#110: William Boyd, novelist and screenwriter 

<p>Rachel and Simon speak with William Boyd, bestselling novelist and prolific screenwriter. William was born in Ghana and grew up there and in Nigeria. His novels include "<a href="http://williamboyd.co.uk/product/a-good-man-in-africa/" target="_blank">A Good Man in Africa</a>," "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Confessions" target="_blank">The New Confessions</a>," "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Any_Human_Heart" target="_blank">Any Human Heart</a>," "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restless_(novel)" target="_blank">Restless</a>" and most recently "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/24/trio-by-william-boyd-review-superbly-wry-and-wise" target="_blank">Trio</a>." He has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Prix Jean Monnet. Twenty of his screenplays have been filmed, including "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trench_(film)" target="_blank">The Trench</a>", which he also directed, and he has published five collections of short stories. We spoke to William about starting out as a novelist while working as an academic, his parallel screenwriting career and the experience of writing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/06/solo-james-bond-novel-william-boyd-ian-fleming-review" target="_blank">a James Bond novel</a>.</p> <p>You can find us online at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.alwaystakenotes.com/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">alwaystakenotes.com</a>, on Twitter @takenotesalways, and on Facebook at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/alwaystakenotes" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">facebook.com/alwaystakenotes</a>. Our crowdfunding page is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.patreon.com/alwaystakenotes" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">patreon.com/alwaystakenotes</a>. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.</p> <p><br></p>