In this episode Rachel and Simon speak to the American novelist Susan Choi. Born in Indiana to a Korean father and Jewish mother, Susan is the author of six novels: "The Foreign Student" (1998), "American Woman" (2003), "A Person of Interest" (2008), "My Education" (2013), "Trust Exercise" (2019) and "Flashlight" (2025). In 2004 "American Woman" was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and in 2019 "Trust Exercise" won the National Book Award for Fiction. (It was also a bestseller in America and picked by Barack Obama as one of his books of the year.) "Flashlight" was shortlisted for this year's Booker Prize. We spoke to Susan about working as a fact-checker at the New Yorker, the role of literary prizes and about turning "Flashlight" from a short story into a novel.
In addition to the standard audio format, the podcast is now available in video. You can check us out on YouTube under Always Take Notes.
We’ve made another update for those who support the podcast on the crowdfunding site Patreon. We’ve added 40 pages of new material to the package of successful article pitches that goes to anyone who supports the show with $5 per month or more, including new pitches to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the BBC. The whole compendium now runs to a whopping 160 pages. For Patreons who contribute $10/month we’re now also releasing bonus mini-episodes. Thanks to our sponsor, Scrivener, the first ten new signs-ups at $10/month will receive a lifelong license to Scrivener worth £55/$59.99 (seven are left). This specialist word-processing software helps you organise long writing projects such as novels, academic papers and even scripts. Other Patreon rewards include signed copies of the podcast book and the opportunity to take part in a monthly call with Simon and Rachel.
A new edition of “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is available now. The updated version now includes insights from over 100 past guests on the podcast, with new contributions from Harlan Coben, Victoria Hislop, Lee Child, Megan Nolan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Philippa Gregory, Jo Nesbø, Paul Theroux, Hisham Matar and Bettany Hughes. You can order it via Amazon or Waterstones.
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