San Clemente

Pam's debut novel, A Trace of Sun, was long listed for the 2024 Women's Prize for Fiction. Her work has been covered in The Guardian, The Independent, Harper's Bazaar, India Today, Glamour and Good Housekeeping.

After graduating in Fashion at St Martin's School of Art in 1984, Pam was worked as fashion editor at She, Now, PS and Shape.

Her short stories and poetry has been published by the Afrikan Heritage Writers group. She has also won the BlackInk New Writing Prize 2022 and is an alumnus of the writer development agency’s London Writers Award.

Erin went viral with her mashup of White Ferrari and I Know the End (which you can listen to on streaming). She's been on BBC Spotlight, and featured in Clash, Clout, Wonderland and Ones to Watch.

Although she was set to perform at The Great Escape festival, she's chosen to join the boycott on sponsor Barclays in solidarity with Palestine.

If you're looking for an artist set to take over Gen Z's hearts, she's right here.

One of Australian literature's biggest names, Kate has written countless novels about her country, her family and the complexity of the stories we tell. Her book, The Secret River, was Shortlisted for the Booker and won what is now the Women's Prize, as well as the now retired Commonwealth Prize. It's a set text for many teens across Australia and in leading universities.

She's shortlisted for this year's Women's Prize with her latest work, Restless Dolly Maunder, which imagines the life of her grandmother during what Kate calls the "hinge generation".

Akemi is a rising star, and that's according to BBC Introducing, Fred Perry Subculture, Notion, Line of Best Fit & Metal Mag.

She was a guest at Chanel's Métiers d'Art Show in Manchester. She's played at Radio 1's Big Weekend and her song Lemon Tea has 1.7 million streams on Spotify.

She's featured on major Apple Music, Prime Music and Spotify playlists. Among them, Spotify & Chill, Spotify's R&B UK, Café Chillout, Choice Edit, Free Form, the night bus, LED Lights & songs you need to listen to to expand your music taste.

Effie is a scientist and a Women's Prize Longlisted Debut Novelist. This is her first podcast interview, you're welcome.

Her book has featured in The Guardian, The Independent, Harper's Bazaar, Good Housekeeping and The Bookseller.

Not only is Heather a screen and theatre actress, she's a major rising star of British photography. She's been interviewed by The National Portrait Gallery, The Independent, Digital Spy, Tatler and BBC News.

Her screen work includes BBC's This is Going to Hurt and Prime's The Power. And her theatre career includes the Lyric's School Girls or the African Mean Girls Play, the National Theatre's Sankara and, most recently, the Bush Theatre's Shifters.

She's featured in galleries around the world and won prizes such as the London Emerging Photographer Award and the Jerwood Foundation New Work Fund. Arts Council England recently acquired a number of pieces from her latest collection 'ego death'.

She's a Nikon Ambassador for Europe. She has also given lectures at the Tate Modern, Somerset House, The British Library, Southbank Centre, The Centre for British Photography, The London Art Fair, Jerwood Space, The Photo Vogue Festival and Amherst College.

Heather has a BSc in Applied Psychology and an MA in Photography & Urban Cultures too.

Flora's been praised by TLS and Times of London for her debut, The Tower. It's a Bookseller Editor's Choice Pick for March 2024.

She is also a critic & contributor for GQ, The Telegraph, Radio Times, TIME & The Guardian

She's been shortlisted for the V.S Pritchett Short Story Prize, won of the British Vogue Talent Contest and is one of the London Library's 40 Emerging Writers (2020/2021).

Noreen's Memoir, A Flat Place, is now Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction.

It was also a Book of the Year 2023 for The Guardian, Sunday Times & New Yorker. It was longlisted for The Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize, Shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Author of the Year Award 2024 and Shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize 2024.

Noreen lectures at Bristol in 20th Century Literature and has been published in outlets like TLS and Aeon. As an AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinker, she's done broadcast work includes Radio 3 and Radio 4's beloved In Our Time.

Taylor is one of the most exciting artists on your fyp. Her songs I Like Mondays and Quarter Life Crisis have gone super viral.

