Rippling Pages: Interviews with Writers

Available Episodes

5 of 56

Elaine Garvey on 2002, Wadrobe Departments, and Women Walking
"She finds herself in London working in a theatre having to touch people!" Elaine Garvey, to discuss her novel, THE WARDROBE DEPARTMENT, published by Canongate Books. It’s 2002. Mairéad Sweeney has moved from rural Ireland to work in London’s West End. While the prestige of working in theatre doesn’t exactly wear off, the long hours and spoiled actors make Mairéad’s transition from Ireland more difficult than it should be. Things get even more difficult when Mairéad has to return home for her grandmother’s funeral. It’s here she begins to reconcile with the life, people and values she left behind. This is Elaine’s first book. She has been published in the Dublin Review and the Winter Papers, and has been awarded funding schemes by the Irish Department of Arts for her writing. ***** Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation! https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984 ***** You can buy THE WARDROBE DEPARTMENT from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages Rippling Points 1.31 - Why the year 2002? 4.32 - books about women walking. 5.39 - who is Mairéad and why is she in London 7.39 - what is the wardrobe department 9.40 - shadowing the costume department! 12.10 - differences between London and Mairéad's home in Ireland. 13.34 - Mairéad's family. 14:40 - Mairéad's boss. 18.15 - Similarities to the Milkman 21. 16 - when is Mairéad's moment of realisation 23.48 - Choosing your words and religion. 27.29 - Is how Mairéad feels about Ireland different to Elaine? 29.15 - how the novel emerged from a short story. Reference Points Anna Burns - Milkman Charlotte Brontë - Jane Eyre Seamus Heaney - Sweeney Astray Hilary Mantel - The Mirror and The Light Herta Müller - The Land of Green Plums Rozsika Parker - The Subversive Stich Virginia Woolf - Mrs Dalloway
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Bonus Content - Benjamin Markovits on Subtexts, Michael Jordan, and family favourites!
“It’s my mum’s favourite book that I wrote!” Benjamin Markovits is here to talk about his new and twelfth novel, THE REST OF OUR LIVES, published by Faber and Faber. Tom Layward has made a pact with himself. After his daughter moves out of college, he’s moving out too. His wife had an affair, and he feels like he owes himself a road trip across America. He takes in the sights, sounds and basketball games of the American heartland and beyond. But he’s deferring some health issues and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before his body asks him to stop and slow down, some of which was inspired by Ben’s own experiences. Ben’s novel, You Don’t Have to Live Like This, won the James Tait Black Prize for fiction. He was a Granta Best of Young British Novelists. His writing has featured prolifically in mainstream publications. We discuss: Are families about power dynamics? Hear about Ben and I reflecting on our family life Is Steph Curry Benjamin’s new obsession instead of Michael Jordan? Why is Syme, Ben’s first novel, his mum’s favourite novel? ***** Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation! https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984 ***** You can buy THE REST OF OUR LIVES from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages
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Benjamin Markovits on Basketball, Family, and Illness
‘The people I like to write about are what I would describe as moderately successful failures.’ Benjamin Markovits is here to talk about his new and twelfth novel, THE REST OF OUR LIVES, published by Faber and Faber. Tom Layward has made a pact with himself. After his daughter moves out of college, he’s moving out too. His wife had an affair, and he feels like he owes himself a road trip across America. He takes in the sights, sounds and basketball games of the American heartland and beyond. But he’s deferring some health issues and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before his body asks him to stop and slow down, some of which was inspired by Ben’s own experiences. Ben’s novel, You Don’t Have to Live Like This, won the James Tait Black Prize for fiction. He was a Granta Best of Young British Novelists. His writing has featured prolifically in mainstream publications. ***** Tickets to Katharina Volckmer in conversation! https://www.seetickets.com/event/katharina-volckmer-in-conversation/hyde-park-book-club/3381984 ***** You can buy THE REST OF OUR LIVES from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages Rippling Points 2.42 - Why Tom goes on a roadtrip 4.12 - Feelings of failure and sport 7.10 - Constructing the narrator 9.00 - Tom’s difference to other narrators of Ben’s 11.30 - Pick-up basketball 15.15 - East Coast privilege 16.00 - The NBA - basketball and race 21.20 - Katharina Volckmer in conversation 22.45 - Tom’s relationship with his children 23.57 - Tom and Ben’s illness 26.58 - Matters of life and death 28.10 - Doctors and writers 29.45 - Ben’s next steps Reference Points Philip Roth John Updike Ben’s novels The Syme Papers Playing Days You Don’t Have to Live Like This The Sidekick
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Bonus Content with Marni Appleton - Taylor Swift, and Getting Up Early
"Taylor Swift is somebody who has managed to keep reinventing herself to stay relevant." Welcome to Rippling Points, more content and more insights and inspiration into the craft of literature: Marni Appleton is here to talk about her short story collection, I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, published by Indigo Press. We discuss: - How Taylor Swift's ability to reinvent herself and stay relevant differs to that of the characters - Ideas of productivity and how they shouldn't reflect your value in the world The modern world Marni presents to us in her stories is one that feels incredibly liberating, but then hinged by archaic attitudes from the past all at the same time. Women go viral on social media for seemingly innocent reasons; open and polyamorous relationships that suddenly feel shut; roles in theatre feel too close to real life. Marni holds a PhD in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. Her writing has been published in Banshee, The Tangerine, Contemporary Women’s Writing. This is her first collection. You can buy I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages
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Marni Appleton on Spotlights, Mirrors and the Art of the Title
"It builds to women and girls choosing to hide their mouths because of the effect of this trend...things just morph and take on different meanings as they're shared in different contexts" Marni Appleton is here to talk about her collection of short stories, I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, published by The Indigo Press. The modern world Marni presents to us in her stories is one that feels incredibly liberating, but then hinged by archaic attitudes from the past all at the same time. Women go viral on social media for seemingly innocent reasons; open and polyamorous relationships that suddenly feel shut; roles in theatre feel too close to real life. Marni holds a PhD in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. Her writing has been published in Banshee, The Tangerine, Contemporary Women’s Writing. This is her first collection. You can buy I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod Buying from this link supports the podcast (I receive a 10% commission) and indie bookshops! Interested in hosting your own podcast? Follow this link and find out how: https://www.podbean.com/ripplingpages Rippling points 2.00 - The women that inspired the stories 4.08 - Giving the characters control or not 5.41 - Moments in the Spotlight 8.26 - Marni’s bold story titles 10.47 - Public and private selves 13.17 - Social media and the writer 14.15 - Theatre in Marni’s stories 18.10 - The different lives characters have 20.15 - How Marni writes about men 23.10 - The significance of mirrors 25.30 - Safe spaces 27.07 - Different registers and discourses 29.16 - Marni's journey to getting the book published. Reference Points Melissa Febos Taylor Swift
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