TIME, LOVE, AND REVOLUTION: A Conversation with Catherine Mayer.
Live interview this Friday, 8PM UK time – only for paid subscribers.
There are interviews you do because someone has a new book out.
And then there are conversations like this one.
This Friday, we welcome Catherine Mayer, a writer whose work doesn’t just say something, it does something. An author, journalist, speaker, activist, and co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party, Catherine has never been one to sit on the sidelines of culture or politics. She’s stood on stages with Grayson Perry, run for European Parliament, written searingly personal memoirs, and stood face-to-face with grief, and never backed down.
But her latest book? It caught us off guard.
In the best possible way.
TIME/LIFE: Not Just a Novel, a Warning Wrapped in a Love Letter
Catherine’s new novel, TIME/LIFE, is part sci-fi, part social satire, part devastating portrait of love and loss.
And yet somehow… it’s also funny. Hopeful. Even warm.
It begins at a Las Vegas tech convention, yes, you read that right, where a charismatic tech magnate demonstrates a time machine and accidentally launches himself and a journalist into the distant future. But this isn’t just about gadgetry. It’s about a woman torn from her present, desperate to get back to the person she loves. About the choices we make. And what the future actually looks like when we don’t think through the consequences of today.
"Mayer’s genre-bending riff on H.G. Wells is as clever as it is poignant," says Luke Jennings (Killing Eve).
"Timely and utterly compelling," adds Merky prize-winning poet Monika Radojevic.
And William Gibson, father of cyberpunk himself, calls it “multiplexly brilliant.”
No pressure, then.
Behind the Book: Activism, Journalism, Grief, and Grit.
TIME/LIFE feels like the kind of book you write after you’ve lived. And Catherine Mayer has lived many lives.
As a senior editor and London Bureau Chief at TIME Magazine, she chronicled world events from the front lines.
As the co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party, she challenged political norms from the inside.
As a writer, she’s penned bestselling biographies (Charles: The Heart of a King), feminist manifestos (Attack of the Fifty Foot Women), and intimate explorations of love and mourning (Good Grief, written with her mother after the passing of her husband, Andy Gill of Gang of Four).
She has also curated festivals about death, judged major literary prizes, released music EPs, written theatre for The Globe, and been at the forefront of a generation demanding better, especially for women.
To call her "multi-hyphenate" would be to do her a disservice. She’s a force.
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
Named in GQ's 50 Most Influential People in Britain 2020.
NatWest Spirit of Everywoman Award 2018, with Sandi Toksvig.
Named in Gender Equality Top 100: Most Influential People in Global Policy 2018.
Suffrage Champion, Oxford University, 2018.
Progress 1000 Evening Standard, Equality Champion, 2016.
WIE Women in Excellence 50, 2013.
29, Total Politics Top 100 Political Journalists 2011.
Shortlisted, Orwell Prize, 2011.
Winner, FPA Story of the Year, 2010.
This Friday, You’re Invited to Ask Her Anything
We're not exaggerating when we say this might be one of our most layered and inspiring interviews yet.
And the best part? You don’t just get to watch.
You get to be in the room.
If you're a paid subscriber, you’ll gain:
Exclusive early access to the live interview at 8PM UK time this Friday (a full 2 weeks before the public release).
Direct access to Catherine Mayer via our live chat Q&A—ask the questions you care about most.
A front-row seat to a conversation about writing, resilience, and the ways we shape both the future and the page.
Why This Matters
This isn’t just about one amazing guest (though she absolutely is).
It’s about building a space where authors, readers, and thinkers connect deeply.
Our CIC (Community Interest Company) was born from the belief that stories save lives—and that authors, like Catherine, deserve to be heard not just as entertainers, but as changemakers. Every paid subscription helps us do that. It funds our live shows, helps us offer mental health support for creatives, and gives space to the kind of conversations traditional media too often misses.
If you’ve ever felt that writing matters more than clicks,
that voices like Catherine’s deserve to echo louder,
and that art and activism belong together, this is for you.
Join Us Live This Friday at 8PM -
📚 Catherine Mayer.
🕗 Friday, 8PM UK Time.
💬 Live viewing and chat access for paid subscribers.
🎥 Replay available afterward.
👉 Become a paid subscriber now – and don’t miss this unforgettable conversation.
We promise you’ll walk away changed.
— CJ & Chris
The Writing Community Chat Show.
The WCCS - TOGETHER AS ONE WE GET IT DONE.
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