Alphabet City

“Even though I had two journalism degrees, I just started thinking, ‘How can I get all the tools in my toolbox?’”

Roop Gill is Editorial Programme Manager at the Culture Trip, and has previously worked for a mobile news app, a social-media startup, and a Bitcoin website. She also runs a travel blog at roopgill.com and has an MA in financial journalism.

We talked about creating a career path that equips you with diverse skills, dealing with tech addiction, and how to figure out your professional superpower.

Liv Wynter is an artist, performer and activist who lives in Southeast London. At poetry nights, rap battles and art galleries, she has performed works that are tender and powerful, often dealing with surviving trauma. She recently resigned as artist-in-residence at the Tate due to remarks on sexual harrassment by the Tate’s director, and what she called “invisible inequalities of the institution.” www.livwynterartist.co.uk

“I think one of the things that journalism has suffered most from over the last decade is the lack of innovative business minds actually staying in the industry. It’s not like I want to get rich, but I want to make a living. And you’ve got to be a hustler to do that.”

This week’s guest is Lauren Razavi, a 25-year-old freelance journalist, managing director of the editorial consultancy Flibl and tutor for Guardian Masterclasses.

“Artists are always making the future - drawing blueprints and maps of what could be - and also recording history. Pop and rock musicians, hip-hop artists, they are telling stories that might not otherwise get recorded.”

Beverly Bryan writes about underground music scenes across the world and co-hosts the Latinx music podcast Songmess with fellow NYC journalist Richard Villegas. Her words can be found in Spin, Village Voice, Paste, and Remezcla, among other publications, and she was formerly Editorial Director at MTV World.

Alphabet City is a series of conversations with women and non-binary writers, hosted and produced by Jessica Holland, with music by Megaflora.

“Not waiting ’til tomorrow to do what you want to do — not being so afraid that you forget to live while you’re alive — that’s super important.”

Lorna Brown left her London life behind and travelled the world documenting graffiti-covered buildings in words and watercolours for her forthcoming book, Painted Cities. In this interview she describes tracking down giant murals in Cairo and figuring out what was essential for creative fulfilment while skateboarding in Palestine. Her advice to other writers and artists: be aware that you can’t fake authenticity, and remember that none of us lives forever.

Zahra Hankir is a London-based freelance journalist who is currently editing a book of essays by Arab women reporters for Penguin. She previously worked at Bloomberg News in Dubai before joining Facebook as a content specialist in 2016.

Here, she discusses how to successfully pitch a non-fiction book, and her favourite journalistic tips and tricks, and skewed media coverage of the Middle East.

"When the Arab Spring broke out, so many of my friends were doing such great coverage, Arab women from all around the region. But they were not commanding the narrative; the people commanding the narrative were Western males. The women’s voice is rarely heard. That doesn’t only shape the narrative, I think it distorts the narrative."

Alphabet City is a series of conversations with women and non-binary writers, hosted and produced by Jessica Holland, with music by Megaflora.