What if you could be locked away simply for having disturbing dreams? That’s part of the premise in internationally acclaimed author Laila Lalami’s latest novel, The Dream Hotel. In this episode, Laila discusses the themes that inspired and eventually mirrored her book, along with her background in writing, her daily routine, writing tips and more.

00:00 Welcome
04:50 Writing tip: Avoid clichés!
07:58 WIN!: A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan
09:35 Word of the week: ‘Apophenia’
10:03 Writer in residence: Laila Lalami
11:02 Laila outlines The Dream Hotel
12:17 Speculative Fiction and real-world parallels
14:20 The language of this near future world
19:40 Dreams and their cultural significance
21:58 Speculative Fiction and dreams as data
22:50 Researching the novel
27:17 The role of algorithms in society
30:11 Laila’s journey to becoming a writer
34:33 Balancing teaching and writing
37:27 The challenges of book promotion
39:20 Future writing projects
40:59 Laila’s writing tips
42:43 Final thoughts

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