Ian Rankin didn’t think he was writing a crime novel when he sat down and started writing the first Rebus novel. Host Rupert Hawksley speaks to the acclaimed writer about what he thinks of having sold more than 30 million novels and which very famous crime writer Rankin has surprisingly never read.

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When Arianna Huffington left Greece for Cambridge she could barely speak English but still made it to become the head of the debate society during her time there. She co-founded the Huffington Post in 2005 and served as editor in Chief till 2016. Host Rupert Hawksley spoke to the woman who has authored 15 books but told the first publisher who approached her, “I can’t write”.

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Alexander McCall Smith, known as Sandy to his friends, writes around 3000 words a day, many days before 7am. Host Rupert Hawksley met up with the author and found out Sandy’s earliest reading memories, his gravest social embarrassment and the book that made him cry. 

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https://www.thenational.ae/podcasts

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