Interviews: January 2012

So much has been written about London, from Dickens to Ackroyd to Monica Ali to Patrick Hamilton and on and on and more and more. Craig Taylor, the brilliantly funny author of A Million Tiny Plays About Britain has taken on the task of the definitive state of the nation (city). He has interviewed people from all walks of life, from economic migrants to middle-class poshos to refugees to tourists to artists, and everyone you can think of, in order to write Londoners, one of the most authentic books about London.

We spoke to Craig, a jetsetting Canadian, about coming to London, who writes the best London and his sporting motto.

The music biography is a stalwart of non-fiction books. Everyone wants to know the stories behind the songs, what inspired the musicians and where they came from. Colin Grant's I&I: The Natural Mystics is one such book, telling the story of the Wailers, of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer - placing their lives and music in a socio-political backdrop, exploring their relationships with each other and with Jamaica. All to the backdrop of sweet, sweet reggae music. We talked to Colin about writing the book, about music and about working on non-fiction projects.