Quarter Life Crisis sparked a beautiful trend of appreciating our younger self and who we are now. Very fitting for her honest, empathetic writing style. It was streamed over 30 million times and used for 400k+ videos, even by Drew Barrymore and Kevin Jonas.

Her TikTok videos for I Like Mondays, released March 2024, have garnered millions of views. And rightly so. Her next song, Binary Code, is out 3rd May so get ready.

Her music has made it on huge Spotify playlists including: “Viral 50” (#10), “big on the internet,” “Pop Sauce,” “young & free,” “Chill Pop,” “New Pop Picks,” “Hits Don’t Lie," and “songs to scream in the car”.

Marie has been described by the Independent as following in the footsteps of great rock and folk artists. She's been praised by Clash, Line of Best Fit and NME, who listed her on their 2021 Big 10 to watch.

Her new single Rust & Blue is now out.

Lisa is a Hemingway Award Winner and National Book Award Finalist. Her literary criticism has been published in the likes of the Washington Post, NYT & Buzzfeed. Vogue, Elle, Oprah Daily, LitHub & BookRiot have all put Memory Piece on their list Best Books 2024. The Guardian, Dazed, NYT, The Atlantic & People have also given it the praise it deserves.

We talk about what it means to preserve our lives online, how friendships never really fade and what gives value to the time other people spend consuming our work. Also, the history of the Big Apple as seen through her eyes and captured in her novel.

Nana is an artist you should know, just ask Dazed, Paper Mag and Fader. Her 21st century queer cowgirl album, Wyoming, is a masterclass in electronic pop. She's featured on major playlists including Spotify's Indie Chillout & anti pop. Also Zara Home Dining.

Chitra's developed a strong Instagram & TikTok following with only 2 tracks. Self taught, she's captured attention through her unique style, love of visuals and videos of her enjoying the journey.

Meg is on Spotify's Pop Rising List for 2024 along with only 7 other artists in the world. Rolling Stone also selected her for its 8 Rising Pop Stars of the year, under the title: "Who'll be Pop's Next Big Thing?" An incredible achievement for any artist, let alone one who self-releases.

She's also been interviewed by Clout and Wonderland.

Her work is an energising blend of vulnerability and humour that makes her one of the most exciting pop artists in the world today.

Nectar is one of Spotify's UK & IE Rising Stars 2024. You may recognise her from their Billboard in Leicester Square. She's been featured on BBC Introducing and Radio 1's Future Music List. She's also interviewed for Clash and Apple Music.

She's been selected for Spotify's leading playlists including: A Perfect Day, Good Energy, Spotify & Chill, Easy, Fresh Finds R&B, New Pop Revolution, New Music Friday UK, All New All Now, Equal UK & Ireland, New Pop UK, Sweet Soul Sunday, Fresh Finds Class of 2023, Chilled Pop Hits & Notable Releases (to name a few!).

Nadine has been praised by Esquire, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan and the great SZA. She's performed around the world, worked with fashion powerhouse Louboutin and featured on the album of international Iraqi rap legend Narcy. Her work focuses on intersectional female empowerment and incorporates her Sudanese, Egyptian and Iranian heritage. 

Her latest track Calm Down is a witty and damning challenge to colonial, capitalist and patriarchal structures that connected especially well with Gen Z, reaching over 1 million views for a single video. 

Irish Essayist Carmel McMahon talks about decolonising storytelling, bringing healing to the past and what time means to us. Her book In Ordinary Time is a brilliant memoir about her own personal history and that of her country. She manages to make the heavy and uncomfortable feel remarkably approachable and freeing. 

She's received deserved praise from The Guardian, The Observer, The Irish Times and Literary Hub as well as award-winning authors like Mary Costello and Priscilla Morris.

Jacqueline's book Fire Rush was shortlisted for the 2023's Women's Prize and Waterstone's Debut Fiction Prize. It's a Sunday Times Best Novel and The Guardian's Best Fiction Book of 2023. It was also one of The Observer's Best Debut Novels. Maggie O'Farrell even gave it her stamp of approval. It's certainly one of the best books I've ever had the privilege of reading.

