Celebrating Pride with inclusivity and platonic love stories with Anna Zoe Quirke

Anna Zoe Quirke is a queer and autistic author and librarian from the North of England. She currently lives in Manchester with her partner, Rachael, and their very angry tortoise, Sheldon. They’re at their happiest writing stories about queer and neurodivergent people finding and claiming their place in the world, exploring the literary wonders of the UK, or making a big ol’ mess in the kitchen baking things for their loved ones. Something to be Proud of is their debut novel.Our interview begins at  15.00We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi! Book club: Prima Facie (NTL re-release)Earlier this year we read and discussed Prima Facie and we finally got the chance to see the National Theatre Live recording of Jodie Comer performing in the West End. We were absolutely blown away by her incredible performance. In this interview, we chat about:The characters of Ollie and ImogenWhy Anna wanted to explore divorce and parental relationships through OllieThe importance of having Imogen's autism part of the storyOllie and Imogen's beautiful friendship love storyNew Writing North and Anna's journey to publicationBooks and other things mentioned:Code Name Verity by Elizabeth WeinRBG (play by Susie Miller)Julia (play)Follow @annazoequirke on InstagramSomething to Be Proud Of is available now! Thank you to the publishers for sending us copies of the book to prepare for the interview. Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod