A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley

‘Most of writing is…trying to organise the paragraph into a unit of thought.’
This week, in the first of a two part episode on the writing process, we join Sally in the midst of editing her next novel, Mrs Parnell, considering the organisation of her paragraphs with the help of Shirley Hazzard’s Transit in Venus (1980). Listen for a reflection on visual language, and the choreography of ideas which shape narrative.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.
 

‘I am trying to draw succour and strength from their song, because I need to sing too…’
This week, we join Sally, amidst distractions both natural and otherwise, reflecting on her latest work, Worm in the Bud. Listen for a meditation on the need for solace, character, and the narrative significance of suspense.
Worm in the Bud is published by The New Menard Press, and is available from all good booksellers. It can be ordered here.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘Hölderlin’s lovely blueness
you hold to you,
it is tensile
 
through the smeared glass’
 
This week, we join Sally in conversation with poet, critic, and translator Stephen Romer, following the recent publication of his latest poetry pamphlet, Night Contradicts the Day. Listen for reflections on the intimacies - or otherwise - of care, empathy and its absence, and the challenge laid down by the neurodivergent mind. The poems in this pamphlet also stress the redemptive power of the aesthetic.
Stephen’s pamphlet is published by Dare-Gale Press, and can be purchased here.
The Lizst piece mentioned is the famous B-Minor Sonata, and can be listened to here.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘To find a way in, through the door, beyond the doubt…’
This week, we join Sally wrestling with the problem of doubt, having just sent her latest novel, Pond Life, to the printers. Listen for a reflection on writing, the body, and the generative possibilities of doubt, via Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
Pond Life will be published in September 2026 by The New Menard Press, and can be pre-ordered here.
The wonderful piano music in the closing section is the appropriately titled ‘Doubt’ by Paul Seba. More information on Paul and his work can be found here.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘Even the sun-clouds this morning cannot manage such skirts.’
This week, Sally returns to Sylvia Plath’s ‘Poppies in October.’ Listen for a mediation on the mouth, sound, and their essential role in approaching the lyric.
The wonderful piano music in the closing section is ‘Sirens’ by Paul Seba. More information on Paul and his work can be found here.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘Enter Lillian…’
This week, we join Sally once again in conversation with the producer, James Bowen, on the subject of Sally’s latest work, Worm in the Bud: A Fable. Listen for a conversation on interpretation, ambiguity, and the instructive value of narrative.
Worm in the Bud is published by the New Menard Press, and is available from all good booksellers.
The wonderful piano accompanying Sally's reading of 'The Forest' is ‘Monday’, by Paul Seba. More on Paul and his work can be found here.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. More information on James and his work can be found here.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

‘A paragraph made up of waiting…’
We join Sally this week in the process of editing her forthcoming work, Mrs Parnell, focusing in particular on a single paragraph. Listen for a meditation on the creation of space and time in writing, and how a text can carve out a space to pause.
The wonderful piano music in the opening section is ‘Doubt’, by Paul Seba. More on Paul and his work can be found here.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

For “Husband Ron” and Christopher Robin — may he come by again soon.
This week, we join Sally at home, seeing in the New Year in the company of the residents of A.A. Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood. Listen for a reflection on domesticity, hospitality, and the physics of intimacy.
This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen.
Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.