Granta

In this episode of the Granta Podcast we speak to Susie Boyt, the author of seven novels, most recently Loved and Missed, and the memoir My Judy Garland Life.We discuss Susie Boyt’s short story, ‘All Being Well’, from Granta 171: Dead Friends, and consider the function of ghosts, Henry James, and how to be mourned.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review, among other publications. He is the author of The Boys (2025).Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to Nico Walker, author of the novel Cherry. We discuss Nico Walker’s essay ‘Mucker Play’, published in Granta 170: Winners, which considers American football as a reflection of the country’s violence, the intimate relationship between the military and sport, and how athletes cultivate their public image, from Deion Sanders to Jim Thorpe.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review, among other publications. His first novel will be published in 2025. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. Thomas Meaney is the editor of Granta. 

Granta 170: Winners is out this week. In this episode, we speak to Declan Ryan about his essay on the British heavyweight boxing today, ‘The Hurt Business’, which appears in the magazine's new sports issue. You can read the essay discussed in this episode here. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Declan Ryan is the author of Crisis Actor, a poetry collection published with Faber in 2023. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to the film director Wang Xiaoshuai, known for the films Beijing Bicycle (2001) and So Long, My Son (2019). We discuss Wang Xiaoshuai’s thoughts on the porosity between literature and cinema, and the challenges facing independent filmmakers today. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to Allen Bratton, whose short stories Barbarism and Honeymoon have been published online at granta.com. His debut novel Henry Henry was published in 2024.We discuss Shakespearean adaptations, the fine line between humour and cruelty and the legacy of the British aristocracy.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review, among other publications. His first novel will be published in 2025.Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta.

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to Alan Hollinghurst, author of seven novels including The Swimming-Pool Library, the Booker Prize-winning The Line of Beauty and Our Evenings, which was published in 2024. We discuss his new novel, writing from the outsider's perspective and cataloguing the chapters of queer life from the mid-century to now. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to the novelist and essayist Rachel Kushner, author of the books The Mars Room, The Flamethrowers, Telex from Cuba and The Hard Crowd. Her latest novel, Creation Lake, will be published in September 2024.We discuss her story, ‘The True Depth of a Cave’, which appeared in Granta 167: Extraction, as well as the mysteries of prehistory and the variance between abstract and mimetic art in fiction. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta podcast we speak to the novelist and journalist Benjamin Kunkel, author of Indecision (2005) and co-founder of the journal n+1.We discuss his short story ‘Prairie Dogs’ (Granta 167: Extraction), his return to writing fiction, involuntarily becoming a ‘Marxist public intellectual’ and being politicised by literature. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to the novelist Sheila Heti, author of the books How Should a Person Be?, Motherhood and Pure Colour. Her latest book, Alphabetical Diaries, was published in 2024.We discuss her new book, along with her interview with the academic Phyllis Rose that appeared in Granta 166: Generations. You can find all of Heti's contributions to the magazine here.Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to the novelist and journalist Andrew O’Hagan, author of seven novels and several books of non-fiction. We discuss his short story, ‘The Sensitivity Reader’ (Granta 166: Generations), and the new novel Caledonian Road (2024), both of which explore the value of challenging the established narrative as a journalist, and the capacity for fiction to offer different forms of truth.  You can read ‘The Sensitivity Reader’ here.Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review, among other publications. His first novel will be published in 2024.Josie Mitchell is online editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to the novelist and critic Lauren Oyler, author of No Judgement (2024) and Fake Accounts (2024), about living in Berlin, the boundary between our private and public selves, and the trajectory of autofiction. We also discuss Oyler’s essay, ‘Last Week at Marienbad’, which appeared in Granta 165: Deutschland. You can read ‘Last Week at Marienbad’ here.Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review, among other publications. His first novel will be published in 2024. Josie Mitchell is online editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to the novelist Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life (2020) and The Late Americans (2023), about naturalism, the future of fiction, and the connection between Émile Zola and The Sims.We also discuss Taylor’s short story ‘Stalin, Lenin, Robespierre’, which appeared in Granta 166: Generations.You can read ‘Stalin, Lenin, Robespierre’ here.Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In 2022 Jamaica Kincaid spoke to editor Josie Mitchell about childhood, the concept of memory and her early love of Paradise Lost.Jamaica Kincaid grew up on the island of Antigua. She began writing for the New Yorker and went on to publish many books, including the novel Annie John and the collection of stories At the Bottom of the River. A number of her books have recently been reissued, or are forthcoming, from Picador in the UK.

Last year Claire-Louise Bennett and editor Josie Mitchell talked about rereading, resisting homogenisation and committing to the process of unravelling. Claire-Louise Bennett is the author of Pond, a collection of short stories, and the 2021 novel Checkout 19.Read an extract of Bennett's novel here.

In 2022 Lynne Tillman and editor Josie Mitchell discussed the afterlife of novels, haunted houses and the sexual revolution. Lynne Tillman is the author of many books, including the 2006 novel American Genius: A Comedy and the 2014 essay collection, What Would Lynne Tillman Do?  Two of Tillman’s early works are now published in the UK by Peninsula Press: Weird Fucks and Haunted Houses.Read an excerpt from Tillman’s memoir Mothercare here. 

In 2022 Vanessa Onwuemezi spoke to editor Josie Mitchell about Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring, sitting with strangeness and the joy of trying out new sounds on the page. Vanessa Onwuemezi is a writer and poet living in London, her story ‘At the Heart of Things’ won the White Review Short Story Prize in 2019. Her debut story collection, Dark Neighbourhood, was published in 2021 by Fitzcarraldo Editions.Read ‘Cuba’, a short story from Dark Neighbourhood, here.  

In 2022 Anthony Anaxagorou and editor Josie Mitchell talked about heritage, national identity and poetry that cannot keep still.Anthony is the author of several volumes of poetry, non-fiction and a collection of short stories. His latest book, Heritage Aesthetics, draws on family migratory histories between Cyprus and the UK to interrogate patriarchy, xenophobia and national divides.Purchase a copy of Anthony Anaxagorou’s new poetry collection, Heritage Aesthetics, here. You can also read poems from his 2019 collection, After the Formalities, here. 

In 2022 Ayanna Lloyd Banwo spoke to editor Josie Mitchell about a fear of forgetting, Lapeyrouse Cemetery and our cultural traditions around death.Ayanna Lloyd Banwo is a writer from Trinidad and Tobago currently living in London. Her debut novel When We Were Birds was named one of the Observer’s Best Debuts of 2022 and one of the Economist’s Best Books of 2022.Read an excerpt from When We Were Birds here.

In 2022 Mary Gaitskill talked to editor Josie Mitchell about her fascination with the idea of hell, returning to past creative work and writing characters with different experiences from her own.Mary Gaitskill is the author of Bad Behavior; Two Girls, Fat and Thin; Because They Wanted To; Veronica; Don’t Cry; The Mare; Somebody with a Little Hammer; and This is Pleasure. Her new book, The Devil’s Treasure, is a hybrid work of criticism, memoir and mythography.Her essay ‘Lost Cat’, first published in Granta 107, is available to read here.

In 2021 Eula Biss talked to editor Josie Mitchell on the distortions of capital, bartering with Pokémon cards and the conditions necessary for creativity. Eula Biss is the author of four books, including On Immunity and Notes from No Man’s Land. Her most recent book, Having and Being Had, looks at our beliefs about class and owning property. Read an excerpt from Having and Being Had on granta.com.