Always Take Notes

Latest Episodes:

#87: Anne Enright, novelist Jul 28, 2020

Show notes

Rachel and Simon speak with the author Anne Enright. Anne has written two collections of stories, one book of non-fiction and six novels. “The Gathering”, which was published in 2007, won the Booker Prize; Anne has also received the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award. In 2015 she was appointed the first Laureate for Irish Fiction and in 2018 she received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature. We spoke to Anne about creative writing programmes, her loathing of routine and writing “Actress” during the emergence of the #MeToo movement.

penguin.co.uk/authors/1009089/anne-enright.html

penguin.co.uk/books/1069718/the-gathering/9780099501633.html

penguin.co.uk/books/1118568/actress/9781787332065.html

You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Nicola Kean. Our social media is run by Katy Lee. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

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#86: Matthew Syed, author and journalist Jul 14, 2020

Show notes

Rachel and Simon speak with Matthew Syed, an author and journalist who writes about the practices and techniques that underpin high performance. He has written six books on the subject - including the best-sellers "Bounce" and "Black Box Thinking" - and has worked as a consultant with many leading organisations. He is also a journalist for The Times and a regular contributor to television and radio. In his previous career, Matthew was the England table tennis number one for almost a decade. We spoke to Matthew about his hugely successful popular science books, how he combined table tennis with breaking into journalism, and the challenges of writing a column.

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#85: Louise Doughty, novelist Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

Rachel and Simon speak with Louise Doughty. Louise is the author of nine novels, including “Apple Tree Yard”, a number-one bestseller which was adapted as a four-part series by the BBC. Her sixth novel, “Whatever You Love”, was nominated for the Costa Novel Award and Orange Prize for Fiction; her eighth novel, “Black Water”, was chosen by the New York Times as one of their Notable Books of the Year. Her work has been translated into 30 languages. We spoke to Louise about creative writing programmes, the vexing “chick lit” label and her extensive research process.

https://www.louisedoughty.com/

https://louisedoughty.com/apple-tree-yard/

https://louisedoughty.com/whatever-you-love/

https://louisedoughty.com/black-water/

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#84: Guy Stagg, travel writer Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

Simon speaks with the travel writer Guy Stagg. In 2013 Guy, who had grown up in Paris, Heidelberg, Yorkshire and London, walked from Canterbury to Jerusalem. "The Crossway," an account of this journey, was published by Picador in 2018. The book won an Edward Stanford Travel Award and was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award, and the Deborah Rogers Foundation Award. We spoke to Guy about travel writing in the age of Tripadvisor, his long walk to Jerusalem, and how that experience turned into a book. https://www.guystagg.co.uk/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1509844597/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Nicola Kean. Our social media is run by Eoin Redahan. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

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#83: Hadley Freeman, journalist and author Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

Rachel and Simon speak with the journalist Hadley Freeman. She has been a staff writer at the Guardian since 2000, working in London and the US on the fashion desk, as a features writer and as a columnist. She has contributed to other publications including the British and American editions of Vogue, and written several books. We spoke to Hadley about fashion journalism, the challenges of column writing and her family memoir, “House of Glass”. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/01/nicolas-cage-if-i-dont-have-a-job-to-do-it-can-be-very-self-destructive https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/apr/29/tony-slattery-had-very-happy-time-went-slightly-barmy https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008322632/house-of-glass-the-story-and-secrets-of-a-twentieth-century-jewish-family/ You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Nicola Kean. Our social media is run by Eoin Redahan. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

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#82: Colum McCann, novelist May 19, 2020

Show notes

Simon and Rachel speak with Colum McCann, who is the author of six novels and three collections of stories. His novel, "TransAtlantic", was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2013, and his previous novel, "Let the Great World Spin", won the National Book Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and was a New York Times bestseller. His work has been published in 40 languages and he teaches on the MFA program at Hunter College in New York. We spoke with Colum, who was born in Dublin but now lives in New York, about his fiction, his teaching and his new, genre-busting novel "Apeirogon". http://colummccann.com/ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/24/apeirogon-a-novel-by-colum-mccann-book-review http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/creativewriting/ You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Nicola Kean. Our social media is run by Eoin Redahan. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

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#81: Alysoun Owen, editor of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook May 05, 2020

Show notes

Simon and Rachel speak with Alysoun Owen, editor of the “Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook” and the “Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook”, and the author of the “Writers’ & Artists’ Guide to Getting Published”. She has worked in the publishing industry, both in Britain and overseas, for more than 25 years; in 2012 she established her own consultancy. Alysoun talked about the history of the yearbook, first published in 1906, as well as how its content - and how the industry at large - has changed. https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/store/9781472947512/writers-artists-yearbook-2020/ https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/store/9781472950215/writers-artists-guide-to-getting-published/ https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/store/9781472947635/children-s-writers-artists-yearbook-2020/ You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Nicola Kean. Our social media is run by Eoin Redahan. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

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#80: Tim Rice, lyricist Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

Rachel and Simon speak with lyricist Tim Rice, who has worked in music, theatre and films since 1965. In collaboration with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim wrote song lyrics for “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Evita.” He has since worked with other distinguished popular composers such as Elton John (“The Lion King,” “Aida”) and Alan Menken (“Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast”). His awards include three Oscars, four Tonys, five Grammys and one Emmy. Tim spoke about his collaborations with different composers, his songwriting process and the business of musicals. You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Nicola Kean. Our social media is run by Eoin Redahan. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar. Tim Rice photograph is by Charles Francis.

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#79: Sophie Elmhirst, magazine writer Apr 07, 2020

Show notes

Rachel and Simon speak with magazine writer Sophie Elmhirst, a freelance journalist. As well as writing regularly for the Guardian Long Read and The Economist’s 1843 Magazine, on subjects ranging from millennial culture to the inner workings of the tampon business, Sophie is a contributing editor at The Gentlewoman and Harper’s Bazaar. She talked about her decision to enter, leave, and re-enter journalism, producing longform features and how she manages multiple commissions at once. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/11/tampon-wars-the-battle-to-overthrow-the-tampax-empire https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/culture/2012/10/unquiet-mind-hilary-mantel https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/31/intimate-terrorism-domestic-abuse-coercive-control-farieissia-martin https://www.1843magazine.com/features/meet-alexa-inside-the-mind-of-a-digital-native You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Nicola Kean. Our social media is run by Eoin Redahan. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

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#78: Simon Lancaster, speechwriter Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

Simon speaks with Simon Lancaster, who runs Bespoke Speechwriting Services and has written speeches for top politicians and the CEOs of some of the biggest companies in the world, including Unilever, Rio Tinto, and Nestle. Simon is the author of “Speechwriting: The Expert Guide” and “Winning Minds: Secrets from the Language of Leadership.” He is a fellow at Henley Business School, lectures at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, and regularly appears as a media pundit on oratory. Simon told us about his experience writing speeches for British politicians, how the fundamentals of rhetoric have remained consistent across time, language and culture, and how speechwriting is distinct in the business world. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20010904204643/http://www.dti.gov.uk:80/ministers/speeches/johnson160500.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrF1THd4bUM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEqINP-TuV8 You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Nicola Kean. Our social media is run by Eoin Redahan. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

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