Always Take Notes
By Always Take Notes
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Subscribers: 91
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Episodes: 237
Description
Always Take Notes is a fortnightly podcast from London for and about writers and writing. Hosts Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd speak to a diverse range of people in the industry on a variety of topics, from the mysteries of slush piles and per-word rates, to how data are changing the ways newspapers do business and how to pitch a book. patreon.com/alwaystakenotes
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
|
Lauren Groff on book bans, artificial intelligence and what novels set in the past reveal about the present
|
Apr 28, 2026 |
|
Jason Burke on his career as a foreign correspondent and unravelling 1970s terror networks in his new book
|
Apr 14, 2026 |
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Katy Hessel on making museums accessible, writing "The Story of Art without Men" and the value of an art-history degree
|
Mar 31, 2026 |
|
Doug Naylor on creating iconic 80s and 90s TV, a hit novelty song and books for children
|
Mar 17, 2026 |
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Mary Beard on "The Odyssey", "Gladiator 2" and why popular culture is always in dialogue with the ancient world
|
Mar 03, 2026 |
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Jacques Testard on setting up Fitzcarraldo Editions, publishing fiction in translation and those blue-and-white covers
|
Feb 17, 2026 |
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Nicole Vanderbilt on how Bookshop.org is taking on Amazon through recommendations, not algorithms
|
Feb 03, 2026 |
|
Frank Close on the nuclear age, physics' forgotten figures and writing for a general audience
|
Jan 20, 2026 |
|
#229: Moira Buffini, playwright, screenwriter and novelist
|
Jan 06, 2026 |
|
#228: Salman Rushdie, novelist
|
Dec 23, 2025 |
|
#227: Michelle Paver, novelist
|
Dec 09, 2025 |
|
#226: Anthony Horowitz, novelist
|
Nov 25, 2025 |
|
#225: Susan Choi, novelist
|
Nov 11, 2025 |
|
#224: Dean Koontz, novelist
|
Oct 28, 2025 |
|
#223: Sarah Perry, novelist
|
Oct 14, 2025 |
|
#222: James Alistair Henry, screenwriter and novelist
|
Sep 30, 2025 |
|
#221: Eimear McBride, novelist
|
Sep 16, 2025 |
|
#220: Anthony Cheetham, publisher
|
Sep 02, 2025 |
|
#219: Jacqueline Wilson, novelist
|
Aug 19, 2025 |
|
#218: Jesse Armstrong, screenwriter
|
Aug 05, 2025 |
|
#217: Hallie Rubenhold, historian
|
Jul 22, 2025 |
|
#216: Viet Thanh Nguyen, novelist and academic
|
Jul 08, 2025 |
|
#215: Jojo Moyes, novelist
|
Jun 24, 2025 |
|
#214: Ben Macintyre, journalist and author
|
Jun 10, 2025 |
|
#213: Diana Evans, novelist and journalist
|
May 27, 2025 |
|
#212: Andrew O'Hagan, novelist and non-fiction writer
|
May 13, 2025 |
|
#211: Dani Shapiro, novelist and non-fiction writer
|
Apr 29, 2025 |
|
#210: Joshi Herrmann, founder, Mill Media
|
Apr 15, 2025 |
|
#209: Nnedi Okorafor, novelist
|
Apr 01, 2025 |
|
#208: Ben Okri, novelist
|
Mar 18, 2025 |
|
#207: Clair Wills, author and academic
|
Mar 04, 2025 |
|
#206: Tim Winton, novelist
|
Feb 18, 2025 |
|
#205: Hannah Barnes, journalist and author
|
Feb 04, 2025 |
|
#204: Michael Lewis, journalist and author
