Always Take Notes

#127: Katie Kitamura, novelist

08 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Katie Kitamura. Born in California to Japanese parents, she wrote her first book, "Japanese for Travellers: A Journey Thro...

#126: Alex Kay-Jelski, editor-in-chief, the Athletic UK

25 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Alex Kay-Jelski, the editor-in-chief in the UK of sports website the Athletic. Alex, previously sports editor of the Times...

#125: Elif Shafak, novelist

11 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with award-winning novelist Elif Shafak. The author of 12 novels and 7 works of non-fiction, her work has been translated into ...

#124: Howard Jacobson, novelist

28 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with novelist Howard Jacobson. Born in Manchester, Howard spent his early career as an academic and published his first novel, ...

#123: Marianne Tatepo, commissioning editor, Ebury Press

14 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Marianne Tatepo. Currently commissioning editor for Ebury Press and Pop Press, part of Penguin Random House UK, she publis...

#122: David Baldacci, novelist

30 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with bestselling American novelist David Baldacci. A former trial lawyer, after early attempts at screenwriting David publis...

#121: Hollie McNish, poet

16 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with the poet Hollie McNish. After rising to prominence online, she has published four collections of poetry: “Papers”, “...

#120: Gary Younge, journalist and author

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with journalist and author Gary Younge. Born in Hertfordshire to Barbadian parents, in his final year at university Gary won a ...

#119: Tracy Chevalier, novelist

19 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with novelist Tracy Chevalier. Tracy moved to Britain from America in the 1980s and worked in publishing before completing an M...

#118: Alex Wade, libel lawyer, journalist and author

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with Alex Wade, a libel lawyer, journalist and author. Alex began life at law firm Carter-Ruck and went on to work as a lawyer for nat...

#117: Val McDermid, novelist

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with novelist Val McDermid. After graduating from university Val worked as a journalist for 16 years, earning the nickname “K...

#116: William Dalrymple, historian and travel writer

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with William Dalrymple, the award-winning historian and travel writer. While still at university in 1986, William set off to f...

#115: Aminatta Forna, novelist and non-fiction writer

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Aminatta Forna, a novelist and non-fiction writer. She is the author of a memoir, “The Devil that Danced on the Water”...

#114: Henry Winter, chief football writer, The Times

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Henry Winter, chief football writer at the Times. Henry has been writing about football for 35 years, covered England sin...

#113: Lennie Goodings, chair of Virago Press

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Lennie Goodings, chair of Virago Press. Born in Canada, Lennie came to Britain in the 1970s and joined Virago as a publici...

#112: Simon Scarrow, novelist

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with historical novelist Simon Scarrow. Simon worked first as a schoolteacher, before becoming a full-time writer. His Roman-...

#111: Kate Mosse, novelist and founder of the Women's Prize For Fiction

29 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with novelist Kate Mosse. The author of nine novels and short-story collections, as well as four plays and three works of non-f...

#110: William Boyd, novelist and screenwriter 

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with William Boyd, bestselling novelist and prolific screenwriter. William was born in Ghana and grew up there and in Nigeria. ...

#109: Terri White, editor-in-chief, Empire magazine, and author

01 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Terri White, editor-in-chief of Empire magazine and author. She began her journalism career working on titles including Wo...

#108: Jonny Geller, literary agent, Curtis Brown

18 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Jonny Geller, one of the best known literary agents in London. Jonny joined Curtis Brown in 1993 as an assistant after a...

#107: Leaf Arbuthnot, journalist and novelist

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with journalist and novelist Leaf Arbuthnot. She has written for publications including the TLS, the Sunday Times and the New S...

#106: Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and novelist

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Simon Sebag Montefiore, a historian and novelist whose books have been published in 48 languages. His history books incl...

#105: Rosie Nixon, editor-chief, Hello! magazine and novelist

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Rosie Nixon, editor-in-chief of Hello! and novelist. Rosie has worked in the magazine industry for more than 20 years and ...

#104: Simon Akam, magazine writer and author

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In an episode with a difference Rachel interviews her Always Take Notes co-cost Simon to mark the publication of his book "The Changing of the Guard...

#103: Samira Shackle, freelance writer and author

09 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Samira Shackle, a freelance writer and author. Her first book, “Karachi Vice”, is a modern history of Pakistan’s lar...

#102: Jack Thorne, playwright and screenwriter

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Jack Thorne, a writer of film, television and theatre. Jack has won five BAFTAs for his television work; his latest cre...

