A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley

Latest Episodes:

Travelling with Mrs Parnell Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

‘I follow her behind, as a bridesmaid…’

This week, Sally is preparing to travel. To do so, she goes on an imaginative journey with her character, Mrs Parnell, the centrepiece of her forthcoming book of the same name. Listen for a meditation on routine, intimacy, and the journeys, real and imagined, that make up our days.

The wonderful piano music in the closing section is ‘Scorpio’, by Paul Seba. More on Paul and his work can be found here.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Writing Lessons: Responding to Noise and Sound Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

‘Conduct had kept chaos at bay.’

This week, we join Sally once again at work on her next novel, Mrs Parnell, making use of Shirley Hazzard’s The Great Fire (2003) and trying to ignore a mounting number of distractions. Listen for reflections on the embodied nature of the writing ritual, and the process of developing intimacy with character.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

The Humble Paragraph: Part 2 Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

‘Keep your threads firmly tied together…’

This week, we conclude our episode on paragraphs and the writing process. Listen for an insight into Sally’s process of expanding her narratives from the visual towards the historical and biographical, continuing to consider Transit in Venus.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

The Humble Paragraph: Part 1 Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

‘Most of writing is…trying to organise the paragraph into a unit of thought.’

This week, in the first of a two part episode on the writing process, we join Sally in the midst of editing her next novel, Mrs Parnell, considering the organisation of her paragraphs with the help of Shirley Hazzard’s Transit in Venus (1980). Listen for a reflection on visual language, and the choreography of ideas which shape narrative.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Worm in the Bud Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

‘I am trying to draw succour and strength from their song, because I need to sing too…’

This week, we join Sally, amidst distractions both natural and otherwise, reflecting on her latest work, Worm in the Bud. Listen for a meditation on the need for solace, character, and the narrative significance of suspense.

Worm in the Bud is published by The New Menard Press, and is available from all good booksellers. It can be ordered here.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Night Contradicts the Day Jun 08, 2026

Show notes

‘Hölderlin’s lovely blueness

you hold to you,

it is tensile

through the smeared glass’

This week, we join Sally in conversation with poet, critic, and translator Stephen Romer, following the recent publication of his latest poetry pamphlet, Night Contradicts the Day. Listen for reflections on the intimacies - or otherwise - of care, empathy and its absence, and the challenge laid down by the neurodivergent mind. The poems in this pamphlet also stress the redemptive power of the aesthetic.

Stephen’s pamphlet is published by Dare-Gale Press, and can be purchased here.

The Lizst piece mentioned is the famous B-Minor Sonata, and can be listened to here.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

On Doubt May 16, 2026

Show notes

‘To find a way in, through the door, beyond the doubt…’

This week, we join Sally wrestling with the problem of doubt, having just sent her latest novel, Pond Life, to the printers. Listen for a reflection on writing, the body, and the generative possibilities of doubt, via Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

Pond Life will be published in September 2026 by The New Menard Press, and can be pre-ordered here.

The wonderful piano music in the closing section is the appropriately titled ‘Doubt’ by Paul Seba. More information on Paul and his work can be found here.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Poppies in October Revisited Mar 22, 2026

Show notes

‘Even the sun-clouds this morning cannot manage such skirts.’

This week, Sally returns to Sylvia Plath’s ‘Poppies in October.’ Listen for a mediation on the mouth, sound, and their essential role in approaching the lyric.

The wonderful piano music in the closing section is ‘Sirens’ by Paul Seba. More information on Paul and his work can be found here.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Worm in the Bud: A Fable Feb 22, 2026

Show notes

‘Enter Lillian…’

This week, we join Sally once again in conversation with the producer, James Bowen, on the subject of Sally’s latest work, Worm in the Bud: A Fable. Listen for a conversation on interpretation, ambiguity, and the instructive value of narrative.

Worm in the Bud is published by the New Menard Press, and is available from all good booksellers.

The wonderful piano accompanying Sally's reading of 'The Forest' is ‘Monday’, by Paul Seba. More on Paul and his work can be found here.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. More information on James and his work can be found here.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

Sweeping and Editing Jan 24, 2026

Show notes

‘A paragraph made up of waiting…’

We join Sally this week in the process of editing her forthcoming work, Mrs Parnell, focusing in particular on a single paragraph. Listen for a meditation on the creation of space and time in writing, and how a text can carve out a space to pause.

The wonderful piano music in the opening section is ‘Doubt’, by Paul Seba. More on Paul and his work can be found here.

This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.

Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

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