Octavia Bright
{{Short description|English writer}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Octavia Hilary Bright
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1986}}
| birth_place = Westminster, London, England
| alma_mater = University College London {{small|(PhD)}}
| occupation =
| years_active = 2013–present
| website = {{url|https://www.octaviabright.com/}}
}}
Octavia Hilary Bright (born 1986) is an English writer and broadcaster. She co-hosted the NTS Radio podcast Literary Friction (2015–2023). Her memoir This Ragged Grace was published in 2023.
Early life
Bright was born in central London. She completed a PhD at University College London (UCL) in the Spanish department.{{Cite web|url=https://ucl.academia.edu/OctaviaBright|title=Octavia Bright|work=University College London – Academia|accessdate=8 October 2024}}
Career
In November 2013, Bright was invited to co-host the live talk show Literary Friction with agent Carrie Plitt on NTS Radio. In 2015, Literary Friction switched from a radio show to a podcast, still supported by NTS Radio. On the podcast, the duo recommended contemporary novels and interviewed various authors, including Dolly Alderton, Sally Rooney, Ocean Vuong and Deborah Levy.{{Cite web|url=https://sonderandtell.com/2019/04/carrie-plitt-and-octavia-bright/|title=In Conversation with Carrie Plitt and Octavia Bright|work=Sonder & Tell|date=2 April 2019|accessdate=8 October 2024}} Literary Friction was nominated for Best Culture Podcast at the 2018 British Podcast Awards,{{Cite web|url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2018/05/british-podcast-awards-2018-the-winners/|title=British Podcast Awards 2018 – the winners|work=RadioToday|first=Roy|last=Martin|date=1 October 2018|accessdate=31 May 2021}} while Vogue named it one of the best podcasts of 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/best-podcasts-of-2021|title=The Best Podcasts of 2021|work=Vogue|first=Liam|last=Hess|date=16 December 2021|accessdate=8 October 2024}} Garnering over a million downloads since its debut,{{Cite web|url=https://stranger-collective.com/all-work-and-no-playlist-octavia-bright/|title=All Work and No Playlist? - Octavia Bright|work=Stranger Collective|first=Hazel|last=Beevers|accessdate=8 October 2024}} Literary Friction came to an end in 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/mic-drop-for-literary-friction-podcast-after-10-years|title=Mic drop for 'Literary Friction' podcast after 10 years|work=The Bookseller|first=Heloise|last=Wood|date=16 November 2023|accessdate=8 October 2024}} In addition, Bright recurrently presented episodes of the BBC Radio 4 programme Open Book,{{Cite web|url=https://thelondonmagazine.org/interview-octavia-bright-on-selfhood-and-the-confessional/|title=Octavia Bright on selfhood and the confessional|work=The London Magazine|first=Katie|last=Tobin|accessdate=8 October 2024}} ran a blog titled Lobsters for Liberty,{{Cite web|url=https://artmatter.dk/artguide/calendar/octavia-bright-heathcliff-its-me|title=Octavia Bright: Heathcliff, It's Me 1 jul - 31 jul 2018|work=Art Matter|date=2018|accessdate=8 October 2024}} and wrote librettos with the likes of Héloïse Werner.{{Cite web|url=https://www.classical-music.com/listen/podcast/music-to-my-ears-podcast-composer-heloise-werner-and-librettist-octavia-bright|title=Music to my Ears Podcast: composer Héloïse Werner and librettist Octavia Bright|work=Classical Music|date=24 June 2021|accessdate=8 October 2024}}
Canongate Books picked up the rights in 2021 to publish Bright's debut book and memoir This Ragged Grace: A Memoir of Recovery and Renewal in 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/canongate-lands-brights-fiercely-brave-non-fiction-debut-1268881|title=Canongate lands Bright's 'fiercely brave' non-fiction debut|work=The Bookseller|first=Ruth|last=Comerford|date=12 July 2021|accessdate=8 October 2024}} The memoir details Bright's journey with recovery from alcoholism, which she was first told she had at age 27 when she was finishing her PhD, as well as delving into her father's Alzheimer's diagnosis.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/this-ragged-grace-by-octavia-bright-review-9mbxm7trx|title=This Ragged Grace by Octavia Bright review — a memoir of drinking and overthinking|work=The Sunday Times|first=Marianne|last=Power|date=1 June 2023|accessdate=8 October 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/14906/octavia-bright-this-ragged-grace-addiction-memoir-literary-friction|title=This Ragged Grace: Octavia Bright's Emotive Memoir About Recovery|work=AnOther|first=Kitty|last=Grady|date=1 June 2023|accessdate=8 October 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/61766/this-ragged-grace-a-memoir-that-shakes-off-its-generic-constraints|title='This Ragged Grace': a memoir that shakes off its generic constraints|work=Prospect|first=Lucy|last=Scholes|date=14 June 2023|accessdate=8 October 2024}}{{paywall}}
Bibliography
- This Ragged Grace: A Memoir of Recovery and Renewal (2023)
References
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Category:Alumni of University College London
Category:British women literary critics
Category:British women podcasters
Category:English literary critics