“I wasn’t a film critic or festival programmer or even an aspiring director. I was just an adolescent schoolboy and, in my parents’ probably loving description, a ‘weirdo.’”
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Why Children’s Books?
“All children grow up: those who write for children need, therefore, to write fiction that will speak to them both now and in their future.”
Brass Bands
“I quite like the brass band version of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, but I’m not sure it’s what Freddie Mercury had in mind.”
In the Shadow of Silicon Valley
“The San Francisco of my youth was full of small shops whose friendly eccentricity felt like part of the place.”
When I Met the Pope
“Imagine an Irish Catholic bishop telling you that you have no chill.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories by Maddy Crowell, Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Fraser MacDonald, Shi En Kim, and Bryan Gardiner.
Best of 2025: The Stories You Missed
In a year of exceptional reading, these overlooked stories refused to let us go.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Showcasing stories from Jelani Cobb, Taylor Lorenz, Jack Shafer, and Max Tani; Nylah Iqbal Muhammad; Irina Dumitrescu; Leo Robson; and Caitlin Moran.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we have stories from David Roth, Dhruv Mehrotra and Andy Greenberg, Thomas Dai, Cameron Maynard, and Katherine Rundell.
The Singing Glaciers of Svalbard
“Visitors have always brought their illusions, preoccupations and preconceptions to Svalbard, and taken something from it in return. And it’s always been a bad deal for the Arctic.”

