Always Take Notes
Always Take Notes is a fortnightly podcast from London for and about writers and writing. Hosts Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd speak to a diverse range of people in the industry on a variety of topics, from the mysteries of slush piles and per-word rates, to how data are changing the ways newspapers do business and how to pitch a book. patreon.com/alwaystakenotes
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In this episode Simon and Rachel speak to the prolific novelist Anthony Horowitz. Anthony is the author of the teen spy Alex Rider series, which has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide. The books have been adapted into a film and a show on Amazon Prime Video. Anthony has also written two continuation novels for
In this episode Rachel and Simon speak to the American novelist Susan Choi. Born in Indiana to a Korean father and Jewish mother, Susan is the author of six novels: "The Foreign Student" (1998), "American Woman" (2003), "A Person of Interest" (2008), "My Education" (2013), "Trust Exercise" (2019) and "Flashlight" (2025
In this episode Simon and Rachel speak to the novelist Dean Koontz. The author of over 120 books, Dean is published in 38 countries and has sold 500m copies to date. His suspense thrillers blend science fiction, horror, crime and comedy. Fourteen of Dean's novels - including "One Door Away From Heaven", "The Bad Place"
Rachel and Simon speak to the novelist Sarah Perry. Sarah is the internationally bestselling author of four novels - "After Me Comes the Flood" (2014), "The Essex Serpent" (2016), "Melmoth" (2018) and "Enlightenment" (2024) - as well as two works of non-fiction, "Essex Girls" (2020) and "Death of an Ordinary Man" (2025
Rachel and Simon speak with the screenwriter and novelist James Alistair Henry. James first started writing while working as a bookseller. He joined the writing team for Channel 4’s "Smack the Pony" and went on to write the BAFTA-award winning "Green Wing", ITV comedy "Delivery Man" and sitcom "Campus" as well as episo
Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist Eimear McBride. Born in Liverpool to Irish parents, Eimear studied acting before pursuing writing. Her debut novel, "A Girl is a Half-formed Thing", was published in 2013 after almost a decade of rejections; it went on to win the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Goldsmiths Prize,
