In the run up to Christmas I'll be dropping two special live episodes recorded live at the Birmingham Literature Festival earlier this autumn. The first conversation is with one of the most thoughtful people I’ve ever interviewed: the activist, author and academic, Elif Shafak. The author of 19 books, including the nov

Rachel and Simon speak with award-winning novelist Elif Shafak. The author of 12 novels and 7 works of non-fiction, her work has been translated into 55 languages. "The Forty Rules of Love" (2009) was chosen by the BBC as one of 100 novels that have shaped the world; "10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World" was sh

Elif Shafak is a bestselling author in several countries around the world and her work has been translated into a staggering 55 languages. A political scientist by training, her books are revered for their ability to weave intricate threads into enthralling stories. She talks to Georgina Godwin about her new novel, ‘Th

Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist whose work has been translated into 54 languages. Shafak's last novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and RSL Ondaatje Prize. She talks to Neil about her latest novel The Island of Missing Trees, set in Cyprus duri

For our first podcast of la rentrée we were delighted to be joined by Elif Shafak, with us to discuss her mesmerising new novel The Island of Missing Trees, a rich, magical tale of belonging and identity, love and trauma, memory and amnesia, human-induced destruction of nature, and, finally, renewal.Buy The Island of M

In this week’s show, I talk to the novelist Elif Shafak about the importance of the structure of literary novels, the sublime oddity of the mind, how politics deepen literature (so long as politics don’t drive literature), how research itself generates creativity, and how inclusive literature is the richest literature.