In conversation

In 2020, the year before his most recent, celebrated novel, Diary of a Film, Niven Govinden reflected on his career as a writer of myriad genres

Revealing the motivation to reveal the sometimes hidden stories of the British Empire through his detective crime fiction. This conversation took place in 2020 and Abir's fifth book, The Shadows of Men, has since been completed and published.

On being a mixed-race writer in the rural south-west of England, experiencing poverty, domestic violence, racism, and finding her voice.

Talking about how his teenage students inspire his stories and help to finesse the dialogue in his young adult fiction.

Talking about her passion for writing and the art of performance.

Talking about his evolution as a poet, playwright and public intellectual, as well as his mesmeric creation for radio, the time-travelling, eternal Deacon.

Talking about her transformation from science teacher to publisher and author of children's literature.

Talking about Natasha's transformation from teacher to writer of young adult fantasy fiction.

On combining academic work, poetry and love of carnival.

Talking about his influences from Nigeria to Manchester via West African folk tales.

Talking about Roy Williams's love of dialogue and collaborations.

Talking about his writing process, his flight at the age of four with his mother from Idi Amin’s Uganda, and why precision in language is so important to him.