Ctrl Alt Delete

#129 Louise O'Neill: A Feminist Reimagining Of The Little Mermaid

​This episode is with Louise O'Neill, the award-winning Irish novelist. Louise has written a​ feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid​ which has ​just been​ published by Scholastic​. ​A spokesperson for ​the​ publisher said ofThe Surface Breaks: “Christian Andersen’s dark, original fairy tale is reimagined through a searing feminist lens, with the stunning, scalpel-sharp writing that has won Louise her legions of devoted fans.”​ In the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, Ariel changes her body to please a man, is at the beck and call of her father and she even has her voice taken away from her. I got to interview Louise O'Neill at Waterstones Piccadilly in May (2018) about the book as part of a live podcast recording. We discussed feminism, writing fantasy literature, her inspirations ​and why Mermaids are back on trend again. ​"It's funny once you become a feminist you can't enjoy any pop culture, everything is fucking ruined"." On her main character Gaia: "I just wanted to see her as a girl who wanted to take up more space in the world."​ Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Ctrl Alt Delete subverts the traditional career show. Instead, it's for people who are more interested in shaping their work rather than letting their work shape them. The main focus is work, wellbeing and creativity. Hosted by bestselling author Emma Gannon, she has a gentle line of questioning that starts with work, and ends up wherever the conversations lead. Named Best Business podcast by Vuelio, Webby award nominee and named 50 Best Podcasts by Sunday Times, Ctrl Alt Delete is a gateway into new ideas – with past guests varying far and wide including Elizabeth Gilbert, Reni Eddo-Lodge, Jacqueline Wilson, Lena Dunham, Julia Cameron, Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, Ava DuVernay, Gillian Anderson and Mrs Hinch. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.