Rippling Pages: Interviews with Writers

I’m kicking off a 2026 preview with two of the most exciting emerging voices publishing books this January. I speak to them about how they wrote their novels, before asking which books inspired them along the way, and what their books and book selections say about the world today. If you’re looking for your next great reads of 2026, look no further — Rippling Pages has you covered. We’re going from Pakistan to a rural boarding school in 1970s London. In Pakistan, a young woman grapples with a strange, indefinable illness against a backdrop of political upheaval. In England, a teenager tries to make sense of his intense emotions during one hot summer at boarding school. Farah Ali’s TELEGRAPHY, published by CB Editions, is her second novel. Originally from Pakistan, Farah has been anthologised for the Pushcart Prize and is the reviews editor at Wasafiri. JEAN is the debut novel by London-based writer Madeleine Dunnigan, published by Daunt Books. She was a Jill Davis Fellow on the MFA programme at New York University. Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreon with exclusive crafted subscriber benefits.  https://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages    Reference Points Mathias Énard - The Annual Banquet of the Gravedigger's Guild  Rachel Kushner - The Flamethrowers John McGahern - That They May Face the Rising Sun Gerald Murnane - The Plains Tom McCarthy - Remainder   Chapters 3.15 - illness and narrative voice 5.25 - feeling ill writing the book 10.15 - Madeleine's on Farah's narrator 12.30 - Madeleine's book 16.10 -  different kinds of love. 18.40 - Rippling Pages patreon 19.55 - a queer  story in the boarding school 21.50 - different kinds of intimacy 23.40 - precociousness 28.10 - bodies, illness and healing  33.00 - what these books say about the world.  38.00 - Dealing with fracture 40.50 - rippling pages bookshop 41.20 - Madeleine recommends 45.15 - Farah recommends. 

I'm delighted to be talking to Rali Chorbadzhiyska about her work as freelance editor, and we're asking what the road to publication really looks like.   It must be another edition of Ask the Curator. In these episodes, we go behind the curtain of the literary industry to ask another literary curator, how they do what they do. Over the years, Rali has worked at Penguin RandomHouse, Faber and Canongate, working with some of the biggest names in literature. But she recently went freelance to deliver on her aim of guiding writers refine and elevate their work. She was awarded with a Rising Star Award from The Printing Charity in recognition of her work. Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreon with exclusive crafted subscriber benefits.  https://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages  Links to Rali’s services: https://www.ralieditorial.com/ https://www.instagram.com/reading.rali/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralieditorial/ https://www.tiktok.com/@reading.rali   Reference Points Farah Ali Raymond Carver V.S. Naipaul Erin Sommers Chapters 2.25 - what does Rali's work look like? 3.45 - Rali's ideal clients 4.50 - the importance of taking feedback 7.15 - strategies for taking and rejecting feedback 12.00 - finding people who champion you 15.20 - Do writers need to market themselves? 16.10 - Having ties to local communities. 17.40 - Rali’s top tip  19.40 - books Rali is looking forward to in 2026

Welcome to some bonus content with Lee Cole, and we’re talking about how he used an old book he found at his grandparents to help build the world and characters in his novels.  Plus, you’re going to hear some extra bits about writing heroes and villains.  Fulfillment, Lee Cole’s second novel, follows two half brothers whose clashing ambitions—Emmett’s longing to be a screenwriter and his brother’s academic ideals about “rural despair”—go beyond a simple difference in worldview. Something deeper threatens to pull them apart. Lee is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, is also the author of Groundskeeping. Both his novels were published by Faber in the U.K. The New York Times has described his work as “Anne Tyler by way of Sally Rooney.” Originally from Kentucky, Lee joins me today from Philadelphia.   Buy Lee Cole’s book here https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreon https://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages 

Welcome to the latest episode of the Rippling Pages. I’m having a coffee with Lee Cole, the American writer from Kentucky. And we’re talking about balancing the feelings and ethics of writing about home. Now living a humdrum life in Kentucky, Emmett spends his days packing boxes in a warehouse. But what happens when he begins to dream of another life—and when those dreams start to fracture his family relationships? These questions lie at the heart of Fulfilment, Lee Cole’s second novel. The book follows two half brothers whose clashing ambitions—Emmett’s longing to be a screenwriter and his brother’s academic ideals about “rural despair”—go beyond a simple difference in worldview. Something deeper threatens to pull them apart. Lee is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, is also the author of Groundskeeping. Both his novels were published by Faber in the U.K. The New York Times has described his work as “Anne Tyler by way of Sally Rooney.” Originally from Kentucky, Lee joins me today from Philadelphia. Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop all books are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod   Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreon https://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi   Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages   1.35 - Ann Tyler and Sally Rooney 5.05 - why Kentucky  7.25 - people who leave and stay in small towns  9.30 - why does Emmett wish he had what Joel has? 11.10 - southern fried rendition of Marx 12.10 - warehouses  16.12 - the difficulty of warehouse jobs  18.30 - Kentucky’s beauty  19.45 - backgrounds and worldviews  21.45 - guilt about writing about home or  22.30 - rippling pages bookshop 23.35 - Alice’s role 26.15 - Alice’s dream of owning a farm  28.50 - knowing what our desires are  32.50 - writing about writers impulses Books Wendell Berry Annie Dillard Sigmund Freud Aldo Leopold Karl Marx Sally Rooney  Anne Tyler John Updike   

I’m talking with the essayist Joanna Pocock, and this is some bonus content from our original interview. America is a place that has compelled countless writers to travel its vast and varied landscapes.  Perhaps you’ve done it yourself. But what happens when you feel compelled to do it all again? That’s the question at the heart of Joanna Pocock’s essay, Greyhound (Fitzcarraldo Editions). Named after the iconic bus company whose intercity network carries passengers from Detroit to Los Angeles — and which Joanna relies on for her own journey — Greyhound revisits familiar motels, crossings, and bus stations she first encountered years before. Joanna’s writing has appeared in the LA Times, Guardian US and the Nation among others. GREYHOUND is her second book, and her first, SURRENDER, won the Fitzcarraldo essay prize. Remember to like, share, follow, subscribe or leave a review if you enjoy the show. Joanna is talking about objects of influence, which are: Her notebooks Her photographs  Remember, if you buy from Rippling Pages Bookshop all books are all sourced from indie bookshops! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Support the Rippling Pages on a new Patreon https://patreon.com/RipplingPagesPod?utm_medi Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages