Category Archives: Interviews
Books, Interviews
History in the service of fiction: Anna Funder’s All That I Am
The first thing I did after finishing Anna Funder’s debut novel All That I Am was to order a copy of Ernst Toller’s autobiography I Was a German. Toller features as a ‘character’ in Funder’s much anticipated book. We meet him holed up in a New York … Read more
Interviews
I mourn the death of story: Andrew Nicoll on The Love and Death of Caterina
Andrew Nicoll, author of The Good Mayor, has just released his second novel, The Love and Death of Caterina. Despite being kidnapped by S.A. Jones at a writers’ festival a few years back, he agreed to talk to her about his new book. The love and death … Read more
Interviews
César Aira: ‘Writing is my freedom, where I receive orders from no one, not even from myself’
Argentina’s César Aira has written and published over seventy novels (though no one seems certain how many there actually are), few of them longer than a hundred pages. He was first introduced to Anglophone readers in 1996, and five of his works are now available in English. … Read more
Interviews, Theatre
Interview with Tamara Saulwick, creator and performer of Pin Drop
Fears are something we are thought to grow out of, as we leave our childhood beds and the threat of monsters hidden beneath them. Yet, the ‘things that go bump in the night’ encountered as an adult have the potential to be far more real and dangerous. … Read more
Interviews
Excerpt: Kill Your Darlings in conversation with Ron Rash
For Issue Six, Kill Your Darlings was delighted to speak with North American writer Ron Rash. A poet, novelist and short story writer, Ron Rash has won many awards for his work, including the 2010 Frank O’Connor prize for his short story collection, Burning Bright. We spoke with Ron … Read more
Interviews
Interview with Raphael Brous: I Am Max Lamm
If a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, can it set off a tornado in Texas? Similarly, if a young tennis champion trains his forehand swing every day, could it have spectacularly lethal consequences? The notion of the ‘butterfly effect’ – where seemingly inconsequential conditions can have unintentionally devastating results – is a concept that came to mind in the reading of Raphael Brous’s Read more
Interviews
Interview with Alan Bissett: International Guest of the Emerging Writers’ Festival
The first time I meet Alan Bissett he’s wearing gold shoes. They have a backstory that is a combination of Cinderella and Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting. This is probably the best introduction … Read more
Interviews
Interview with James Bradley: The Penguin Book of the Ocean
‘To understand the ocean, to glimpse its meaning is, in other words, to understand ourselves, and by extension our place in the larger order of things.’ So muses James Bradley in the introduction to The Penguin Book of the Ocean, an anthology edited by Bradley and published … Read more
Interviews
“Things with multiple intense senses”: An interview with Shane Jones, author of Light Boxes
Shane Jones’ Light Boxes is difficult to describe well. It’s a tiny book – 167 pages – that begins with the name ‘Thaddeus’ in font so large – perhaps 36 point – that it breaks onto another line. Thaddeus describes a scene in his town; he’s watching … Read more
Interviews
On Writing: Michaela McGuire
When did you start writing? Why? I was given a beautiful burgundy journal when I was in Year Four and for whatever reason, I thought it’d be a good idea to walk around for weeks writing down everything my family members did. I remember watching TV with … Read more
