Books Up Close: The Podcast

Ep. 36. Ann Morgan, Relearning to Read: Adventures in Not Knowing

In today's episode I talk to Ann Morgan about her book Relearning to Read: Adventures in Not Knowing [https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/relearning-to-read-adventures-in-not-knowing-ann-morgan/484737f7084aebf8?ean=9781804471326&bkshp-astro=t](2025) Ann Morgan is an author and speaker based in Folkestone. Her first book, Reading the World, came out of a 2012 project to read a book from every country in a year (ayearofreadingtheworld.com [https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/]). This sees Ann continuing to blog about international literature, and corresponding and collaborating with writers, readers and literary organisations around the world to champion the sharing of stories underrepresented in mainstream anglophone publishing. Ann is also the author of two novels, international bestseller Beside Myself and Crossing Over. Her latest non-fiction book, Relearning to Read: Adventures in Not-Knowing (Renard Press, 2025), explores the unlearning that armchair travel requires, and celebrates how embracing incomprehension can help us read ourselves and our world better. Book recs: * Tété-Michel Kpomassie, Michel the Giant: An African in Greenland (trans. James Kirkup and Ross Schwartz)  * Solvej Balle, On the Calculation of Volume (trans. Barbara J. Haveland) Follow the show on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/booksupclose] and subscribe to the Substack [https://booksupclose.substack.com/] for transcripts and more links. Please leave feedback here [https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=ur7mk6rEMUevXdc1sJfq2-MtVOsMawJDpBA3aJ944dVUMkI4OTA3N0dBMUE2SDVJWlpaOE8zNlo4NC4u]. Follow Ann on Instagram (@ayearofreadingtheworld), bluesky (@annmorgan.bsky.social) or at https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com.  Produced, hosted, and edited by Chris Lloyd [https://www.instagram.com/chrisllloyd9].

Ep. 35. Ashton Politanoff, Dad Had a Bad Day

In today's episode I talk to Ashton Politanoff about his 2026 novel, Dad Had a Bad Day.  Ashton Politanoff is a frequent contributor to NOON, edited by Diane Williams. His writing has also appeared or is forthcoming in McSweeney’s, Southwest Review, Conjunctions, New York Tyrant, Egress, and elsewhere. He is a former division I tennis player and his childhood coach was Robert Lansdorp, who is credited with coaching Pete Sampras, Tracy Austin, and Maria Sharapova. His novel Dad Had a Bad Day is forthcoming Spring/Summer 2026 from Astra House (US) and Daunt Books (UK). Politanoff’s first novel, You’ll Like It Here, was published by Dalkey Archive in 2022. He is an English Professor at Cypress College. Book recs: * Damon Galgut, The Promise * Tana French, The Searcher Follow the show on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/booksupclose]and subscribe to the Substack [https://booksupclose.substack.com/] for transcripts and more links. Please leave feedback here [https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=ur7mk6rEMUevXdc1sJfq2-MtVOsMawJDpBA3aJ944dVUMkI4OTA3N0dBMUE2SDVJWlpaOE8zNlo4NC4u]. Produced, hosted, and edited by Chris Lloyd [https://www.instagram.com/chrisllloyd9].

Ep. 34. Carys Davies, Clear

In today's episode I talk to Carys Davies about her novel Clear [https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/clear-carys-davies/7591882?ean=9781803510422&next=t].  Carys Davies is the author of three novels and two collections of short stories. Her debut novel West was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, runner-up for the Society of Authors' McKitterick Prize, and winner of the Wales Book of the Year for Fiction. Her second novel The Mission House was The Sunday Times 2020 Novel Of The Year. Her latest novel Clear won the 2025 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, the 2025 Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, and the 2025 Wales Book of the Year, and has been nominated for many others, including the Walter Scott Prize, Scotland’s National Book Award, the Prix Femina, the Prix Médicis, and the Europese Literatuurprijs. Her short story collection The Redemption of Galen Pike won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. She is also the recipient of the Royal Society of Literature's V.S. Pritchett Prize, the Society of Authors' Olive Cook Short Story Award and a Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a 2025/26 Fellow at Columbia University’s Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris. Born in Wales, she grew up there and in the Midlands, lived and worked for twelve years in New York and Chicago, and now lives in Edinburgh. Episode notes: * Elizabeth McCracken, A Long Game Book recs: * Sylvia Townsend Warner, Mr Fortune's Maggot * Jessica Francis Kane, Fonseca  Follow the show on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/booksupclose]and subscribe to the Substack [https://booksupclose.substack.com/] for transcripts and more links. Please leave feedback here [https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=ur7mk6rEMUevXdc1sJfq2-MtVOsMawJDpBA3aJ944dVUMkI4OTA3N0dBMUE2SDVJWlpaOE8zNlo4NC4u].  Produced, hosted, and edited by Chris Lloyd [https://www.instagram.com/chrisllloyd9].

