The World As It Should Be

Eliza Reid was raised near Ottawa in Canada, and moved to Iceland in 2003 when she was 27 years old. In 2016, Eliza’s husband took office as President of Iceland and she became Iceland’s First Lady. …

Author Pola Oloixarac was born in Buenos Aires and now lives in Barcelona. She has written three novels, and is a regular contributor to The New York Times, El País and La Nación.

In 2010, she was cho…

This special episode was recorded last year as part of our Primadonna Prize event. It features:

Sandi Toksvig began her comedy career at Girton College, Cambridge where she found time to write and per…

Kimberly Latrice Jones is an American author, activist and filmmaker. She is co-author of the NYT bestselling YA novel, I’m Not Dying with You Tonight and her latest book, How We Can Win: Race, Histo…

Angelle Joseph is an artist, community worker and broadcaster. As presenter of BBC Suffolk’s Music Introducing show, she is a pioneer of unsigned, undiscovered and under-the-radar music in Suffolk. S…

Monique Roffey is a writer, activist and lecturer. She was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and now shares her time between there and her home in London. 

Monique has published seven books – a memoir …

Sabeena Akhtar is a writer, editor, programmer… and a Primadonna. She has worked in publishing with the radical non-profit Tilted Axis Press, as a curator for Media Diversified, for whom she created …

Juno Dawson is a writer, actor and activist, best known for her YA novels including Clean, Meat Market and, most recently, Wonderland.

Juno has also written bestselling non-fiction, including the LGBT…

Pop icons Pepsi & Shirlie met outside a tube station in London in 1985 when Pepsi – then Helen – auditioned to join Shirlie, Andrew Ridgely and George Michael as a backing singer in Wham! 

In 1987 the…

Bronwyn Sweeney worked in the media for almost a decade as a copywriter and brand creative, working on everything from haircare to home furnishings. 

When she was 29, Bronwyn’s employer paid for her t…

Lucy Mangan is one of Britain’s best-known journalists. She is a columnist and TV critic for the Guardian and has written for Stylist, the Daily Telegraph and many other titles. 

Lucy has written five…

Elly Jackson formed the band La Roux in 2006, and became a global superstar three years later, aged 21, with the release of La Roux’s self-titled, multi-platinum debut album, which included the singl…

A special edition of the podcast, recorded live at Primadonna 2021, and featuring two authors whose careers are inextricably linked with the festival.

Eva Verde's memoir piece ‘I am not your Tituba’ h…

Catriona Morton is a twenty-four-year-old writer, activist and podcaster based in London. Catriona’s podcast, After: Surviving Sexual Assault was broadcast on BBC Sounds in 2019. A 10-part series, it…

Catherine Mayer is a bestselling author, journalist and activist. She is the co-founder and President of the Women’s Equality Party and co-founder of Primadonna festival, and has worked for Time maga…

Catherine Cho was born in the US to Korean parents, and grew up in Kentucky. She spent time in New York and Hong Kong before settling in London.

Catherine studied English at university but her first c…

Gail Ann Dorsey was born in Philadelphia, USA, and acquired her first bass guitar aged 14. After an early stint at film school (where she was the only woman in her first year classes), she dedicated …

Adele Parks is one of the most-loved and biggest-selling women’s fiction writers in the UK. Her first novel was published in 2000, and since then she has sold 4 million books and been translated into…

Bee Rowlatt is a writer, journalist and activist. She chaired the 'Mary on the Green' campaign to memorialise Mary Wollstonecraft, unveiling Maggi Hambling's tribute to the pioneer of feminist though…

Christy Lefteri’s novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo became an international sensation on its release in 2019. Inspired by her experiences at a volunteer centre in Athens where she helped Syrian and Afgha…