Little Atoms

Neil Denny

Little Atoms is a weekly show about books, with authors in conversation. Produced and presented by Neil Denny.

  • 26 minutes 44 seconds
    Little Atoms 989 - Isabel Waidner's As If

    Isabel Waidner is the author of five novels – including Sterling Karat Gold, which won the Goldsmiths Prize and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and the Republic of Consciousness Prize, and Corey Fah Does Social Mobility which was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. They teach in the School of the Arts at Queen Mary University of London. On this episode of Little Atoms they talk to Neil Denny about their latest novel As If.


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    6 March 2026, 12:01 am
  • 31 minutes 52 seconds
    Little Atoms 988 - Francis Spufford's Nonesuch

    Francis Spufford is the author of three novels and five works of non-fiction. His debut work of fiction was the historical novel Golden Hill, which won the Costa First Novel Award, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize, and was shortlisted for four others. His second novel, Light Perpetual, was awarded the Encore Award and longlisted for the Booker Prize. His third novel, the alternative history Cahokia Jazz, was recognised by the Science Fiction community when it was awarded the Sidewise Award in 2023. He teaches writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London. On this episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about his latest novel Nonesuch.


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    27 February 2026, 12:01 am
  • 33 minutes
    Little Atoms 987 - James Geary's The World In A Phrase

    James Geary, an adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, is the author of Wit's End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It, Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists and I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World. On this episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about the reissue of his New York Times best-selling book The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism.


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    20 February 2026, 12:01 am
  • 28 minutes 27 seconds
    Little Atoms 986 - Alex Preston's A Stranger in Corfu

    Alex Preston is an award-winning author of five novels including This Bleeding CityThe RevelationsIn Love and War and Winchelsea, as well as a book of non-fiction As Kingfishers Catch Fire. He writes regularly for the New York Times, the Economist and Harper's Bazaar. He reviews books for the Observer's New Review, Financial Times and Spectator. Alex is co-founder of the Corfu Literary Festival and Patron of Oxford Literary Festival. On this episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about his latest novel A Stranger in Corfu.


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    13 February 2026, 12:01 am
  • 28 minutes 8 seconds
    Little Atoms 985 - Manish Chauhan's Belgrave Road

    Originally from Leicester, Manish Chauhan works as a finance lawyer and currently lives in East London. His short story, "Pieces", was shortlisted for the 2024 BBC National Short Story Award. His work has been shortlisted for the Galley Beggar Short Story Prize and the Exeter Short Story Competition. Early excerpts of Belgrave Road were longlisted for the Curtis Brown First Novel Award and shortlisted for the Daniel Goldsmith First Novel Prize. On this episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about Belgrave Road, his debut novel.


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    6 February 2026, 12:01 am
  • 27 minutes 48 seconds
    Little Atoms 984 - George Saunders' Vigil

    George Saunders is the author of thirteen books, including the novel Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the Booker Prize in 2017, and five collections of stories including Tenth of December, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the recent collection Liberation Day (selected by former President Obama has one of his ten favourite books of 2021). Three of Saunders' books - PastoraliaTenth of December, and Lincoln in the Bardo - were chosen for the New York Times' list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. Saunders hosts the popular Story Club on Substack, which grew out of his book on the Russian short story, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. In 2013, he was named one of the world's 100 Most Influential People by Time magazine. He teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse University. On this episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about his latest novel Vigil.


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    30 January 2026, 12:01 am
  • 28 minutes 30 seconds
    Little Atoms 983 - Grace Murray's Blank Canvas

    Grace Murray was born in 2003 and grew up in Norwich. She has recently graduated from Edinburgh University, where she read English Literature and found time to write between her studies and two part-time jobs. Her short fiction has been published in The London Magazine. On this episode of Little Atoms she talks to Neil denny about her debut novel Blank Canvas, which was written over the course of a year as part of WriteNow, Penguin Random House’s flagship mentorship scheme for emerging talent. Grace won one of nine places on the scheme on the exceptional strength of her writing, selected from a pool of over 1,300 applicants.


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    23 January 2026, 12:16 pm
  • 27 minutes 57 seconds
    Little Atoms 982 - Daniyal Mueenuddin's This Is Where The Serpent Lives
    Daniyal Mueenuddin graduated from Dartmouth College and Yale Law School. After winning a Fulbright scholarship to study in Norway, he practiced law in New York before returning to Khânpur, Pakistan to manage the family farm. He divides his time between Oslo and Pakistan. Stories in his collection In Other Rooms, Other Wonders have appeared in the New Yorker, Granta and Salman Rushdie's Best American Short Story collection. 'Our Lady of Paris' was nominated for a National Magazine Award. On this episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about his new novel This Is Where The Serpent Lives.

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    16 January 2026, 12:01 am
  • 28 minutes
    Little Atoms 981 - Sebastian Faulks' Fires Which Burned Brightly
    Sebastian Faulks has written nineteen books, of which A Week in December and The Fatal Englishman were number one in the Sunday Times bestseller lists. He is best known for Birdsong, part of his French trilogy, and Human Traces, the first in an ongoing Austrian trilogy. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a journalist on national papers. He has also written screenplays and has appeared in small roles on stage. On this episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about his latest book Fires Which Burned Brightly: A Life in Progress.

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    9 January 2026, 12:01 am
  • 46 minutes 52 seconds
    Little Atoms 980 - Jarett Kobek's Invocation Of My Demon Brother
    Jarett Kobek is an internationally bestselling Turkish-American writer living in California. His previous books have been translated into eleven languages and include ATTADo Every Thing Wrong!: XXXTentacion Against the World, and Motor Spirit. On this episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about his latest book Invocation Of My Demon Brother, which is published by DieDieBooks and is available here.

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    19 December 2025, 12:01 am
  • 28 minutes 27 seconds
    Little Atoms 979 - Miriam Robinson's And Notre Dame is Burning

    Miriam Robinson is an author who has worked in the world of books and bookshops for over 15 years. Previously the host of podcast My Unlived Life, she holds an MA in Creative Writing from Goldsmiths, University of London and her short fiction has been shortlisted for a Pushcart Prize, the inaugural Pindrop/RA Short Story Prize and the Pat Kavanagh Prize. On this episode of Little Atoms she talks to Neil Denny about her debut novel And Notre Dame is Burning.


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    12 December 2025, 12:01 am
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