Episoder

  • Simon and Rachel speak with the novelist and biographer Nicholas Shakespeare. He began his career as a journalist, working for the Times and the Telegraph, before turning to book-writing in the 1980s. His debut novel, "The Vision of Elena Silves" (1989), won the Somerset Maugham Award; "The Dancer Upstairs" was named the best novel of 1995 by the American Libraries Association and a film adaptation was directed by John Malkovich. "The High Flyer" (1993) and "Snowleg" (2004) were both longlisted for the Booker Prize. His non-fiction work includes an acclaimed biography of the English travel writer Bruce Chatwin. We spoke to Nicholas about his early life and living all over the world, combining novels and non-fiction, and his new biography of James Bond creator Ian Fleming.

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Rachel and Simon speak to Juliet Mabey, co-founder and publisher of Oneworld Publications. She established the company in 1986 with her husband, Novin Doostdar, as an independent publishing house focusing on non-fiction. Its books have covered a broad range of subjects, including biography, history, politics and science, and have won prizes including the FT and McKinsey Business Book of the Year. In 2009 Juliet set up a fiction list; its authors won the Booker prize in 2015 (Marlon James for "A Brief History of Seven Killings"), 2016 (Paul Beatty, "The Sellout") and 2023 (Paul Lynch, "Prophet Song"). Oneworld now includes imprints focusing on children's literature, young-adult books and crime fiction. We spoke to Juliet about winning three Booker prizes since 2015, her early experience setting up Oneworld, and the role of independents versus large corporate publishers.

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

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  • Simon and Rachel speak with Jo NesbĂž, one of the world's bestselling crime writers. Jo's writing career began when he was commissioned to produce a memoir about life on the road with his band, Di Derre, and he instead came up with the plot for his first Harry Hole crime novel, "The Bat". His books - including "The Leopard", "Phantom", "Police", "The Son", "The Thirst", "Macbeth" and "Knife" - are now published in 50 languages, and have sold over 55 million copies around the world. Alongside the Harry Hole series he has published standalone novels as well as several children’s books in the "Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder" series. We spoke to Jo about writing his first book in five weeks, while already established as a musician, his anti-hero Harry Hole, and his latest novel, "The Night House."

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist and short-story writer Jhumpa Lahiri. Her bestselling debut story collection, “Interpreter of Maladies”, won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 2000 and was translated into more than 30 languages. Her debut novel, “The Namesake”, was published to acclaim in 2003 and adapted into a film in 2006; “The Lowland” (2013) was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Since 2015 Jhumpa has written in Italian, with volumes of essays, fiction and poetry including “In Altre Parole” (“In Other Words”), “Il Vestito dei libri” (“The Clothing of Books”), “Dove mi trovo” (“Whereabouts”), “Il quaderno di Nerina” (“Nerina's Notebook) and “Racconti Romani” (“Roman Stories”). We spoke to Jhumpa about winning the Pulitzer Prize with her first published book, writing in a foreign language and her latest collection of short fiction, “Roman Stories”.

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Simon and Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist Adam Thirlwell. The author of four novels - the first of which, "Politics", was published in 2003 when he was 24, and the latest of which is "The Future Future" - Adam's work has been translated into 30 languages. His essays appear in the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books, and he is an advisory editor of the Paris Review. His awards include a Somerset Maugham Award and the E.M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; in 2018 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has twice been selected - in 2003 and 2013 - by Granta as one of their Best of Young British Novelists. We spoke to Adam about his stellar university career and publishing his first novel in his early twenties, balancing fiction with working for literary magazines, and his latest work, "The Future Future".