#101: Natalie Haynes, author and comedian

09 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Natalie Haynes. Following an education as a classicist and a career as a stand-up comedian, Natalie has written three no...

#100: James Ashton, business journalist and author

26 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with business journalist and author James Ashton. James was city editor and executive editor of the Evening Standard and Indepe...

#99: Sirin Kale, feature writer

12 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with feature writer Sirin Kale. After a stint in lobbying, Sirin turned to journalism and worked at Dazed & Confused and Vice U...

#98: Ed Needham, editor Strong Words, former editor FHM, Maxim, Rolling Stone

29 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel talk with magazine editor Ed Needham. Today Ed single-handedly writes and edits Strong Words, a literary journal for book lovers who ...

#97: Rebecca Giggs, author

15 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel talk with the nature writer Rebecca Giggs. Rebecca, who is from Perth, Australia, writes about how people feel towards animals in a t...

#96: Samanth Subramanian, magazine writer and author

01 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon talk to magazine writer and author Samanth Subramanian. Samanth is a contributing writer to the Guardian Long Read, and his writing h...

#95: Emily Hayward-Whitlock, book-to-film agent

17 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with agent Emily Hayward-Whitlock, head of the book-to-film department at The Artists Partnership. Emily handles the film and T...

#94: Patrick Radden Keefe, author and New Yorker staff writer

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Patrick Radden Keefe, a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and author of three books. Patrick's most recent title...

#93: Phoebe Hurst, managing editor, Vice UK

20 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Phoebe Hurst. As the managing editor of Vice UK, Phoebe is responsible for commissioning and editing stories with a youth...

#92: Alexander McCall Smith, novelist

06 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with prolific novelist Alexander McCall Smith. Alexander was a professor of Medical Law, before turning his hand to writing fic...

#91: Linda Grant, writer and novelist

22 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with the writer and novelist Linda Grant. She began her career as a journalist, writing for the Guardian and the Independent on Sunday, b...

#90: Geoff Dyer, author

08 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with the prolific and genre-bending author Geoff Dyer. Geoff’s many books include the novel “Jeff in Venice, Death in Varan...

#89: Amanda Craig, novelist

25 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist Amanda Craig. After a brief spell in advertising and PR, Amanda became a journalist—writing for the Sunday ...

#88: Toby Young, journalist and author

11 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with journalist and author Toby Young. He has written for the Times, the Sun on Sunday, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and...

#87: Anne Enright, novelist

28 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 Gathe...

#86: Matthew Syed, author and journalist

14 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Matthew Syed, an author and journalist who writes about the practices and techniques that underpin high performance. He ha...

#85: Louise Doughty, novelist

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Louise Doughty. Louise is the author of nine novels, including “Apple Tree Yard”, a number-one bestseller which was ad...

#84: Guy Stagg, travel writer

16 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

#83: Hadley Freeman, journalist and author

02 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

#82: Colum McCann, novelist

19 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Colum McCann, who is the author of six novels and three collections of stories. His novel, "TransAtlantic", was longliste...

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

05 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Alysoun Owen, editor of the “Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook” and the “Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearboo...

#80: Tim Rice, lyricist

21 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with lyricist Tim Rice, who has worked in music, theatre and films since 1965. In collaboration with composer Andrew Lloyd We...

#79: Sophie Elmhirst, magazine writer

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with magazine writer Sophie Elmhirst, a freelance journalist. As well as writing regularly for the Guardian Long Read and The E...

#78: Simon Lancaster, speechwriter

24 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with Simon Lancaster, who runs Bespoke Speechwriting Services and has written speeches for top politicians and the CEOs of some of the...

#77: Kiley Reid, novelist

10 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Kiley Reid, the bestselling author of “Such a Fun Age”. A recipient of the Truman Capote Fellowship at the Iowa Writer...

#76: Giles Hattersley, features director, British Vogue

25 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel and Simon speak with Giles Hattersley, the features director of the British edition of Vogue magazine. Giles studied English at Warwick Univers...

#75: Lisa Taddeo, author and journalist

11 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel speaks with Lisa Taddeo, the bestselling author of “Three Women”, a non-fiction book exploring love and longing in America. Her journalism ...

#74: Jay Rayner, restaurant critic, the Observer

22 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Rachel speak with Jay Rayner, the restaurant critic of the Observer. After studying politics at Leeds University, where he edited the studen...

