Explore in conversation
Raymond Antrobus | Interview
Raymond Antrobus
‘I can’t tell anyone what to take away from my work, that is what capital L literature is in some ways, a conversation with the ghosts all around us.’
No Justice, No Peace
Chris Knapp
Chris Knapp on the systemic racism and violence of the French police, and the grassroots organisations that are campaigning for change.
Best Book of 1987: The Door
Hannah Williams
‘Szabó offers a veneration of the rituals of the everyday, for how pride in what we do, in how we give to others, can elevate us.’ Hannah Williams on The Door by Magda Szabó, the best book of 1987.
Best Book of Any Year: A Thousand and One Nights
Mazen Maarouf
Mazen Maarouf on why A Thousand and One Nights is the best book of any year.
Best Book of 2013:
The Crocodiles
Noor Naga
Noor Naga on why The Crocodiles by Youssef Rakha is the best book of 2013.
Best Book of 1928: Quicksand
Lucy Ives
Lucy Ives argues that Nella Larsen – author of ‘terse, obsessively observed fiction’ – penned the best book of 1928.
Best Book of 2014: H is for Hawk
Chigozie Obioma
Chigozie Obioma on Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk, the best book of 2014.
Best book of 2015: The Argonauts
Lucia Osborne-Crowley
Lucia Osborne-Crowley on why The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson is the best book of 2015.
Best Book of 1993: The Smell of Apples
Magogodi oaMphela Makhene
Magogodi oaMphela Makhene on Mark Behr’s The Smell of Apples.
Best Book of 1963: The Group
Julia Armfield
‘Cigarettes, lorgnons, eggs benedict, cocktails mixed with maple syrup, long spills down Lanvin suits.’ Julia Armfield on why Mary McCarthy’s The Group is the best book of 1963.
Best book of 1962: The Pumpkin Eater
Nicole Flattery
Nicole Flattery on why Penelope Mortimer’s The Pumpkin Eater is the best book of 1962.
Best Book of 1952: The Palm-Wine Drinkard
Sandra Newman
Sandra Newman on why Amos Tutuola’s The Palm-Wine Drinkard is the best book of 1952.
Best Book of 2001: Natural Goodness
Julian Baggini
Julian Baggini on why Philippa Foot’s Natural Goodness is the best book of 2001.
Best Book of 1937: Busman’s Honeymoon
Caroline Crampton
Caroline Crampton on why Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers is the best book of 1937.
Best Book of 2005: Everything Good Will Come
’Pemi Aguda
’Pemi Aguda on Sefi Atta’s Everything Good Will Come, the best book of 2005.
Best Book of 1944: Transit
Lauren Aimee Curtis
Lauren Aimee Curtis on why Transit by Anna Seghers is the best book of 1944.
Best Book of 2009: I Am Not Sidney Poitier
Will Ashon
Will Ashon on why I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett is the best book of 2009.
Best Book of 1989: A House with Four Rooms
Esther Rutter
Esther Rutter on why A House with Four Rooms by Rumer Godden is the best book of 1989.
Best Book of 1993: To Live
Jianan Qian
Jianan Qian on why Yu Hua’s To Live is the best book of 1993.
Best Book of 1982: The Years of Lyndon Johnson
Beth Gardiner
Beth Gardiner on why volume one of Robert Caro’s The Years of Lyndon Johnson series is the best book of 1982.
Robert Macfarlane and Adam Scovell In Conversation
Robert Macfarlane & Adam Scovell
Robert Macfarlane and Adam Scovell discuss their literary and cinematic influences, the difference between directing and writing and the dramatic scenery of Orford Ness.
Joanna Kavenna
and Peter Pomerantsev
In Conversation
Joanna Kavenna & Peter Pomerantsev
‘We are real in an unreal reality, which we’re told is really real and that we’re actually unreal.’
Interview with Constantia Soteriou
Constantia Soteriou
Constantia Soteriou discusses the possibilities of fiction, the oral narratives of women and belonging to a new generation of Cypriot writers with Granta magazine.
Elvia Wilk and Leah Dieterich in Conversation
Elvia Wilk & Leah Dieterich
‘Dystopia is always already here, and so is utopia. What does it mean to accept that we're already living in both?’
Sandra Newman In Conversation
Sandra Newman & Lucy Diver
‘While you’re still arguing you still have hope.’
Jonathan Levi | Interview
Jonathan Levi
‘It’s a miracle that Granta survived our mutual adolescence. And yet, it was that smell of teenage spirit that brought Graham Greene and Martha Gellhorn and Hanif Kureishi to our pages.’
Pallavi Aiyar and Poppy Sebag-Montefiore In Conversation
Pallavi Aiyar & Poppy Sebag-Montefiore
‘There’s a lot I’ve written to you that I’ve never said to anyone else before simply because of how much you and I share.’
Lucy Ives and Niina Pollari In Conversation
Lucy Ives & Niina Pollari
‘For me, narratives are always tied to and emerging from other narratives; there is no single beginning, no origin.’
Liz Berry and Mona Arshi In Conversation
Liz Berry & Mona Arshi
‘I longed for poems to meet me in my sorrow and help me know how to live in that new world, how to survive it.’
Daisy Johnson and Alan Trotter In Conversation
Daisy Johnson & Alan Trotter
Daisy Johnson and Alan Trotter discuss their latest novels, how they approach research, and the ways in which myths, horror movies and detective fiction influence their writing.
Politics in the Consulting Room
Adam Phillips & Devorah Baum
‘In politics people think they know what they want, and in psychoanalysis the assumption is that they don’t know.’ Adam Phillips in conversation with Devorah Baum.
Letters from Prison
Basel Ghattas & Einat Weizman
Letters from Basel Ghattas, an Israeli-Arab member of parliament imprisoned for smuggling cell phones to Palestinian prisoners.
Best Book of 1949: The Thief’s Journal
Holly Pester
‘To read it is to feel the alternative tempo in the rude repetitions of the thief who loves to steal.’
