The Sunday Salon with Alice-Azania Jarvis

Deepa Anappara's novel Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line was one of the most hotly anticipated debuts of the year. Set in a slum on the outskirts of an unnamed Indian city, it centres on nine year old, cop-show obsessed Jai and his two best friends, who go looking for local children who’ve gone missing. It has won rave reviews from critics and high praise from Ian McEwan who described it as ‘brilliant’. Not that Deepa is aware of this - she told me she was too nervous to read any of the reviews. Perhaps this has to do with the controversy that Indian writers writing in English often face - namely, the idea that they are pandering to stereotypes of India, or romanticising poverty or even appropriating others' experiences. Our discussion of this was one of many things I found fascinating in our conversation, which also took in Deepa's career as an award-winning reporter in India, her habit of waking at 5.30am to write, the benefit of studying creative writing, and more. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Twitter: @aliceazania

Instagram: @aliceazania / @deepa.anappara

Buy the book here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/djinn-patrol-on-the-purple-line/deepa-anappara/9781784743086

Edited by Chelsey Moore

On the outside, Libby Page's life looks pretty perfect. Just 27, she has already written two hit novels - the Sunday Times bestseller The Lido and now, The 24 Hour Cafe. She has worked in both fashion journalism and in marketing, and briefly lived in Paris after quitting her job and renting an Air BnB for six weeks which sounds pretty dreamy. But as she reveals here, she has also battled anxiety and panic attacks - and had to fight to get her first book published, approaching endless agents and being rejected time and again. I'm so grateful to her for opening up about all of this - and I love the fact that, as a child, she was so book-obsessed that she used to go to writing camps! What a joyous chat - thank you Libby.

Twitter: @aliceazania / @LibbyPageWrites

Instagram: @aliceazania / @libbypagewrites

Buy the book here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-24-hour-cafe/libby-page/9781409175247

Edited by Chelsey Moore

Would we all be happier if we took up gardening? Possibly. Certainly, when Alice was left heartbroken after the collapse of a long-term relationship, she found tending to the collection of plants on the balcony of her South London flat helpful. The creator of the hugely popular ‘plantstagram’ account @noughticulture, Alice's memoir Rootbound: Rewilding a Life is beautifully written, and woven with fascinating dives into botanical history - as well as genuinely useful green-fingered advice. I loved chatting about her early career in music journalism interviewing wayward rock stars, the discipline it took to write alongside a full-time job, why botany was an early breeding ground for feminism, how she navigates the down sides of social media when she has such a massive following - and why you shouldn't feed plants in winter.

Twitter: @aliceazania / @alice_emily

Instagram: @aliceazania / @noughticulture

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rootbound-Rewilding-Life-Alice-Vincent/dp/1786897709

Edited by Chelsey Moore

What a way to start the new series! So much about this very special conversation with the literary legend that is Isabel Allende will stay with me - from her meeting with Barack Obama (he's ‘adorable’ apparently) to the terrible grief she experienced after her daughter's death, to the incredible archive of letters she has acquired from writing to her mother every day, finding love in her 70s, and what it was like living and working as a journalist in Chile during the Pinochet coup. We spoke at her hotel in Soho as she was promoting her brilliant new book A Long Petal of the Sea and it was just the most incredible experience.

Twitter: @aliceazania / @isabelallende

Instagram: @aliceazania / allendeisabel

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Petal-Sea-Isabel-Allende/dp/1526615908

Edited by Chelsey Moore

It’s the final episode of the year!!!!! Thank you so much to everyone who has listened to the Sunday Salon - after 48 episodes (!) I’m having a break for a few weeks, but I’ll be back next year with a new series.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this fittingly festive finale with Lucy Foley - whose best-selling book The Hunting Party is about what may be the worst New Year’s Eve ever. I LOVED this book, which has just come out in paperback. Set over the Christmas break, it revolves around a group of high-flying university friends who go to a remote Scottish Lodge for New Year’s Eve - which is when things start to go horribly wrong. The result is a brilliantly clever murder mystery in the vein of the classic Agatha Christies. We talk about that, Lucy’s previous career in publishing, genre discrimination, and how it feels when everyone assumes your sex scenes are based on reality (awkward).