#73: Alexandra Pringle, editor-in-chief, Bloomsbury Publishing

14 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

2020 sees a new co-host join Always Take Notes - Rachel Lloyd, assistant editor for Books and Arts at The Economist. In this episode Simon and Rachel ...

#72: Charles Moore, journalist and biographer

31 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak with Charles Moore, who was handpicked by Margaret Thatcher to write her authorised biography – he has just published his th...

#71: Tanya Gold, freelance journalist

17 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with freelance journalist Tanya Gold, who has written for a broad range of publications in both the UK and the US. Tanya discussed her in...

#70: Robbie Collin, Telegraph film critic

03 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Eleanor spoke with The Telegraph's chief film critic Robbie Collin, who joined the paper in 2011. Robbie discussed starting his caree...

#69: Laura Weir, editor-in-chief, ES Magazine

19 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Eleanor spoke with editor-in-chief of ES Magazine Laura Weir, who after a stint at Elle and The Sunday Times, was headhunted from Vog...

#68: Simon Robinson, global managing editor, Thomson Reuters

05 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak with Simon Robinson, global managing editor at Thomson Reuters. Simon joined the news service in 2010 and ran investigatio...

#67: Anna Davis, director, Curtis Brown Creative

22 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with Anna Davis, founder and director of Curtis Brown's creative writing school, which launched in 2011. Anna worked for Curtis Brown for...

#66: Ferdinand Addis, historian

08 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with Ferdinand Addis, the author of Rome: Eternal City, a narrative history of Rome which spans 3,000 years over some 650 pages. Ferdina...

#65: May Jeong, magazine writer

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with Canadian magazine writer May Jeong, who spent five years reporting on Afghanistan, and is best known for her months-long investigati...

#64: Jeffrey Archer, novelist

10 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with Jeffrey Archer, a novelist whose books have sold more than 275 million copies worldwide. Archer wrote his first novel aged 34, when...

#63: Zahra Hankir, editor and anthologist

27 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Eleanor and Simon speak with Zahra Hankir, journalist and editor of Our Women on the Ground, an anthology of essays from Arab women reporting from ...

#62: Jamie Glazebrook, executive producer, Peaky Blinders

13 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Eleanor speaks with Jamie Glazebrook, the executive producer of hit BBC series Peaky Blinders, whose fifth series will air later this year. Peaky Blin...

#61: Ruth Padel, poet

30 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Eleanor and Simon speak with Ruth Padel, who is a poet, novelist, critic and Professor of Poetry at King’s College London. Ruth spoke about her ver...

#60: James Graham, playwright and screenwriter

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks to James Graham, one of Britain's best known contemporary playwrights who has also written widely for film and television. James' first...

#59: Christina Lamb, chief foreign correspondent, the Sunday Times

02 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks to Christina Lamb, one of Britain’s leading foreign correspondents who has documented conflict across the world, from Afghanistan to Rw...

#58: Jon Lee Anderson, staff writer, the New Yorker

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak to Jon Lee Anderson, a staff writer at the New Yorker magazine and veteran war correspondent. Jon Lee began his career in the ...

#57: Anna Codrea-Rado, campaigner for freelancer rights

04 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with Anna Codrea-Rado, a freelance journalist who has written for titles including the New York Times and Wired, and who now advocates f...

#56: Ed Caesar, magazine writer

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak to British magazine writer Ed Caesar, who was recently made a contributing writer at the New Yorker and whose work has also ap...

#55: Ann Goldstein, Elena Ferrante's translator

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak to Ann Goldstein, who translated Elena Ferrante's phenomenally successful Neapolitan novels (My Brilliant Friend and its three...

#54: Kamal Ahmed, editorial director, BBC News

23 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Eleanor speaks to Kamal Ahmed, editorial director of BBC News and one of Britain’s most prominent journalists. He joined the BBC in April 2014 as bu...

#53: Pandora Sykes, journalist and podcaster

09 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak to Pandora Sykes, journalist and co-host of the hugely successful podcast the High Low. Pandora began her journalistic career ...

#52: Andrew Hankinson, journalist and author

26 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In an episode recorded live at the Well Told longform journalism conference in London, Simon and Eleanor speak with author and journalist Andrew Hanki...

#51: Jennifer Croft, Booker Prize winning translator

12 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak to Jennifer Croft, who won the 2018 Man Booker International Prize for her translation of Olga Tokarczuk’s Polish novel Fli...