|
Jan 21, 2025 |
|
#203: Clare Alexander, literary agent, Aitken Alexander Associates
|
Jan 07, 2025 |
|
#202: Philippe Sands, author and lawyer
|
Dec 24, 2024 |
|
#201: Reni Eddo-Lodge, journalist and author
|
Dec 10, 2024 |
|
#200: Frederick Forsyth, novelist
|
Nov 26, 2024 |
|
#199: Paula Hawkins, novelist
|
Nov 12, 2024 |
|
#198: Richard Dawkins, non-fiction author
|
Oct 29, 2024 |
|
#197: Eleanor Moran/Kate Ruby, TV producer and novelist
|
Oct 15, 2024 |
|
#196: Robert Harris, novelist
|
Oct 01, 2024 |
|
#195: Carissa Broadbent, novelist
|
Sep 17, 2024 |
|
#194: Kevin Barry, novelist and short-story writer
|
Sep 03, 2024 |
|
#193: Abi Morgan, screenwriter and playwright
|
Aug 20, 2024 |
|
#192: Harlan Coben, novelist
|
Aug 06, 2024 |
|
#191: Anna Funder, non-fiction author and novelist
|
Jul 23, 2024 |
|
#190: Toby Mundy, literary agent and executive director of the Baillie Gifford Prize
|
Jul 09, 2024 |
|
#189: Naomi Klein, non-fiction author
|
Jun 25, 2024 |
|
#188: Hugo Rifkind, journalist and novelist
|
Jun 11, 2024 |
|
#187: Pari Thomson, editorial director for picture books, Bloomsbury, and children’s author
|
May 28, 2024 |
|
#186: Hisham Matar, novelist and non-fiction writer
|
May 14, 2024 |
|
#185: Bettany Hughes, historian
|
Apr 30, 2024 |
|
#184: Paul Theroux, novelist and travel writer
|
Apr 16, 2024 |
|
#183: Madhumita Murgia, journalist and author
|
Apr 02, 2024 |
|
#182: Nicholas Shakespeare, novelist and biographer
|
Mar 19, 2024 |
|
#181: Juliet Mabey, co-founder and publisher, Oneworld Publications
|
Mar 05, 2024 |
|
#180: Jo Nesbø, novelist
|
Feb 20, 2024 |
|
#179: Jhumpa Lahiri, novelist and short-story writer
|
Feb 06, 2024 |
|
#178: Adam Thirlwell, novelist
|
Jan 23, 2024 |
|
#177: Philippa Gregory, novelist and historian
|
Jan 09, 2024 |
|
#176: Henry Jeffreys, drinks writer
|
Dec 26, 2023 |
|
#175: Kassia St. Clair, journalist and author
|
Dec 12, 2023 |
|
#174: Adam Sisman, biographer
|
Nov 28, 2023 |
|
#173: Victoria Hislop, novelist
|
Nov 14, 2023 |
|
#172: Anjan Sundaram, journalist and author
|
Oct 31, 2023 |
|
#171: Sarah Braybrooke, publishing director, Ithaka Press
|
Oct 20, 2023 |
|
#170: Frank Cottrell-Boyce, author and screenwriter
|
Oct 03, 2023 |
|
#169: Helen Macdonald, nature writer and novelist
|
Sep 19, 2023 |
|
#168: Lee Child, novelist
|
Sep 05, 2023 |
|
#167: Megan Nolan, novelist and journalist
|
Aug 22, 2023 |
|
#166: James Daunt, managing director, Waterstones, CEO, Barnes & Noble
|
Aug 08, 2023 |
|
#165: Francesca Main, publisher, Phoenix Books
|
Jul 25, 2023 |
|
#164: Albert Read, managing director, Condé Nast Britain
|
Jul 11, 2023 |
|
#163: Abigail Bergstrom, literary agent and novelist
|
Jun 27, 2023 |
|
#162: Nels Abbey, author and co-founder of the Black Writers Guild
|
Jun 13, 2023 |
|
#161: Sophie Lambert, literary agent, C&W
|
May 30, 2023 |
|
#160: Jed Mercurio, screenwriter and novelist
|
May 16, 2023 |
|
#159: Carrie Plitt, literary agent, Felicity Bryan Associates
|
May 02, 2023 |
|
#158: David Wolf, editor, Guardian Long Read
|
Apr 18, 2023 |
|
#157: Sally Hayden, journalist and author
|
Apr 04, 2023 |
|
#156: Fraser Nelson, editor, The Spectator
|
Mar 21, 2023 |
|
#155: Karolina Sutton, literary agent, Creative Artists Agency
|
Mar 07, 2023 |
|
#154: Ian McEwan, novelist