Here's the blurb courtesy of Penguin's site:

Yamaye lives for the weekend, when she can go raving with her friends at The Crypt, an underground club on the outskirts of London. Then everything changes. Yamaye meets Moose, who she falls deeply in love with, and who offers her the chance of freedom and escape.
After their relationship is brutally cut short, Yamaye goes on a dramatic journey of transformation that leads her to Jamaica, where past and present collide with explosive consequences.

Andrew quite rightly features on The Standard's 2024 New Art Power List and hailed by The Telegraph as an artist saving public galleries. Today, he talks about creating a space through sonic and visual art for the viewer to think and find new ideas. His current exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery is a love letter to one of London's most diverse neighbourhoods. It's also praised by TimeOut. This episode is a moment of celebration for the way we all experience art and what it means for the world. 

Andrew earned his MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art (2019) and BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts (2017). He's also an Associate Lecturer at The Royal College of Art's MA Painting programme. On top of that, he's won the ArtAngel 'Thinking Time' Award (2020) and Tiffany & Co. x Outset Studiomakers Prize (2019).

One of GQ’s Ones to Watch 2024, Lucy has been all over our social media feeds with her hits Kulture Klub and ADHD. Bella Hadid, the inspiration for the former, is also a fan. Kulture Klub's sped up version has 175k+ uses, an accomplishment for even a seasoned star. 

Not only is she a producer and singer, Lucy, along with Rina Sawayama, is a member of ESEA, a writing camp for East and South Asian artists. 

In case that wasn’t enough, Lucy completed her degree in Economics and Burmese at SOAS during the pandemic. As she explains herself, Lucy performed to 60,000 people as a special guest for Bunny Phyoe’s televised NYE countdown in Myanmar. 

Nailah is a multi-instrumental composer and singer who draws on mystical folk and ambient music, as well as legendary tales for her own fantasy world-building. She's been interviewed by the New York Times and NPR about her unique work, incorporating the harp into non-classical composition and her love of British culture.

She's just back from touring with her new album. Love Gaze received an 8/10 rating from Line of Best Fit, who called it 'disarmingly beautiful'. Pitchfork praised its 'lyrical complexity' and elegance.

According to NME: HotWax could be Britain's next great guitar band. They've gained support from Elton John, Louis Tomlinson and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The Guardian, Dork and the Independent have all tipped them as rising stars. The Evening Standard included them in their list of Ones to Watch 2024.

Bassist Lola Sam and Vocalist/Guitarist Talulah Sim-Savage met at school in Hastings and then brought drummer Alfie Sayers on board while studying at BIMM.

Aube's debut novel, River East River West, is one of the most exciting releases of 2024. The dual timeline follows a 14 year old Alva in 2007 and how her American mother's new husband Lu Fang made his fortune in 1985. It's a complex unpacking of capitalism's failures, its effects on our relationships and the impact of increased Western business in Shanghai at the start of this century.

River East River West has received praise from the Wall Street Journal, Oprah Daily and Asian Review of Books, as well as bestsellers Jean Kwok, Vanessa Hua and Catherine Cho.

Info on Aube from her website:

Aube Rey Lescure is a French-Chinese-American writer. She grew up between Provence, northern China, and Shanghai, and graduated from Yale University in 2015. She worked in foreign policy before becoming an itinerant writer.

Toby's debut novel, Fervour, is a stunning examination of Jewish identity, generational trauma and the complexity of moral blame under extreme circumstances. It's a horror that leans into Gothic tales and modern Dark Academia. Unsettling events unfold following the death of the Rosenthal's patriarch, a Holocaust survivor, and Hannah Rosenthal's tell-all book about her father-in-law's experiences.

Among the book's early praise is the Observer, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Publishers Weekly. And of course, yours truly.

Toby has published stories and essays in publications such as Carve Magazine and the LA Review of Books. He earned an MFA in creative writing from NYU and was longlisted for the 2021 V. S. Pritchett Short Story Prize. 

