The Literary Salon

Soon, the lockdown would start. People would die alone, without any proper ceremony. Charlotte's death would be washed away, the first drop in a downpour. Nobody knew it then but hers would be the last good funeral of the year. It was February 2020, when Ed O'Loughlin heard that Charlotte, a woman he'd known had died, young and before her time. He realised that he was being led to reappraise his life, his family and his career as a foreign correspondent and acclaimed novelist in a new, colder light. He was suddenly faced with facts that he had been ignoring, that he was getting old, that he wasn't what he used to be, that his imagination, always over-active, had at some point reversed its direction, switching production from dreams to regrets. He saw he was mourning his former self, not Charlotte. The search for meaning becomes the driving theme of O'Loughlin's year of confinement. Moving, funny, and searingly honest, The Last Good Funeral of the Year takes the reader on a circular journey from present to past and back to the present: 'Could any true story end any other way?' The Last Funeral of the Year by Ed O’Loughlin is published by Quercus and available now in all good bookshops. Find a copy of the book in your local indie bookshop or support our podcast by buying a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the nights are still long and we’re experiencing some unusually stormy weather, what better way to make the most of this atmosphere than by reading a thriller? On today’s episode of the podcast, we’re featuring Ashley Audrain’s genre-busting The Push. An international bestseller, Ashley has crafted a page-turning psychological drama about a woman whose worst fears come true when she becomes a mother. ‘Gripping, clever, vividly realised… the ending left me flabbergasted.' The Guardian The Push is published by Michael Joseph and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exciting news! In this week’s episode of the podcast we feature rising star Charmaine Wilkerson with her debut novel Black Cake. It’s a truly captivating book about estranged siblings reunited after the death of their mother, encouraged to heal old wounds and share a slice of black Caribbean cake, ‘when the time is right.’ This one will get you right in the feels. And watch out for the upcoming television series which is being produced by none other than Oprah herself!  'A story as meaningful as it is delicious. At turns delightfully juicy and then stunningly wise, Black Cake is a winner' TAYLOR JENKINS REID   Black cake is published by Michael Joseph and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's LGBTQ+ History Month in the UK! We’re celebrating with the release of an episode featuring Jon Ransom’s debut novel The Whale Tattoo. It’s a fine work of queer literature that we’re excited to share with you.  When a giant sperm whale washes up on the local beach and tells Joe Gunner that death will follow him wherever he goes, Joe knows that the place he needs to go is back home. But his return throws sea salt in old wounds and dredges up rumours bubbling beneath the placid surface of this small town.  Please note this excellent reading contains explicit content! The Whale Tattoo by Jon Ransom is published by indie publisher Muswell Press. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Or for a special signed copy, you can order direct from London indie bookshop Gays the Word! 'The Whale Tattoo' is a stunning achievement - one of the most impressive and assured debuts I've ever read' - Matt Cain Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a dazzling memoir featured on the show this week! The Go-Between is a coming-of-age story that shines a light on the life of a young, creative boy growing up in 1980’s Birmingham. Osman Yousefzada grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, in a red-light district amidst divided immigrant communities. Despite these humble beginnings, he is now an internationally celebrated fashion designer who dresses the stars. Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez - all love his artistry. This is his remarkable story. The Go-Between by Osman Yousefzada is published by Canongate and available in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie, or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to our 200th podcast episode! In this episode we're sharing a beautifully written and uniquely told novel about a tragic event in history: the 1966 Aberfan Disaster where a landslide buried a school. William Lavery, a newly certified embalmer, offers up his services to the grieving families. As William soon discovers, giving so much to others can sometimes help us to heal ourselves. This book does so many things, and it does them powerfully. It's a story about masculinity, trauma, and above all - resilience. A Terrible Kindness is a must-read novel written by Jo Browning Wroe and published by Faber. It’s available now and we recommend buying a copy from your local indie, or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. A signed edition is also available from Waterstones.  ‘Utterly and completely brilliant.' JOANNA CANNON Podcast edited and produced by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back listeners to a new year of unmissable books that we can’t wait to share with you. This week we’re bringing you a reading from Irish author Megan Nolan’s sensational novel Acts of Desperation - one of the biggest books of the year!  In Megan’s visceral novel about love, loss and self-effacing obsession, she tells the story of an unnamed narrator’s descent into a toxic relationship with the man of her dreams. But their relationship is short-lived when he goes back to his ex-girlfriend and she’s left hopelessly wondering who she is without him.   Acts of Desperation is published by Vintage and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Plus, an exclusive paperback edition with beautiful sprayed edges is available from Waterstones. ‘Captures an intense experience with clarity and style. It is fully itself, and flawless in its way.’ Guardian Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We were so happy to launch Amor Towles’ international bestseller A Gentleman in Moscow back in 2017 (you can listen to that event here on the podcast) and we’re delighted to be sharing a reading from his new book The Lincoln Highway in this week’s episode! Already a New York Times bestseller, readers are discovering Amor’s imaginative coming-of-age novel about a young boy in the 1950’s embarking on the journey of a lifetime. The book combines everything we’ve come to expect from Amor’s writing: impeccable storytelling, richly drawn characters, and vivid settings. The Lincoln Highway is published by Hutchinson Heinemann and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you enjoy a dark thriller with romance and comedy thrown in, then tune in to this week’s episode featuring a reading by award-winning Finnish author and master of Scandi-noir, Antti Tuomainen. This non-stop novel follows Henri, an insurance mathematician who inherits a theme park. This dose of chaos might be just what his perfectly ordered life is missing - if he can survive the loan sharks, that is. The Rabbit Factor is published by Orenda Books, an indie press that specialises in literary and crime fiction. The book is available now in all good bookshops and as always, we recommend buying from your local indie. If you fancy a signed copy, you can get one from Waterstones here. Or you can get a copy from our shop at Bookshop.org. So many options! **Soon to be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios!** 'The funniest writer in Europe, and one of the very finest. There is a beautiful rhythm and poetry to the prose … original and brilliant story-telling' Helen FitzGerald Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're delighted to bring you an exclusive reading from the timely and arresting debut novel, In Every Mirror She’s Black. Three Black women are linked in unexpected ways to the same influential white man in Stockholm, as they build their new lives in the most open society, run by the most private people. This multi perspective story is told through the lives of Kemi, a successful marketing exec, Brittany-Rae, a former model turned flight attendant, and Muna, a refugee establishing her residency in Sweden. Their stories touch on important social issues surrounding racism, classism, fetishisation, and tokenism, exploring how each of these women uniquely navigates white-dominated society. “Beautifully complex and deftly drawn… a sexy, surprising, searing debut about love, loss, desire, and the many dimensions of Black womanhood.”—Deesha Philyaw Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström’s In Every Mirror She’s Black is published by Head of Zeus and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can grab a copy from our shop at Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coming to us all the way from South Korea, Lemon, written by multi-award winning author Kwon Yeo-sun, is a short novel translated by Janet Hong. While the plot centres around the tragic and unsolved murder of a beautiful adolescent, Kim Hae-on, the story is about the people in her life who are left to grapple with grief in their own personal ways. Told from three perspectives over the course of two decades, we are privy to the inner life and turmoil of Kim’s younger sister, Da-on, who has experienced so much loss at such a young age. 'A confounding masterpiece... One of the most profound page-turners you will ever encounter.' Matthew Salesses, author of Craft in the Real World Lemon by Kwon Yeo-sun is published by Head of Zeus and available now in all good bookshops. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have we got a chilling book in store for you! In this week’s episode, debut author A.J. West brings us a haunting historical novel entitled The Spirit Engineer. This reading is a particularly special treat as actor Dickon Farmar treats us to a fantastic performance. Belfast, 1914. Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, high society has become obsessed with seances. William Jackson Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sitting around the circle, voices come to him – seemingly from beyond the veil – placing doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind. Could the spirits truly be communicating with him or is this one of Kathleen’s parlour tricks gone too far? 'A fiendishly clever tale of ambition, deception, and power.' DERREN BROWN It’s the perfect book as the nights close in. Get in the spooky season with The Spirit Engineer, published by indie press Duckworth Books and available now in all good bookshops. Signed copies are available at Goldsboro Bookshop. You can also grab a copy from our shop at bookshop.org (where a percentage of proceeds goes to indie bookshops around the UK). Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BIG NEWS about our Autumn Season revealed for your ears only! Listen in to find out who our very exciting guests are and how YOU can get priority tickets before anyone else. We can't wait to be back with you IN PERSON for our UK events this season! Or you can still join us online, of course. Our newsletter subscribers are always first in line for tickets, so sign up *now* (link below) to avoid the tragedy of missing out. The special newsflash with priority tickets drops at 9am on Thursday 30th September (UK time). Tickets will then open to everyone via our website at noon. We hope you can join us in the coming months. SIGN UP FOR PRIORITY TICKETS NEWSFLASH https://www.theliterarysalon.co.uk/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sold by her mother. Enslaved in Pompeii's brothel. Determined to survive. Her name is Amara. Welcome to the Wolf Den… We’ve seen this book in just about every bookshop and we’re so glad to be hosting Elodie for an episode of the Literary Salon’s podcast.  By day, Amara walks the streets with the Wolf Den's other downtrodden women, finding comfort in their dreams and the laughter that they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learnt that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her? The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper is published by Head of Zeus and available now. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. 'Rich in historical detail, beauty and brutality, The Wolf Den brings to vivid life the doomed city of Pompeii and the powerlessness of its women. I loved it.' Caroline Lea, author of The Glass Woman Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're thrilled to bring you this new episode featuring Dinner Party by Sarah Gilmartin - a brilliant coming-of-age page-turner about the complications of sibling relationships and the trauma of family secrets. To mark the anniversary of a death in the family, Kate plans a dinner party - from the fancy table settings to the perfect Baked Alaska waiting in the freezer (yum!). But by the end of the night, old tensions have flared, the guests have fled, and Kate is spinning out of control. Set between the 1990s and the present day, from a farmhouse in Carlow to Trinity College, Dublin, Dinner Party is a dark, sharply observed debut that thrillingly unravels into tragedy. Dinner Party: A Tragedy is published 16th September by indie publisher Pushkin Press. We recommend buying from your local indie or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. 'Sarah Gilmartin is a natural writer: she gives us terrific, complex characters and strong themes, in prose that is easy, fluent and charged with insight.' Anne Enright, Booker Prize-winning author of THE GATHERING Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices