Unsound Methods

In Episode 26, we speak to Vesna Main, author of Good Day? (Salt, 2019) which was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize last year. Vesna has previously published A Woman with No Clothes On (Delancey Press 2008) and The Reader the Writer (Mirador, 2015). Temptation: A User’s Guide, a collection of her short stories, was published by Salt in January 2018. https://www.saltpublishing.com/collections/author-vesna-main Vesna is on Twitter @VesnaMain Find us on Twitter: @UnsoundMethods - @JaimieBatchan - @LochlanBloom Jaimie's Instagram is: @jaimie_batchan Thanks for listening, please like, subscribe and rate Unsound Methods wherever you get your podcasts. Our website is: https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/ Photo credit: Chris Gilbert

In episode 25, we speak to Tony White, author of ‘The Fountain in the Forest’ (Faber, 2018) as well as ‘Road Rage’, ‘Satan Satan Satan’, ‘Charlieunclenorfolktango’, ‘Foxy-T’, ‘Shackleton’s Man Goes South’, the non-fiction title ‘Another Fool in the Balkans’, and many other short stories, novellas and collaborations. He was writer in residence at the Science Museum, and his novella with artists Blast Theory, ‘Zombies Ate My Library’, was shortlisted for for best novella in the Saboteur Awards 2017. We spoke to Tony about using mandated vocabulary, how working with artists who use other forms can lead to new approaches, writing a novel in Multicultural London English, and much more. Tony is on Twitter: @tony_white_ Instagram: @pieceofpaperpress Website: https://pieceofpaperpress.com/ Find us on Twitter: @UnsoundMethods - @JaimieBatchan - @LochlanBloom Jaimie's Instagram is: @jaimie_batchan Thanks for listening, please like, subscribe and rate Unsound Methods wherever you get your podcasts. Our website is

In Episode 24, we speak to Yara Rodrigues Fowler, the author of Stubborn Archivist (Fleet, 2019). We spoke to Yara about publisher demands to make her novel at least twice as long, the power of white space, developing a two-headed bildungsroman, the challenges facing contemporary Brazil and how writers are facing them. You can buy Stubborn Archivist via this page: https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/yara-rodrigues-fowler/stubborn-archivist/9780708899076/ Yara is on Twitter @yazzarf Instagram @yararodriguesfowler And her website is: yararodriguesfowler.com Find us on Twitter: @UnsoundMethods - @JaimieBatchan - @LochlanBloom Jaimie's Instagram is: @jaimie_batchan Thanks for listening, please like, subscribe and rate Unsound Methods wherever you get your podcasts. Our website is: https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/

In Episode 23 we speak to Mazin Saleem, the author of 'the Prick', published as part of Open Pen's series of novelettes.   We speak to Mazin about discovering that you're not really a night-owl, using software to improve your writing productivity, and the freedom of jumping around the manuscript while editing to keep things fresh.   You can buy the Prick here: https://www.openpen.shop/store/p9/theprick.html   You can find out more about Mazin and his writing at: www.mazinsaleem.com The online poetry magazine that Jaimie mentions at the end is called Harana Poetry, and can be found here: https://www.haranapoetry.com/ Mazin isn't on Twitter, but we are: @UnsoundMethods - @JaimieBatchan - @LochlanBloom Jaimie's Instagram is: @jaimie_batchan Thanks for listening, please like, subscribe and rate Unsound Methods wherever you get your podcasts. Our website is: https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/

In episode 22, we speak to Shiromi Pinto, the author of 'Plastic Emotions' (2019, Influx Press) and 'Trussed' (2006, Serpent's Tail). You can order Plastic Emotions here. We spoke to Shiromi about her use of real letters to produce fiction; what she does with her writing offcuts; how far 500 words a day can get you; and losing faith, spiking a project, and then finding the courage to pick it up again to drag it all the way to publication. Shiromi is on Twitter @blimundaseyes As are we: @UnsoundMethods - @JaimieBatchan - @LochlanBloom Jaimie's Instagram is: @jaimie_batchan Thanks for listening, please like, subscribe and rate Unsound Methods wherever you get your podcasts. Our website is: https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/

In episode 21 we sit down with Mathias Énard, winner of the Prix Goncourt, to speak to him about his process, the line between history and fiction and the benefits of a good pair of slippers. Mathias' work includes the novels ‘Zone’, ‘Compass’, ‘Street of Thieves’ and ‘Tell them of Battles, Kings and Elephants’ which he was promoting when we spoke to him towards the end of last year. All of these novels have been published by Fitzcarraldo Editions and can be purchased here: https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/authors/mathias-enard Apologies once more for a couple of audio glitches on this episode - we're working on it. To find out more about the podcast, follow us on twitter @UnsoundMethods or go to unsoundmethods.co.uk If you enjoy the podcast, please 'like and subscribe' wherever you listen.

This month we speak to Norwegian author and artist Edy Poppy. Edy's debut novel Anatomi. Monotoni. won the Gylendal Prize in 2005 and was recently published in English as Anatomy. Monotony. by Dalkey Archive. Tr. May-Brit Akerholt. Anatomy. Monotony. is available at Dalkey Archive Press, who will also publish the collection Coming. Apart. (containing the 'Dungeness' short story that we discuss)  More information about Edy and her writing is available at: https://eng.gyldendal.no/Gyldendal/Authors/Poppy-Edy Interview with Siri Hustvedt: Edy Poppy Talks Sex, Love, and Boredom with Siri Hustvedt Photo of Edy Poppy taken by Julie-Christine Krøvel Thanks to Edy Poppy and Katrin Meynarth at Dalkey Archive.

In this episode we speak to novelist, bookseller and publisher Samuel Fisher.  Sam's debut 'the Chameleon' was published by Salt in 2018. You can buy the Chameleon here: [Salt - the Chameleon](https://www.saltpublishing.com/products/the-chameleon-9781784631246) As we mention at the beginning, there were some technical issues with the sound on one of the microphones in this episode - apologies, but it should sound ok if you're listening on earphones/headphones. You can follow Sam on Twitter: [@fishersamuk](https://twitter.com/fishersamuk) To find out more about the podcast, follow us on twitter [@UnsoundMethods](https://twitter.com/UnsoundMethods) or go to [unsoundmethods.co.uk](https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/)

In episode 18, we speak to Marc Nash, most recently author of 'Three Dreams in the Key of G', published by Dead Ink in 2018. Marc joined us in London to discuss choosing the playlist to write to, intense bursts of writing during the summer holidays, using the editing process to add material rather than remove, playing through language, writing across gender and plenty more. You can follow Marc [@21stCScribe](https://twitter.com/21stcscribe) on Twitter To find out more about the podcast, follow us on twitter [@UnsoundMethods](https://twitter.com/UnsoundMethods) or go to [unsoundmethods.co.uk](https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/)

Welcome all to the first Unsound Methods of 2019! This month, we are delighted to be joined for a second time by Eimear McBride. In episode 12 we spoke to Eimear alongside Noémi Lefebvre but we didn't have much time to speak to them before that evening's event, so Eimear was kind enough to come to the studio for a more extended chat. Among other subjects in this episode we discuss Eimear's process, experimental fiction and the role of the novel in modern life. Thanks again to Eimear for her generosity with her time. To find out more about the podcast, follow us on twitter [@UnsoundMethods](https://twitter.com/UnsoundMethods) or go to [unsoundmethods.co.uk](https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/)

No guest this month (don't worry, more fantastic writers will be appearing here starting again in January). In this Xmas '18 special edition, Lochlan and Jaimie get tanked up on port and mince pies to conduct a brief dissection of the first year of Unsound Methods as well as a review of what they've learnt before getting stuck in to a couple of most commonly quoted lists of writing advice from Messers Vonnegut and Orwell. Full of the Christmas spirit, this episode contains many swears… Thank you to all of our listeners for a great first year, have a very Merry Christmas and see you in 2019.

This month we speak to Tom Lee award-winning short fiction writer and author of The Alarming Palsy of James Orr. We talk about Tom's approach to writing and how he finds new ideas, the impact of ill-health on his writing as well as the difficulties in moving from short stories to longer form fiction. Tom's work has appeared in The Sunday Times, Esquire and Prospect in the UK, The Dublin Review in Ireland and in Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope All Story in the United States, among others. In 2012 he was shortlisted for The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, the largest prize for a single short story in the world and in 2015 his non-fiction account of spending 51 days in intensive care was longlisted for The Notting Hill Essay Prize. Tom is on twitter [@TomLeeStories](https://twitter.com/tomleestories?lang=en) and more about his writing at [www.tomleestories.com](http://tomleestories.com)

In this month's episode we speak to Lars Iyer, weaver of fiction in blog-form, novelist and erstwhile philosopher. Among many other things we talked to Lars about turning blogs into novels (as he did with his first three novels 'Spurious', 'Dogma' and 'Exodus'), his path to being a serial producer of trilogies and making the most of your spouse as your first reader and editor. Post-interview, Lars confirmed for us that 'Nietzsche in the Burbs' will be coming out next year on Melville House. You can follow Lars on Twitter: [@UtterlySpurious](https://twitter.com/UtterlySpurious) - he also wrote an interesting piece for the White Review on the health of the contemporary novel in 2011, which can be read [here](http://www.thewhitereview.org/feature/nude-in-your-hot-tub-facing-the-abyss-a-literary-manifesto-after-the-end-of-literature-and-manifestos/).

