Always Take Notes: Jesse Armstrong (In person)
Join us at The London Library for a live recording of popular podcast, Always Take Notes, with special guest Jesse Armstrong, author, screenwriter, producer and creator of TV behemoth Succession.
Hosted by writers Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, Always Take Notes is a podcast for and about writers and writing, that aims to be informative (tackling vexing questions including how to negotiate fees, what makes an excellent book pitch and how to write for TV), as well as inspiring. Simon and Rachel have interviewed bestselling and award-winning authors over hundreds of episodes about the secrets of their success and the hard lessons they have learnt along the way. This time, before a live audience, they’ll be turning their attention to Jesse Armstrong to quiz him on his illustrious career - the highlights, the learning curves, the collaborations and the joy and pain of creation - as well as teasing out his accumulated wisdom and advice for anyone hoping to embark on their own adventures in writing.
Jesse Armstrong is a British author, screenwriter, and producer. He is a co-creator of the Channel 4 comedy series Peep Show (2003–2015) and Fresh Meat (2011–2016), was a writer on The Thick of It (2005-2012) and Four Lions ((2010) and is the creator of the HBO series Succession (2018–2023). Armstrong has received many nominations and awards, including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing the film In the Loop (2009), and four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Of his 2016 novel Love Sex and Other Foreign Policy Goals, the New York Times said ‘Armstrong proves to be just as maniacally funny here as he is on the screen.’
Simon Akam is co-host of Always Take Notes and the author of The Changing of the Guard on the post-9/11 evolution of the British Army. His writing has appeared in publications including the New Yorker, the London Review of Books, The Economist, The Guardian, Outside, the New York Times and GQ.
Rachel Lloyd is co-host of Always Take Notes and the deputy culture editor of The Economist. Rachel edits and writes reviews and essays for the newspaper and the website.
Always Take Notes is available wherever you get your podcasts and is for and about writers and writing. Past guests have included historians Peter Frankopan, Antony Beevor, Lucy Hughes-Hallett and Max Hastings, novelists Ian McEwan, Anne Enright, Elif Shafak, Robert Harris and Harlan Coben, journalists Tina Brown, Gary Younge, Patrick Radden Keefe and Samanth Subramanian, as well as agents, publishers and newspaper editors. The book, Always Take Notes: Advice From Some of the World’s Greatest Writers is a compendium of some of the best tips, gathered over hundreds of episodes and has recently been published in a new edition.
Books by the speakers will be available to buy at the event and online from our partner bookshop Hatchards.
NB This event will take place in person at The London Library. Doors (and the bar) will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Please see our Event Access Guidelines before you arrive.
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