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist and historian Philippa Gregory. She began her career in journalism and worked at BBC Radio before publishing her first historical novel, "Wideacre", in 1987 while she was completing a PhD in 18th-century literature. Other bestselling novels followed, including "The Other Boleyn Girl" - which was adapted into a film starring Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman in 2008 - and "The White Queen". To date, Philippa's books have sold more than 10m copies worldwide; in 2018 she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen to mark significant sales across her career. "Normal Women", her latest book, looks at 900 years of British history and tells stories of "female soldiers, guild widows, highwaywomen, pirates, miners and ship owners, international traders, theatre impresarios, runaway enslaved women, ‘female husbands’, social campaigners and rebels". We spoke to Philippa about her early career in academia, finding huge success as a historical novelist, and writing "Normal Women".

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠.

    You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Simon and Rachel speak to the drinks writer Henry Jeffreys, who won Fortnum & Mason Drink Writer of the Year for 2022/23. Henry is the author of four books on alcohol: "Empire of Booze", a history of Britain and its empire told through the origin stories of various drinks; "The Home Bar"; "The Cocktail Dictionary"; and, most recently, "Vines in a Cold Climate", about the nascent English wine industry. Henry worked in the wine trade and publishing before becoming a writer. He has appeared on BBC radio and television, is a wine expert for BBC Good Food and edits the Master of Malt whisky blog, as well as contributing to numerous other publications. We spoke to Henry about his early career working as a book publicist, his debut, "Empire of Booze", and his most recent work, "Vines in a Cold Climate".

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠.

    You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Rachel and Simon speak to the journalist, author and former co-host of Always Take Notes, Kassia St. Clair. She has written for Architectural Digest, The Economist, the Times Literary Supplement and Wired, and had a column in Elle Decoration for many years. Her first book, “The Secret Lives of Colour”, recounted the “unusual stories of the 75 most fascinating shades, dyes and hues”; the book was a top-ten bestseller, a Radio 4 Book of the Week and has been translated into more than 20 languages. “The Golden Thread”, her second book, chronicled 30,000 years of textile history and was named a Book of the Year by the Sunday Times. Her latest book, “The Race to the Future”, revisits the Peking-Paris automobile race of 1907. We spoke to Kassia about getting started in journalism, writing “The Secret Lives of Colour” and changing direction for “The Race to the Future”.

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠Amazon⁠, ⁠Bookshop.org⁠, ⁠Hatchards⁠ or ⁠Waterstones⁠.

    You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Simon and Rachel speak with the biographer Adam Sisman. After an initial career in publishing, Adam's first book, a biography of historian A.J.P. Taylor, appeared in 1994. His second, "Boswell's Presumptuous Task" (2000), won the US National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, and he has subsequently written biographies of another historian, Hugh Trevor-Roper, and the espionage novelist John le CarrĂ©. A coda to his original biography of Le CarrĂ©, published in 2015, came out this year; it contains information he was unable to publish in the novelist's lifetime. Among Adam's other works are two volumes of letters by travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor. We spoke to Adam about his new book - "The Secret Life of John le CarrĂ©" - his early career in publishing, and his move into writing biographies.

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠Amazon⁠, ⁠Bookshop.org⁠, ⁠Hatchards⁠ or ⁠Waterstones⁠.

    You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist Victoria Hislop. After studying English at university, Victoria worked in book publishing, PR and journalism. She turned to fiction in 2005 with “The Island”, a love story set on Spinalonga, Greece’s former leprosy colony. The novel was translated into 40 languages and sold more than six million copies worldwide; it was adapted into a 26-part Greek television series, which achieved record ratings in the country. Subsequent books, including “The Return” and “One August Night”, have also been bestsellers. We spoke to Victoria about the origins and development of her interest in Greece, moving from publishing to journalism to fiction-writing, and her latest novel, “The Figurine”.

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via Amazon, Bookshop.org, Hatchards or Waterstones.


