This week on ‘Talking Books’, Susan will be chatting with Irish author and academic Sophia Hillan.

Her debut novel ‘The Friday Tree’ was released earlier this year by Ward River Press. It represents the latest offering in a long line of promising Irish fiction. The book is based in Belfast during 1955. This is a setting that offers a variety of insights into Irish life, from political divisions, to the economic post war struggles.

It is told through the eyes of Brigid, the five year old protagonist, detailing the trials and tribulations endured by this character during this era.

Despite this being Sophia’s first novel, she has been widely published to date. Born in Belfast, she was educated in her home city and attended Queens University, where she studied under Seamus Heaney, achieving a PHD in English literature.

She has held the position of Associate Director of Queen’s University’s Institute of Irish Studies. Additionally, she has produced much work on diverse range of topics, from the prose of Michael McLaverty to Jane Austen and has also published short stories.

Join Susan as she chats with Sophia about her debut novel ‘The Friday Tree.’ How does she address issues of sectarian violence in this work? Is it difficult to separate her academic and creative impulses when writing fiction? And what influence did Seamus Heaney have on her writing?

In part two, Susan will be delving into the work of Ian McEwan with Sebastian Groes. Sebastian is a Senior Lecturer in Modern English Literature at the University of Roehampton, having achieved his PHD from University of East Anglia, the alma mater of McEwan.

Ian McEwan

He is the series editor of ‘Contemporary Critical Perspectives’ which provides insight and analysis into giants of twentieth century literature. Volumes have been dedicated to the work of J.G. Ballard, Julian Barnes, Sarah Waters and, of course, Ian McEwan. He is also a regular contributor to the Literary Encyclopaedia.

In the past, he has lent to expertise to work on the BBC, the Guardian and a host of academic conferences from Yale to Amsterdam University College.

Ian McEwan is of course a giant of modern literature who needs little introduction. His writing career began in 1975, when he published his first collection of short stories ‘First Love, Last Rites.’ For this, he was awarded the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976.

As his career progressed, the accolades continued to accumulate. He has been nominated for the Booker Prize on six occasions, first in 1981 for ‘The Comfort of Strangers’, before eventually winning the award in 1998 for ‘Amsterdam.’

Perhaps his most notable work is, ‘Atonement’, another Booker nominated novel. It was named among the All-Time 100 Novels by Time Magazine. It was also famously adapted into the highly acclaimed film of the same name.

He has been bestowed with many honours in this time and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Arts, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Science. He was also awarded a CBE in 2000 for his contributions to literature.

Listen in as Susan and Sebastian explore the work of Ian McEwan. How does McEwan use time and place as characters in his novels? Is he one of the greats of modern literature? And what are his most notable works?