In this episode of Turning Points, Patricia Killeen speaks with husband-and-wife team Jonathan Ruppin and Emma Claire Sweeney, who run the Ruppin Agency Writers’ Studio. Their retreats in Paris (https://www.ruppinagency.com/paris/) and North Wales, along with their mentoring programmes, have become sought-after experiences for writers. Their upcoming Paris retreat (18–23 May), hosted by the Véranda Association Culturelle, will take place in a stunning house in the 15th arrondissement, often featured in architectural publications.

Emma Claire Sweeney is an award-winning author and senior lecturer at the Open University. Her novel Owl Song at Dawn was named Nudge Book of the Year (literary category), and her co-authored biography A Secret Sisterhood received praise from Margaret Atwood for its contributions to literary history. Emma’s work has appeared in The Paris Review, TIME, and The Washington Post, and she has won the Society of Authors, Arts Council England, and the Royal Literary Fund awards.

Jonathan Ruppin is an editor and former literary agent with over 30 years of industry experience. He led the Ruppin Agency from 2016 to 2024, where every novel sold was award-nominated, with wins including the Portico Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award. He has collaborated with English PEN, the Booker Prize Foundation, and New Books in German, and served as a judge for the Costa Novel Award, Guardian First Book Award, and the RNA Awards.

Check out Emma and Jonathan’s site: ruppinagency.com or contact Emma and Jonathan by email at studio@ruppinagency.com to book a retreat or for literary mentoring.

What happens when war is fought from behind a screen? In this episode, host ARBL Murray speaks with Canadian writer and Afghan war veteran Matt Jones about his new novel, Predators, Reapers, and Deadlier Creatures. Set in Kandahar in 2010, the book follows a drone operator wrestling with the moral and psychological weight of remote warfare.

Now based in Paris, where he teaches creative writing at SciencesPo, Jones explores the challenge of writing about war for divided audiences—drawing on his journey from soldier to storyteller.

Discover more about the author | Buy the book in France | Buy the book in the USA

In this Episode of Lost in Frenchlatin we talk with lauded French filmmaker and screenwriter Arnaud Desplechin about his new film ‘Spectateurs!' (Filmlovers!)

His film screened at the beautiful Jeu de Paume in the Tuileries Gardens, during the Lost in Frenchlation event. Manon Kerjean and ARBL Murray were able to chat with Arnaud about his films, his inspiration, and what it was like to put together his own personal ode to cinema. Arnaud tells us why he used the mixed forms of narrative and documentary, what his earliest interactions with art were and why Pretty Woman occupies his thoughts from time to time.

In this Episode We Discuss:

Films of Arnaud Desplechin

Philosopher:

Stanley Cavell

Films:

Shoah by Claude Lanzmann

Killer of Sheep by Charles Burnett

The Exiled by Johnnie To

Pretty Woman by Garry Marshall

Arnoud’s must see recommendation for recent films:

Souleymane's Story by Boris Lojkine

Listen to Arnaud give a talk about why he loves the film Pretty Woman (In French)

LISTEN HERE ON APPLE PODCASTS

For more information about Lost in Frenchlation and to buy tickets go to:

https://lostinfrenchlation.com

In this episode of Cups and Dishes Wafa Jawad shares with us the meaning of Ramadan and some of her favorite foods with which to break the fast each day during the Holy month.

On this episode of Parentalité we talk about the French way of reading and storytelling with children.

First, Meg Gerner chats with Oliver Gee and Lina Nordin Gee, the parent duo responsible for the popular podcast The Earful Tower, about their series of children's books which all feature precocious animal characters who galavant around Paris. Lena talks about being a creative mom with a toddler and a newborn and Oliver gives us insight into their reading habits with three languages in the household.

Later in the Episode Joelle Benoliel and Rachelle Chapman talk about reading culture with kids in France from the huge influence of Bond Dessiners (graphic novels or comic style books) to the prevalence of libraries in the lives of French children.

We talk about our favorite books growing up, and the favorite books of our children growing up in France.

Recommendations From This Episode

Check out The children's books by Oliver and Lina Nordin Gee set in Paris for kids of all ages.

https://theearfultower.com/shop/

Our Favorite Books When We Were Young

Joelle: Stormy with a chance of Meatballs, U.S.A

Lena: Pippi Longstocking , Sweden

Lena: A Sunday Doll (en söndagsdocka), Sweden

Rachelle: The Giving Tree, Saul Silverstien, U.S.A

New Kids Books in English

Joelle recommends, Halibut Jackson

Oliver Gee recommends, The Gruffalo and all the Julia Donaldson books.

Current French Books for Our Francophone Kids

Roule Galette (young) A classic tale about a Galette Roi (King Cake) who escapes those who wish to eat her.

Ana, Ana (young)

Les trots petits cochons Three little pigs as architects by Steven GUARNACCIA. (Young)

Les Cahiers d’Esther (Notebooks of Esther) 9 - 12 years

L’Arabe du Future (Arab of the future) Teenagers and adults

In this Episode of Lost in Frenchlatin we continue our series on the Cinemas of Paris. Manon Kerjean and ARBL Murray chat with Camille Labé, the new Owner of L'épée de Bois. L'épée de Bois is a small cinema on Rue Mouffetard, one of the most iconic streets of Paris. The cinema opened in 1971 and has changed hands several times. Camille is the most recent owner having taken ownership in February of 2024. Camille tells us what it's like to run a cinema with a focus on community and classic cinema.

Camille is a big fan of classic comedy and she recommends checking out:

The films of Louis de Funès

Les aventures de Rabbi Jacob

L'aile ou la cuisse

Oscar

Welcome to Cups and Dishes: Valentine’s Day with BONESHAKER Doughnuts in Paris! Valentine day is here and Wafa Jawad wanted to share the love ❤️ with you all especially her love for doughnuts 🍩. We visit with Amanda Bankert owner and founder of Boneshaker the all vegan doughnut shop, and her about her story, the name boneshaker, and what makes a doughnut joke funny! As usual @cups_and_dishes does NOT disappoint. We truly had a wonderful time. Features in this video is the exclusive Heart-shaped raspberry filled V-day treat AND the delicious nut covered STICKY BUN created in collaboration with Buddy Buddy (nut butter specialists) Episode produced by ARBL Murray and recorded in Paris, France

In this episode of This is not a Poem, Sabine Huynh and EK Bartlett explore the great women writers who shaped Sabine Huynh’s writing, notably Anne Sexton, and how translation shapes our practice as writers.

A book shouldn’t be judged by its cover, but it was indeed the cover of Anne Sexton's collected poems and her sandaled feet, that captured Sabine’s attention in a little bookstore in Harvard Square in 1999. Now, 25 years later, Sabine has translated nearly all of this iconic American poet’s work.

Sabine is a Saigon-born French poet, novelist and literary translator Sabine Huynh grew up in Lyon, France, holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics and is the author of a dozen books, and of many translations. Notably, she has translated Anne Sexton, Ada Limón, Gwendolyn Brooks, Diane Seuss and Ilya Kaminsky. Winner of the 2023 Jean-Jacques-Rousseau award, and the 2023 Des racines et des mots Prize for Exile Literature, among others, she is working on her third novel.