Granta

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to the novelist Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life (2020) and The Late Americans (2023), about naturalism, the future of fiction, and the connection between Émile Zola and The Sims. We also discuss Taylor’s short story ‘Stalin, Lenin, Robespierre’, which appeared in Granta 166: Generations. You can read ‘Stalin, Lenin, Robespierre’ here. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In 2022 Jamaica Kincaid spoke to editor Josie Mitchell about childhood, the concept of memory and her early love of Paradise Lost. Jamaica Kincaid grew up on the island of Antigua. She began writing for the New Yorker and went on to publish many books, including the novel Annie John and the collection of stories At the Bottom of the River. A number of her books have recently been reissued, or are forthcoming, from Picador in the UK.

Last year Claire-Louise Bennett and editor Josie Mitchell talked about rereading, resisting homogenisation and committing to the process of unravelling. Claire-Louise Bennett is the author of Pond, a collection of short stories, and the 2021 novel Checkout 19. Read an extract of Bennett's novel here.

In 2022 Lynne Tillman and editor Josie Mitchell discussed the afterlife of novels, haunted houses and the sexual revolution. Lynne Tillman is the author of many books, including the 2006 novel American Genius: A Comedy and the 2014 essay collection, What Would Lynne Tillman Do? Two of Tillman’s early works are now published in the UK by Peninsula Press: Weird Fucks and Haunted Houses. Read an excerpt from Tillman’s memoir Mothercare here.

In 2022 Vanessa Onwuemezi spoke to editor Josie Mitchell about Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring, sitting with strangeness and the joy of trying out new sounds on the page. Vanessa Onwuemezi is a writer and poet living in London, her story ‘At the Heart of Things’ won the White Review Short Story Prize in 2019. Her debut story collection, Dark Neighbourhood, was published in 2021 by Fitzcarraldo Editions. Read ‘Cuba’, a short story from Dark Neighbourhood, here.

In 2022 Anthony Anaxagorou and editor Josie Mitchell talked about heritage, national identity and poetry that cannot keep still. Anthony is the author of several volumes of poetry, non-fiction and a collection of short stories. His latest book, Heritage Aesthetics, draws on family migratory histories between Cyprus and the UK to interrogate patriarchy, xenophobia and national divides. Purchase a copy of Anthony Anaxagorou’s new poetry collection, Heritage Aesthetics, here. You can also read poems from his 2019 collection, After the Formalities, here.

In 2022 Ayanna Lloyd Banwo spoke to editor Josie Mitchell about a fear of forgetting, Lapeyrouse Cemetery and our cultural traditions around death. Ayanna Lloyd Banwo is a writer from Trinidad and Tobago currently living in London. Her debut novel When We Were Birds was named one of the Observer’s Best Debuts of 2022 and one of the Economist’s Best Books of 2022. Read an excerpt from When We Were Birds here.

In 2022 Mary Gaitskill talked to editor Josie Mitchell about her fascination with the idea of hell, returning to past creative work and writing characters with different experiences from her own. Mary Gaitskill is the author of Bad Behavior; Two Girls, Fat and Thin; Because They Wanted To; Veronica; Don’t Cry; The Mare; Somebody with a Little Hammer; and This is Pleasure. Her new book, The Devil’s Treasure, is a hybrid work of criticism, memoir and mythography. Her essay ‘Lost Cat’, first published in Granta 107, is available to read here.

In 2021 Eula Biss talked to editor Josie Mitchell on the distortions of capital, bartering with Pokémon cards and the conditions necessary for creativity. Eula Biss is the author of four books, including On Immunity and Notes from No Man’s Land. Her most recent book, Having and Being Had, looks at our beliefs about class and owning property. Read an excerpt from Having and Being Had on granta.com.