|
Feb 21, 2023 |
|
#153: Tessa Hadley, novelist and short-story writer
|
Feb 07, 2023 |
|
#152: Orlando Figes, historian
|
Jan 24, 2023 |
|
#151: Moya Lothian-McLean, contributing editor, Novara Media
|
Jan 10, 2023 |
|
#150: Mohsin Hamid, novelist
|
Dec 27, 2022 |
|
#149: Merve Emre, author, academic and literary critic
|
Dec 13, 2022 |
|
#148: Oliver Bullough, journalist and author
|
Nov 29, 2022 |
|
#147: Tina Brown, journalist, editor and author
|
Nov 15, 2022 |
|
#146: Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, academic and author
|
Nov 01, 2022 |
|
#145: Kit de Waal, novelist and short-story writer
|
Oct 18, 2022 |
|
#144: Marlon James, novelist
|
Oct 04, 2022 |
|
#143: Perminder Mann, CEO, Bonnier Books UK
|
Sep 20, 2022 |
|
#142: Irvine Welsh, novelist and screenwriter
|
Sep 06, 2022 |
|
#141: Lauren Child, children's author and illustrator
|
Aug 23, 2022 |
|
#140: Colin Thubron, travel writer and novelist
|
Aug 09, 2022 |
|
#139: Antonia Fraser, historian and novelist
|
Jul 26, 2022 |
|
#138: Sebastian Junger, journalist, author and film-maker
|
Jul 12, 2022 |
|
#137: Monica Ali, novelist
|
Jun 28, 2022 |
|
#136: David Mitchell, novelist
|
Jun 14, 2022 |
|
#135: Sian Meades-Williams, journalist and author
|
May 31, 2022 |
|
#134: Toby Harnden, journalist and author
|
May 17, 2022 |
|
#133: Ruth Ozeki, novelist
|
May 03, 2022 |
|
#132: George Packer, journalist and author
|
Apr 19, 2022 |
|
#131: Christina Patterson, journalist and author
|
Apr 05, 2022 |
|
#130: David Nicholls, novelist and screenwriter
|
Mar 22, 2022 |
|
#129: Maggie Fergusson, author and journalist
|
Mar 08, 2022 |
|
#128: David Shelley, CEO, Hachette UK
|
Feb 22, 2022 |
|
#127: Katie Kitamura, novelist
|
Feb 08, 2022 |
|
#126: Alex Kay-Jelski, editor-in-chief, the Athletic UK
|
Jan 25, 2022 |
|
#125: Elif Shafak, novelist
|
Jan 11, 2022 |
|
#124: Howard Jacobson, novelist
|
Dec 28, 2021 |
|
#123: Marianne Tatepo, commissioning editor, Ebury Press
|
Dec 14, 2021 |
|
#122: David Baldacci, novelist
|
Nov 30, 2021 |
|
#121: Hollie McNish, poet
|
Nov 16, 2021 |
|
#120: Gary Younge, journalist and author
|
Nov 02, 2021 |
|
#119: Tracy Chevalier, novelist
|
Oct 19, 2021 |
|
#118: Alex Wade, libel lawyer, journalist and author
|
Oct 05, 2021 |
|
#117: Val McDermid, novelist
|
Sep 21, 2021 |
|
#116: William Dalrymple, historian and travel writer
|
Sep 07, 2021 |
|
#115: Aminatta Forna, novelist and non-fiction writer
|
Aug 24, 2021 |
|
#114: Henry Winter, chief football writer, The Times
|
Aug 10, 2021 |
|
#113: Lennie Goodings, chair of Virago Press
|
Jul 27, 2021 |
|
#112: Simon Scarrow, novelist
|
Jul 13, 2021 |
|
#111: Kate Mosse, novelist and founder of the Women's Prize For Fiction
|
Jun 29, 2021 |
|
#110: William Boyd, novelist and screenwriter
|
Jun 15, 2021 |
|
#109: Terri White, editor-in-chief, Empire magazine, and author
|
Jun 01, 2021 |
|
#108: Jonny Geller, literary agent, Curtis Brown
|
May 18, 2021 |
|
#107: Leaf Arbuthnot, journalist and novelist
|
May 04, 2021 |
|
#106: Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and novelist
|
Apr 20, 2021 |
|
#105: Rosie Nixon, editor-chief, Hello! magazine and novelist
|
Apr 06, 2021 |
|
#104: Simon Akam, magazine writer and author
|
Mar 23, 2021 |
|
#103: Samira Shackle, freelance writer and author
|
Mar 09, 2021 |
|
#102: Jack Thorne, playwright and screenwriter
|
Feb 23, 2021 |
|
#101: Natalie Haynes, author and comedian
|
Feb 09, 2021 |
|
#100: James Ashton, business journalist and author
|
Jan 26, 2021 |
|
#99: Sirin Kale, feature writer
|
Jan 12, 2021 |
|
#98: Ed Needham, editor Strong Words, former editor FHM, Maxim, Rolling Stone
|
Dec 29, 2020 |
|
#97: Rebecca Giggs, author
|
Dec 15, 2020 |
|
#96: Samanth Subramanian, magazine writer and author
|
Dec 01, 2020 |
|
#95: Emily Hayward-Whitlock, book-to-film agent
|
Nov 17, 2020 |
|
#94: Patrick Radden Keefe, author and New Yorker staff writer
|
Nov 03, 2020 |
|
#93: Phoebe Hurst, managing editor, Vice UK
|
Oct 20, 2020 |
|
#92: Alexander McCall Smith, novelist
|
Oct 06, 2020 |
|
#91: Linda Grant, writer and novelist
|
Sep 22, 2020 |
|
#90: Geoff Dyer, author
|
Sep 08, 2020 |
|
#89: Amanda Craig, novelist
|
Aug 25, 2020 |
|
#88: Toby Young, journalist and author
|
Aug 11, 2020 |
|
#87: Anne Enright, novelist
|
Jul 28, 2020 |
|
#86: Matthew Syed, author and journalist
|
Jul 14, 2020 |
|
#85: Louise Doughty, novelist
|
Jun 30, 2020 |
|
#84: Guy Stagg, travel writer
|
Jun 16, 2020 |
|
#83: Hadley Freeman, journalist and author
|
Jun 02, 2020 |
|
#82: Colum McCann, novelist
|
May 19, 2020 |
|
#81: Alysoun Owen, editor of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook
|
May 05, 2020 |
|
#80: Tim Rice, lyricist
|
Apr 21, 2020 |
|
#79: Sophie Elmhirst, magazine writer
|
Apr 07, 2020 |
|
#78: Simon Lancaster, speechwriter
|
Mar 24, 2020 |
|
#77: Kiley Reid, novelist
|
Mar 10, 2020 |
|
#76: Giles Hattersley, features director, British Vogue
|
Feb 25, 2020 |
|
#75: Lisa Taddeo, author and journalist
|
Feb 11, 2020 |
|
#74: Jay Rayner, restaurant critic, the Observer
|
Jan 22, 2020 |
|
#73: Alexandra Pringle, editor-in-chief, Bloomsbury Publishing
|
Jan 14, 2020 |
|
#72: Charles Moore, journalist and biographer
|
Dec 31, 2019 |
|
#71: Tanya Gold, freelance journalist
|
Dec 17, 2019 |
|
#70: Robbie Collin, Telegraph film critic
|
Dec 03, 2019 |
|
#69: Laura Weir, editor-in-chief, ES Magazine
|
Nov 19, 2019 |
|
#68: Simon Robinson, global managing editor, Thomson Reuters
|
Nov 05, 2019 |
|
#67: Anna Davis, director, Curtis Brown Creative
|
Oct 22, 2019 |
|
#66: Ferdinand Addis, historian
|
Oct 08, 2019 |
|
#65: May Jeong, magazine writer
|
Sep 24, 2019 |
|
#64: Jeffrey Archer, novelist
|
Sep 10, 2019 |
|
#63: Zahra Hankir, editor and anthologist
|
Aug 27, 2019 |
|
#62: Jamie Glazebrook, executive producer, Peaky Blinders
|
Aug 13, 2019 |
|
#61: Ruth Padel, poet
|
Jul 30, 2019 |
|
#60: James Graham, playwright and screenwriter
|
Jul 16, 2019 |
|
#59: Christina Lamb, chief foreign correspondent, the Sunday Times
|
Jul 02, 2019 |
|
#58: Jon Lee Anderson, staff writer, the New Yorker
|
Jun 18, 2019 |
|
#57: Anna Codrea-Rado, campaigner for freelancer rights
|
Jun 04, 2019 |
|
#56: Ed Caesar, magazine writer
|
May 21, 2019 |
|
#55: Ann Goldstein, Elena Ferrante's translator
|
May 07, 2019 |
|
#54: Kamal Ahmed, editorial director, BBC News
|
Apr 23, 2019 |
|
#53: Pandora Sykes, journalist and podcaster
|
Apr 09, 2019 |
|
#52: Andrew Hankinson, journalist and author
|
Mar 26, 2019 |
|
#51: Jennifer Croft, Booker Prize winning translator
|
Mar 12, 2019 |
