In this episode I interviewed Keith Blackmore, who edited Philip Gould’s book When I Die, which was published after Philip had died.

Philip was one of the architects of New Labour, but in 2011 he had cancer. Keith, then the deputy editor at The Times, started serialising an essay Philip had written about his experience, which later formed part of the book. A few months later, Philip died, after which his family asked Keith to edit this book, When I Die.

In the interview we talk about how Keith became involved and the way newspaper editing can make for gripping narrative, but mostly we talked about how he gathered all the words Philip had left behind, Philip’s writing style, and how Philip documented his death so beautifully.

You can buy the book here:

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/when-i-die-lessons-from-the-death-zone-philip-gould/1858616?ean=9780349139111

Keith also recommended A Death in Malta by Paul Caruana Galizia . You can buy that here:

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/a-death-in-malta-an-assassination-and-a-family-s-quest-for-justice-paul-caruana-galizia/7419825?ean=9781529151558

If you want to have a look at Tortoise, go here:

https://www.tortoisemedia.com/

And finally, my books are here:

https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/andrew-hankinson

Thank you for listening.