The Shakespeare and Company Interview
Books & Literature
About
Discover your next favourite book, or take a deep dive into the mind of an author you love, with The Shakespeare and Company Interview podcast. Long-form interviews with internationally acclaimed authors, recorded from our bookshop in the heart of Paris. Hosted by S&Co Literary Director, Adam Biles. Discover all our upcoming events here . If you enjoy these conversations, you can order The Shakespeare and Company Book of Interviews here . Past guests include: Ottessa Moshfegh, Ian McEwan, Ali Smith, Har Kunzru, Rachel Kushner, Katie Kitamura, Elif Shafak, Claire-Louiose Bennett, Leïla Simoni, Ian Dunt, David Runciman, Richard Powers, Eimear McBride, Armando Iannucci, Lauren Grodd, Lauren Elk
Episodes
- Shelter and Storm: Arundhati Roy on Writing Her Mother
An edited version of this conversation is now available as part of our collaboration with The Yale Review . Read it here: https://yalereview.org/article/shakespeare-and-company-interview-arundhati-roy Recorded live at Shakespeare and…
- Ben Lerner on Transcription
Recorded live at Shakespeare and Company, Adam Biles speaks with Ben Lerner about his novel Transcription , a formally inventive meditation on technology, memory, and human connection. Beginning with the novel’s deceptively simple premise…
- Why Translate Homer Again? Daniel Mendelsohn on his new Odyssey
Why Translate Homer Again? Daniel Mendelsohn on his new Odyssey This conversation explore’s Daniel Mendelsohn’s new translation of The Odyssey. Mendelsohn reflects on why this endlessly retranslated text still invites fresh interpretation,…
- Rare Book Collecting with Ben Brown
In this special edition, we revisit three conversations with Shakespeare and Company rare book dealer Ben Brown, originally recorded in 2022. Across these episodes, Ben guides us into the fascinating, often mysterious world of book collect…
- Going South: Tash Aw on Inheritance, Identity, and Escape
This week Adam Biles speaks with Tash Aw about The South , his novel of inheritance, identity, and quiet upheaval. Set on a decaying farm in southern Malaysia, the story follows a family confronting generational fracture, class tension, an…
- Booker Prize Winner David Szalay on Agency, Violence, and Restraint
An edited version of this conversation is now available as part of our collaboration with The Yale Review . Read it here: https://yalereview.org/article/shakespeare-and-company-interview-david-szalay This week Adam Biles sits down with Boo…
- Murder, Mannerism and the Medicis with Laurent Binet
Recorded live in the bookshop, this conversation dives into the inventive world of Perspectives, Laurent Binet’s historical novel that transforms Renaissance Florence into the scene of a gripping whodunnit. The discussion explores how a re…
- George Saunders: Fiction, Free Will, and the Question of Redemption
George Saunders returns to the Shakespeare and Company Podcast to talk with host Adam Biles about Vigil , his long-awaited new novel. Set on the threshold between life and death, Vigil follows a dying oil executive and the ghost tasked wit…
- Narrative Amid Trauma: Emily LaBarge in conversation
In this wide-ranging and deeply thoughtful conversation, writer Emily LaBarge speaks with host Adam Biles about Dog Days, her groundbreaking new work of nonfiction. Rooted in the 2009 hostage event she and her family survived while on holi…
- See It, Say It, Sorted: Jonathan Coe’s Genre-Bending Novel
In this episode, Adam Biles welcomes Jonathan Coe to Shakespeare and Company in Paris for a rich, funny, and wide-ranging conversation about Coe’s genre-bending novel The Proof of My Innocence . What begins as a playful pastiche of a cozy…
- Books Matter More Than Ever: A Conversation with Ian Patterson
In this episode of the Shakespeare and Company Podcast, Adam Biles speaks with poet, translator and critic Ian Patterson about Books: A Manifesto , his passionate defence of reading in all its forms. What begins with the construction of a…
- John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs, with Ian Leslie
In this live conversation at Shakespeare & Company in Paris, Adam Biles speaks with writer Ian Leslie about John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs , Leslie’s acclaimed exploration of the creative and emotional bond at the heart of The Beatles.…
- When Stories Fall Apart: Miriam Robinson on Love, Loss, and Truth
In this intimate conversation recorded at Shakespeare and Company, novelist Miriam Robinson joins Adam Biles to discuss her remarkable debut, And Notre Dame Is Burning. Together, they explore the novel’s fractured structure and the emotion…
- Why We Write, Why We Live, with Miriam Toews
An edited version of this conversation is now available as part of our collaboration with The Yale Review . Read it here: https://yalereview.org/article/shakespeare-and-company-interview-miriam-toews Trigger warning: This is a tender, funn…
- How France Lost Its Way, with Andrew Hussey
In this episode recorded live at Shakespeare and Company, historian and cultural critic Andrew Hussey joins Adam Biles to discuss his powerful new book, Fractured France: A Journey Through a Divided Nation. With wit, erudition, and decades…
- Philippe Sands: Pinochet, Walter Rauff, and the Shadows of History