    You can find us online at ⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Simon and Rachel speak with Anjan Sundaram, an award-winning author, journalist and television presenter, whose war correspondence has won a Frontline Club Award and a Reuters prize. Anjan's previous books are "Bad News: Last Journalists in a Dictatorship" (an Amazon Book of the Year) and "Stringer: A Reporter’s Journey in the Congo" (a Royal African Society Book of the Year). He has reported from Central Africa for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the Observer, Granta, Foreign Policy, Politico and the Associated Press. His books have been featured by Christiane Amanpour and Fareed Zakaria on CNN; by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show; and on BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week and Start the Week. We spoke to Anjan about working as a stringer in the Congo and elsewhere in Africa, juggling journalism and book writing, and his new book, "Breakup", on the personal costs of war reporting.


    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via Amazon, Bookshop.org, Hatchards or Waterstones.

    You can find us online at ⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Rachel and Simon speak with Sarah Braybrooke, publishing director at Ithaka Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK. Sarah started her career in publicity, first at Profile, then at Scribe, an independent publishing house based in Australia. She stayed with Scribe for 12 years, becoming managing director of Scribe UK in 2017, and publisher in 2020. During her time there, Sarah worked on titles including "Gut", a bestselling science book about the digestive system, and "Billion Dollar Whale", an investigation into the 1MDB scandal. She moved to Ithaka in 2022. We spoke to Sarah about getting started in publishing, the differences between the Australian and British industries and setting up her list (which includes the new "Always Take Notes" book).


    Book tickets to our live recording in London on October 25th with Nicholas Shakespeare here.


    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via Amazon, Bookshop.org, Hatchards or Waterstones.

    You can find us online at ⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Simon and Rachel speak with the author and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce. "Millions", his debut children's novel, published in 2004, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal. He is also the author of "Noah's Gold", "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again", "Cosmic", "Framed", "The Astounding Broccoli Boy" and "Runaway Robot". His books have been shortlisted for numerous other prizes, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children's Fiction Award (now the Costa Book Award) and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Along with Danny Boyle, Frank also devised the Opening Ceremony for the London Olympics in 2012. He has written for the hit TV series "Dr Who" and was the screenwriter for films including "Goodbye Christopher Robin" and "Millions". We spoke to Frank about his career as a screenwriter - moving from soap operas to feature films - his work on the Olympic Opening Ceremony, and his new novel, "The Wonder Brothers".


    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press on October 12th. You can order it via Amazon, Bookshop.org, Hatchards or Waterstones.

    You can find us online at ⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Rachel and Simon speak with the nature writer and novelist Helen Macdonald. "H is for Hawk", a memoir of grief and falconry published in 2014, won several prizes including the Costa Book of the Year and the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction. "Vesper Flights", a collection of essays, was a Sunday Times bestseller in 2020. "Prophet", her latest book, is a sci-fi novel co-written with Sin BlachĂ©. Helen is currently working on a project about Midway Atoll, an island in the North Pacific Ocean. We spoke to Helen about her huge success with "H is for Hawk", writing about the natural world in poetry, journalism and non-fiction, and about "Prophet".This episode of Always Take Notes is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Go to www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more about their creative writing courses. Use code ATN20 for ÂŁ20 off the full price of any four-, five, six- or ten-week online course.

    “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press on October 12th. You can order it via Amazon, Bookshop.org, Hatchards or Waterstones.You can find us online at ⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Simon and Rachel speak with the novelist Lee Child, one of the world’s leading thriller writers. Lee - real name James Grant - was born in Coventry in 1954, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in the United States. He began his writing career after he was made redundant from Granada Television in the 1990s. Today the novels featuring his hero, former military policeman Jack Reacher, consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over 100m copies. Lee is the recipient of many awards, most recently Author of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2019. We spoke to him about starting the Jack Reacher novels after losing his job in television, film and TV adaptations from Tom Cruise and Amazon, and handing the franchise over to his brother Andrew.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lee-child-author-jack-wyoming-ranch-country-fg3tddwxw


    https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/my-childhood-cold-war-fears-are-back/

    This episode of Always Take Notes is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Go to www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more about their creative writing courses. Use code ATN20 for ÂŁ20 off the full price of any four-, five, six- or ten-week online course.

