Episode 432: Ten Minutes with John Berlyne

Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

This is the point where, at least for Jonathan, it all went off the rails and the 'ten minutes with" became a purely aspirational thing, losing any connection with chronological reality. In a fascinating, sprawling conversation Jonathan spends half an hour or so talking to agent, editor, bibliographer, and reluctant shut-in, John Berlyne of the Zeno Literary Agency, about reading, books, agenting and how to get an agent, how the current situation may affect publishing, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

• Mr Breakfast by Jonathan Carroll
• The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell
• By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar
• Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
• Railsea by China Miéville
• Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny
• Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
• Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
• The Constant Rabbit by Jasper FForde
• The Anomaly by Michael Rutger
• Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
• Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures by Stephen Fry (audio)
• The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer (audio)