This week Adam Biles speaks with international lawyer and acclaimed author Philippe Sands about his latest book, 38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia. Building on East West Street and The Ratline, San…
- Moonlight Express: Monisha Rajesh on the Magic of Night Trains
In this conversation recorded live at Shakespeare and Company, travel writer Monisha Rajesh talks about her new book Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train . From Paris to Istanbul, Scotland to India, the United States to Lapla…
- Twenty Writers, One Bookshop: The Shakespeare and Company Book of Interviews, now in paperback
In this special episode of the Shakespeare and Company Interview Podcast, we celebrate the paperback release of The Shakespeare and Company Book of Interviews (Canongate), a compelling collection of literary conversations recorded live at…
- Small Girl, Big Ideas: Getting to know Mafalda, with Samanta Schweblin and Frank Wynne
In this episode Adam speaks with translator Frank Wynne and Argentinian writer Samanta Schweblin about the first-ever English edition of Mafalda , the beloved Argentine comic strip by Quino (Archipelago Books). Together, they explore how t…
- Calls May Be Recorded: Lipstick, Loneliness, and Late Capitalism with Katharina Volckmer
Katharina Volckmer joins Adam Biles to discuss her biting, bleakly funny second novel, Calls May Be Recorded for Training and Monitoring Purposes. Set in a London call centre, the book follows Jimmie, a disillusioned former actor trapped i…
- The Shape of Survival: Eimear McBride on Love, Art, and the City
In this textured conversation, author Eimear McBride joins Adam Biles at Shakespeare and Company to discuss her latest novel The City Changes Its Face . Set in Camden Town in the 1990s, the book revisits characters from The Lesser Bohemian…
- Katie Kitamura on Fiction’s Shifting Realities
Katie Kitamura joins Adam Biles to discuss her remarkable novel Audition . Centred on a middle-aged actress whose settled life is upended by a young man claiming to be her son, Audition blurs the lines between performance, identity, and na…
- Renton Returns, Sick Boy in Love: Irvine Welsh Reimagines His Antiheroes
In this electric conversation, Irvine Welsh joins Adam Biles at Shakespeare and Company to discuss Men in Love , the long-awaited sequel to Trainspotting . Picking up moments after Renton's betrayal, Welsh dives deep into the aftermath—fri…
- Inside the Story Machine: Natasha Brown on Media, Power, and Fiction
In this episode novelist Natasha Brown joins Adam Biles to discuss her daring second book, Universality. The conversation explores the novel’s structural audacity—opening with a fictional long-read article—and its thematic interrogati…
- Making Sense of Gertrude Stein, with Francesca Wade
In this rich conversation, Francesca Wade joins Adam Biles to discuss her biography Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife. Wade explores the complexities of Stein’s life, legacy, and literary innovations, foregrounding Stein’s long-overlooked partn…
- Geoff Dyer’s Homework: Family, Class, and Memory
In this episode, Adam Biles speaks with acclaimed author Geoff Dyer live from Shakespeare and Company about his new memoir, Homework . Dyer reflects on growing up in 1960s Cheltenham, navigating family, class, and the formation of self. Wi…
- Rebecca Solnit: Changing the Story, Changing the World
In this powerful in-store conversation, Rebecca Solnit joins Adam Biles to discuss her new book No Straight Road Takes You There — a rallying call for hope, justice, and the reimagining of our collective future. With wit, clarity, and cour…
- The Book That Refuses to End: Catherine Lacey on The Möbius Book
In this episode of the Shakespeare and Company Podcast, Adam Biles speaks with acclaimed author Catherine Lacey about her daring new work The Möbius Book . Structured as a "Tête-bêche"—two intertwined texts printed back-to-back—the book pa…
- Writing the Unspeakable: Neige Sinno on Abuse, Memory, and Language
Trigger Warning: This episode contains detailed discussions of child sexual abuse, rape, trauma, and the failures of the justice system. In this powerful and deeply affecting conversation, Neige Sinno speaks with Adam Biles about her landm…
- On the Edge of the Real: Guadalupe Nettel on The Accidentals
In this rich conversation, Guadalupe Nettel joins Adam Biles at Shakespeare and Company to explore the themes of her short story collection The Accidentals. They delve into the complexities of perception and the uncanny, the deep strangene…
- William Blake, Sea Monsters, and the Ecstasy of Art, with Philip Hoare
In this episode of the Shakespeare and Company Interview Podcast, Adam Biles welcomes Philip Hoare to the bookstore for a mesmerizing conversation about Hoare’s latest book, William Blake and the Sea Monsters of Love. With characteris…
- Overnight: Dan Richards on Sleep, Service, and the Secrets of the Small Hours
In this episode, Adam Biles is joined by writer Dan Richards to talk about his new book Overnight , a deep dive into the world of the night and the people who live and work while the rest of us sleep. From ferry captains and bakers to ICU…
- Bruise, Heal, Repeat: Anna Whitwham on On Boxing, Loss, and the Female Body
In this episode, Adam Biles is joined in the bookshop’s writing studio by Anna Whitwham, author of Soft Tissue Damage , a raw and electrifying memoir of grief, boxing, and womanhood. Following her mother’s death, Whitwham trained and fough…
