In Conversation: Liam Klenk
Zürich-based writer Liam Klenk is in conversation with Susan Platt: his nomadic life, his journey over gender boundaries and the importance of fluidity to a Paralian.
In Conversation: Jessica Bell
Australian Athens-based writer, editor, designer and musician Jessica Bell walks us through a deeply chameleonic life of words, music and images.
In Conversation: Daniel Pieracci
Black comedy, LA-style: organised crime, enchiladas and fruit juice. Zürich-based Daniel Pieracci talks about how NanoWriMo led to his debut novel, Take Your Shot.
In Conversation: Craig Kirkwood
From Bondi Beach to the remote Welsh hills, visual artist and entrepreneur Craig Kirkwood discusses his yearning for something lasting and how it led to his recent publication, Aber: a pictorial homage to the Welsh town of Aberystwyth.
In Conversation: Jacquette M. Timmons
Author and Wall Street based financial behaviourist Jacquette M. Timmons talks about how our stories—our past, our context, our attitudes—affect our relationship and our actions with money.
In Conversation: Kaye Llewelyn
Zürich-based artist Kaye Llewelyn dives into the story behind the making of her picture book, Pocket Money … on serendipity, fluidity, opportunity … and no words.
In Conversation: Juliana Barbassa
Award-winning journalist and author Juliana Barbassa talks about writing to understand displacement, Joan Didion, and the experience of relocating to Rio, Brazil, a city in crisis.
In Conversation: Samuel Schwarz
Zürich writer, producer and director Samuel Schwarz on the feature film and Alternate Reality Games of Polder, the largest transmedia storytelling project to come out of Switzerland;
In Conversation: Andrew Crofts
“Is this person interesting enough for me to want to spend several months inside their head?” Andrew Crofts talks about Ghostwriting, and the strange symbiosis of writing someone else’s story.
Creativity in Tandem: How I Became a Co-author
Creativity in Tandem: Pete Morin and Susanne O’Leary are co-authors who’ve never met.
In Conversation: Martina Bisaz
“It seems like I am always on the move, but that’s not always the case.” Martina Bisaz is a Zürich-based scientific illustrator and photographer known for her Instagram collaborations and landscapes. She talks about how she works, and her favourite times of year.
In Conversation: Philippe Perreaux
Switzerland’s Creative Commons representative, Phillippe Perreaux, on piracy and obscurity, copyright and the public domain.
In Conversation: Susan Jane Gilman
Author and New Yorker (and part time Geneva inhabitant) Susan Jane Gilman on plundering life for memoir and fiction, and how to handle the truth.
In Conversation: Antonio Scarponi
Zürich based Architect Antonio Scarponi on publishing his book ELIOOO, crowd-funding, and architecture as concrete poetry.
In Conversation: Sarah Wilson
“…Some of the big bombastic milestones were achieved during a time in which I felt very much out of alignment and so I almost dismiss them. When I do something and I feel in alignment, then I feel I’ve succeeded.” Bestselling Australian author, journalist, TV presenter, blogger and media consultant Sarah Wilson talks to The Woolf about the online gift economy, independent and partner publishing, and her writerly habits.
In Conversation: Sandra Ondraschek-Norris
“We draw and paint long before we know there is something called an artist and long before we can explain what it is we are doing and why we are doing it.” Sandra Ondraschek-Norris is a visual artist known for her landscape paintings, at once both confining and infinite; a source of melancholy and possibility. The Woolf asks her about success, and about working with a visual medium—outside the realm of words.
Notes from the Unexpected: Gitarren Total from the ground up
The latest instalment of Notes from the Unexpected finds D.B. Miller feeling the guitar love at Gitarren Total shopfront and workspace in Zürich.
15 Years of The English Bookshop
The Woolf talks to The English Bookshop’s manager Sabine Haarmann and Nick Schorp about the history of this Zürich institution, how it has weathered the storms of publishing, and what’s on the horizon.
In Conversation: Olga Bushkova
“First is obsession, second is photography being just a tool.” Photographer Olga Bushkova talks about how photography took over from her former career in science and programming, and on looking for the normal.
In Conversation: Chantal Panozzo
“Identity crisis. Check! Laundry lessons in two languages, neither of which I understood. Check! Phone phobia. Check!” Chantal Panozzo on being an American in Switzerland and her new book, Swiss Life.
In Conversation: Erinrose Sullivan
On post-digital content, and if there’s any such thing as a Zeitgeist … Lausanne-based Erinrose Sullivan is a senior marketing executive and analyst who helps businesses make sense of the digital world. She works as a strategist across various sectors including the telecom, gaming and entertainment industries.
A Place for Persecuted Writers in Switzerland
Melinda Nadj Abonji, Adi Blum and Ulrike Ulrich are the initiators of a new writers-in-exile programme for Switzerland. The Woolf talked to Adi Blum, of the Swiss German PEN Centre to learn more.
In Conversation: Liz Eve, photographer
“My main topic for personal work was the ‘non places’ within the city, areas that groups such as collectives of artists, skateboarders, street runners, organisers of parties and raves, musicians and graffiti writers used to create different experiences. These in-between spaces, whether temporally or spatially defined, act as a magnet for those operating outside of social norms and rules.” The Woolf talks to Berlin-based award-winning photographer Liz Eve.
The Next Big Thing? Germany
In 2009-2010, Germany’s sales of ebooks were around 1.5 million, representing 0.8% of the German book market. Around two years behind the trends in the US, the market began to expand, at first slowly, then it mushroomed. Industry experts predict that for the year 2014-2015, ebook sales will reach over 60 and will account for 25% of all book sales in Germany. The Woolf talks to editor Susanne Weigand and independent author, blogger and journalist Matthias Matting.
In Conversation: Eric Huang
“Just because the technology allows for a function doesn’t mean you should add it to your app.” Eric Huang, Development Director at Made In Me, talks to The Woolf about interactive narratives, gamification and collaboration.
In Conversation: Bernie Slater
“I don’t think of there being a line between the art and activism, more of an overlap.” Bernie Slater, visual artist, talks to The Woolf about the power of multiples, and the notion of printmaking as a democratic and accessible medium with the power to engender social change.
Meet An Editor: Alison Lopez-Edge
“You have to be aware that you only play a secondary role as an editor. I read through the manuscript once first, as an outsider.” Editor Allison Lopez talks to the Woolf about editing.
In Conversation: Julia Churchill
Julia joined A.M.Heath in 2013 as Children’s Agent, after four years building up the UK side of the Greenhouse Literary Agency, and six years at the Darley Anderson Agency where she started the children’s book side of the list. She is always on the treasure hunt for new writing talent and considers the slushpile to be the greatest place on earth.
In Conversation: Slatebreakers
“When we are growing up, we are in the midst of defining who we are and who we are going to be as we continue on into our lives. Stories that reflect that journey, in all kinds of ways, are incredibly relatable.” Sarah Sullivan and Brianna Stapleton Welch are the blogger-reviewers behind Slatebreakers: ‘finding feminism in Kid Lit and YA’. The Woolf asks them about their feminist lens, and exactly how they manage to get through so many books …
A sense of place: Charlotte Otter’s lens
“The elements of location have to be sprinkled through the story with a light hand, serving to shine a light on the narrative and not distracting from it. Huge chunks of location, just like huge chunks of ill-disguised research, serve to pull the reader out of the story and that’s the last thing a writer wants.” The Woolf talks to novelist Charlotte Otter.
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