Diana Evans – författare

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Ordinary People by Diana Evans, read by Jennifer Saayeng. ''Diana Evans is a lyrical and glorious writer; a precise poet of the human heart'' Naomi Alderman‘You can take a leap, do something off the wall, something reckless. It’s your last chance, and most people miss it.’South London, 2008. Two couples find themselves at a moment of reckoning, on the brink of acceptance or revolution. Melissa has a new baby and doesn’t want to let it change her but, in the crooked walls of a narrow Victorian terrace, she begins to disappear. Michael, growing daily more accustomed to his commute, still loves Melissa but can’t quite get close enough to her to stay faithful. Meanwhile out in the suburbs, Stephanie is happy with Damian and their three children, but the death of Damian’s father has thrown him into crisis – or is it something, or someone, else? Are they all just in the wrong place? Are any of them prepared to take the leap?Set against the backdrop of Barack Obama’s historic election victory, Ordinary People is an intimate, immersive study of identity and parenthood, sex and grief, friendship and aging, and the fragile architecture of love. With its distinctive prose and irresistible soundtrack, it is the story of our lives, and those moments that threaten to unravel us.

Brought to you by Penguin.THE INTIMATE AND COMPELLING NOVEL FROM THE PRIZEWINNING AUTHOR OF ORDINARY PEOPLEAfter fifty years in the wilderness of London, Alice wants to live out her days in the land of her birth. Her children are divided on whether she stays or goes, and in the wake of their father''s death, the imagined stability of the family begins to fray.Meanwhile youngest daughter Melissa has never let go of a love she lost, and Michael in return, even within the sturdy walls of his marriage to the sparkling Nicole, is haunted by the failed perfection of the past. As Alice''s final decision draws closer, all that is hidden between Melissa and her sisters, Michael and Nicole, rises to the surface . . .Set against the shadows of a city and a country in turmoil, Diana Evans''s ordinary people confront fundamental questions. How should we raise our children? How to do right by our parents? And how, in the midst of everything, can we satisfy ourselves?''A gorgeous novel from one of our most outstanding writers'' BERNARDINE EVARISTO''A wise, tender novel'' MONICA ALI''A lyrical and glorious writer'' NAOMI ALDERMAN''Evans is always, always on the finest of forms'' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS''A writer at the top of her game'' LEONE ROSS''I adored A House for Alice. Her writing is exquisite: every sentence a jewel'' ELIZABETH DAY©2023 Diana Evans (P)2023 Penguin Audio

**WINNER OF THE JHALAK PRIZE**

'A pleasure and an invigoration' Guardian'A moving, witty and seductive anthology' Financial Times'Every piece feels beautifully sewn together and complete BERNARDINE EVARISTO

Crafted over twenty-five years, I Want to Talk to You invites you into a conversation about literature, art and music, identity, grief and everything in between

As a young journalist, Diana Evans was catapulted overnight into the role of culture editor, going on to interview a roster of stars including Lauryn Hill, Viola Davis, Alice Walker and Edward Enninful.

In these portraits of contemporary icons, the author remains the observer. Alongside them, in pieces collected here for the first time, we also see her turning the lens on herself. We watch as she dances on stages in London and travels through Cuba. We sit beside her desk as she develops her voice as a writer, shaped by her love for Jean Rhys, James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. We walk by her side as she navigates the world her family and the midlife sandwich, reflections on fashion, yoga, the British monarchy and lockdowns, and the lasting impact of George Floyd and Grenfell.

'Truly insightful, conversational and unique... Absolutely brilliant' ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS'Intimate and moving... Elegant in tone and finely wrought in form' EKOW ESHUN'A celebration of a career that has been anything but ordinary and an intellectual mind forever evolving' CHARLIE BRINKHURST-CUFF

Brought to you by Penguin.Crafted over twenty-five years, I Want to Talk to You invites you into a conversation about literature, art and music, identity, grief and everything in betweenAs a young journalist, Diana Evans was catapulted overnight into the role of culture editor, going on to interview a roster of stars including Lauryn Hill, Viola Davis, Alice Walker and Edward Enninful.In these portraits of contemporary icons, the author remains the observer. Alongside them, in pieces collected here for the first time, we also see her turning the lens on herself. We watch as she dances on stages in London and travels through Cuba. We sit beside her desk as she develops her voice as a writer, shaped by her love for Jean Rhys, James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. We walk by her side as she navigates the world – her family and the midlife sandwich, reflections on fashion, yoga, the British monarchy and lockdowns, and the lasting impact of George Floyd and Grenfell.''Every piece feels beautifully sewn together and complete’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO''Truly insightful, conversational and unique... Absolutely brilliant'' ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS''Intimate and moving... Elegant in tone and finely wrought in form'' EKOW ESHUN''A celebration of a career that has been anything but ordinary and an intellectual mind forever evolving. A blueprint for all of us straddling between fiction and journalism, who want to create meaningful, transcendent work'' CHARLIE BRINKHURST-CUFF© Diana Evans 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Brought to you by Penguin.Read the dazzling family mystery from the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of Ordinary PeopleAs a child Lucas thought that all children who''d lost their parents lived on water. Now a restless young man still living with his sister Denise on their West London narrowboat, he determines to find out more about the unexplained disappearance of his father, the charismatic Jamaican dancer, Antoney Matheus.Thus unfolds a journey from fifties Kingston to sixties Notting Hill and the host of unforgettable characters who peopled Antoney''s theatrical world, most importantly Carla, Lucas''s mother. The result is a haunting family saga of absence and inheritance, the battle between love and creativity, and what drives a young man to take flight...‘Evans interweaves the strands of her three-generation narrative with an exhilarating sense of place and period’ Daily Telegraph‘Sparkles with mood, music and the sway of life’ Marie Claire‘Diana Evans’s fiction is emotionally intelligent, dark, funny, moving. The sheer energy in her novels is enthralling. A brilliant craftswoman, a master of the form, she makes the reader ask important questions of themselves and makes them laugh at the same time’ Jackie Kay, British Council and National Centre for Writing''s International Showcase on Britain''s 10 best BAME writers© Diana Evans 2009 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Brought to you by Penguin.**WINNER OF THE ORANGE AWARD FOR NEW WRITERS**Discover the critically acclaimed debut from the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of Ordinary PeopleIdentical twins, Georgia and Bessi Hunter, live in the loft of 26 Waifer Avenue. It is a place of beanbags, nectarines and secrets, and visitors must always knock before entering. Down below there is not such harmony. Their Nigerian mother puts cayenne pepper on her Yorkshire pudding and has mysterious ways of dealing with homesickness; their father angrily roams the streets of London, prey to the demons of his Derbyshire upbringing.Forced to create their own identities, the Hunter children build a separate universe. Their elder sister Bel discovers sex, high heels and organic hairdressing whilst the twins prepare for a flapjack empire. It is when the reality comes knocking that the fantasies of childhood start to give way. How will Georgia and Bessi cope in a world of separateness and solitude, and which of them will be stronger?‘A remarkable first novel...vibrant...exotic’ Sunday Times‘Hugely assured and very moving’ Mark Haddon‘Diana Evans’s fiction is emotionally intelligent, dark, funny, moving. The sheer energy in her novels is enthralling. A brilliant craftswoman, a master of the form, she makes the reader ask important questions of themselves and makes them laugh at the same time’ Jackie Kay, British Council and National Centre for Writing''s International Showcase on Britain''s 10 best BAME writersWinner of the British Book Award for deciBel Writer of the Year Shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel AwardShortlisted for the Guardian First Book AwardShortlisted for the Commonwealth Best First Book AwardShortlisted for the Times/Southbank Show Breakthrough AwardRecipient of the Betty Trask AwardLonglisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award© Diana Evans 2005 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

'A pleasure and an invigoration' Guardian'A moving, witty and seductive anthology' Financial Times'Every piece feels beautifully sewn together and complete BERNARDINE EVARISTO

Crafted over twenty-five years, I Want to Talk to You invites you into a conversation about literature, art and music, identity, grief and everything in between

As a young journalist, Diana Evans was catapulted overnight into the role of culture editor, going on to interview a roster of stars including Lauryn Hill, Viola Davis, Alice Walker and Edward Enninful.

In these portraits of contemporary icons, the author remains the observer. Alongside them, in pieces collected here for the first time, we also see her turning the lens on herself. We watch as she dances on stages in London and travels through Cuba. We sit beside her desk as she develops her voice as a writer, shaped by her love for Jean Rhys, James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. We walk by her side as she navigates the world her family and the midlife sandwich, reflections on fashion, yoga, the British monarchy and lockdowns, and the lasting impact of George Floyd and Grenfell.

'Truly insightful, conversational and unique... Absolutely brilliant' ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS'Intimate and moving... Elegant in tone and finely wrought in form' EKOW ESHUN'A celebration of a career that has been anything but ordinary and an intellectual mind forever evolving' CHARLIE BRINKHURST-CUFF