- Solvej Balle on Time, Wonder, and Writing the Impossible *International Booker Prize Shortlist*
In this episode recorded live at Shakespeare and Company, celebrated Danish author Solvej Balle returns to the bookshop she once called home to discuss her monumental literary project On the Calculation of Volume . The novel’s protagonist,…
- Nobel Prizewinner Abdulrazak Gurnah on Theft, Love, and the Power of Fiction
Nobel Prize-winning author Abdulrazak Gurnah sits down with Adam Biles in store to discuss his new novel, Theft . Their conversation delves into the intricate interplay between personal history and the enduring legacy of colonialism, exami…
- BONUS: Jeremy Pelt on Preserving Jazz Through Storytelling
For this bonus episode, the Shakespeare and Company podcast welcomes Jeremy Pelt, renowned jazz trumpeter and author of Griot: Examining the Lives of Jazz Great Storytellers . In conversation with Alex Freiman, Pelt discusses the evolution…
- Reimagining Moby-Dick, with Xiaolu Guo
In this episode, we’re joined by novelist and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo to discuss her latest novel, Call Me Ishmaelle . A bold reimagining of Moby-Dick , Guo's novel audaciously swaps the gender of Melville’s narrator and plunges into a world…
- 2016: The Year That Broke Us - with poet and oral-historian Sarah Hesketh
In this thought-provoking discussion, poet and oral historian Sarah Hesketh discusses her latest book, 2016 (CB Editions), a powerful exploration of one of the most pivotal years in recent history. Through a poetic and documentary approach…
- The Power of Voice – Sulaiman Addonia on The Seers
In this special live recording we dive into The Seers , the mesmerising new novel by Sulaiman Addonia . In conversation with Adam Biles , Addonia shares the story behind his bold, unfiltered novel—written as a single, unbroken paragraph—th…
- Acts of Resistance: Amber Massie-Blomfield on the Power of Art to Shape a Better World
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Amber Massie-Blomfield, author of Acts of Resistance: The Power of Art to Create a Better World . This conversation, recorded in store, dives into the profound role art plays in times of cr…
- Democracy at Risk: Salomé Saqué on Resisting the Far Right
In this pivotal episode, Adam Biles speaks with French journalist and author Salomé Saqué about her urgent new book, Résister . Recorded two days after the death of French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen and coinciding with Donald Trump…
- Bloomcast Holiday Special: Watt by Samuel Beckett, Episode 2
For the second part of this year’s Bloomcast Holiday Special, Alice, Lex, and Adam get help from novelist Claire-Louise Bennett and Philosophy professor Foad Dizadji-Bahmani to explore how it challenges conventional ideas of narrative, lan…
- Claire-Louise Bennett returns to the Pond
Originally published by The Stinging Fly Press in Ireland on 2015, Claire-Louise Bennett’s POND found a wider audience with its UK publisher, the then nascent Fitzcarraldo Editions—the paradigm-shifting house that is currently celebrating…
- Bloomcast Holiday Special: Watt by Samuel Beckett, Episode 1
Happy Joycension Day! For this year’s Bloomcast Holiday Special, Alice, Lex, and Adam reunited for a lively discussion of Watt by Samuel Beckett, asking: How does Beckett’s minimalist, disintegrative style compare to James Joyce’s exp…
- Yasmin Zaher on The Coin
The publication of The Coin by Yasmin Zaher marks the arrival of a determinedly contemporary, sometimes confounding, always compelling voice in English-language literature. Telling the story of a young Palestinian woman, struggling to make…
- David Runciman: “The history of ideas is about letting people believe in things that they hadn't previously thought possible…”
In a world overwhelmed by complex political challenges and endless commentary, where can we turn for insight into how we got here—and where we might go next? From the survival of democracy to the rise of AI, from confronting inequality to…
- Dorian Lynskey on the Stories We Tell About the End of the World…
Why are we so obsessed with the apocalypse? Is it a reaction to the state of the world—climate catastrophe, regional wars threatening global conflict, pandemic scares, and the unsettling rise of AI—or does it run deeper? Is it inherent to…
- Emmanuel Carrère on V13: “A unique experience of horror, pity, proximity and presence…”
On the night of Friday, 13 November 2015, three suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the Stade de France during a football match between France and Germany, attended by President François Hollande. By 1am the next morning, 130 victim…
- Denis Hirson: “They Called My Father A One-Man Revolution”
Denis Hirson’s My Thirty Minute Bar Mitzvah can be read as many different books. It can be read as a new, deeply personal, take on a pivotal episode in the history of South Africa. It can be read as a tender reflection on the mind of the a…
- BONUS: Lauren Elkin on Scaffolding (in conversation with Amanda Dennis)
In 2019, Anna, a psychoanalyst, is processing a recent miscarriage. Her husband, David, takes a job in London so she spends days obsessing over renovating the kitchen while befriending a younger woman called Clémentine who has moved into t…