Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa

From The Archives: Malorie Blackman on race, language and the legacy of Noughts & Crosses

From the archives this month, we revisit Dua’s conversation with Malorie Blackman, the former Children’s Laureate and author of the groundbreaking young adult series Noughts & Crosses.   The novel follows Callum and Sephy, childhood friends growing up on opposite sides of a violently segregated society, where the ruling Crosses hold power over the oppressed Noughts.   More than 20 years after its release, Dua and Malorie discuss Noughts & Crosses’ lasting impact and why its themes of inequality, identity and division remain so relevant today. Together, they explore the lived experiences and inspirations behind the novel, as well as touching on the role of language, prejudice and storytelling, as well as how fiction can challenge the way we see one another.   Tune into the full conversation above.  Join the club:  📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com [books@service95.com]  📲 Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews  📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at service95.com [http://www.service95.com/]  And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

So Late In The Day: Dua Lipa & Claire Keegan On Everyday Misogyny

For her May Service95 Book Club interview, Dua Lipa is joined by one of Ireland’s most celebrated short story writers, Claire Keegan.  Together, they explore Keegan’s powerful read So Late In The Day: a sharp, unsettling portrait of a man whose lack of generosity towards his fiancée gradually reveals the often quiet yet destructive nature of modern misogyny.  Dua and Claire unpack the story’s subtle details, discussing how the author’s experiences as a woman living in Ireland helped to shape the narrative, and how – in a book that takes less than an hour to read – she captures an unsettling dynamic that resonates in relationships worldwide.  There’s also a special bonus for dog lovers: keep watching for a charming appearance from a four-legged guest…  Join the club:  📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com  📲 Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews  📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at service95.com  And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

From The Archives: Tomasz Jedrowski on his queer coming-of-age love story set in communist Poland

From the archives this month, we bring you Dua’s conversation with Polish-German author Tomasz Jedrowski, author of Swimming In The Dark.    Set in 1980, it’s a story of first love between Ludwig and Janus, told against the backdrop of communist Poland as the regime starts to crumble.    This queer coming of age story explores a time and place where love, class and politics do not exist in isolation. The communist party looms large in this story, impacting both professional and personal relationships.    Dua and Tomasz reflect on what might have been if their parents had not made the choices they did. Tomasz asks what life would have been like for a young gay man in Warsaw in his parents’ generation and Dua imagines growing up in Kosovo under the shadow of war.    It’s an intimate and beautiful conversation that illuminates a turbulent period of recent history that many people today know little about.   Join the club:  📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com [books@service95.com]  📲 Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews  📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at service95.com [http://www.service95.com/]  And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

All About ‘Jerusalem’: Jez Butterworth Answers Your Questions

In this episode of the Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa, we’re passing the mic back to you. Dua put your questions to Jez Butterworth about her April Monthly Read, Jerusalem – and here, he answers them.  Jez traces the play’s origins back to New Year’s Eve 2000, explains how it came to find its name and goes inside his writing process: what tends to come first, which scene he found most difficult to write and the unique rituals that shape his writing.  Watch (or listen to) the full conversation to go deeper into Jerusalem, Dua Lipa’s April read for the Service95 Book Club.  Join the club:  📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com [books@service95.com]  📲 Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews  📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at service95.com [http://www.service95.com/]  And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Jez Butterworth Reads The ‘Jerusalem’ Passage He Found Hardest To Write

For the April edition of the Service95 Book Club, Dua Lipa sits down with playwright Jez Butterworth to discuss his modern masterpiece, Jerusalem. If you’ve never read a play before, this is the place to start.  With its raw, visceral portrait of myth, rebellion and a nation wrestling with its own identity, it’s widely regarded as one of the greatest British plays of the 21st century.  In this special video, Jez Butterworth reads a powerful excerpt from the play featuring Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron dispensing life advice to his young son Marky – a rare father-son moment filled with folklore and the wild inheritance of blood and belonging. “It was, at that point in 2009, the hardest thing I’d ever attempted to write… It was a massive challenge for me,” says Jez of the passage.   Jerusalem blurs the line between truth and myth, capturing Rooster’s attempt to pass down something larger than himself; an inheritance of wildness, belonging and belief.  If you haven’t already, be sure to catch Dua and Jez’s full interview, too, available to watch now here [https://www.service95.com/dua-lipa-jez-butterworth-book-club-interview].  Join the club:  📩 Email us your thoughts – ⁠books@service95.com⁠ [books@service95.com]  📲 Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews  📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at ⁠service95.com⁠ [http://www.service95.com/]  And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]