Simon Akam

Magazine journalist and author. Co-host @takenotesalways. “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” available now.

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

A big piece of mine has just run @NewYorker, about the decades of strife - ranging from death threats to Nazi comparisons - that ensued when reformers tried to standardise Romansh, Switzerland’s little known fourth language.

[The New Yorker @NewYorker]

.@simonakam reports on how an attempt to standardize Switzerland’s least known national language ignited quarrels that engulfed classrooms, newspapers, and eventually local politics.
https://t.co/VlfXGNn4K3

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

@swilliamsjourno Thankyou Sean!

[The Sunday Long Read @sundaylongread]

Check out this week's SLR featuring @gauveyherbert, @jjvincent, @simonakam, @TimAlberta, @npenzenstadler, @joshlpeter11, @TimBontemps, @Baxter & more! https://t.co/fnverBZruv

[The New Yorker @NewYorker]

Switzerland’s least known national language, Romansh, is spoken by less than one per cent of the population and splintered into five major “idioms.” Attempts at standardization were met with hostility. https://t.co/eQ2PnuCo3g

[The Fence Magazine @The_Fence_Mag]

We are Britain's most innovative magazine according to @simonakam, which is a very nice thing to hear

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

@FLECKL Hallo Rainer, mir wurde empfohlen, dich wegen eines Artikels für @VanityFair zu kontaktieren. Welche E-Mail-Adresse ist für Sie am besten geeignet? Simon

[Always Take Notes @takenotesalways]

NEW EPISODE: Novelist and academic Viet Thanh Nguyen talks about his Pulitzer prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer”, his politics and the literary representations of Vietnamese people he encountered growing up as a refugee in the US.

https://t.co/AXwPwdXcZ7

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

New episode of @takenotesalways featuring @BenMacintyre1

[Always Take Notes @takenotesalways]

NEW EPISODE: Journalist and non-fiction author @BenMacintyre1 talks to Simon and Rachel about writing “SAS Rogue Heroes”, the best types of source material and how Agent Zigzag taught him to no longer have a “black and white” view of WW2.

https://t.co/YxvAIZ7RjD

[Always Take Notes @takenotesalways]

While researching his novel “Caledonian Road”, Andrew O'Hagan spoke to nearly every kind of Londoner – from oligarchs to the young people caught up in gang violence.

In our latest episode, he tells us how he gains the trust of his sources.

https://t.co/3fR1sym9y3

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

New @takenotesalways with Andrew O'Hagan

[Always Take Notes @takenotesalways]

NEW EPISODE: Non-fiction writer and novelist Andrew O’Hagan talks to Simon and Rachel about how he approaches challenging sources, nailing the narrative voice of the @LRB and why it’s important to be surprised by your writing.

https://t.co/3fR1sym9y3

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

@spybrary @takenotesalways @Foyles Ah thank you - I hope it’s meaningful for you!

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

A reminder that the new and updated @takenotesalways book is out today. Here modelled by @rachelsllloyd’s flat coat retriever Dennis.

[Always Take Notes @takenotesalways]

NEW EPISODE: Founder of @millmediauk @joshi Herrmann speaks to Simon and Rachel about how and why we can save local journalism, learning to call people’s bluff, what he learnt from his years as editor-in-chief of the @TheTab and more.

https://t.co/gpRAt1x7I9

[Always Take Notes @takenotesalways]

Congratulations @SophieElmhirst!

It was our pleasure to interview Sophie in 2020 about her magazine writing, managing multiple commissions at once and covering subjects as diverse as millenial culture and the tampon business: https://t.co/Qf3D2lNB0G

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

New episode of @takenotesalways with author and @englishunicam academic Clair Wills

[Always Take Notes @takenotesalways]

NEW EPISODE: Author and academic Clair Wills tells us how literature gives us a kaleidoscopic view of history, her insider/outsider perspective on Irish culture, and writing about her family and Ireland's Mother and Baby Homes in "Missing Persons".

https://t.co/wyvGatc4BV

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

I wrote for @unherd on how different a possible Ukraine deployment may look from inside - as opposed to outside - the British army. Opportunity v. Obligation etc.

[UnHerd @unherd]

‘A big deployment does not just mean troops on the ground. It would mean resources, equipment, budgets, promotions, perhaps equally a sense of renewed mission.’

Read @simonakam on the allure of a Ukraine peacekeeping force 👇
https://t.co/UZIkCUORJx

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

@SpicierSubMemes You are extremely welcome. From a longtime fan.

[Always Take Notes @takenotesalways]

NEW EPISODE: Novelist Tim Winton shares his wisdom about editing, language and character from an acclaimed writing career that’s ranged from children’s fiction to his latest novel, “⁠Juice⁠", set in a post-apocalyptic future ravaged by climate change.

https://t.co/uBmMuA4xJl

[Always Take Notes @takenotesalways]

NEW EPISODE: Journalist and author Hannah Barnes (@hannahsbee) speaks to Simon and Rachel about her book “Time to Think” about the Tavistock’s gender clinic, her work as an investigative journalist at the BBC, and not caring what people think about you.

https://t.co/7in2SjlJuA

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

Good as usual from @josiahgogarty @BritishGQ

https://t.co/X5uNGzChEH

[Simon Akam @simonakam]

Nice to see my book "The Changing of the Guard" brought up in parliament - thankyou Mark Francois

https://t.co/3oM0V9xvTL