Welcome to the second series of Unsound Methods. In this episode we speak to Azareen Van Der Vliet Oloomi, the author of Call Me Zebra from Alma Books (in the UK). Azareen's debut novel was Fra Keeler. Topics covered in our chat included research, working with editors and the paths that reading can take while putting a novel together. Thanks to Burley Fisher bookshop for providing us with the recording space for this episode. You can find Call Me Zebra here: [https://almabooks.com/product/call-me-zebra/](https://almabooks.com/product/call-me-zebra/) And follow Azareen on twitter: [@avandervliet](https://twitter.com/avandervliet) Follow us [@unsoundmethods](https://twitter.com/unsoundmethods) or [unsoundmethods.co.uk](https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/)

This is the audio recording of the event at the Institut Francais that followed our chat with Noémi Lefebvre and Eimear McBride. The Institut Francais have kindly shared the audio of this event which took place on 17th May 2018. Thanks to: Nicci Praca, Cecile Menon, Sophie Lewis (who hosted the event), Axelle Oxborrow (translation) and Lucie Campos.

This episode was recorded at the Beyond Words Festival at the Institut Francais on Thursday 17th May 2018\. We sat down with Noémi Lefebvre, the author of 'Blue Self-Portrait' (available from Les Fugitives: [http://www.lesfugitives.com/books/#/blue-self-portrait/](http://www.lesfugitives.com/books/#/blue-self-portrait/)) and Eimear McBride, author of 'A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing' (Galley Beggar Press/Faber) and 'The Lesser Bohemians' (Faber). It was hot, and there was a lot of noise in the street, so the sound is not 100%, but we found it very interesting to speak to both writers about the similarities and differences in their approaches. We caught Noémi and Eimear just before they went on stage, so this is a brief chat. At times Noémi preferred to speak in French, so we have included the translations from her interpreter Axelle Oxborrow in this audio.  The Institut Francais have kindly shared the audio of the event that followed, which will be released a few days after this one as a bonus episode.

We speak to Olga Tokarczuk and Jennifer Croft, fresh from winning the International [@ManBookerPrize](https://twitter.com/ManBookerPrize) for the superb 'Flights', out now on [@FitzcarraldoEds](https://twitter.com/FitzcarraldoEds) - [https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/books/flights](https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/books/flights) Among other things we discuss the whirlwind of prize-winning, composing constellation novels, suppressing your first published book, and the challenges of translating a title. You can find Jennifer on twitter: [@jenniferlcroft](https://twitter.com/jenniferlcroft) Photo credit: Janie Airey

In this week's episode we speak to novelist and essayist, Joanna Kavenna. We talk about beginnings, finding a voice in fiction and taking a Wittgensteinian view of reality, as well as how to deal with Polar Bears while conducting research and the ways in which literature can help us understand and limit technology before the machines destroy us. Joanna is the author of the _Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule_ and _A Field Guide to Reality_ (riverrun, 2016) as well as three other novels and non-fiction essays. Find out more about Joanna at [joannakavenna.com](http://www.joannakavenna.com/) Photo credit: A Michaelis Follow us [@unsoundmethods](https://twitter.com/unsoundmethods) or [unsoundmethods.co.uk](https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/)

This week we speak to Patrick Langley, author of Arkady from Fitzcarraldo Editions. With a background in art criticism and radio production, Paddy talks to us about drafting and structuring a work, finding inspiration from the urban backwaters of London and the problem with building elaborate memory palaces… You can find Arkady here: [https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/books/arkady](https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/books/arkady) And follow Paddy on twitter: [@PaddyLangley](https://twitter.com/paddylangley) Follow us [@unsoundmethods](https://twitter.com/unsoundmethods) or [unsoundmethods.co.uk](https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/)

This week we speak to novelist, poet and teacher, Will Eaves.  We discuss his approach to structuring a novel, turning notes into a finished work and capturing the dream-like state of the unconscious in prose.  Will was Arts Editor of the TLS from 1995 to 2011 before moving to Warwick, where he is now Associate Professor. Most recently he is author of the Murmur from CB Editions.