    You can find us online at ⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • In this episode Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist and journalist Megan Nolan. Her essays and reviews have been published by the Guardian and the New York Times, among other publications. Her debut novel, "Acts of Desperation", was published in 2021 and received a Betty Trask Award, was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her second novel, "Ordinary Human Failings", was published in July. We spoke to Megan about getting started in journalism in her early twenties, balancing essay-writing with fiction-writing and about "Ordinary Human Failings".

    You can find us online at ⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Simon and Rachel speak to James Daunt, who runs both Barnes & Noble, the world’s largest retail bookseller, and Waterstones, the largest retail bookseller in the United Kingdom. James currently oversees approximately 600 Barnes & Noble shops in the United States and 293 Waterstones locations across the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium. After an early career as an investment banker, James opened his own bookstore, Daunt Books, in London in 1990. In 2011 James was appointed managing director of Waterstones when the struggling bookseller was bought by a Russian businessman, Alexander Mamut; Waterstones was subsequently restored to profitability. In 2019 he additionally became chief executive of Barnes & Noble. We spoke to James about setting up his own independent bookstore in the 1990s, being brought in to save Waterstones two decades later, and subsequently taking on the top role at Barnes & Noble.

    This episode of Always Take Notes is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Go to www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more about their creative writing courses. Use code ATN20 for ÂŁ20 off the full price of any four-, five, six- or ten-week online course.

    You can find us online at ⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Rachel and Simon speak to Francesca Main, publisher of Phoenix Books, an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group which in turn is part of Hachette. She started her career at Penguin, first in the rights department and then as an editorial assistant at Hamish Hamilton; she then spent four years as a commissioning editor at Simon & Schuster. She joined Picador as editorial director in 2011 and launched the careers of writers including Adam Kay, Cathy Rentzenbrink and Jessie Burton. In 2015 Francesca was named Editor of the Year at the Bookseller Industry Awards. In 2020 she moved to Orion to launch her own imprint, Phoenix, which she has said will be a destination "for books you can't put down and can't forget". We spoke to Francesca about her experience working at Penguin, Simon & Schuster and Picador, about publishing smash hits such as "The Miniaturist" and "This Is Going to Hurt", and about setting up Phoenix Books.


    This episode of Always Take Notes is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Go to www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more about their creative writing courses. Use code ATN20 for ÂŁ20 off the full price of any four-, five, six- or ten-week online course.

    You can find us online at ⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Simon and Rachel speak with Albert Read, who runs magazine publisher CondĂ© Nast in the UK and recently published a book called "The Imagination Muscle", about the genesis of ideas. Albert has launched and led businesses for CondĂ© Nast in the UK, and across Europe and Asia, overseeing titles such as Vogue, GQ, Wired, CondĂ© Nast Traveller and Vanity Fair. A former journalist, he has written for the Spectator, the TLS, the Times and the Telegraph. He initially studied classics at university before later completing an MBA. We spoke to Albert about moving from editorial to the business side of journalism, his career at CondĂ© Nast, including launching new editions of Vogue in India and China, and about "The Imagination Muscle," his new book.

    You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

  • Rachel and Simon speak with the literary agent and novelist Abigail Bergstrom. She started her career at the publisher Simon & Schuster in 2011; by 2014 she had been promoted to commissioning editor. She was then headhunted to set up and launch the literary arm of Gleam Futures, a talent-management agency, and oversaw the publication of several bestselling books. In 2020 Abigail was nominated for Literary Agent of the Year 2020 at the British Book Awards and in 2021 she launched her own company, Bergstrom Studio, a literary agency and publishing consultancy. Abigail is also a writer in her own right: her debut novel, “What a Shame”, was published by Hodder and Stoughton in 2022 and has been optioned for television. Her second novel is due to be published in 2024. We spoke to Abigail about starting out in publishing, setting up her own business and her experience of writing novels.


    You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.