Ep. 33. Oluwaseun Olayiwola, 'Strange Beach'

In today's episode I walk to Oluwaseun Olayiwola about his poem 'Strange Beach' (the first one) from the book of the same name [https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/strange-beach-oluwaseun-olayiwola/7741269?ean=9781804271551&next=t]. Oluwaseun (Seun) Olayiwola is a poet, critic, choreographer and performer based in London. His creative and critical work has been published in The Poetry Review, PN Review, The Telegraph, the TLS and elsewhere. His choreographic work has been presented at the V&A, The Place, The Central School of Ballet, and Studio Voltaire. He’s been commissioned by RSL, Ledbury Poetry Festival, Southwark Council, and Studio 3 Arts. Seun has an MFA in Choreography from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where he was a Fulbright Scholar in 2018-2019. His debut collection was published by Fitzcarraldo Editions (UK) and Soft Skull Press (US). Since publication, Strange Beach has won an Eric Gregory Award and was Poetry Book Society Winter 2025 Special Commendation. Seun is an inaugural member of the Rose Choreographic School at Sadlers Wells East. He is a lecturer in dance in the Kingston School of Art and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Episode notes:  * Jorie Graham, 'Le Manteau De Pascal' * Negative Capability (Keats) * Claudia Rankine, Citizen * Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Spill * Christina Sharpe, In the Wake * Victoria Adukwei Bulley, 'The Ultra-Black Fish' [https://zencastr.com/z/A4HYRgcs] * Louise Glück * Robin Coste Lewis, Voyage of the Sable Venus * Maggie Nelson, Bluets  * Adam Phillips, The Life You Want  Book recs: * Claudia Rankine, Triage [https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/triage-truth-art-and-fiction-claudia-rankine/3484f5f530eb993c?ean=9780241828564&next=t] * Christina Sharpe, Ordinary Notes [https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/ordinary-notes-christina-sharpe/7448029?ean=9781914198144&next=t] * Carmen Maria Machado, In the Dream House [https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/in-the-dream-house-a-memoir-carmen-maria-machado/364838?ean=9781788162258&next=t] * Leo Bersani and Adam Phillips, Intimacies [https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/intimacies-leo-bersani/2765997?ean=9780226043456&next=t]  Follow the show on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/booksupclose]and subscribe to the Substack [https://booksupclose.substack.com/] for transcripts and more links. Please leave feedback here [https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=ur7mk6rEMUevXdc1sJfq2-MtVOsMawJDpBA3aJ944dVUMkI4OTA3N0dBMUE2SDVJWlpaOE8zNlo4NC4u]. Follow Seun on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/itsamule/?hl=en]. Produced, hosted, and edited by Chris Lloyd [https://www.instagram.com/chrisllloyd9].

Ep. 32. Kai Spellmeier, Boy Friends

In today's episode I talk to Kai Spellmeier about his new novel Boy Friends [https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/boy-friends-kai-spellmeier/7982020?ean=9781526693549&next=t] (Bloomsbury 2026). Kai Spellmeier is a German author currently living in England. He has published several books in Germany, including YA novels and non-fiction, and he has been blogging about books on Instagram for many years. Boy Friends is his English language debut. Book Recs: * Nina LaCour, Everything Leads to You * Cameron Sullivan, The Red Winter * Douglas Stewart, John of John  Follow the show on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/booksupclose]and subscribe to the Substack [https://booksupclose.substack.com/] for transcripts and more links. Please leave feedback here [https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=ur7mk6rEMUevXdc1sJfq2-MtVOsMawJDpBA3aJ944dVUMkI4OTA3N0dBMUE2SDVJWlpaOE8zNlo4NC4u]. Get more from Kai at his Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kaispellmeier/?hl=en-gb].  Produced, hosted, and edited by Chris Lloyd [https://www.instagram.com/chrisllloyd9].