she tells the story of an unnamed narrator’s descent into a toxic relationship with the man of her dreams. But their relationship is short-lived when he goes back to his ex-girlfriend and she’s left hopelessly wondering who she is without him.   Acts of Desperation is published by Vintage and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Plus, an exclusive paperback edition with beautiful sprayed edges is available from Waterstones. ‘Captures an intense experience with clarity and style. It is fully itself, and flawless in its way.’ Guardian Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We were so happy to launch Amor Towles’ international bestseller A Gentleman in Moscow back in 2017 (you can listen to that event here on the podcast) and we’re delighted to be sharing a reading from his new book The Lincoln Highway in this week’s episode! Already a New York Times bestseller, readers are discovering Amor’s imaginative coming-of-age novel about a young boy in the 1950’s embarking on the journey of a lifetime. The book combines everything we’ve come to expect from Amor’s writing: impeccable storytelling, richly drawn characters, and vivid settings. The Lincoln Highway is published by Hutchinson Heinemann and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you enjoy a dark thriller with romance and comedy thrown in, then tune in to this week’s episode featuring a reading by award-winning Finnish author and master of Scandi-noir, Antti Tuomainen. This non-stop novel follows Henri, an insurance mathematician who inherits a theme park. This dose of chaos might be just what his perfectly ordered life is missing - if he can survive the loan sharks, that is. The Rabbit Factor is published by Orenda Books, an indie press that specialises in literary and crime fiction. The book is available now in all good bookshops and as always, we recommend buying from your local indie. If you fancy a signed copy, you can get one from Waterstones here. Or you can get a copy from our shop at Bookshop.org. So many options! **Soon to be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios!** 'The funniest writer in Europe, and one of the very finest. There is a beautiful rhythm and poetry to the prose … original and brilliant story-telling' Helen FitzGerald Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're delighted to bring you an exclusive reading from the timely and arresting debut novel, In Every Mirror She’s Black. Three Black women are linked in unexpected ways to the same influential white man in Stockholm, as they build their new lives in the most open society, run by the most private people. This multi perspective story is told through the lives of Kemi, a successful marketing exec, Brittany-Rae, a former model turned flight attendant, and Muna, a refugee establishing her residency in Sweden. Their stories touch on important social issues surrounding racism, classism, fetishisation, and tokenism, exploring how each of these women uniquely navigates white-dominated society. “Beautifully complex and deftly drawn… a sexy, surprising, searing debut about love, loss, desire, and the many dimensions of Black womanhood.”—Deesha Philyaw Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström’s In Every Mirror She’s Black is published by Head of Zeus and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can grab a copy from our shop at Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coming to us all the way from South Korea, Lemon, written by multi-award winning author Kwon Yeo-sun, is a short novel translated by Janet Hong. While the plot centres around the tragic and unsolved murder of a beautiful adolescent, Kim Hae-on, the story is about the people in her life who are left to grapple with grief in their own personal ways. Told from three perspectives over the course of two decades, we are privy to the inner life and turmoil of Kim’s younger sister, Da-on, who has experienced so much loss at such a young age. 'A confounding masterpiece... One of the most profound page-turners you will ever encounter.' Matthew Salesses, author of Craft in the Real World Lemon by Kwon Yeo-sun is published by Head of Zeus and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have we got a chilling book in store for you! In this week’s episode, debut author A.J. West brings us a haunting historical novel entitled The Spirit Engineer. This reading is a particularly special treat as actor Dickon Farmar treats us to a fantastic performance. Belfast, 1914. Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, high society has become obsessed with seances. William Jackson Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sitting around the circle, voices come to him – seemingly from beyond the veil – placing doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind. Could the spirits truly be communicating with him or is this one of Kathleen’s parlour tricks gone too far? 'A fiendishly clever tale of ambition, deception, and power.' DERREN BROWN It’s the perfect book as the nights close in. Get in the spooky season with The Spirit Engineer, published by indie press Duckworth Books and available now in all good bookshops. Signed copies are available at Goldsboro Bookshop. You can also grab a copy from our shop at bookshop.org (where a percentage of proceeds goes to indie bookshops around the UK). Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BIG NEWS about our Autumn Season revealed for your ears only! Listen in to find out who our very exciting guests are and how YOU can get priority tickets before anyone else. We can't wait to be back with you IN PERSON for our UK events this season! Or you can still join us online, of course. Our newsletter subscribers are always first in line for tickets, so sign up *now* (link below) to avoid the tragedy of missing out. The special newsflash with priority tickets drops at 9am on Thursday 30th September (UK time). Tickets will then open to everyone via our website at noon. We hope you can join us in the coming months. SIGN UP FOR PRIORITY TICKETS NEWSFLASH https://www.theliterarysalon.co.uk/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sold by her mother. Enslaved in Pompeii's brothel. Determined to survive. Her name is Amara. Welcome to the Wolf Den… We’ve seen this book in just about every bookshop and we’re so glad to be hosting Elodie for an episode of the Literary Salon’s podcast.  By day, Amara walks the streets with the Wolf Den's other downtrodden women, finding comfort in their dreams and the laughter that they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learnt that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her? The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper is published by Head of Zeus and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. 'Rich in historical detail, beauty and brutality, The Wolf Den brings to vivid life the doomed city of Pompeii and the powerlessness of its women. I loved it.' Caroline Lea, author of The Glass Woman Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're thrilled to bring you this new episode featuring Dinner Party by Sarah Gilmartin - a brilliant coming-of-age page-turner about the complications of sibling relationships and the trauma of family secrets. To mark the anniversary of a death in the family, Kate plans a dinner party - from the fancy table settings to the perfect Baked Alaska waiting in the freezer (yum!). But by the end of the night, old tensions have flared, the guests have fled, and Kate is spinning out of control. Set between the 1990s and the present day, from a farmhouse in Carlow to Trinity College, Dublin, Dinner Party is a dark, sharply observed debut that thrillingly unravels into tragedy. Dinner Party: A Tragedy is published 16th September by indie publisher Pushkin Press. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. 'Sarah Gilmartin is a natural writer: she gives us terrific, complex characters and strong themes, in prose that is easy, fluent and charged with insight.' Anne Enright, Booker Prize-winning author of THE GATHERING Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s episode is a delight for anyone who loves to learn about historical events through the lens of fiction. Author Defne Suman brilliantly evokes the sprawling multicultural city of Smyrna through the lives of four families during the early 20th century as the Ottoman Empire is on the brink of collapse.  In the first English edition of The Silence of Scheherazade, the writing is utterly beautiful - the sign of not only a talented author, but a skilled translator as well. The story spans 17 years and transports us from the scents of fig and sycamore, and the cries of street hawkers selling their wares, to the heavy smell of kerosene and smoke as the city and its people are engulfed in flames... The book is published by Head of Zeus and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We can’t wait for you to discover Harriet Evans’ gripping novel The Beloved Girls! Catherine, a successful barrister, vanishes from a London train station on the eve of her anniversary. But how and why? The answer lies buried in the past, in the events of the hot, seismic summer of 1989. At Vanes - a mysterious West Country manor house - a young girl, Jane Lestrange, arrives to stay with the gilded, grand Hunter family. She’s to take part in their curious ritual involving the bees kept in the crypts of a ruined chapel. As the day of the ritual looms closer, Janey falls for each member of the family in turn. She and Kitty, the eldest daughter of the house, will forge a bond that decades later, will haunt her waking life and lead to devastating consequences. 'A gorgeous epic . . . Wholly absorbing. I adored it' MARIAN KEYES Published by Headline and available 19th August, grab a copy of this page-turning summer read from your local indie or grab a copy from our shop. Podcast edited and produced by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the podcast! We scour the literary world for the best books to share with you and this episode's reading comes all the way from Accra, Ghana, as Lesley Lokko (supported by a beautiful dawn chorus of birds!) shares her new book, Soul Sisters, with us. It’s a rich, intergenerational tale of love, race, power and secrets that centres on the lifelong friendship between two women: Scottish Jen McFadden and South African-born Kemisa Mashabane, known to her friends as Kemi. The ties that bind them are strong but become tested when a member of the black South African elite, Solam Matsunyane, notices them. Handsome, charismatic, charming, and a successful young banker, he’s enamoured with both Jen and Kemi, but who will he choose? All the while, the real story behind the two families’ connection threatens to reveal itself – with devastating consequences... Soul Sisters by Lesley Lokko is published by Pan MacMillan and available now. Be warned, it's hard to put down once you pick it up! If you can make a special effort by buying a copy from your local bookshop, the author and a local business will be thrilled. Or you can get it from our shop on Bookshop.org, where a portion of proceeds go to support indies around the UK. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you read one book this summer (although why would you read just one?!), you wouldn't be going wrong by making it The Stranding by Kate Sawyer. In the words of Marian Keyes, it’s 'GORGEOUS and original and captivating', and we love the extract Kate generously shares with us in this podcast episode! Ruth lives in the heart of London. Working, drinking, falling in love: the rhythm of her vivid and complicated life is set against a hum of darkening news reports from which she deliberately turns away. In the wake of a failed romance, she departs for New Zealand to fulfil her life dream of working with whales. But when Ruth arrives, disturbing world events catch up with her. Far from home and with no real hope of survival, she finds herself climbing into the mouth of a beached whale with a stranger to escape the carnage. When they emerge, it is to a landscape that bears no relation to the world they once knew. The Stranding is published by Coronet and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie, enjoying from the library, or you can grab a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org (where some of the proceeds going to support indies around the UK). Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Georgia Pritchett knows a little something about living with anxiety. From worrying about the monsters under her bed as a child (Were they comfy enough?), to embracing womanhood, (One way of knowing you have crossed from girlhood to womanhood is that men stop furtively masturbating at you from bushes and start shouting things at you from cars. It's a beautiful moment) worry has accompanied her at every turn. This memoir is a joyful reflection on just how to live - and sometimes even thrive (sometimes not) - with anxiety. With an extra special reading from actress Katherine Parkinson (who's starred in The IT Crowd, Doc Martin, Humans & many more), we hope this episode lifts your spirits as it did ours.  My Mess is a Bit of a Life by multi-award-winning television writer and producer, Georgia Pritchett, is published by Faber and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate Pride Month we wanted to gift you an exclusive release of this special private Salon, with the one and only Garth Greenwell! Garth and Damian talked writing, queerness and 'Cleanness', in this online Salon last year. Garth originally charmed us all at a Salon at The Savoy in 2016 with his debut novel 'What Belongs to You'. He reads his prose as beautifully as he writes it. His subsequent book, 'Cleanness', places its arms around the shoulders of his handsome sensuous debut and confronts many of the same themes and concerns, yet is very much its own thing. Like his first book, 'Cleanness' features an unnamed American teacher working in Sofia, Bulgaria who falls for a man with whom he experiences pleasure and pain and a certain amount of pleasure in pain. If you’re looking for a straightforward narrative, this is not it. If you’re looking for a musical meditation on the lures, limits and dangers of desire which will stimulate your mind and other regions, you’ve come to the right place. NOTE: contains highly explicit references and language - very much a post-watershed conversation! Podcast edited and produced by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Robbie Fehler’s sudden death, his wife and daughters unite in their struggle to save their pest control company’s finances and the family’s future. To survive, they must overcome a political chasm that threatens a new civil war as the values that once united them now divide the very foundation they’ve built. Through alternating point-of-views, grief and regret gracefully give way to the enduring strength of the hive.  The Hive by Melissa Scholes Young is published by Turner Publishing and available now in all good bookshops. Order it through your local indie bookshop and tell them the Literary Salon sent you. Or, order it through our shop on Bookshop.org (where a share goes to support indies around the UK). ‘The Hive has all the eccentricity and yearning of some of my favourite sister stories, like We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson and Sisters By a River by Barbara Comyns. From the very first chapter, The Hive is a deft, delightfully weird, and often comical family saga.’ - Timothy Schaffert, author of The Perfume Thief Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A photograph is hung on a gallery wall for the first time since it was taken two decades before. It shows a slaughter house in rural Ireland, a painting of the Virgin Mary on the wall, a meat hook suspended from the ceiling - and, from its sharp point, the lifeless body of a man hanging by his feet. The story of who he is and how he got there casts back into Irish folklore, of widows cursing the land and of the men who slaughter its cattle by hand.  Note: Damian mentions that The Butchers was shortlisted for the 2021 RSL Ondaatje Prize as our episode was recorded before the announcement on 11th May 2021. We're delighted to add that The Butchers is now the winner of this year's prize!!! The Butcher’s by Ruth Gilligan is published by Atlantic Books and available now in paperback. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. If you enjoyed this episode, listen back to our archives for readings and complete Literary Salon interviews with hundreds of your favourite authors! Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a holiday house by the sea, in a big, messy family, one teenager watches as brothers and sisters, parents and older cousins fill hot days with wine and games and planning a wedding. Enter the Goddens - irresistible, charming, languidly sexy Kit and surly, silent Hugo. Suddenly there's a serpent in this paradise - and the consequences will be devastating. The Great Godden by bestselling author Meg Rossoff is published by Bloomsbury and available in hardback now or from 10th June in paperback in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. ‘This smart and humorous novel is, from the first sentence, rapture to read. Each paragraph is crafted with a joke, insight or observation that makes you eager for more.’ Sunday Times, Children’s Book of the Week Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we continue to highlight young adult fiction books throughout the month of May, we invite you to enjoy a spine tingling reading by international bestselling author Krystal Sutherland. House of Hollow is a dark and twisted modern fairytale about a glamorous trio of otherworldly young women, who share the secret of what really happened to them all those years ago.  Everyone knows who the Hollow sisters are, because one day they simply disappeared, and when they came back one month later, with no memory of where they had been, they had changed. Their appearance was altered, a little scar that had appeared in the hollow of their throats... and there was a whispering sense that something was not quite right about them, despite (or maybe because of) the terrible passion to be with them that they can exert on anybody at will... With lyrical prose and an atmosphere that oscillates between eeriness and utter dread, you’ll be captivated right up to the novel’s shocking end.  Don’t miss House of Hollow, published by Hot Key Books and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Happy reading! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a change of pace we’re featuring our very first children’s book on the Lit Salon podcast! As a special treat, all this month we’ll be featuring children’s and YA books, selecting titles for kids and adults who are kids at heart.  We’re kicking things off with the riveting fantasy novel Feast of the Evernight by Ross Mackenzie (suitable for ages 9+). With the events of the Evernight behind her, Lara must now face a new threat as a series of murders take place and Lara’s friend Double Eight is the prime suspect. Ross is a fantastic author, previously shortlisted for the Scottish Teenage Book Prize and nominated for the coveted Carnegie Medal, and we're thrilled to share his special reading with you. The book is published by Andersen Press on 6th May and available to pre-order from all good bookshops. Grab it from your local indie or from our shop on Bookshop.org ‘There’s epic good-versus-evil fantasy in Evernight, an assured and atmospheric novel.’ - Guardian Podcast edited and produced by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re thrilled to feature another unmissable novel by a debut author exploding onto the literary scene. The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton is a novel Cosmopolitan is calling 'an absorbing tale bursting with colour', told through an oral history reminiscent of bestselling novel Daisy Jones & The Six, but with its own unique style and fully realised characters.  Back in New York in the early 1970s, Opal Jewel is a black punk artist before her time, before afropunk even existed. When she meets British singer, Nev Charles, the two come together like music and lyrics to form a cult band on the rise. But when a rival band signed to their label brandishes a Confederate flag at a promotional concert the night ends in tragedy. Only in 2016 when the band is considering a reunion tour and a young music journalist is writing a piece about them does the terrible truth behind their stardom come to light. Published by Quercus, you can welcome back bookshops by buying your copy today! As always, we recommend buying from your local indie, but if that’s not possible it’s also available from our online bookshop now (with a percentage of proceeds going to indies around the UK). Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the latest instalment of Salon News! Listen in for all the goss on mystery filming Damian's doing, our new Reading Agency partnership, proof that books make you a better person, and our upcoming Salons - the next few months are promising to be glorious! We start with an incredibly exciting FREE Salon on Thursday 22nd April (8pm UK time), with the iconic architect and designer David Rockwell - the designer of the Oscars, the Hairspray set, numerous theatres, and so much more. Join us live on our YouTube channel for an evening of stories and drama. MORE INFO HERE Then we kick off our new strand of Salons in which some of our favourite people will be guest Salon hosts! On 14th May Paris Lees will be interviewed by Alexandra Heminsley, and on 3rd June Kate Mosse will be interviewed by Sam Baker. Damian will of course still be there to mingle in the online chat with you all, and we can't wait! MORE INFO HERE Plus get tantalising clues about Damian's mystery filming and hear what else we're up to, involving the Reading Agency, World Book Night (free books anyone?!), bibliotherapy, and tentative first steps back into bookshops. Salon News - so much better than the real news. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're delighted to share an exclusive extract with you from this immersive, sweeping debut! In Lucy Holland’s Sistersong we travel back to 6th century Britain to a kingdom besieged by Saxons and their Christian god. Three sisters are all that stands between the old ways and a world on the precipice of change. Riva, Keyne and Sinne become entangled in a web of treachery and heartbreak, and must fight to forge their own paths while rediscovering the power that lies in the land and within themselves. “This takes ancient British myth and gives it a wonderfully fresh twist. The book combines timely themes around our lost connection with nature, the fluidity of identity and the power of claiming your own story with a haunting atmosphere and a rollicking pace. Lucy Holland is a brilliantly assured storyteller.” Molly Flatt Sistersong is published by Macmillan and available now in all good bookshops. As always we recommend you buy from your local indie, but if you’re unable to then grabbing a copy from our online Bookshop is always a great option (with 10% going towards supporting a collective pool if indie bookshops). Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For those of you who remember our Shoreditch House days, we launched Craig Taylor’s 'Londoners' there to great acclaim. The Canadian journalist is part of our beloved alumni so while we can’t celebrate his follow-up book 'New Yorkers' in person, we’re thrilled to offer our listeners the next best thing. Craig’s new book captures the city’s vibrancy, diversity and resilience no matter what’s thrown at it. The indomitable spirit of its residents in their relentless effort to ‘make it’ shines through. Drawn from millions of words, hundreds of interviews, and six years in the making, this book is a grand portrait of an irrepressible city and a hymn to the vitality of its people. New Yorkers is published by John Murray and available now in all good bookshops. If you can’t make it to your independent bookshop then you can shop with us online through Bookshop.org. ‘An incredible achievement. Insightful, funny, surprising, profound, moving and honest. This could be the great American novel - and it isn't even a novel.’ Joe Dunthorne, author of Submarine Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No one really knows what happened that night. The seas were calm, the doors locked from the inside of the lighthouse and all the clocks were stopped. Somehow they vanished without a trace, leaving their widows and the villagers with so many unanswered questions. Over time the simplest explanations gave way to conspiracy theories and ghost stories, and twenty years on a writer has come to speak with the women left behind to know their stories.  