Showing results by author "Holly Newson" in All Categories

Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about his latest book, In Strictest Confidence, is dancer, choreographer and theatre director Craig Revel-Horwood. Best known as a judge on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, Craig Revel-Horwood has had an illustrious career across stage and television. Publishing his first autobiography in 2008 and a second in 2013, Revel-Horwood has now published the third installment of his autobiography, In Strictest Confidence - the first available in audio!

Zephaniah transformed performance poetry when he came onto the scene in the 1980s and has gone on to convey political and societal messages through his work. He’s also written numerous novels, children’s books and plays as well as releasing multiple albums. A multitalented man with an uneasy childhood and mixed up teen years, he has plenty to say in his autobiography. When he came to the studio, he spoke about overcoming his shyness, writing about his mum and what the West can learn from the rest of the world about peace.

Joining us at a riverside London hotel is Dame Julie Andrews, DBE, an English actress, singer and author. She has now released her second memoir, Home Work. Born in Surrey in 1935, Andrews parents divorced and she originally lived with her father, then moved back to live with her mother and stepfather. Her stepfather was turbulent, but he sponsored her voice lessons, and from 1945 Andrews began performing with her mother and stepfather unbilled.

Gray has written for many major publications, such as The Guardian, The Telegraph, Grazia, BBC Earth and Marie Claire. During her 20s, Gray worked for Glamour and Cosmopolitan. As you might have read in her debut book, The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, Gray battled addiction to alcohol during her 20s and early 30s but managed to keep holding down her job. We spoke to Catherine Gray about what counts as ‘fun gratitude’, what the significance is of the Hedonic Treadmill and why ordinary things are so great.

Chris Ryan talks to Audible about the release of his latest audiobook, Safe: How to Stay Safe in a Dangerous World. A best-selling novelist and former SAS operative, Chris provides unique insight on how to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the ever-present and ever-changing threats of our society. From rising acid attacks and cyber attacks to the recent terrorist incidents which have rocked our nation, Chris discusses potentially lifesaving advice which he has included in his audiobook.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about his latest book and autobiography, A Better Me, is lauded British singer, songwriter and record producer Gary Barlow. Best known as the lead singer of British boy band Take That and head judge of The X Factor UK from 2011-2013, Gary Barlow is one of the UK’s most successful songwriters, with 14 number one singles, 24 top 10 hits and three number one singles as a solo artist. Gary Barlow’s official autobiography, A Better Me, was published in October 2018.

Joining us at Audible Studios is Alex Bertie, YouTube vlogger of his transgender journey and author of Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard. When Alex was born, doctors took one look and put an 'F' for female on the birth certificate, based on genitals. When Alex was 15 he realised he was a transgender man, through many years of struggling with identity. After coming out to family and friends, Alex battled the health-care system in order to take male hormones, have surgery, change his name and grow a beard.

A freelance journalist and author, Reni Eddo-Lodge is one of the country’s critical young thinkers, focusing her work on feminism and exposing structural racism. Her debut Jhalak Prize-winning title, Why I’m No longer Talking to White People About Race, was published in June 2017. Reni Eddo-Lodge talks to us about narrating her audiobook, her thoughts on positive discrimination and what makes her hopeful about Britain today.

Neurologist Ash Ranpura and Buddhist monk Gelong Thubten have recently collaborated with Ruby Wax - comedian, mental health advocate and best-selling author of Frazzled - to produce a new book called How to Be Human: The Manual. In this interview they reveal what they learnt from each other, where they found common ground and where, perhaps, they might disagree. We hear about mindfulness and what science can really tell us about who we are.

Joining us at Audible Studios is Esme Young, English fashion designer and judge on the BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee. Beginning her career in the 1970s, Young established her brand 'Swanky Modes', opening a shop in Camden Town. Her designs were sought after, and appeared in ID and Nova. She has also designed costumes for films such as Bridget Jones's Diary and Trainspotting, including the iconic bunny outfit for Renée Zellweger. Esme Young has now written Behind the Seams, her memoir looking back over her life and time in fashion.

