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Frank Cottrell Boyce is the author of acclaimed books for children, screenplays including Hilary and Jackie and 24 Hour Party People, and wrote the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. He has written about Chekhov for ‘Morphologies: Short Story Writers on Short Story Writers’ (Comma Press). In a personal essay, he reflects on his Grandfather’s life as a sailor, and Chekhov’s story about death at sea ‘Gusev’. Frank also reads from ‘Ahh Bisto’ a story about the transcendent power an ‘earworm’.

John Ashbery is one of most celebrated and influential figures in contemporary American poetry. He has won many awards for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his collection . John has long been fascinated by the French language and its literature, and his collected poetry and prose translations have just been published in two volumes (Carcanet). Ian asks John about the possibilities of the prose poem, the role of ambiguity, and the influence of French writers on his work.

In a project led by her nine year old niece, Taylor, performance artist Bryony Kimmings has created Catherine Bennett, an alternative to the highly sexualised pop stars children are exposed to today. Along with her musical collaborator Tom Parkinson, Bryony discusses the challenges of writing pop songs for children, and the science behind creating an ear worm.