Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode
THE BIBLIO FILE is a podcast about "the book," and an inquiry into the wider world of book culture. Hosted by Nigel Beale it features wide ranging, long-form conversations with best practitioners inside the book trade and out - from writer to reader. Why listen? The hope is that it will help you to read, write, publish, edit, design, and collect better, and improve how you communicate serious, big, necessary, new, good ideas and stories...

Feedback or suggestions? Please email notabenebeale@gmail.com 

Aug 13, 2018

Series: Biblio File in France

Maylis Besserie is a French radio broadcaster. She works for France Culture, the French national cultural radio station of the Radio France group, where she has produced documentaries and live programming about cultural issues since 2003. Over the years she has interviewed many artists and authors. She currently produces a summer program called la grande table d’été. 

I met Maylis at her home in Paris. We talked, among other things, about the perfect author interview, pre-packaged answers, specific questions about the text, the writing process, life habits, finding out what moves a writer, how success changes authors, Michel Houellebecq, dead words, special connections, noticing details in the writing across different books, Oliver Twist, the ability of writers to see, immersing yourself in the authors's words and work, using your emotions, provoking; Irish writers, asking about other arts, dealing with who you are, using surprise; voice and emotion, writer problems, lists of key words, being alive and intense, avoiding personal questions, appearance, pregnancy, audience feedback, and the skill of putting into meaningful language things that readers can't.