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PODCAST

Lit with Charles

Welcome to Lit With Charles, a podcast on all things literary! I"m Charles Pignal, and every fortnight I’m asking guests about the four books which have made the biggest impact on their lives and work. If you"re like me, you love literature – but maybe aren"t always sure what you should be reading. The aim of this podcast is to make literature exciting and accessible; in each episode writers, artists, and other interesting people are giving real recommendations, to help you discover new books

arts books

All Episodes

00:41:13

Tom Ayling, a bookseller for Jonkers Rare books (REPLAY)

Lit with Charles ·

2025/10/06

We’re revisiting one of our most popular episodes: a 2023 conversation with rare bookseller Tom Ayling. Tom shares insights into the world of rare and antiquarian books — from the thrill of uncovering forgotten first editions to the evolving market for collectors.Now running his own business in Oxfordshire, Tom offers a behind-the-scenes look at book collecting, the history of the trade, and the enduring appeal of physical books. Perfect for anyone curious about rare books, literary history, and the

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00:50:49

Tom McCarthy, author of "The Threshold and The Ledger"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/09/29

Today I’m joined by acclaimed novelist and critic Tom McCarthy to talk about his latest book, The Threshold and the Ledger, a fascinating exploration of Ingeborg Bachmann — one of the most important writers of postwar European literature.We discuss Bachmann’s major works, including Malina and Salt and Bread, and the recurring themes of trauma, memory, history, and hospitality in her writing. Tom also shares the writers and books that shaped his own work, and we explore the connections between

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00:44:16

Alexander Starritt, author of "We Germans"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/09/22

In this episode of Lit with Charles, I speak with Alexander Starritt, author of the novels We Germans (2020) and Drayton and Mackenzie (2024).We Germans is a devastatingly humane wartime confession: an elderly German writes a long letter to his British grandson about serving on the Eastern Front, with the grandson’s present-day interjections sharpening the moral contrasts between war and ordinary life. Drayton and Mackenzie is a rare, gripping business novel that follows two friends from graduation

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00:46:07

Benjamin Pester, author of "The Expansion Project"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/09/15

In this episode of Lit with Charles, I speak with Ben Pester, author of the novel The Expansion Project.Blending corporate satire with surrealism, The Expansion Project follows Tom, who brings his daughter Hen to Capmeadow Business Park for “Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.” When Hen vanishes without a trace, Tom’s reality begins to unravel. Decades later, an unnamed Archivist pieces together the story from the ruins of the mysterious “Expansion Project.”We discuss Ben’s approach to structure,

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00:39:02

Amy Twigg, author of "Spoilt Creatures"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/09/08

This week, we’re doing something a little different. Normally I’m the one asking the questions, but today, in the name of bringing new voices into the conversation, I’m handing the mic over to someone who usually works behind the scenes on the Lit With Charles podcast – Liv. In this episode, she speaks with British author Amy Twigg, whose fantastic debut Spoilt Creatures follows a 30-something woman as she joins an all-women commune in rural Kent, and falls down the rabbit hole in all that entails

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00:37:19

Alice Austen, author of "33 Place Brugmann"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/09/01

Today’s guest is a truly remarkable creative – novellist, screenwriter, playwright, producer, past resident of the Royal Court Theatre, co-founder of the Harvard Human Rights Journal, winner of the John Cassavetes Award for film, as well as the first American to receive a fellowship to the European Court of Human Rights. I spoke with Alice Austen about her debut book, 33 Place Brugmann, which is a suspenseful, emotive portrait of a Brussels apartment block during the Second World War. It’s always a

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00:36:48

Caitlin Macy

Lit with Charles ·

2025/08/26

Today’s episode marks a very fun development in the Lit With Charles universe: my first repeat podcast guest! Caitlin Macy is an American writer known for her sharp portrayals of class, privilege, and social dynamics – especially of New York City’s elite. So, when I visited the States a few weeks ago, I knew I wanted to make time to chat with her. Caitlin is a fantastic writer, and I found her thoughts on literature (and four book selections) absolutely fascinating.Lit with Charles loves reviews

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00:45:39

Joanna Pocock, author of "Greyhound"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/08/18

This week, I spoke with the Irish-Canadian author Joanna Pocock, whose new memoir, Greyhound, absolutely blew me away. The story follows Joanna as she recounts two journeys – one from 2006, and one from 2023 – that she took across the United States of America. However, unlike the classic ‘roadtrip’ novel, Joanna undertook the entirety of both journeys by Greyhound bus. What follows is an incredible portrait of a nation and its people: a feminist, ecological, anti-capitalist, profoundly humanist

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00:44:02

Tash Aw, author of "The South"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/08/11

My guest today is Tash Aw, the acclaimed author of The South, a moving coming-of-age novel set during the 1997 Southeast Asian financial crisis. The story follows 16-year-old Jay as he spends a summer on his family’s orchard in southern Malaysia, navigating family tension, economic uncertainty, and a tender relationship with another boy. It’s a quiet, potent emotional journey, as both wrestle with identity, desire, and belonging. In addition to The South, Tash is the author of several award-winning

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00:37:16

Gethan Dick, author of "Water in the Desert Fire in...