In a narrative that alternates between the widows and interviews with their menfolk before they disappeared, Emma Stonex’s gripping historical novel is one of the most anticipated books of the year! The Lamplighters is published by Picador and is available now to order from all good bookshops - preferably an indie. Or you’re also welcome to order from our shop here. ‘I loved The Lamplighters – lighthouse keepers, ghosts, warring widows. It’s a wonderfully smart and atmospheric story.’ Observer ‘A remarkable book, through every page, every character, the writing resonates with the dark, powerful presence of the sea.’ Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're delighted to share Ali Benjamin's exclusive reading from The Smash-Up with you! A novel with rather more than a soupçon of satire, this timely book hones in on a snapshot of history to probe the depths of the culture wars in America. Zo is swept up in the politics of the #MeToo movement, the Kavanaugh hearings, and her duties to the feminist activism group she formed: All Them Witches. Ethan finds himself caught between his home life and the battle to get his livewire daughter Alex to sleep. But life is about to get a little more complicated when he receives a panicked message containing accusations against his former business partner, Randy. A slew of them. Suddenly on the wrong side of the narrative, Ethan is forced to question everything as the family slowly fractures under the pressure.  Published by Riverrun and available now in all good bookshops. We strongly encourage you to buy through your local indie bookshop, but if that’s not possible then you can buy a copy through our shop on Bookshop.org. ‘The Smash-Up is an incandescent meteor of a novel, blazing through the preoccupations of our time with wit, originality and compassion. Timely, risky and dazzling.’ Polly Clark, author of Tiger ‘A great page-turner, this book could only have been written now. It made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me think. Every woman should read this book. Every woman, every feminist, every activist. And then, together we should all go and Burn It All Down.’ Jane Harris, author of Orange Prize shortlisted The Observations. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re delighted to be featuring Lesley Storm’s beautiful collection of poems - It's About Time: Poems of an Uncertain Woman. At 67-years-old, Lesley has written a meditation on the passing of time, her reflections living as a trans woman and overcoming adversity, and what it means to her to be a woman. Here are love poems, life poems, elegies, aubades, odes, existential solitude poems, prose poems, joyous poems of fleeting human pleasures, poems compassionate, sanguine and witty, poems delicate with vulnerability, urgent poems on survival over time. ‘Powerful, moving and accomplished poems that speak to all humanity’. - Jane Goldman, screenwriter It’s About Time: Poems of an Uncertain Woman is published by Edinburgh based indie press Leamington Books and is available directly from them here, or in all good bookshops.  Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the latest instalment of Salon News! Listen in for all the goss on our upcoming Salon which already promises to be our most-attended online Salon ever! We'll be speaking with Russell T Davies, the writer/creator of It's A Sin, the Channel 4 series that's on everybody's lips at the moment, as well as Queer As Folk, Dr Who, Years and Years and many other gems. And we'll be talking with Ruth Coker Burks, author of the incredible memoir All The Young Men which has just gone into the Sunday Times Bestseller list. The Salon is on February 18th at 8pm UK time, but if you can't make it never fear as you can still buy a ticket and receive the entire event to your inbox, to watch whenever you want. Plus, hear about Damian's new TV series due out later this month and find out why there's a microwave memorial for him in the oldest queer bookshop in the world which is also our Indie Bookshop of the Month - Glad Day Bookshop in Toronto, Canada. Salon News - so much better than the real news. GRAB TICKETS FOR OUR FEBRUARY 18TH SALON WITH RUSSELL T DAVIES AND RUTH COKER BURKS HERE VISIT OUR WEBSITE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our latest Salon Exclusive is particularly dear to us. Deborah Orr was a friend of Damian - they grew up in the same corner of Scotland at different times and both wrote memoirs about it. ‘Motherwell’ is Deborah’s memoir and it is as brilliant as the woman herself was. Deborah was a glittering regular at our Salons over the years- maybe you met her there or in the pages of the Guardian, where her interviews and features were legendary. Deborah died before ‘Motherwell’ was published. Her memoir was an instant Sunday Times bestseller but she never saw its success. It’s out in paperback this month, and we’re pleased to share with you this very special reading which gives a taste of her incredible life and extraordinary talent. This extract is read by her friend and literary peer Andrew O'Hagan and also features a tribute from Damian. In ‘Motherwell’ Deborah unpacks the emotional baggage she was burdened with by her mother Win whose expectations shaped her childhood and ultimately her future. It’s a memoir about how a deeper understanding of the place and people you have come from can bring you towards redemption. The Observer describes it as 'A fitting legacy left by a blazing talent'. Waterstones have made ‘Motherwell’ their non-fiction book of the month. To discover this story for yourself, we recommend picking up a copy of the newly published paperback from Waterstones or your local independent bookshop. ‘Motherwell’ (published by Orion) is also available through our shop on Bookshop.org where you can support an indie and the Literary Salon with every purchase.   Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen in to our exclusive launch of 'Some Body To Love' with Alexandra Heminsley. In this special online Salon we celebrate the brilliant new book from the author of 'Running Like A Girl' and 'Leap In' on her publication day! In her latest memoir Alex takes her body as her subject: we wince at every needle as she reveals what IVF is really like and rejoice with her as she gets the family she's given so much for. When her partner begins to question their gender and starts to transition, this fledgling family is put to the test. It's beautiful and brave and expands the idea of family. We hope you enjoy listening to Alex's conversation about it all with Damian. Or if you'd prefer to watch the event, you can find it on our Instagram grid, on our IGTV channel or here on our Facebook. Alex's book is out now from all good bookshops and is one you definitely won't want to miss in 2021. To hear about when our next events are (including plenty of free live events and bibliotherapy sessions!), as well as being in with the chance of winning lots of lovely literary gifts, sign up to our occasional newsletter here. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re thrilled to introduce you to another stellar debut author - Robert Jones, Jr. And his novel The Prophets. Robert is founder of the social media community Son of Baldwin, which speaks powerfully from a Black queer perspective. Robert famously said: ‘We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.’ The Prophets is one of THE novels to watch out for this year: a beautifully written work of fiction about two black teenage slaves in a forbidden relationship on a plantation in 19th century Mississippi. This story of black, queer love is a must-read. A multi-layered novel you’ll want to sit with to fully appreciate all the thought that’s gone into it. Booker winner Marlon James described the book as ‘Epic in its scale, intimate in its force, and lyrical in its beauty…That shuffling sound you hear is Morrison, Baldwin, and Angelou whooping and hollering both in pride, and wonder.’  The Prophets is published by Riverrun and available from all good bookshops. As always we encourage you to buy from your local indie! You can also support the Literary Salon and indies at the same time by buying a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org.  Robert has also provided us with a tempting list of books that have inspired his writing! Read about them here. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darien Hsu Gee is an award-winning author of five novels and winner of the 2019 Poetry Society of America's Chapbook Fellowship. We’re always saying we want to share more poetry so we’re thrilled to share this beautiful collection with you that traces the author’s matrilineal heritage through five generations - Other Small Histories. If you enjoyed Darien’s reading, Other Small Histories is available now in a limited print run through the Poetry Society of America (get them while you can!). She also has a new book out – Allegiance – which is published by Legacy Isle Publishing and touches on many of the same themes. It can be purchased in all good bookshops, as well as in our own bookshop on Bookshop.org. Darien has also kindly provided us with a reading list of books that inspire her writing which you can browse here. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Douglas Stuart has just won The 2020 Booker Prize for his incredible debut novel 'Shuggie Bain', so to celebrate we're releasing the never-published-before Literary Salon we held with Douglas in June! In a special private event Douglas joined us online all the way from New York, along with viewers from around the world, and treated us to the very first UK reading from Shuggie Bain. Listen in to enjoy his reading and a heartfelt, honest, humorous and thought-provoking interview about the book that was 12 years in the making. Shuggie Bain is the unforgettable story of a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in the run-down public housing of Glasgow. Shuggie's mother, Agnes, walks a wayward path: she's Shuggie's guiding light but also a burden as she finds increasing solace in drink, draining away the lion's share of each week's benefits. Shuggie is meanwhile struggling to somehow become the normal boy he desperately longs to be as it becomes evident he's hiding a secret. A story of addiction, sexuality, and love, Shuggie Bain is an epic portrayal of a working-class family rarely seen in fiction. We’ve been behind Shuggie Bain since we received an early proof and we couldn't be more delighted for Douglas, who adds the Booker to a long list of awards and accolades for his debut. To hear another longer reading Douglas gave us exclusively for our podcast before publication, click here or search our podcast listings from June 2020. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our recent event with Dolly was our most popular online Salon to date, with hundreds and hundreds of Salonistas joining from all over the world – and we have a an exclusive clip for you to feast your ears on, about the highs and lows of sex with a new flame. Even more excitingly, the whole evening can now be yours forever for the price of a drink! For £5 receive access to a special private YouTube film which you can watch anywhere, any time, as many times as you like. Tickets available here! In this Salon, Dolly, the brilliant journalist, co-host of the High Low podcast and award-winning author of hit memoir Everything I Know About Love joins Damian to share her debut novel Ghosts. We go deep on love, laughter, loss, sex scenes, identity and more, and enjoy some brilliant advice from Dolly, including how to make it in journalism and what she’d say to her 21 year old self. Not to be missed! Ghosts, a Sunday Times Bestseller, is a brilliant, funny and tender book, filled with whip-smart observations about relationships, family and how we (think we) live now. We so enjoyed our evening with Dolly, as did our hundreds of guests, and we know you will too. So grab yourself a ticket, a drink and a cosy sofa, and enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the latest instalment of Salon News! We've had so much excitement recently and so many people wanting to hear what we’ve got coming up, so we've answered your call. Listen in for all the goss on THE RETURN OF OUR TV SERIES, what the last Salon of the year is (and yes there are still some tickets though they're flying!), who's been sharing ghostly stories, and why Damian is putting all his books away... Salon News - so much better than the real news. GRAB TICKETS FOR SALON WITH DOLLY ALDERTON HERE FIND OUR NEW TV SERIES HERE STARTING 25TH OCTOBER Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love a debut author and emerging Northern literary talent Eliza Clark is no exception. In Boy Parts we meet Irina who obsessively takes explicit photographs of the average-looking men she persuades to model for her, scouted from the streets of Newcastle. Placed on sabbatical from her dead-end bar job, she's offered an exhibition at a fashionable London gallery, promising to revive her career in the art world and offering an escape from her rut of drugs, alcohol and extreme cinema. The news triggers a self-destructive tailspin, centred around Irina's relationship with her obsessive best friend, and a shy young man from her local supermarket who's attracted her attention... Sexy, subversive, sweary, the Guardian aptly says it "will make most readers howl with laughter and/or shut their eyes in horror." You can read a brilliant interview with Eliza here. Boy Parts is published by Influx Press and available now. Signed copies are available at most Waterstones stores and select indies throughout the UK and you can also buy copies directly from the publisher. "Explores the darkest corners of artistic practice, sexuality and violence with bold wit and fearlessness. A dazzling, horrifying debut." The Irish Times Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Tamara is going to kill her mother, but she isn't the villain…” The Sound Mirror spans three familial generations from British Occupied India to Southern England following the joys and heartaches of Tamara, Claire and Ada. But how do their lives intersect? Through intimately rendered characters, Heidi James has crafted a haunting and moving examination of class, war, violence, family and shame from the rich details of ordinary lives. And we're so delighted to have an exclusive reading from Heidi on the podcast, just for you! The Sound Mirror is published by Bluemoose, an independent press who have devoted the whole of 2020 to publishing books by women novelists. Check out their website for other wonderful books being published this year. https://bluemoosebooks.com/ The Sound Mirror was named a 'Book to Watch Out For in 2020' by The Irish Times and is available now in all good bookshops. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Premiering at the Literary Salon we have Neil Blackmore’s wildly seductive new novel. Raised in isolation, Edgar and Benjamin Bowen have lived a cloistered life. But now they’re on a Grand European Tour to improve their station in the world they're discovering that climbing the social hierarchy is not without its perils. If you liked The Talented Mr Ripley, you’ll love The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle, an eighteenth century love story between Benjamin and Horace Lavelle - a man whose cruelty is only matched by his beauty and charisma. In a time and place where ‘mollies’ and all sorts of outsiders are feared and persecuted, Mr Lavelle is refreshingly unashamed which inspires and eventually ensnares the impressionable Benjamin.  The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle is published in the UK by Hutchinson on 13th August 2020 and is available from all good bookshops. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An exclusive treat for our Salonistas: get ready for a sneak peek of SJ Watson’s phenomenal new thriller, Final Cut! SJ continues to push the boundaries of the psychological thriller genre he's celebrated for reinvigorating with his first novel, international bestseller (and film) Before I Go To Sleep. In this new book we meet award-winning documentarian Alex, who's looking for a location to base her next film she receives an anonymous postcard urging her to choose Blackwood Bay. It isn’t long before she discovers the village is home to a string of disappearances and the apparent suicide of a young girl. Compelled to learn more, she travels to the village to find more than she bargained for. What secrets lie in the murky waters of Blackwood Bay, and what darkness will Alex find when her probing questions disturb the seemingly placid surface of village life?   Final Cut is published by Doubleday and available on 6th August 2020 (UK) in all good bookshops. SJ Watson is also our Salon Live Online guest on 7th August! Click the Eventbrite link below for tickets to join him and Damian Barr for a thrilling conversation online:   https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/salon-live-online-sj-watson-with-damian-barr-tickets-110865269004 Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce brings us a funny and perceptive escapist adventure novel that’s just what's needed for our troubled times.  1950 London. Schoolmarm Margery Benson abandons her dead-end job to pursue her childhood obsession: seek out the golden beetle of New Caledonia - that may or may not exist. When she advertises for an assistant to join her on an expedition, fun-loving Enid Pretty, in her unlikely pink travel suit and pom-pom sandals, is not the companion Margery had in mind. And yet together they will be drawn into an adventure that will exceed every expectation. Miss Benson's Beetle is published by Doubleday and available on 23rd July 2020 in all good bookshops. Podcast edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Right now, there are, according to the UNHCR, at least 25.9 million refugees in the world — the most ever recorded. Every single one of these people has a past and present. Every single one of these people deserves a future. Every single one of these people has a story and some of these feature in a bold new anthology called Imagine and Salon is sharing some of them in a special episode of our podcast. The Imagine Anthology is a publishing collaboration between Counterpoints Arts and Visual Editions. It features poems, stories and essays from diverse voices including Edmund du Waal, Himesh Patel, Dina Nayeri and Rupi Kaurand. It’s part of Refugee Week, a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees. The authors have been asked to explore one thing they would most like to change about humanity's future, to consider "making the invisible visible". Themes address global issues such as open borders, hunger, power and shame, as well as reflecting on how our everyday lives - taekwondo, beekeeping or a front door key - have the potential to be life-changing. Each piece is distinct but collectively they show how we are united in difference. As Erica Wagner says in her powerful introduction each piece is ‘speaking out for change and speaking up for hope’. Imagine was commissioned by Counterpoints Arts for Refugee week and is a collaboration between Counterpoints Arts, editor Jessica Jackson, creative agency Visual Editions and Nina Jua Klein Studio. You can hear the special episode on our podcast on all usual platforms and you can read the full Imagine anthology at www.imagineanthology.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re so thrilled to feature Douglas Stuart (an Observer debut novelist to watch for in 2020) as a Salon Exclusive! Enjoy the world premiere of Shuggie Bain, the unforgettable story of a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in the run-down public housing of Glasgow. Thatcher's policies have put husbands and sons out of work, and the city's notorious drugs epidemic is waiting in the wings. Shuggie's mother, Agnes, walks a wayward path: she's Shuggie's guiding light but also a burden for him and his siblings as she finds increasing solace in drink, draining away the lion's share of each week's benefits. Shuggie is meanwhile struggling to somehow become the normal boy he desperately longs to be as it becomes evident he's hiding a secret. A story of addiction, sexuality, and love, Shuggie Bain is an epic portrayal of a working-class family rarely seen in fiction. Shuggie Bain is published by Picador on 6th August 2020 in the UK and is available to pre-order now from all good bookshops. And it's available now in the US. A perfect book to order or read during Pride Month! Podcast edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The incandescent John Niven treated us to a brilliant reading and at turns hilarious at turns terrifying conversation at our recent online Salon (relocated from the Savoy). The F*ck-it List is John's new satire, set in a near-future America that’s so horribly real it veers dangerously close to non-fiction. This America survived two terms of Donald and is now in the first term of Ivanka. Frank Brill, a small-town newspaper editor in a post-print world, lives in a world of Trumpian horror where the economy has collapsed and morality with it. Frank’s already endured more than his fair share of misfortune when he’s given a terminal diagnosis. What now? *Be warned, this brilliance contains a lot of swearing and is definitely NSFW (well, depending on your workplace)!* Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polly Samson and family regaled us with exclusive readings and a Q and A at our very first live online Salon, relocated from the Savoy, attracting 50,000 viewers from around the world! Listen in as Polly and family read to us from her latest novel, 'A Theatre For Dreamers'. Set in 1960, the world is flirting with revolution and disaster and the Greek island of Hydra is a heady microcosm, home to a now-legendary circle of artists living messy tangled lives and all ruled over by writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston, troubled king and queen of bohemia. Everyone is drawn into the drama between magnetic writer Axel Jensen, his dazzling wife Marianne Ihlen, and a young Canadian poet called Leonard Cohen. What, or who, is the price of paradise? Can utopia last? Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen in for the world premiere of Broken Greek from the brilliant journalist and broadcaster Pete Paphides (recorded at our very first online Salon, relocated from the Savoy). When Pete’s parents moved from Cyprus to Birmingham in the 1960s in the hope of a better life, they had no money and only a little English. Everything changed. The Paphides family opened a fish-and-chip shop in Acocks Green - The Great Western Fish Bar is where Pete learned about banter and Britishness. And music—all the music. Pete stopped speaking from 4 to 7 seeking refuge in bittersweet pop. From ABBA to The Police, songs provided a safe space from domestic tensions. This warm-hearted coming-of-age memoir will have you craving salty chips and a vinyl collection.  We’re delighted to share Pete’s world premiere of Broken Greek with you, and if you'd like to hear more be sure to tune in to BBC Radio 4 from 4th May when it will be their official Book Of The Week. Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In celebration of its paperback release, Damian Barr gives an exclusive new reading for Salonistas from his debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here. The book is a powerful and urgent novel of two connected South African stories, exploring how the past influences the present and what choices we have - or not - in influencing our destiny. Listen in for news about the paperback - released in the UK April 2nd 2020 - and for a beautiful new reading from a particularly tender scene in the book. You Will Be Safe Here is published by Bloomsbury and will be available in paperback in the UK from 2nd April 2020. Available to pre-order now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr reads his piece from this brand new collection edited by Val McDermid and Jo Sharp. Imagine A Country: Ideas for a Better Future offers visions of a new future from an astonishing array of Scottish voices, from comedians to economists, writers to musicians. Featuring Ali Smith, Alan Cumming, Kerry Hudson, Jackie Kay, Louise Welsh and many more. Royalties will be split among five Scottish charities: Shelter Scotland, Scottish Women’s Aid, Scottish Book Trust, Refuweegee and Reforesting Scotland. Imagine A Country was published on 19th March 2020 by Canongate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re so excited about the much anticipated first adult fantasy novel from Eoin Colfer, the New York Times bestselling author of Artemis Fowl, and we're thrilled to feature him as a Salon Exclusive! Enjoy as Eoin treats us to an exclusive early sneak peek as he reads from Highfire, a joyous genre-bending story that’s part thriller, part action movie and very very funny. In it we meet a vodka-drinking, Netflix-bingeing dragon, who in the days of yore would fly the skies and scorch angry mobs, but now hides from swamp