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Leila Slimani fuses imagination and memory in novels inspired by her French Moroccan family from 2023-06-18T00:10
In 2016, French-Moroccan novelist Leila Slimani won the Prix Goncourt for her provocative thriller, The Perfect Nanny, which was named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review and ...
ListenIn China Room, Sunjeev Sahota reimagines a family legend from 2021-09-12T00:10
Inspired by a story about his great-grandmother, the British writer's evocative new novel, which is longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize, explores themes of belonging, oppression and the pursuit of...
ListenMartin Amis on the inside story of his literary life, loves and losses from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The provocative British writer talks to Eleanor Wachtel about his new book, Inside Story, which reflects on the significant men in his life, including his father Kingsley, his mentor Saul Bellow, a...
ListenAyad Akhtar examines the soul of America through his own family's story in Homeland Elegies from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and novelist spoke with Eleanor Wachtel about his deeply personal new book, which explores the American dream through the story of his Pakistani immigrant pare...
ListenNatasha Trethewey's Memorial Drive is a moving tribute to her mother's life from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Pulitzer Prize-winner talked to Eleanor Wachtel about Memorial Drive, her memoir that engages with the trauma of her mother's murder by an abusive ex-husband. Warning: this interview includes d...
ListenDionne Brand, Margaret Drabble, Deborah Eisenberg & Andrew O'Hagan reflect on life and writing from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
2020 marks the 30th anniversary of Writers & Company. Since we can't celebrate in person, Eleanor revisits the 20th anniversary special with four writers in conversation in Toronto in 2010.
ListenFatima Bhutto on her powerful and tragic political family and the lure of extremism for the young from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Pakistani writer spoke with Eleanor Wachtel about growing up as part of the Bhutto dynasty, her family's painful legacy, and her new novel, The Runaways.
ListenMira Nair's adaptation of A Suitable Boy looks at family and political tensions in post-partition India from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Indian filmmaker spoke with Eleanor Wachtel about her screen adaptation of Vikram Seth's bestselling novel. The series was the closing night presentation at TIFF 2020.
ListenIn Intimations, Zadie Smith reflects deeply on isolation and injustice from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The latest book from the bestselling author is an insightful and moving essay collection exploring ideas and questions prompted by this time of social isolation.
ListenHow the tragic story of Shakespeare’s son Hamnet inspired Maggie O’Farrell’s prize-winning novel from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Eleanor Wachtel speaks with Maggie O’Farrell, winner of the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel, Hamnet & Judith.
ListenAnn Patchett on the true meaning of beauty and her prize-winning novel, Bel Canto from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The American author talked to Eleanor in 2004 about her novel Bel Canto and her memoir Truth and Beauty, a moving reflection on her friendship with poet Lucy Grealy.
Listen'Each novel is a journey.' Rose Tremain explores the exile experience in her vivid, engaging fiction from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The award-winning British author spoke with Eleanor in 2010 about her novels Trespass and The Road Home.
ListenChimamanda Ngozi Adichie on why she can't stay silent from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The influential Nigerian author talked to Eleanor in 2009 about her short story collection, The Thing Around Your Neck, and her award-winning novel, Half of a Yellow Sun.
ListenCarol Shields finds a way home through the mazes of Larry’s Party from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
To kick off a series celebrating the 25th anniversary of the U.K. Women's Prize for Fiction, Eleanor revisits her 1997 conversation with Carol Shields, on her prize-winning novel Larry's Party.
ListenP.D. James at 100: the thrills and mysteries of her life as a crime writer from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
To mark the anniversary of the birth of P.D. James, Eleanor revisits her 2000 conversation with the late British author of the Adam Dalgleish crime series. James died on Nov. 27, 2014, at age 94.
ListenThe imaginative leaps of German filmmaker Wim Wenders from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The iconic German director spoke to Eleanor Wachtel in 2011 about choreographer Pina Bausch — and how his encounter with her and her work changed his life.
ListenOpera superstar Jessye Norman reflects on political activism and her 50-year career in music from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The gifted soprano spoke with Eleanor Wachtel about her life and work on stage in Toronto in early 2019. Norman died on Sept. 30, 2019.
ListenThe legacy of Milton Glaser: designer of the iconic I Love New York logo from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Speaking to Eleanor in 2010, the influential graphic designer shared stories behind his famous creations, from I Love NY to his Bob Dylan poster. Glaser died on June 26, 2020, his 91st birthday.
ListenEva Hoffman on getting lost — and found — in time, language and memory from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The author of Lost in Translation and After Such Knowledge talked to Eleanor in 2010 about her experience of emigrating from post-war Poland to suburban Vancouver, and retracing her family's Holoca...
ListenFrom The Book of Salt to The Sweetest Fruits, Monique Truong's fiction explores the hunger of the soul from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Vietnamese American writer spoke with Eleanor Wachtel about the meaning of food in her life and work, and why she writes about characters in the margins of history.
ListenFilmmaker John Boorman on Point Blank, Deliverance and his new memoir, Conclusions from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The English director, producer and screenwriter shares stories and insights from his award-winning career that spans 50 years.
ListenThe enduring appeal of Charles Dickens: still entertaining us, 150 years later from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
On the 150th anniversary of Dickens's death, Eleanor revisits her 2011 conversation with British biographer Claire Tomalin.
ListenAmerican poet Jericho Brown speaks with power and urgency about racism and violence from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry talks to Eleanor Wachtel about the legacy of racial injustice and his award-winning collection, The Tradition.
ListenHow Emily Dickinson was fuelled by the light of her brilliant interior world from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The author of These Fevered Days, Martha Ackmann explores how Dickinson wrote impassioned poetry from a life of solitude and seclusion.
ListenStefan Hertmans pursues a tale of star-crossed love in the Middle Ages from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The acclaimed Flemish author talks to Eleanor about The Convert, a love story between a young Christian woman and a Jewish student amid the chaos and terror of the First Crusade.
ListenSharon Olds on the joy and peril of writing deeply personal poetry from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet spoke with Eleanor Wachtel in 2016 about her collection Odes — a celebration of the ordinary.
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