|
#50: Alex Perry, journalist and author
|
Feb 26, 2019 |
|
#49: Farrah Storr, editor-in-chief, Cosmopolitan UK
|
Feb 12, 2019 |
|
#48: Dan Franklin, associate publisher, Jonathan Cape
|
Jan 29, 2019 |
|
#47: Rebecca Mead, staff writer, the New Yorker
|
Jan 15, 2019 |
|
#46: Mark Haddon, novelist
|
Jan 01, 2019 |
|
#45: Alexa von Hirschberg, senior commissioning editor, Bloomsbury
|
Dec 18, 2018 |
|
#44: Dylan Jones, editor, British GQ
|
Dec 04, 2018 |
|
#43: Daisy Johnson, novelist
|
Nov 20, 2018 |
|
#42: Ian Rankin, novelist
|
Nov 06, 2018 |
|
#41: Hermione Lee, biographer
|
Oct 23, 2018 |
|
#40: Richard Skinner, director of the fiction programme at the Faber Academy
|
Oct 09, 2018 |
|
#39: Cal Flyn, author
|
Sep 25, 2018 |
|
#38: Rory Stewart, author
|
Sep 11, 2018 |
|
#37: Clare Conville, literary agent, C+W
|
Aug 28, 2018 |
|
#36: Lionel Barber, editor, the Financial Times
|
Aug 14, 2018 |
|
#35: Joanne Harris, novelist
|
Jul 31, 2018 |
|
#34: Niall Ferguson, historian
|
Jul 17, 2018 |
|
#33: Louisa Joyner, editorial director, Faber & Faber
|
Jul 03, 2018 |
|
#32: Jeremy Gavron, author
|
Jun 19, 2018 |
|
#31: Lucy Hughes-Hallett, author
|
Jun 05, 2018 |
|
#30: Jonathan Shainin, editor, Guardian Long Read
|
May 22, 2018 |
|
#29: Julia Kelly, romance novelist
|
May 08, 2018 |
|
#28: Peter Moffat, BAFTA-winning screenwriter
|
Apr 24, 2018 |
|
#27: Helen Lewis, deputy editor, the New Statesman
|
Apr 10, 2018 |
|
#26: Max Hastings, military historian
|
Mar 27, 2018 |
|
#25: Hannah Westland, publisher, Serpent's Tail
|
Mar 13, 2018 |
|
#24: Laura Palmer, publishing director, Head of Zeus
|
Feb 27, 2018 |
|
#23: Ben Judah, journalist and author of This is London
|
Feb 13, 2018 |
|
#22: Patrick Kingsley, New York Times correspondent
|
Jan 30, 2018 |
|
#21: Nikesh Shukla, author
|
Jan 16, 2018 |
|
#20: Antony Beevor, military historian
|
Jan 02, 2018 |
|
#19: Sam Knight, magazine writer
|
Dec 19, 2017 |
|
#18: Joelle Owusu, editor, Unbound
|
Dec 05, 2017 |
|
#17: Candice Carty-Williams, senior marketing executive, Vintage Books
|
Nov 21, 2017 |
|
#16: Nick Summers, features editor, Bloomberg Businessweek
|
Nov 07, 2017 |
|
#15: Oliver Franklin-Wallis, commissioning editor, British Wired
|
Oct 24, 2017 |
|
#14: Kiran Millwood Hargrave, winner, Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2017
|
Oct 05, 2017 |
|
#13: Tom Standage, deputy editor, The Economist
|
Sep 26, 2017 |
|
#12: Patrick Walsh, literary agent, PEW Literary
|
Sep 12, 2017 |
|
#11: Tom Jennings, director, Logan Nonfiction Programme
|
Aug 29, 2017 |
|
#10: Alice Fishburn, editor, FT Weekend Magazine
|
Aug 14, 2017 |
|
#9: Sara Baume, novelist
|
Aug 01, 2017 |
|
#8: Stig Abell, editor, Times Literary Supplement (TLS)
|
Jul 18, 2017 |
|
#7: Sharmaine Lovegrove, publisher, Dialogue Books
|
Jul 03, 2017 |
|
#6: Nicola Solomon, chief executive, The Society of Authors
|
Jun 20, 2017 |
|
#5: Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads
|
Jun 06, 2017 |
|
#4: Giles Wilson, founding editor, BBC News Magazine
|
May 22, 2017 |
|
#3: Laura Barber, publishing director and editorial director, Portobello Books and Granta
|
May 09, 2017 |
|
#2: Imogen Pelham, literary agent, Marjacq
|
Apr 25, 2017 |
|
#1: Jonathan Beckman, deputy editor, 1843
|
Apr 02, 2017 |