tour boats and rises only with the greatest reluctance from his La-Z-Boy recliner. What will happen when he crosses paths with a troublemaking teen who’s on the run? Highfire is published by Jo Fletcher Books on 28th January 2020. Produced by: Megan Bay Dorman Edited by: Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen in for this exclusive interview and readings from the brilliant Maggie O’Farrell, who returned to the Salon to give us yet another world premiere with Hamnet, the novel she’s wanted to write for over thirty years. Maggie's first foray into historical fiction takes us back to a summer day in 1596. A young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to bed with a fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, is distraught. Their mother, Agnes, is a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London. His name is William. This is the heart-stopping story behind Shakespeare’s most famous play. Recorded by Russell Finch Edited by Harry Eyers Produced by Megan Bay Dorman Photography by Daisy Honeybunn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the first instalment of Salon News! We've had so much excitement recently and so many people wanting to hear what we’ve got coming up, so we've answered your call. Listen in for all the goss on our TV series, how to get Salon tickets before anyone else in 2020, what we’ve been reading and a touch of naughtiness concerning Fanny Cradock’s doughnuts... Salon News - so much better than the real news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to Anthony Anaxagorou performing his beautiful poem ‘Things Already Lost’ especially for the Salon at the recent Cheltenham Literature Festival. Anthony is a British-born Cypriot poet, fiction writer, essayist, publisher and poetry educator. His poetry has been published in POETRY, The Poetry Review, Poetry London, Granta, and more, and has appeared on BBC Newsnight, BBC Radio 4, ITV, Vice UK, Channel 4 and Sky Arts. This poem is from his second collection After the Formalities, published by Penned in the Margins in September 2019, which is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and has been shortlisted for the 2019 T.S Eliot Prize. Anthony was awarded the 2019 H-100 Award for writing and publishing, and the 2015 Groucho Maverick Award for his poetry and fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kerry Hudson attended nine primary schools and five secondaries living in B&B's and council flats as she and her mum were forced to move again and again by poverty. Now Kerry is a rightly acclaimed novelist, activist and columnist and her life is unrecognisable. But how did she get from there to here and is her journey complete? What of the places she left? Listen to her incredible conversation with Damian Barr and her readings from Lowborn, a memoir like no other and essential for our times. Recorded at Damian Barr's Literary Salon at The Savoy, 18th October 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here at Salon we’re *so* excited about the debut novel from Okechukwu Nzelu and we're thrilled to feature him as a Salon Exclusive! Here he reads to us from 'The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney' - a very funny and bighearted story. In it we see Nnenna approaching womanhood, full of questions about how to ‘be’ when there’s so much she doesn’t know of her cultural and familial history, and we meet her mother Joanie, wondering how to love when she has never truly been loved. Their story is definitely one you’ll want to hear. 'The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney' is published by the pioneering and brilliant Dialogue Books and is available now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jojo Moyes - Literary Salon - July 2019 by Damian Barr's Literary Salon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dustin Lance Black – who wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for Milk and helped overturn California’s anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 – talks with Damian Barr at special Outsider Memoirs Salon at the Theatre Royal in Brighton. Dustin grew up in a conservative Mormon household in Texas. Here he reads t us from his inspiring memoir Mama's Boy, and discusses his childhood, his plucky mother, and much much more. Packed with passion, politics and humour, this is an episode not to be missed! And don’t forget to check out our other podcast from the same night, with the brilliant Tracey Thorn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To read a memoir is to become part of somebody else’s story, to see yourself reflected in their pages. In a special Outsider Memoirs Salon at Brighton's Theatre Royal, Tracey Thorn joined us to share her latest memoir 'Another Planet'. We were taken to the scene of her 1970s childhood where ‘life was slow and very little happened, over and over again’ as her diary records. How did she get from there to Everything But The Girl? And don’t forget to check out our other podcast from the same night, with the brilliant Dustin Lance Black. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EXCLUSIVE - feast your ears on a never-heard-before podcast special from the Salon archives! Pour yourself a glass of wine and join us at Cheltenham Literature Festival 2017 with the brilliant Rachel Joyce. In this Book and A Bottle Salon, we enjoyed a joyously delicious hour of reading, wine-tasting and talking with the best-selling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Rachel read from her fourth novel The Music Shop, following record-shop owner Frank who can always find the very song to cure customers of their emotional woes. And when you've enjoyed that, be sure to check out our friend Joe Haddow's brilliant literary podcast 'Book Off!' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr gives an exclusive reading for Salonistas from his debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here. The book is a powerful and urgent novel of two connected South African stories, exploring how the past influences the present and what choices we have - or not - in influencing our destiny. This reading is the final of three released across March. The book is available to preorder now at smarturl.it/m1t2vm and is published in the UK on 4th April and the USA on 14th May 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr gives an exclusive reading for Salonistas from his debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here. The book is a powerful and urgent novel of two connected South African stories, exploring how the past influences the present and what choices we have - or not - in influencing our destiny. This reading is the second of three being released across March. The book is available to preorder now at smarturl.it/m1t2vm and is published in the UK on 4th April and the USA on 14th May 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here at Salon we’ve long loved the risk-taking journalism of Saskia Vogel. So we’re delighted to feature her as a Salon Exclusive! Here she reads to us from her debut novel ‘Permission’ - a raw, fresh and very honest love story about dreams, expectations, and the erotic. And grief, yes grief too. When Echo’s father gets swept away by a freak current off the Los Angeles coast, she finds herself sinking into a complete state of paralysis. The book follows the failed young actress as she attempts to seek solace in the best way she knows: losing herself in the lives of strangers. ‘Permission’ is published by Dialogue Books and is out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr gives an exclusive reading for Salonistas from his debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here. The book is a powerful and urgent novel of two connected South African stories, exploring how the past influences the present and what choices we have - or not - in influencing our destiny. This reading is the first of three which will be released over the next few weeks. The book is available to preorder now at http://smarturl.it/m1t2vm and is published in the UK on 4th April and the USA on 14th May 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special Oceania themed Literary Salon hosted by Damian Barr in the penthouse of New Zealand House to coincide with the major exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. Joining Damian for this special Salon are five leading voices from the Pacific...Māori writers Witi Ihimaera, Tina Makereti and Paula Morris and Pasifika poets David Egglegon and Karlo Mila, all of whom tell stunning Oceanic stories for the 21st century. Damian Barr, award-winning writer, journalist, presenter and salonnière is now an honorary New Zealander by virtue of the fact that on his most recent visit to the country he made headlines and engaged in friendly Twitter exchange with NZ Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern*. *She expressed concern over his dislike of New Zealand cheese. More on the writers... Witi Ihimaera is one of New Zealand’s greatest modern writers; in 1974 he became the first Māori author to publish a novel, and four of his books including Whale Rider have been made into feature films. Tina Makereti’s latest novel The Imaginary Lives of James Pōneke tells the story of young Māori man who becomes a ‘living exhibit’ at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, in 1846. Paula Morris is the author of eight novels. Her most recent book False River is a collection of stories and essays around the subject of secret histories. David Eggleton, poet, writer, reviewer and editor published a new poetry collection Edgeland in 2018. He has won a number of awards including, uniquely among NZ poets, the London Time Out Street Entertainer of the Year (1985). Pasifika poet, Karlo Mila, who represented Tonga at the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, has a new poetry collection coming in 2019. Supported by Creative New Zealand with thanks to the New Zealand High Commission and Black Estate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian in conversation with Maggie O'Farrell at the Edinburgh Book Festival. She reads from her astonishing memoir I am I am I am. It details her many and various brushes with death and her astonishing will to survive. A warning: someone fainted at the first reading. it's not gory but it is very intense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, here it is: the first ever reading from my first ever novel! Where else would I read it for the first time?! It's such a privilege to have all you Salonistas along with me on this journey. I am interviewed by Kirsty Wark - lucky me! The novel has already been previewed in the Guardian, Observer & Financial Times. Here is what the Big Issue had to say in their look ahead to 2019: 'Maggie and Me introduced the world to a startlingly clear and honest working class voice, but for his debut novel Damian Barr has chosen to travel thousands of miles from the North Lanarkshire setting of his lauded memoir. You Will be Safe Here tells the stories of two families separated by a century, but symbolically and viscerally connected. The oppression of a South African family rounded into a concentration camp by English soldiers during the second Boer War is echoed in the modern-day story of Johannesburg teenager Willem, who is ‘not turning out right’ and is sent to a brutal training camp to have his too-soft corners sharpened up. The landscape and vernacular couldn’t be more different from Barr’s own childhood homestead, but the themes he understands so well, and writes about so simply and evocatively, remain: the cruel, isolating experience of being bullied by a knuckle-headed majority; the sweet relief in finding a sympathetic friend among the angry, contemptuous throng. Without melodrama or sentiment, Barr is proving himself a master of show-don’t-tell writing which packs a hefty emotional punch. He seems to do it just by listening, thinking, then letting the words flow. Extraordinary. (Jane Graham)' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirsty Wark has anchored Newsnight since 1993. She famously clashed with Margaret Thatcher and has interviewed every Prime Minister since - and probably also whoever it is that will be Prime Minister next month. She premiered her first novel, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle, at the Salon almost exactly five years ago. Tonight, she returns to take us all to The House By The Loch –don’t let your American publishers change that to Lake. Wark’s second novel is set in Galloway- one the most beautiful and least well-known parts of Scotland, even to many Scots. This sparsely populated but spare and beautiful landscape anchors three generations of one family struggling with grief in the present and a secret from the past. As with her debut, The House by the Loch draws on historic events and, inevitably, her own personal history but Jean and Walter and their families aren’t real. It had me reading fast just to find out what happens next then slowing down just to admire the view. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

World premiere of Sweet Sorrow, David's new novel, at the Savoy on Feb 11, 2019. Back in 2009, when we were at Shoreditch House, David Nicholls took to the stage – okay we didn’t have a stage, we had a stool - and made us all fall in love with Dexter and Emma. One Day went on to do quite well. Five years after that he took us all round Europe and to the breaking heart of a couple falling out of love in the middle of their midlife crisis. Five years later – and fresh from the searing Emmy-nominated success of adapting the Patrick Melrose novels – he returns to the Salon to premiere his new novel. Sweet Sorrow is both sweet and sorrowful, sometimes more, sometimes less, but always enchanting. It is the story of one life-changing summer for sixteen-year-old Charlie Lewis. Charlie is the kind of boy you don’t remember in the school photograph: ‘my distinctive feature was a lack of distinction’. School is not good and home is even worse - he’s stuck with his depressed father. Suddenly Fran Fisher bursts into his life – gorgeous, clever and properly a bit posh. But if Charlie wants to be with Fran, he risks the censure of his buddies and steps out from the safety of average anonymity into the spotlight. Fran is in an am drama production of Romeo & Juliet. To find love Charlie must risk tragedy. The price of hope is Shakespeare. Hark, it’s the return of David Nicholls! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special Salon with the amazing and irrepressible Armistead Maupin at Brighton's Theatre Royal. Armistead treats us to excerpts from his new book 'Logical Family: A Memoir' before Damian takes the Tales of the City author on a fascinating jaunt down memory lane. Photo credit Christopher Turner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re a fan of 'The Killing' you’re going to love 'The Chestnut Man' - the nail-biting debut novel from Søren Sveistrup, the BAFTA and Emmy winning creator of the global TV sensation . We're thrilled to have him reading an exclusive extract from it for us here, ahead of its UK release on 10th January 2019. It's every bit as gripping, terrifying and bloody as the TV show, so be warned! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rose McGowan was born into one cult, the Children of God, and came of age in another: Hollywood. She has been a Captive. A runaway. A starlet. A celebrity. A victim. And now she is an activist, an artist and a writer. Her powerfully honest memoir-manifesto is enraging and inspiring. Just over a year ago she helped sparked #metoo which continues to change our world. But what does it really take to be Brave? In this exceptionally far-reaching and revealing interview, Damian and Rose explore her beginnings and consider what's next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a teenager I fantasised about becoming Dr Barr but work experience in a hospital put me off, undoubtedly saving lives, mine included. Adam Kay was born into a family of medics and felt he had no choice but to don a white coat. Nothing could prepare him for the joys and horrors of being a junior doctor. His Secret Diaries have sold to over 25 countries, held the top of the bestseller charts for six months - thus sustaining the British publishing industry - and he’s performing them on stage to record crowds and adapting them for the BBC. They are, by turns, side-splitting and heart-breaking, revealing an institution and an individual at their best and worst. Distinctly NSFW (unless you're a medic!) This Is Going To Hurt! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tracey Thorn returns to the Salon for the world premiere of her new memoir: Another Planet. Brooksmans Park is only 14 miles north of Kings Cross but might as well be Another Planet. Here people aspired to ‘a better class of bungalow’. Tracey returns to the scene of her 1970s childhood where ‘life was slow and very little happened, over and over again’ as her diary records. Turning on a beautifully wrought and unlikely axis of the elegiac and the entertaining, we meet Teenage Tracey. What was she like? Did she dream of becoming one of the world’s best-loved singer-songwriters? And will she get off with Mick from Harpenden again? Photo credit: Edward Bishop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flashback to earlier this month when our Salonnière hosted the Man Booker shortlist showcase at the South Bank Centre, the one and only event to feature readings from all six shortlisted authors - Anna Burns (Milkman), Esi Edugyan (Washington Black), Daisy Johnson (Everything Under), Rachel Kushner (The Mars Room), Richard Powers (The Overstory) and Robin Robertson (The Long Take. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are delighted to share this EXCLUSIVE reading from the brilliant Rachael Brown, the creator, investigator, and host of international award-winning #1 podcast,Trace, examining the 1980 murder of Maria James. Rachael reads to us from her new book of the same name, exploring her efforts to unmask Maria’s killer, and revealing the shocking new factors she uncovered along the way... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This intimate discussion made headlines around the world as Sturgeon revealed she's writing a diary which she may publish. In an intimate conversation with Damian Barr she reveals the books that shaped her as a person and a politician, from Lewis Grassic Gibbon's 'Sunset Song' to 'The Colour Purple' by Alice Walker, and recommends some reading for President Trump. Recorded live at Wigtown Book Festival in September 2018. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To mark the release of his latest novel 'Katerina', New York Times bestselling author James Frey reads this extract specially for Damian Barr's Literary Salon. Katerina, the explosive new novel by one of America’s most controversial writers, is a sweeping love story alternating between 1992 Paris and Los Angeles in 2018, taking in love, sex, dreams, art, drugs and the madness of youth. Please note, this brilliant reading is NSFW! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for the WORLD PREMIERE of Take Nothing With You, the new novel from Patrick Gale. We’re delighted he’s back to unveil his sixteenth novel at the Salon! Comedy and tragedy collide as fifty-something Eustace, a Londoner of leisure, falls hopelessly in love with a man he’s yet to meet in the flesh and discovers that he has cancer. In the same week. While receiving treatment, Eustace listens endlessly to cello music which takes him back to his eccentric 1970s boyhood when his life was transfigured, and his family shattered, by the decision to attend a recital by the glamorous cellist, Carla Gold. Photo copywright Markus Bidaux Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for the WORLD PREMIERE of Melmoth, the new novel from Sarah Perry. For centuries, the mysterious dark-robed figure of Melmoth the Witness has wandered the globe, seeking those whose complicity have led humanity to its darkest moments. Helen Franklin comes across this legend while working as a literary translator in present day Prague. She’s quick to dismiss it as superstition but soon begins to feel she’s being watched… Terrifying and beautiful, Sarah Perry’s hugely inventive novel forces us to think deeply about our capacity for good and evil and how they often intertwine. Melmoth is coming. What will you do? Photo credit Jamie Drew Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate the paperback release of his brilliant debut novel 'The Last Romeo', Justin Myers reads this extract specially for Damian Barr's Literary Salon. Social media sensation and author of dating blog The Guyliner, Justin Myers now brings his razor-sharp and cringingly candid style to this account of one man's quest for The One. The story follows 34 year old James, whose six-year relationship with Adam has imploded, who hates his job making up celebrity gossip, and whose best friend Bella has just announced she's moving to Russia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here is Professor Mary Beard reading from her manifesto Women & Power and from the new book to accompany Civilisations. We talk about ways of seeing, the shock of the new (and the nude) and sex with statues. Yes, sex with statues. And about NOT SHUTTING UP! Not entirely safe for work this but entirely brilliant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BEHOLD! The glorious Natalie Haynes, host of Radio 4's Stand Up For The Classic, PREMIERES her new novel a WHOLE YEAR ahead of publication! 'A Thousand Ships' is her retelling of well, all that Helen and her beauty and the Trojans and their horse stuff. We guarantee it will leave you shouting YOU CANNOT HAVE MY OWL! Listen and enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lulah Ellender reads exclusively from her new book 'Elisabeth's Lists', a vivid memoir and a moving study of the familial threads that bind us. Lulah never knew her grandmother Elisabeth, but after she was handed a hardback journal full of handwritten lists her curiosity grew and along with her diaries, Lulah pieced together who this woman truly was. Shopping lists, items to be packed for trips abroad, a running tally of hens eggs, were just a few of the mundane things that covered the paper, but Lulah discovered a life well lived filled with adventure and stark contrasts. It becomes clear that the lists were there to create order in a life in which Elisabeth had little control, and now Lulah looks back at these in search of meaning and solace as she sits with the knowledge that she is losing her own mother. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The beloved and side splittingly hilarious Matt Lucas joined Damian in conversation at Cheltenham Literature Festival 2017. The star of Little Britain and Doctor Who shared tales from his autobiography 'Little Me: My Life from A-Z'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Multi award-winning rock and pop critic and writer Alexis Petridis joins us for Story of My Life, in which he shares his love of The Diaries of Adrian Mole. Alexis also gives us a sneak insight into what it’s like to ghost-write Elton John’s memoir! Part of a special fundraising Salon for the brilliant Little Green Pig, a writing and mentoring charity for young people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The bold and brilliant Juno Dawson gives the world premiere reading of her ground-breaking memoir The Gender Games, discussing the problems with men and women, from someone who has been both. Part of a special fundraising Salon for the brilliant Little Green Pig, a writing and mentoring charity for young people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re still shaking two years after reading The Loney – Andrew Michael Hurley’s truly terrifying debut.  His second novel, Devil’s Day, promises to be just as dark.  Again he’s exploring the spare landscape of the northwest.   Very little changes in the Endlands.  Every autumn, John Pentecost returns to the farm where he grew up to help gather the sheep down from the moors for the winter.  Each year, his grandfather, the Gaffer, would redraw the boundary lines of the village, with pen and paper, but also through the remembrance of tales and timeless communal rituals, which keep the sheep safe from the Devil. But this year, the Gaffer has died and John's new wife, Katherine, accompanies him for the first time. As the farmers of the Endlands bury the Gaffer, and prepare to gather the sheep, they begin to wonder whether they've let the Devil in after all . . . Listen to our Literary Salon world exclusive preview with Andrew Michael Hurley, as he reads the first two chapters of Devil's Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Making a very rare appearance in the UK, Richard Russo talks secrets and lies (and Trump) in small-town America with Damian Barr at the Savoy Hotel in London. And unexpected and detailed discussion about underwear. Just delightful! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just days before the General Election, Spectator Literary Editor and Rhetoric expert, Sam Leith joined Damian Barr at the Savoy Hotel in London to sort the strong and stable from the weak and wobbly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Natalie Haynes talks about her gripping contemporary take on perhaps the most messed up family in Ancient Greece with Damian Barr at the Savoy Hotel in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian ranges from revolution to revelation, from activism to confession in a candid conversation with a simple country parson who also happens to have been one of the Communards. Reverend Richard Coles is presenter of Radio 4’s Saturday Live, parent of various dachshunds and author of the hit memoirs 'Fathomless Riches' and 'Bringing in the Sheaves'. Recorded live in the Lancaster Ballroom at the Savoy Hotel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Christadora is a 'very plain handsome boxy brick building' in New York’s East Village. This building, the families within, tell the story of the city from the 1980s to the 2020s. From soaring crime to soaring house prices, from Reagan to Bush to Clinton to Bush again and then Obama, from the Plague to Lazarus Syndrome. Damian talks to activist, journalist and author of 'Christadora': Tim Murphy. Recorded live in the Lancaster Ballroom at the Savoy Hotel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

