George Saunders is best known as a writer of short stories. In fact, he's often considered to one of the greatest living short story writers in the world. In 2017, however, he took home the Booker Prize for his first (and so far only) novel – the startlingly original Lincoln in the Bardo. The book follows Willie Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln, as he succumbs to illness and ends up in the bardo, a limbo-like state between the living and the dead. This week, George Saunders joins James and Jo to tell us all about how winning the Booker Prize changed his life, his writing, and what makes a great writer.

In this episode Jo and James speak to George about:

Reading list:

Further reading:

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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