Behavioural Change Specialist Shahroo Izadi and journalist and writer Marisa Bate join us to discuss Shahroo’s debut audiobook, The Kindness Method. A groundbreaking addition to the Health and Personal Development genre, the book is aimed at anyone looking to understand and change any long-held damaging habits that have previously been too difficult to kick.

Joining us at Audible Studios is founder and CEO of Netflix Marc Randolph, who has founded over eight companies and is a serial entrepreneur. Randolph's Netflix journey began alongside his friend Reed Hastings in 1997, when they decided to give mail-order DVDs a try. Randolph, having picked up marketing and other tricks of the trade through previous roles, designed the original user interface and spent the first year of Netflix testing different designs to create the perfect business model for customer satisfaction.

You might think that a discipline as serious and complex as psychiatry has no place for humour, but Waterhouse has proven with his sell-out shows at the Edinburgh and Brighton Fringe festivals that they actually go hand in hand! His memoir, You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here looks at his struggles as a frontline NHS doctor in an underfunded sector, and navigates how he ended up in the profession in the first place.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about his latest novel, Salvation, is best-selling science-fiction author Peter F. Hamilton. Coined the king of space opera, Peter F. Hamilton has created some of science fiction’s most vast and extensive universes, making him one of Britain’s biggest selling sci-fi authors. Known for The Night’s Dawn trilogy and the Commonwealth Saga in particular, Hamilton embarks on a new universe, publishing Salvation, the first book in a brand-new trilogy, in 2018.

Author and former aide to Tony Blair Alastair Campbell and football legend Paul Fletcher join us to discuss their new political thriller, Saturday Bloody Saturday. An unexpected pairing, Campbell and Fletcher have become great friends, and in this interview we talk to them about writing together, the changes in football over the years and what else they’d love to write.

Joining us at Audible Studios is former SAS sergeant Chris Ryan. Ryan enrolled in the British Army at the age of 16, where he then passed selection to join the 22 SAS Regiment under ‘B’ squadron. Ryan spent the next seven years of his life serving around the world on covert and overt operations. Ryan was a key member of the infamous Bravo Two Zero SAS patrol in Iraq during the Gulf War. The patrol was compromised and was forced to head towards Syria on foot. Ryan was the only one of the eight-man team to not be captured or killed.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about his narration of Tony Lee’s audio drama Dodge and Twist is British actor Stephen Mangan. Known for his roles as Guy Secretan in Green Wing, Sean Lincoln in Episodes and Dan Moody in I’m Alan Partridge, Stephen Mangan has had a respected career across both stage and screen. The Tony-nominated actor now plays the part of Charles Dickens in the audio drama Dodge and Twist. In this interview, Stephen Mangan talks to us about what it’s like to voice a Victorian, why he didn’t get to sing in Postman Pat: The Movie and what got him into acting.

Returning to the Audible Studios to discuss her newest project, international best-selling author and illustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon books Cressida Cowell talks about her latest magical adventure series, The Wizards of Once. With a critically acclaimed series to her name and over 20 published titles, Cressida discusses the underlying themes to her characters, the magical inspiration behind The Wizards of Once and how it feels to have David Tennant as her narrator.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to discuss his latest novel, Smile, is award-winning novelist, dramatist and screenwriter Roddy Doyle, who talks to us about his own childhood growing up in Dublin and the backstory behind his 11th novel. One of the most celebrated Irish authors of the late 20th century, Roddy Doyle tells us why his latest novel is different from the others.

In this World Mental Health Day Audible Sessions Special, producer and presenter Holly Newson meets 10 individuals who talk frankly about their mental health. In these conversations, guests share stories about their anxiety, depression, paranoid schizophrenia, eating disorders and other mental health problems. The theme for World Mental Health Day in 2019 is suicide prevention, and some of the contributors talk of their own experiences with suicidal thoughts.