Last year Stephanie Sy-Quia spoke to online editor Josie Mitchell about modern cathedrals, telling her grandmothers’ stories and the impulse to categorise. Stephanie Sy-Quia’s debut poetry collection Amnion was selected as a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Her writing has appeared in the FT Weekend, the TLS, the Economist, the Spectator and TANK magazine, and has twice been shortlisted for the FT Bodley Head Essay Prize. You can read an excerpt from Amnion on granta.com.

Last year Tice Cin spoke to Josie Mitchell about poetry, brutalist architecture and returning home. Tice Cin is an interdisciplinary artist from north London. Her debut novel Keeping the House has been longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. A DJ and music producer, she also hosts Homing Tunes, a show on Threads Radio. Get a copy of Keeping the House. Read ‘Census’, a poem by Gboyega Odubanjo, on granta.com.

In 2021 Anuk Arudpragasam spoke to Josie Mitchell about the influence of Thomas Bernhard, writing in the wake of war and his relationship to the English language. Arudpragasam was born in Colombo and currently lives between Sri Lanka and India. His debut novel, The Story of a Brief Marriage, won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, and was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. His second book, A Passage North, was since shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. Read an excerpt from A Passage North at granta.com.

Back in the early summer of 2020, the writer Kathryn Scanlan joined Josie Mitchell to talk about her story collection, The Dominant Animal. They discussed her precarious worlds, the drama of the sentence and working with the writer and editor Diane Williams. ‘Fable’, a story taken from The Dominant Animal , is available to read here.

Joanna Kavenna joins Josie Mitchell to discuss Zed – a sci-fi dystopia exploring our fears about the psychological cost of surveillance capitalism. Early in 2020, newly under lockdown, they discussed the psychic threat posed by today’s tech companies, the blurring of citizen and consumer, and the early optimism of cyberspace. You can read an excerpt from the novel on our website for free, and subscribers can also read ‘The Perfect Companion’, an AI short story that journeys further into the world of Zed.

Caleb Klaces joins Josie Mitchell to talk about about his debut novel, Fatherhood – his poet’s account of becoming a father. Back at the beginning of the UK lockdown, they discussed parenting your kids at home, and talked about the expectations placed on fathers and the sense of community on offer to them. You can find poetry and short fiction by Caleb on our website.

Sophie Mackintosh speaks to editor Josie Mitchell about her new novel, Blue Ticket. They talk about what it means to be pregnancy-adjacent, the bloodthirsty aspects of motherhood, and letting the body have what it wants. You can find more fiction by Sophie Mackintosh on Granta.com, including ‘The Last Rite of My Body’ and ‘The Weak Spot’.

Ottessa Moshfegh joined Josie Mitchell to talk about about her novel, Death in Her Name. They discuss the ‘perfect storm’ trapping us inside with our Zoom-ready devices, the propaganda in the air, and the psychological effects of isolation on the elderly narrator of her novel. You can read an excerpt from Death In Her Name here. As well as more fiction from Ottessa on our website and in print.

Carmen Maria Machado discusses her new memoir, In the Dream House, with Josie Mitchell. They discuss memory as architecture, formal experimentation, and making space for queer narrative. Carmen is the author of Her Body and Other Parties. You can read more of her work, including the new story ‘The Lost Performance of the High Priestess of the Temple of Horror’, from our Winter 2020 issue, here.

Josie Mitchell talks to Momtaza Mehri about her pamphlet, Doing the Most with the Least, out with Goldsmiths Shorts. They discuss the value of self-interrogation, the significance of the Black Arts Movement and the limits to checking your privilege. You can read Momtaza’s poetry and essays on our website: https://granta.com/contributor/momtaza-mehri/ And her recent essay in the Guardian, ‘Anti-racism requires so much more than checking your privilege’: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/07/anti-racism-checking-privilege-anti-blackness

Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation, talks to editor Josie Mitchell about her new novel, Weather. They discuss pre-apocalypse warnings, the doomers among us and the draws of prepper culture in a world gone mad. You can read an interview between Jenny and Mark O’Connell, author of Notes from an Apocalypse, on our website: https://granta.com/in-conversation-oconnell-offill/