Joanna Rakoff on ‘My Salinger Year’
In my latest interview, I’m in conversation with Joanna Rakoff, novelist and author of the internationally bestselling memoir, My Salinger Year.
Press the play button below to listen to our conversation:
Originally published in 2014 and made into a film in 2020, My Salinger Year has just been republished by the independent UK publisher, Slightly Foxed, as one of their beautiful, pocket-sized hardbacks.
Hugely popular since its initial publication a decade ago, My Salinger Year is a funny, heartfelt memoir about Joanna’s experience as a young girl, fresh out of university, getting a job at a famous New York literary agency in 1996.
At that time The Agency represented J. D. Salinger, renowned for his reclusive habits, and much of Joanna’s work involved replying to the enormous volume of fan-mail the Agency received on behalf of Salinger. As the book progresses season by season through this remarkable year, Joanna is forced to consider important questions regarding her own life, relationships and work, all whilst juggling a demanding boss and a Brooklyn flat that’s heated by the kitchen oven.
I had a wonderful time chatting with Joanna about how she came to write My Salinger Year, what it is about coming-of-age stories that make them so universally appealing, the difficulties in navigating the demands of a digital, social-media driven age with creative work and so much more.
Joanna Rakoff
Episode Links:
My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff (paperback; Slightly Foxed hardback).
The film version of My Salinger Year (known in the UK as My Year in New York).
Joanna Rakoff’s BBC Radio 4 documentary that started it all.
Follow Joanna Rakoff on Instagram.
Thanks so much for listening!
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