Will Self: ‘I’m seen as a still-walking dead white man’
The novelist on his new collection of journalism, why he regrets criticising Sally Rooney and how he’s never shaken off the influence of JG Ballard
January 2022
Centenary recording of Ulysses to be read by Eddie Izzard, Margaret Atwood and others
More than 100 writers, artists, comedians and musicians will voice James Joyce’s seminal novel in celebration of its publication a century ago
November 2021
Sour Grapes by Dan Rhodes review – a vengeful satire on the publishing world
The comic novelist takes aim at the industry’s elitism, but his story of a farcical literary festival is dated – and overly focused on Will Self
January 2020
Motherwell: A Girlhood by Deborah Orr review – fitting legacy of a blazing talent
In a poignant and candid memoir, the Scottish writer, who died last year, offers a reminder of her unique gifts
November 2019
Hadley Freeman's Weekend column
The critical drubbing for Will Self’s book shows there’s a subtle art to memoir
Hadley Freeman
A common flaw is forgetting you’re supposed to be writing for the reader’s pleasure, not yours
Book of the day
Will by Will Self review – an unsparing memoir of addiction
He crashes his car, he overdoses, he sets himself on fire ... In his usual mannered, knowing style, Self recalls his desperate years on heroin
Will by Will Self review – portrait of the author’s younger Self
A self-lacerating drugs memoir of ‘darkly angelic prose’ recalls Self’s heroin addiction in the 1980s
October 2019
Deborah Orr obituary
Editor of the Guardian’s Weekend magazine who went on to become a trenchant, witty and much admired columnist
December 2018
Further reading
‘The best fun in millimetres’: great books about miniature worlds
From the magic of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to dollhouse-sized dioramas of true crime scenes … Simon Garfield celebrates the small-scale
August 2018
Books that made me
Will Self: ‘I read as many as 50 books at once’
John Cleese should stop moaning. Comedy has moved on from the Pythons
Fiona Sturges
April 2018
Objects of desire: the design delights of my favourite things
An old typewriter, a wooden chair, a worn cuddly toy… The things we surround ourselves with loom large in our lives. Here, eight people reveal why they love the design of their prized possession
Self & I by Matthew De Abaitua review – my Withnail days with Will Self
When a graduate moved into the cottage where Self was living, he was instructed on everything from writing to eating oysters to the consumption of drugs
Brief letters
Will Self should have a paws for thought about dogs’ value
Brief letters: Dogs’ usefulness to humans | Eric Fraser | Tesco | First female newsreaders | London Book Fair
March 2018
Made in ...
Will Self on Walberswick: ‘It was a place to drop acid with hippies on permanent vacation’
The author recalls running wild on long sunny holidays, the weirdness of giant rodents and teatimes with the local hermit
In brief: Self & I; The Party; The Secret Barrister
An eye-opening account of life with Will Self, a gripping novel about class barriers and a dispiriting look behind the scenes of the English legal system
Great Apes review – Will Self's Swiftian satire puts chimps in charge
Books interview
Will Self: ‘The novel is absolutely doomed’
The Start
Will Self on the cartoon strip that set him on the road to writing – The Start podcast
February 2018
The week in radio and podcasts: PM; Will Self’s Great British Bus Journey; Boring Talks
While the BBC continues to squirm over the gender pay row, Will Self goes on the road in search of socks and shortbread
