Isolationcast #21: Kit de Waal on literary snobbery and why coming to writing late made her a better author

My guest this week is someone I have wanted to interview for absolutely ages. Ever since her debut novel My Name is Leon was published in 2016, Kit de Waal has been one of the most thoughtful and interesting voices in the industry. Having crowdfunded and edited an anthology of working class memoir, Common People, she has spoken frequently of the need for the publishing world to become more diverse. In response to the pandemic, she co-founded The Big Book Weekend, a virtual festival in May. Now she has published a collection of short stories, Supporting Cast, which revisits some of the characters from her previous works. We spoke about all of this and more - including how she became an author in her 50s, why coming to publishing late made her a better writer, and why we should all be less snobby about audiobooks. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Twitter: @aliceazania / @KitdeWaal Instagram: @aliceazania / @kitdewaal Buy the book: https://www.waterstones.com/book/supporting-cast/kit-de-waal/9780241973424 Edited by Chelsey Moore

Om Podcasten

The Sunday Salon is a podcast celebrating brilliant books and the women who write them, hosted by journalist Alice-Azania Jarvis. Each week she chats to an inspiring female author about her work, her career, how she writes, what she reads and everything in between. This is not some academic textual analysis – it’s about finding the stories behind the stories. Tune in each Sunday to hear from guests including Isabel Allende, Jessie Burton, Holly Bourne, Diana Evans, Elizabeth Day, Nimco Ali and Sophie Kinsella. Edited by Chelsey Moore.