Lit with Charles ·

2025/08/04

My guest today is artist and writer Gethan Dick, an Irish-born author, living in Marseille, who has written a very interesting book about survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Specifically, how pregnancy, childbirth, and childrearing interface with a desperate quest for humanity’s continuation. In the episode, we talk about the emotional and philosophical questions that arise when survival becomes the only goal, and Gethan shares her inspirations, her writing process, and how her journey through

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01:00:05

Damon Galgut, author of "In A Strange Room"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/07/28

In this episode, I sit down with celebrated South African novelist and playwright Damon Galgut, a literary voice I’ve admired for years. Damon Galgut is the acclaimed author of The Promise, winner of the 2021 Booker Prize, and has been shortlisted for the prestigious literary award three times over the course of his writing career.We discuss his lifelong relationship with literature, his unique approach to fiction writing, and how his novels grapple with themes of identity, morality, and the

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00:40:43

Ed Park, author of "An Oral History of Atlantis"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/07/21

Sometimes you meet a person who seems to have done it all – and today’s guest is definitely one of those guys. Ed Park is an American writer, journalist and general man of letters, born in New York, of Korean extraction. And, along with writing truly remarkable fiction, over the last few decades, he’s been involved with all sides of the literary sphere. We met on a rainy morning in New York City where we recorded this interview to discuss his latest book An Oral History of Atlantis, which is coming

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00:45:19

Sue Prideaux, author of "Wild Thing"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/07/14

It was an incredible honour to interview an author I have been following for a long time, and itching to get on the show. Sue Prideaux is an acclaimed Anglo‑Norwegian biographer and novelist. Her works include I Am Dynamite!, a biography of Friedrich Nietzsche I read and reviewed last year, and more recently Wild Thing, a biography of French artist Paul Gauguin. I Am Dynamite! was named The Times Biography of the Year for 2018, and won the Hawthornden Prize for ‘imaginative literature’, and Wild

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00:42:53

Aatish Taseer, author of "A Return to Self"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/07/07

My guest today is someone I’m lucky enough to have known personally for many years, so getting the chance to interview him today was a real treat. Aastish Taseer is a writer and thinker who straddles many cultures – Indian, American, British – and this cultural journey infuses his writing with refined and penetrative insights. I first met him in India, when I was living in Delhi and he took me under his wing and introduced me around & gave me some great tips on how to navigate this massive city

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00:46:57

Lee Cole, author of "Fulfillment"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/06/30

To kick off the new season, I’m joined by the brilliant Lee Cole, whose writing captures the heart, complexity, and contradictions of contemporary America. Raised in rural western Kentucky, Lee’s fiction explores themes of identity, class, and belonging with a rare mix of tenderness and clarity. In this episode, we talk about the power of literature to reveal lives and landscapes we might never otherwise encounter, and why writing about home can be both fraught and freeing.If you love stories that

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00:38:22

Best of Season 2

Lit with Charles ·

2025/05/19

Time to close another season of the Lit with Charles podcast! During this second season, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to some truly amazing authors about the books that have influenced them, the books they’ve written, and how they approach their work. For this episode, I've gone through the archive of interviews to shine a spotlight on a few of my favourite moments. It's an eclectic mix of authors sharing their thoughts on a varied list of subjects and books, and I hope you enjoy it!Lit

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00:40:06

Francesca Wade, author of "Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/05/06

Gertrude Stein is a name that inspires equal amounts of both awe and fear in prospective readers. An absolute icon in her time, she was an unparalleled tastemaker: collecting work from Picasso and Matisse when they were unknown local painters; mentoring Hemingway and Fitzgerald as bright-eyed, unpublished hopefuls; and hosting ‘talk of the town’ salons at her Parisian abode. However, when it comes to her writing, things have always been a bit more complicated.To help me unpack the life, legacy, and

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00:46:28

Sarah Maria Griffin, author of “Eat the Ones You Love”

Lit with Charles ·

2025/04/21

In this episode, I’m joined by Irish writer Sarah Maria Griffin to talk about the four books that have most shaped her creative journey – from early influences to enduring literary obsessions. It’s a fantastic conversation, ending with her newest work, Eat The Ones You Love, a bold and visceral work of feminist horror. In the episode we talk about writing as transformation, the power and joy of horror, and what it means to create with teeth.Sarah Maria Griffin’s four books were:Howl’s Moving Castle

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00:26:02

Book Club Bites: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her...

Lit with Charles ·

2025/04/07

Today’s episode looks a lot like the last one. Again, I wanted to dive deeper into one of our Book Club selections and in March, we read “Dream Count” by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In this episode, we look at her biography, at this specific novel, and how it fits into her wider work. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and follow me on Instagram (@litwithcharles) to keep the literary conversations going. Let’s get more people listening - and reading!

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00:13:25

Book Club Bites: James Baldwin, author of "Giovanni's...

Lit with Charles ·

2025/03/24

Today’s episode looks a little different – rather than interviewing a guest about their work, I’m getting to grips with our last Lit With Charles book club pick. We read James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room last month as a community, and I, along with many of you, absolutely loved it. So, I’m using this space to reflect on that experience, share my thoughts and feelings about the book, and take a moment to dive deep into Baldwin’s life and bibliography. I’d love to hear from you what you think about this

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