FINALLY: while I have your attention, might you consider donating to my charity Christmas appeal in aid of the BookTrust which provides books to vulnerable children? The link to do so is here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sundaysalon

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hunting-Party-Lucy-Foley/dp/0008297150/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Twitter: @aliceazania @lucyfoleytweets

Instagram: @aliceazania @lucyfoleyauthor

Edited by Chelsey Moore

Thanks to the sponsors of this episode, No.3 London Dry Gin. Always drink responsibly, for the facts visit drinkaware.co.uk. @no3gin

I’ve known Catriona Innes for a little while now - she is the features director at Cosmopolitan and we shared an office when I was the acting deputy editor at ELLE. But I knew of her before that - because of her award-winning journalism, which has taken in everything from investigations into harassment on the Tube to what it was like growing up with a transgender father. Now she has written her first book, The Matchmaker, a moving, witty and hugely engaging novel about, yes, a professional matchmaker - but also about the gulf between how we present our lives to the outside world and the reality. I loved chatting to Catriona about how she made her dream career happen (before she got her job at Cosmo, she used to stand outside Hearst HQ, gazing at the office and hoping she’d one day get a job there), 6am daily writing sessions and more. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

ALSO: while I have your attention, might you consider donating to my charity Christmas appeal in aid of the Book Trust which provides books to vulnerable children? The link to do so is here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sundaysalon

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/140918837X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tu00_p1_i0

Twitter: @aliceazania @catreenaah

Instagram: @aliceazania @catreenaah

Edited by Chelsey Moore

Thanks to the sponsors of this episode, No.3 London Dry Gin. Always drink responsibly, for the facts visit drinkaware.co.uk. @no3gin

My guest this week is Eleanor Morgan, whose second book Hormonal: A Conversation About Women’s Bodies, Mental Health and Why We Need to Be Heard came out this year. It’s brilliant and beautifully written, combining Eleanor’s own experience with detailed research and interviews - a similar approach to the one taken in her first book, Anxiety for Beginners: A Personal Investigation. Eleanor is also a successful journalist, who has written for The Guardian, The Times, Vogue, GQ, The New York Times and more. I loved talking to her about the strange experience of putting personal stories into the public domain, why women’s health concerns have been historically neglected, the fight to get her second book published - and her decision to train as a psychologist.

ALSO: while I have your attention, might you consider donating to my charity Christmas appeal in aid of the Book Trust which provides books to vulnerable children? The link to do so is here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sundaysalon

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hormonal-Journey-Bodies-Affect-Difficult/dp/0349011397

Twitter: @aliceazania @eleanormorgan

Instagram: @aliceazania @eleanorlmorgan

Edited by Chelsey Moore

Thanks to the sponsors of this episode, No.3 London Dry Gin. Always drink responsibly, for the facts visit drinkaware.co.uk. @no3gin

Naomi Shimada and Sarah Raphael have spent much of their adult lives working online. Sarah has been an editor at major digital titles including Refinery 29, where she was editor, then editor at large. Naomi, meanwhile, is a model and activist, with tens of thousands of followers on Instagram. But what has spending so much time online done to them - and to the rest of us? This is the question they examine in Mixed Feelings: Exploring the emotional impact of our digital habits. I loved talking to them about the highs and lows of social media and the problem with being fixated on achievement.

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mixed-Feelings-Exploring-emotional-digital/dp/1787133982

Twitter: @aliceazania @ @sarah_raphael @naomishimada

Instagram: @aliceazania @sarah_raphael @naomishimada

Edited by Chelsey Moore

Thanks to the sponsors of this episode, No.3 London Dry Gin. Always drink responsibly, for the facts visit drinkaware.co.uk. @no3gin

Dawn O’Porter is brilliant. Not only has she fronted smart, thought-provoking documentaries, but she is also an author, including of the Sunday Times bestseller, The Cows. Now she has followed it up with So Lucky, a funny, honest, story of three women - and the gulf between how we present ourselves on social media and how life really is. I loved talking to her - she was so honest and warm, opening up about the confidence crisis she experienced when she first moved to LA, how she balances writing with having two young children and the very moving real-life inspiration behind So Lucky.

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dawn-OPorter-Untitled-Book-2/dp/0008126070

Twitter: @aliceazania @hotpatooties

Instagram: @aliceazania @hotpatooties

Edited by Chelsey Moore

Thanks to the sponsors of this episode, No.3 London Dry Gin. Always drink responsibly, for the facts visit drinkaware.co.uk. @no3gin

It's that time of year... party season is almost upon us and with it the social pressure it brings. As a closet introvert, I have had my fair share of party-fear. So it was a total delight to talk to Jessica Pan about her hilarious book Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: An Introvert’s Year of Living Dangerously. She does all kinds of quirky things in the name of conquering her fear of social situations, from stand up comedy to accosting strangers on the tube. I loved hearing her wacky stories (and her Christmas survival tips)

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sorry-Late-Didnt-Want-Come/dp/0857526154

Twitter: @aliceazania @JessicaLPan

Instagram: @aliceazania @jessypanpan

Edited by Chelsey Moore

Thanks to the sponsors of this episode, No.3 London Dry Gin. Always drink responsibly, for the facts visit drinkaware.co.uk. @no3gin