

Meet the Writers
Monocle
Want to know more about the authors behind your favourite books? Tune in to discover the methods of – and inspiration behind – some of the world’s most exciting writers. Every Saturday, Georgina Godwin hosts an in-depth discussion with the person behind the prose.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 3, 2025 • 31min
Jean McNeil on bearing witness to a disappearing world
Canadian author Jean McNeil reflects on her journey from Cape Breton Island to Antarctica in a conversation that explores grief, climate change and honouring the earth through her latest novel, ‘Latitudes’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 27, 2025 • 28min
Guadalupe Nettel on human nature in fiction
Georgina Godwin speaks to Guadalupe Nettel about her award-winning writing, life between Mexico and France, partial blindness and how human and animal behaviour inspires the themes in her latest work, ‘The Accidentals’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 23, 2025 • 30min
C K Stead at the 2025 Auckland Writers Festival
New Zealand literary giant C K Stead joins Georgina Godwin to discuss aging, mortality and his early fascination with poetry. He also reflects on his influential role in shaping New Zealand’s literature. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 20, 2025 • 27min
Karim Kattan on writing between languages and landscapes
Karim Kattan joins Georgina Godwin to discuss his upbringing in Bethlehem, putting Palestine in his own words and writing ‘The Palace on the Higher Hill’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 16, 2025 • 28min
Michael and Matariki Bennett at the 2025 Auckland Writers Festival
Georgina Godwin speaks with Michael and Matariki Bennett, co-curators of the Auckland Writers Festival, about their Māori heritage, the kōhanga reo movement and addressing sociopolitical issues through art.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 13, 2025 • 37min
Damian Le Bas on writing between worlds
Damian Le Bas joins Georgina Godwin to discuss his latest work, ‘The Drowned Places’, which delves into the myth of Atlantis and the sunken worlds beneath the ocean’s surface.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 9, 2025 • 23min
Agustina Bazterrica at Hay Festival 2025
Georgina Godwin speaks to Argentine author Agustina Bazterrica about her shift from opera to writing, literary influences and her novels exploring oppression, capitalism and control.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 6, 2025 • 33min
Esther Freud on family, fiction and healing
Esther Freud reflects on her childhood and literary journey to ‘My Sister and Other Lovers’, which follows two sisters facing secrets and heartbreak.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 2, 2025 • 31min
Damien Wilkins at the 2025 Auckland Writers Festival
Georgina Godwin meets Damien Wilkins, the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Award winner for fiction with his novel ‘Delirious’. Wilkins reflects on his early literary influences, past work and transitioning to songwriting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 29, 2025 • 25min
Eliza Reid on crafting her first mystery
Eliza Reid speaks to Georgina Godwin about growing up in Ottawa, her time as Iceland’s first lady and her debut whodunit, ‘Death of a Diplomat’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


