Chloe Hooper is a novelist and non-fiction writer. Her first novel, A Child’s Book of True Crime, became a New York Times Notable Book, and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Her non-fiction, including The Tall Man and The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire, have won literary awards and been widely published internationally. Her latest book is Bedtime Stories.
They discuss:
- Chloe’s early writing career, including studying at Cambridge University, and how A Child’s Book of True Crime came to be published
- Her non fiction work and willingness to write about difficult things
- Nuances and bias/having your own point of view
- The challenges in telling of people’s stories
- The move to writing memoir
- Stories about mortality
- Kathryn Chetkovich’s essay Envy (on partner Jonathan Franzen’s success)
Image: A white woman with grey-brown hair is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a blue top and her arms are folded. There is a wall of leaves behind.
The First Time podcast 