Andrew quite rightly features on The Standard's 2024 New Art Power List and hailed by The Telegraph as an artist saving public galleries. Today, he talks about creating a space through sonic and visual art for the viewer to think and find new ideas. His current exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery is a love letter to one of London's most diverse neighbourhoods. It's also praised by TimeOut. This episode is a moment of celebration for the way we all experience art and what it means for the world. 

Andrew earned his MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art (2019) and BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts (2017). He's also an Associate Lecturer at The Royal College of Art's MA Painting programme. On top of that, he's won the ArtAngel 'Thinking Time' Award (2020) and Tiffany & Co. x Outset Studiomakers Prize (2019).

Michael Isaak's debut EP, Forever is a Scary Word, is exactly what you need for your next flight or train journey. He combines American Folk with traditional Arab instruments for a dreamy soundscape that explores growing pains and layered inner worlds.

He's currently taking a year out from Princeton to develop his music in LA. As his music gains traction on TikTok, only a privileged few will be able to say they listened to him first. You're welcome ;)

Nadine has been praised by Esquire, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan and the great SZA. She's performed around the world, worked with fashion powerhouse Louboutin and featured on the album of international Iraqi rap legend Narcy. Her work focuses on intersectional female empowerment and incorporates her Sudanese, Egyptian and Iranian heritage.

Her latest track Calm Down is a witty and damning challenge to colonial, capitalist and patriarchal structures that connected especially well with Gen Z, reaching over 1 million views for a single video.

One of New Zealand’s most successful authors, Rebecca is finally here in UK bookshops. Greta & Valid, which spent a year at the top of the bestseller list, is a hilarious examination of humanity through two siblings trying their best in Aukland. It’s one of BBC’s Most Anticipated Reads of the Year and recently reviewed in the NYT. 

We talk about the book in passing and die laughing instead. Pt.3 covers Swedish Love Is Blind, awkward interview questions and serious economic information.

Rebecca K Reilly (Ngaati Hine, Ngaati Rehua Ngaatiwai ki Aotea) is a Maaori novelist from Waitaakere, New Zealand. She has a BA (hons) in German and European studies from the University of Auckland and an MA from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, where she won the Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing for 2019.

Andrew quite rightly features on The Standard's 2024 New Art Power List and hailed by The Telegraph as an artist saving public galleries. Today, he talks about creating a space through sonic and visual art for the viewer to think and find new ideas. His current exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery is a love letter to one of London's most diverse neighbourhoods. It's also praised by TimeOut. This episode is a moment of celebration for the way we all experience art and what it means for the world.

Andrew earned his MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art (2019) and BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts (2017). He's also an Associate Lecturer at The Royal College of Art's MA Painting programme. On top of that, he's won the ArtAngel 'Thinking Time' Award (2020) and Tiffany & Co. x Outset Studiomakers Prize (2019).

One of New Zealand’s most successful authors, Rebecca is finally here in UK bookshops. Greta & Valid, which spent a year at the top of the bestseller list, is a hilarious examination of humanity through two siblings trying their best in Aukland. It’s one of BBC’s Most Anticipated Reads of the Year and recently reviewed in the NYT. 

We talk about the book in passing and die laughing instead. Pt.1 covers messy butches, stories about Lorde and public transport. 

Rebecca K Reilly (Ngaati Hine, Ngaati Rehua Ngaatiwai ki Aotea) is a Maaori novelist from Waitaakere, New Zealand. She has a BA (hons) in German and European studies from the University of Auckland and an MA from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, where she won the Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing for 2019.

Elizabeth's novel The Bullet Swallower has sparked a huge buzz from Shondaland, Esquire, the LA Times, NPR and The Telegraph. It covers the beloved tropes of Westerns and goes far beyond with magical realism, dual timelines and a literally damning exploration of colonial heritage. It's one of Good Reads' most anticipated books of 2024- rightly so.

More info on Elizabeth from her website:

One of GQ’s Ones to Watch 2024, Lucy has been all over our social media feeds with her hits Kulture Klub and ADHD. Bella Hadid, the inspiration for the former, is also a fan. Kulture Klub's sped up version has 175k+ uses, an accomplishment for even a seasoned star.

Not only is she a producer and singer, Lucy, along with Rina Sawayama, is a member of ESEA, a writing camp for East and South Asian artists.