100 years tonight - this very night - the Russian Army sided with the Bolsheviks, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated and the Russian Empire fell. Shortly after, Count Alexander Illyich Rostov - recipient of the order of Saint Andrew, member of the jockey club, master of the hunt and sometime poet – was condemned to a life under house arrest in the famously luxe Hotel Metropol. Damian talks revolution, room service and 'A Gentleman in Moscow' with Amor Towles. Recorded live in the Lancaster Ballroom at the Savoy Hotel - appropriately enough for a book about a man trapped in a luxurious hotel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lionel joined Damian and Rebecca Palmer from Corney & Barrow for A Book and a Bottle Salon at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Forget cheese and wine--we're pairing novels and bottles! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yaa Gyasi reads from her New York Times best-selling debut novel 'Homegoing' - UK Premiere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psychotherapist and writer Philippa Perry reads from her new untitled book and talk to Damian about parenting and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew O'Hagan gives an exclusive first reading of his as-yet-unfinished novel 'Caledonian Road' as part of our 8th birthday celebrations at the Savoy Hotel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate our eight birthday we're giving you a gift! Or rather, Salon favourite Naomi Alderman is. Just for you she has recorded an exclusive extract from her forthcoming novel: The Power. Feminism! Superpowers! Amazing writing! World Premiere! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jessie Burton reads excerpts from her new novel The Muse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian trails his new 'public service' for book-and booze-lovers. Watch this space for the first edition: the world premiere of The Muse, the new novel from Jessie Burton! In partnership wih Corney & Barrow with support from Foyles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Lee reads from his new novel High Dive. With Damian Barr at New York's Ace Hotel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Gilmour and Polly Samson discuss their shared creative process and give a unique insight into their relationship. With Damian Barr at The Ace Hotel in New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer and lyricist, Polly Samson reads from her new novel: The Kindness. With Damian Barr at the Ace Hotel, New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Salon favourite Maggie O'Farrell returns to unveil her latest novel 'This Must Be The Place'. Recorded live with Damian Barr in the Lancaster Ballroom at The Savoy Hotel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dame Joan Bakewell talks to Damian Barr about her memoir 'Stop The Clocks'. Recorded live in the Lancaster Ballroom at The Savoy Hotel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his UK premiere, Garth Greenwell reads from his acclaimed debut novel What Belongs To You. Recorded live in The Lancaster Ballroom at the Savoy Hotel London. With Damian Barr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Radio 4 regular Susan Calman reads for the very first time from her memoir Cheer Up Love: Adventures in Depression with the Crab of Hate. Recorded live with Damian Barr in The Lancaster Ballroom at The Savoy Hotel, London Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polly Samson describes how she came to write lyrics for her husband David Gilmour's song A Boat Lies Waiting. Hear the full interview at https://soundcloud.com/theliterarysalon/polly-samson-and-david-gilmour-the-literary-salon-in-sao-paulo-december-2015 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Novelist Polly Samson talks to Damian Barr about her latest novel The Kindness. Her husband David Gilmour also joins her to talk about how she writes lyrics for his songs. Recorded in Sao Paulo. NB: this version includes live translation into Portuguese. The version in English is here: https://soundcloud.com/theliterarysalon/polly-samson-and-david-gilmour-the-literary-salon-in-sao-paulo-december-2015 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Novelist Polly Samson talks to Damian Barr about her latest novel The Kindness. Her husband David Gilmour also joins her to talk about how she writes lyrics for his songs. Recorded in Sao Paulo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diana Athill reads from her new memoir Alive, Alive Oh! And Other Things That Matter. In her inimitable style, she reflects on memories rising to the surface as she approaches 100. World premiere! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick Frost reads from his memoir, Truths, Half Truths And Little White Lies. A warning: this contains very strong language. VERY STRONG! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sloane Crosley returns to the Salon to read from her debut novel The Clasp - UK premiere! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Lahr, Tony ward winner and legendary drama critic of The New Yorker, reads for the very first time from his new collection Joy Ride, and talks Tennessee Williams with Damian Barr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Caitlin Moran reads from her Moranifesto, due for release in March 2016 - talk about a preview! And the funniest rant about printers--truly. Ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jojo Moyes unveils her new novel After You, the much anticipated sequel to her best selling book Me Before You. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Bloom talks to Damian about her new book Lucky Us. Recorded at Sydney Writers' Festival 2015. Thanks to Abbey's Bookshop for their support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cathy Rentzenbrink talks to Damian about her heart-breaking yet uplifting memoir 'The Last Act of Love'. Recorded live at Mondrian London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian talks to Owen Sheers about his thrilling new novel I Saw A Man. Recorded live at Mondrian London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian talks to Ryan Gattis about All Involved, his epic - and epically violent - new novel. Warning: this reading features extreme physical violence which may upset some listeners. Recorded live at Mondrian London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's Ark , talks to Damian Barr about his latest novel Shame and the Captives. Includes Keneally rapping about Humpty Dumpty and his trenchant views on Prime Minister Abbott. Recorded at Sydney Writers' Festival 2015. Thanks to Abbey's Bookshop for their support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr talks to Emily St. John Mandel, Natalie Haynes and Ben Okri at Auckland Writers Festival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr talks to Emily St. John Mandel, Natalie Haynes and Ben Okri at Auckland Writers Festival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr talks to Emily St. John Mandel, Natalie Haynes and Ben Okri at Auckland Writers Festival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katharine Norbury reads from her incredible memoir The Fish Ladder: A Journey Upstream. Recorded live at Rumpus Room, Mondrian London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the huge success of Bedsit Disco Queen, her first memoir, Tracey Thorn returns in her second volume exploring what it means to sing and suffer from stage fright. Her world premiere of Naked At The Albert Hall recorded live at Rumpus Room, Mondrian London. World premiere, world exclusive! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah Winman premieres her magical new novel, A Year Of Marvellous Ways, her first novel since the international best seller When God Was A Rabbit. Recorded live at Rumpus Room, Mondrian London. World exclusive! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director of the Windham Campbell Prizes, Michael Kelleher, talks to Damian about the prizes which are some of the most valuable in the world. Recorded live at the glittering Mondrian London. For more details see: http://windhamcampbell.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polly Samson reads from her second novel The Kindness. World premiere! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patrick Gale returns to the Salon to read from his fabulous new novel A Place Called Winter. Recorded live at the glittering Mondrian Hotel in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Windham Campbell Prize winner Aminatta Forna reads from her new novel The Hired Man. Recorded live at the glittering Mondrian Hotel in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of our favourite moments from The Literary Salon. Colm Toíbín gives some home truths on how to write. "The only way to do it is to do it. The only way to work is to work. How do you write a novel? You write a novel. Why are you not doing it now. Go home." The full talk with Damian Barr available here: https://soundcloud.com/theliterarysalon/colm-toibin-the-literary-salon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clare Balding returns to the Salon to discuss her second book, Walking Home: My Family and Other Rambles. Delightful! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Novelist Chris Cleave returns to the Salon to read from his new novel as a work-in-progress (something he's never done before). EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN sheds new light on London during WWII and promises to be heroically heart-breaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