#50: Alex Perry, journalist and author

26 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks to Alex Perry, who is a reporter, author and writer for film and television. His books include The Good Mothers, about the women who expo...

#49: Farrah Storr, editor-in-chief, Cosmopolitan UK

12 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Eleanor and Simon speak to Farrah Storr, editor-in-chief of the British edition of Cosmopolitan magazine. In her current role since 2015, Farrah was p...

#48: Dan Franklin, associate publisher, Jonathan Cape

29 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks to Dan Franklin, associate publisher at Jonathan Cape and one of the most celebrated book editors in the United Kingdom. Franklin talked ...

#47: Rebecca Mead, staff writer, the New Yorker

15 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak with Rebecca Mead, a longtime staff writer at the New Yorker magazine who recently returned to the UK after many years in the ...

#46: Mark Haddon, novelist

01 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with Mark Haddon, who won the 2003 Whitbread Book of the Year award for his bestselling novel A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-...

#45: Alexa von Hirschberg, senior commissioning editor, Bloomsbury

18 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Eleanor speaks with Alexa von Hirschberg, a senior commissioning editor at Bloomsbury Publishing. Alexa began her career in 2007 at Canongate Books. I...

#44: Dylan Jones, editor, British GQ

04 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak to Dylan Jones, editor of Condé Nast's British GQ since 1999. Jones spoke about GQ's place in 2018, a year in which masculini...

#43: Daisy Johnson, novelist

20 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak to Daisy Johnson, who, earlier this year and at 27 years old, became the youngest person ever shortlisted for the Man Booker P...

#42: Ian Rankin, novelist

06 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Eleanor speak to crime writer Ian Rankin, the multi-million copy bestseller of over thirty novels and creator of detective John Rebus. Ian'...

#41: Hermione Lee, biographer

23 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks with Hermione Lee, the biographer known for her lives of Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather and Penelope Fitzgerald. She has cha...

#40: Richard Skinner, director of the fiction programme at the Faber Academy

09 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Kassia speak with Richard Skinner, director of the fiction programme at the Faber Academy, one of a number of creative writing schools estab...

#39: Cal Flyn, author

25 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kassia and Simon speak with Cal Flyn, a Scottish author and journalist. Cal worked as an investigative reporter for The Sunday Times and data reporter...

#38: Rory Stewart, author

11 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kassia and Simon speak to Rory Stewart, the MP for Penrith and the Border and the author of Occupational Hazards and The Places in Between, a New York...

#37: Clare Conville, literary agent, C+W

28 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Simon speaks to Clare Conville, the co-founder of literary agency C+W (formerly Conville and Walsh). Listed by the Observer as one of “Our top 50 pl...

#36: Lionel Barber, editor, the Financial Times

14 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kassia and Simon chat to Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times since 2005. We discussed his early career in journalism, which included stints a...

#35: Joanne Harris, novelist

31 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Kassia speak to Joanne Harris, author of the 1999 novel Chocolat, which was filmed a year later starring Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench and Jo...

#34: Niall Ferguson, historian

17 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Kassia speak to Niall Ferguson, conservative historian and author of The Ascent of Money and The Pity of War. He talked about his career, fi...

#33: Louisa Joyner, editorial director, Faber & Faber

03 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Simon and Kassia speak to Louisa Joyner, editorial director at publisher Faber & Faber. Louisa moved to Faber in 2016 from Canongate, and previously w...

#32: Jeremy Gavron, author

19 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kassia speaks to Jeremy Gavron, author of The Book of Israel, (winner of the Encore award), A Woman on the Edge of time and Felix Culpa, a novel piece...

#31: Lucy Hughes-Hallett, author

05 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kassia and Simon speak to Lucy Hughes-Hallett, author of The Pike, a biography of Italian rake Gabriele d'Annunzio, which won all three of the UK's mo...

#30: Jonathan Shainin, editor, Guardian Long Read

22 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kassia and Simon speak to Jonathan Shainin, who runs the Long Read section of the Guardian. He spoke to us about his nomadic career, which took him fr...

#29: Julia Kelly, romance novelist

08 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kassia and Simon speak to romance novelist Julia Kelly about her portion of the literary universe - romance fiction is a billion-dollar industry. Ju...

#28: Peter Moffat, BAFTA-winning screenwriter

24 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kassia and Simon interview screenwriter and playwright Peter Moffat, whose work includes the series Cambridge Spies, Criminal Justice - later the basi...