In case that wasn’t enough, Lucy completed her degree in Economics and Burmese at SOAS during the pandemic. As she explains herself, Lucy performed to 60,000 people as a special guest for Bunny Phyoe’s televised NYE countdown in Myanmar.

We talk about her advice for fellow young musicians, personae, being in your 20's and keeping up friendships.

One of New Zealand’s most successful authors, International Bestseller Rebecca is finally here in UK bookshops thanks to Cornerstone. Greta & Valid, which spent a year at the top of the bestseller list, is a hilarious examination of humanity through two siblings trying their best in Aukland. It’s listed on BBC’s Most Anticipated Reads of the Year and recently reviewed in the NYT. 

We talk about the book in passing and die laughing instead. Pt.1 covers messy butches, stories about Lorde and public transport. 

Rebecca K Reilly (Ngaati Hine, Ngaati Rehua Ngaatiwai ki Aotea) is a Maaori novelist from Waitaakere, New Zealand. She has a BA (hons) in German and European studies from the University of Auckland and an MA from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, where she won the Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing for 2019. (Courtesy of Penguin's site)

Viktoria is the first autistic author nominated for the Booker Prize. All the Little Bird Hearts explores the autistic perspective through motherhood, new friendship and class as the arrival of a glamorous couple one summer in the Lake District threatens life as she knows it. 

We talk about writing from a neurodivergent perspective, Sicilian folklore and developing character. It’s really a masterclass for aspiring writers and a very lovely bookclub episode. 

Poet, Novelist, Translator and lecturer at NYU & Princeton (deep breath) Idra Novey talks about polarisation, rural America, Brooklyn and how to just DO it.

Booker Longlisted and Winner of the Seamus Heaney Award, Sîan is the writer/poet we aspire to be. Her book Pearl is stunning and available where you buy books (maybe even some places you don't). This episode gets into the meaning of place, killing your darlings and writing about complex mental health.

Part 2 is out on Wednesday! Get ready for more on the original poem Pearl and GHOST STORIES (oooOOOOoo).

Everything you wanted to know about curating, art to look out for and what makes a video art not film. Noelle curated this year's exhibition of the finalists for the prize so she has a [rather helpful] insight into some truly fascinating works. Don't say we don't keep you artistically well fed.

Women's Prize Shortlisted Author Jacqueline Crooks talks about her stunning debut Fire Rush. It's a love letter to Black British music in the 70's and the people who made it. She shares her journey to finding her voice, writing advice, methods of decolonising the English language and her iconic wardrobe of one-off pieces.

Pages discussed in the intro: 167-68, 180-81

Alia Al-Senussi works around the world bringing talented artists to major galleries and projects. She talks to Grace about how art can bring social change, her favourite artists and her passion for art from the Middle East. If you want to impress your friends at dinner parties or strangers moving further away from you on public transport, look no further.

Irish Essayist Carmel McMahon talks about decolonising storytelling, bringing healing to the past and what time means to us. Her book In Ordinary Time is a brilliant memoir about her personal history and that of her country. She manages to make the heavy and uncomfortable feel remarkably approachable and freeing. 

Bestselling Novelist Claire Fuller won the 2021 Costa Novel Award and was Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction with her latest work Unsettled Ground, published with Penguin Random House. 

Today, she joins Grace to talk about her relatively recent turn to literature as well as the legality of burying bodies in your garden, the ethics of eating octopuses and what authors owe vs what filmmakers owe to their audience. 

This week film composer Will Bates talks about his work on the upcoming film The Estate. We also cover theremin museums, how to build your own orphanage for musical instruments and finding your path as a musician. 

Marta Franceschini, Fashion Researcher, Fashion Historian and Co-Curator of the Fashioning Masculinities Exhibition at the V&A talks Made In Italy, Tom Ford and obviously the viral moments from Harry Styles and Timotheé Chalamet. Find about the meaning of the suit and the development of menswear to date. Like the exhibition, this conversation goes beyond the binary and keeps in mind the playfulness at the heart of fashion.

Fashioning Masculinities is on at the V&A until 6th Nov.