World premiere! SJ Watson reads from Second Life, the follow up to his hugely successful debut novel Before I Go To Sleep. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Johnson MP reads for the very first time from his second book of memoirs Please, Mr Postman. Recorded live at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Mitchell reads from and talks about his new novel The Bone Clocks. Recorded live at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Esther Freud unveils her new novel Mr Mac and Me. Recorded live at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EXCLUSIVE: David Nicholls launched One Day at the Salon in 2009. Five years later he chose the Salon to premiere his new novel: Us. He gave a revealing interview at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel on April 14th but, very sadly, our tech kit failed. So, he invited us to the bolthole where he wrote his new novel and gave us this world exclusive reading. Apologies for the occasional snorts of laughter--we couldn't help ourselves, bet you can't either. You won't hear it anywhere else--just here. Enjoy. And thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Armistead Maupin reads from his new novel and lets slip a very exciting bit of news! Recorded at Damian Barr's Literary Salon at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel as part of their exciting RLife LIVE cultural program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patrick Gale gives an exclusive reading from his new novel in progress: A Place Called Winter. World premiere! Recorded at Damian Barr's Literary Salon at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel as part of their exciting RLife LIVE cultural program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirsty Wark talks to Damian about her debut novel The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle. World premiere! Recorded at Damian Barr's Literary Salon at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel as part of their exciting RLife LIVE cultural program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Janice Galloway reads from her work and talks to Damian at Hendricks Carnival of Knowledge during the Edinburgh Festival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maggie O'Farrell reads from her work and talks to Damian at Hendrick's Carnival of Knowledge during the Edinburgh Festival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr reads from his memoir Maggie and Me at Hendrick's Carnival of Knowledge during the Edinburgh festival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lottie Moggach talks to Damian about her debut novel Kiss Me First and reads an extract Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susie Boyt talks to Damian and reads from her new novel The Small Hours Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deborah Levy talks to Damian and reads from her new collection of short stories Black Vodka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lionel Shriver reads from her new book Big Brother and talks to Damian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Manil Suri reads from his new book The City of Devi and talks to Damian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rupert Thomson reads from his new book Secrecy and talks to Damian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A first for the salon! Gamekeeper turns poacher as Damian gives an exclusive first reading from his hugely anticipated memoir Maggie And Me... and brings the house down. If you only listen to one Lit Salon podcast ever, make it this one. With Rowan Pelling asking the questions, standing in for an indisposed Diana Athill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake Morrison reads from his book When Did You Last See Your Father and discusses the writing of memoirs with Damian Barr Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alexandra Heminsley gives us an exclusive first reading from her new book Running Like A Girl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cerys Matthews sings an impromptu folk song while speaking at The Literary Salon in November 2012. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award winning author Naomi Alderman reads from her controversial new novel The Liars' Gospel, retelling the story of the New Testament from other points of view. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A short clip of Cerys singing at The Literary Salon and trying not to get too put off by David Gilmour sitting in front row. Also: Damian's debut on backing vocals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best-selling author Jojo Moyes reads from her latest novel The Girl You Left Behind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Singer and broadcaster Cerys Matthews talks about Dylan Thomas and the prize that was set up in his name, recites a few poems and sings a few songs. Lovely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author of Londoners, Craig Taylor reads from his latest work-in-progress, written that very afternoon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taiye Selasi reads for the very first time from her debut novel Ghana Must Go and talks about being mentored by Toni Morrison and VS Naipaul Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American author and sometime writer of the TV series, The L Word, A.M. Homes reads from her new novel May We Be Forgiven, described by Salman Rushdie as no less as 'flat-out amazing'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Booker Prize winning author of Schlindler's Ark, Thomas Keneally talks about his new novel Daughters of Mars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the this year's Man Booker Prize Judges, Bharat Tandon talks about the process of reading 150 novels to come to their decision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Star of Burlesque, Immodesty Blaize tells her own Soho story of her experiences there Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Radcliffe Royds tells the true story of how he came to live in a Soho skip and got arrested for attempted bank robbery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blogger, columnist, clothes store owner and Soho scene veteran Clayton Littlewood reads from his first book: Dirty White Boy: Tales of Soho Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonkbuster author Shirley Conran shows that EL James a thing or two as she reads a very rude bit from her eighties best-seller Lace. Not for the faint of heart.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katy Regan gives an exclusive first reading from her new novel How We Met Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our first Literary Salon in Brighton, courtesy of Aubin & Wills! The fantastic Eleanor Moran reads from her new novel The Last Time I Saw You, out in January 2013. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reading FOR THE FIRST TIME from her already-bestselling memoir MY ANIMALS & OTHER FAMILY, Clare Balding joins Damian Barr at his Shoreditch House Literary Salon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Preston reading from The Revelations and talking secrets and lies with Damian Barr at Aubin & WIlls, Covent Garden, July 2012. With Damian Barr interviewing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jake Arnott reading FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME from his new book The House of Rumour at Aubin & Wills Salon July 2012. Amazing exclusive! With Damian Barr interviewing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah Rothschild talks about her new biography of her great Aunt Pannonica, 'the Jazz Baroness'. She led an extraordinary life from England's stately homes, battlefields of Africa, the holocaust to the New York jazz scene. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In one of the funniest appearances yet at the Salon, Man Booker Prize winner Howard Jacobson gives an exclusive reading from his new novel, Zoo Time, coming out in the Autumn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lead actor, Scott Shepherd, and director John Collins, talk about their stage production of The Great Gatsby. The play is a complete rendering of the novel, lasting eight hours. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first ever bilingual Salon, Mexican writer Valeria Luiselli reads from her debut novel Faces In The Crowd both in English and in Spanish. She talks to Damian about Latin America, a convent education and the problem with Magic Realism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Bullough reads from his third novel, Konstantin, and talks to Damian about what attracted him to the story of the father of the Russian space programme. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winner of the Costa Book Of The Year 2012, Andrew Miller reads from his prize winning novel Pure. He talks to Damian about revolutions, Dr Guillotin and his next novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Cleave reads from his forthcoming novel, Gold. He talks to Damian about why he wrote a novel about the world of Olympics speed cyclists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Forsyth reads from The Etymologicon, his book on the strange connections between words, which was a Christmas bestseller. Afterwards, he talks to Damian about the origins of swear words. A wee bit more sweary than usual! Not for the easily offended. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Damian Barr hosts an intimate Literary Salon at Aubin & Wills in West London. His first guest is novelist Jonathan Lee, reading from his new novel, Joy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The multi-award winning novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, journalist, and critic reads exclusively from his new book New Ways To Kill Your Mother. Afterwards he talks to Damian about W.B. Yeats, Barcelona orgies and the secret to writing a novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the best-loved speakers at The Literary Salon, Richard Holloway makes his return to talk about his new memoir, Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt. Having stood down as the Bishop of Edinburgh in 2000, he is known for his outspoken views on religion and for his support for many progressive causes including gay marriage. Here he talks movingly to Damian about his own life and the lessons he's learned. Not a dry eye is left in the house. Highly recommended. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Editor-in-chief of Vogue UK, Alexandra Shulman, unveils her sparkling debut novel, Can We Still Be Friends, reading from it for the very first time. She talks to Damian about writing a book while editing a glossy magazine, female friendships and how she is not good at recognising sexism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In another Literary Salon exclusive, Patrick Gale reads from his new novel A Perfectly Good Man for the very first time. He talks to Damian about email romances, growing up in a prison and his love for novels about Nuns Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well known for his Digested Read column in The Guardian, writer John Crace reads his own inimitable version of Jane Austen's Persuasion, exclusive to The Literary Salon. He also talks to Damian about his new book Vertigo which follows his lifelong obsession with Tottenham Hotspur. Damian admits he's never seen a football match all the way through.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jojo Moyes reads exclusively for the first time from her new novel Me Before You. She talks to Damian about being in the bestseller lists, her unlikely choice of subject matter and how it feels to delete 70,000 words from her new novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SJ Watson reads from Before I Go To Sleep, and talks to Damian about how his first novel has become an international bestseller. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Booker prize winning author DBC Pierre reads from a new short story and talks to Damian about the ultimate hangover cure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer and columnist Liz Hoggard talks about her new book Dangerous Women: The Guide To Modern Life Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award winning novelist Maggie O'Farrell talks about her upcoming novel and reads an exclusive extract from her work in progress Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Craig Taylor talks about his new book - Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now, As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It and Long for It Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Waters at Shoreditch Literary Salon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American author Chris Adrian talks about his latest book The Great Night Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer Jill Dawson talks about her forthcoming novel Lucky Bunny, and reads an exclusive extract Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Whitehouse talks to Damian about his debut novel Bed and reads an extract Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon McGregor reads Wires from his new collection of short stories This Isn't The Sort Of Thing That Happens To Someone Like You, released in February 2012 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Janice Galloway talks to Damian and reads from her new anti-memoir All Made Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling author of Cold Mountain Charles Frasier talks to Damian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diana Athill OBE at the Salon October 2011 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices