Octavia Hilary Bright (born 1986) is an English writer and broadcaster. She co-hosted the

NTS Radio NTS Radio (also known as NTS Live or simply NTS) is a music radio platform which was founded in 2011 in Hackney, East London by Femi Adeyemi "for an international community of music lovers". NTS was built as a platform to celebrate the eclec ...

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 A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL) in the Spanish department.

Career

In November 2013, Bright was invited to co-host the live talk show ''Literary Friction'' with agent Carrie Plitt on

. 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 Dolly Alderton (born 31 August 1988) is a British author and screenwriter. She is also columnist for ''The Sunday Times''. Her memoir '' Everything I Know About Love'' won a 2018 National Book Award for autobiography and was shortlisted for the ...

Sally Rooney Sally Rooney (born 20 February 1991) is an Irish author and screenwriter. She has published four novels: ''Conversations with Friends'' (2017), ''Normal People'' (2018), ''Beautiful World, Where Are You'' (2021), and ''Intermezzo (novel), Interm ...

Ocean Vuong Ocean Vuong (born , ; born October 14, 1988) is a Vietnamese American poet, essayist, and novelist. He is the recipient of the 2014 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, 2016 Whiting Award, an ...

and

Deborah Levy Deborah Levy (born 6 August 1959) is a South African novelist, playwright and poet. She initially concentrated on writing for the theatre – her plays were staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company – before focusing on prose fiction. Her ear ...

. ''Literary Friction'' was nominated for Best Culture Podcast at the 2018

British Podcast Awards The British Podcast Awards is an annual awards ceremony intended to celebrate outstanding content within the British podcast scene. The British Podcast Awards is owned and operated by Haymarket Media Group, which also owns several media businesse ...

, while ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' named it one of the best podcasts of 2021. Garnering over a million downloads since its debut, ''Literary Friction'' came to an end in 2023. In addition, Bright recurrently presented episodes of the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

programme ''

Open Book Open book may refer to: Books and publishing * An Open Book (poems), ''An Open Book'' (poems), a collection by Orson Scott Card * Open access books * PEN/Open Book, a program fostering diversity in publishing * ''An Open Book'', an autobiography ...

'', ran a blog titled ''Lobsters for Liberty'', and wrote

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

s with the likes of Héloïse Werner.

Canongate Books Canongate Books (trading as Canongate) is an independent publishing firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Canongate area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the Booker Prize winning novel '' Life of Pi'' (2001 ...

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. 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

, as well as delving into her father's

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

diagnosis.

Bibliography

* ''This Ragged Grace: A Memoir of Recovery and Renewal'' (2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bright, Octavia Living people 1986 births Alumni of University College London British women literary critics British women podcasters English librettists English literary critics English women memoirists Writers from the City of Westminster