This page presents some of Amis's most illuminating interviews. Because they routinely inspire additional public appearances or commentary, users should consult the Commentary page for related links.
As a general rule, if Amis is being interviewed one-on-one, whether on television or in print, then the item will be listed on this page. Group discussions will appear on the Commentary page.
Martin Amis Interviews at BBC Four (Real) 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Martin Amis Presentations at 2006 PEN World Voices
Martin Amis Materials on the BBC website & archive
Click here to SEARCH for Martin Amis Interviews with Charlie Rose
Also see below: 11 August 2010, 5 Feb 2007, 18 Nov 2003, 5 June 2000, 17 Feb 1999, 26 August 1998, 5 February 1998, 1 May 1995.
Select Recent Interviews, 2011-present
Martin Amis Confronts Saul Bellow's Chicago LINK | PDF
J. C. Gabel speaks with Amis about Bellow's legacy. Chicago Reader, 27 October 2011.
Martin Amis: intoxicating, free -- the novelist's life LINK | PDF
Speaking with Edmundo Paz Soldan at the Hay Literary Festival in Xalapa, Mexico (see other links on Events page). 14 October 2011.
"L'aristocratie anglaise est pathétique" LINK | PDF
Amis's much-maligned interview with Le Nouvel Observateur, 19 April 2011. Representative reactions included A.N. Wilson, "...Why does Amis hate his country" (LINK | PDF) and Peter Allen, "Amis attacks Royal family as 'philistines'" (LINK | PDF). Click here to read Katherine Miller's English translation of this interview.
On the Relocation to America
In 2011 Amis and his family purchased a home in Brooklyn, New York. He kept his home in London; the New York move was prompted, in part, by his wife's desire to be closer to family. Click the links below for commentary by Amis and others.
Almost Amis. New York Observer, 26 April 2011. LINK | PDF
"Amis bemoans Englands 'moral decrepitude.'" The Guardian, 18 April. LINK | PDF
"You have to be slightly innocent to be a novelist." The Observer, 2 April. LINK | PDF
James Wolcott welcomes Amis. Vanity Fair, 25 January. LINK | PDF
Amis quits £80k Manchester Univ. post to move to New York. 21 January. LINK | PDF
Select links from the New York Observer describe Amis's home and offer advice for the "BroBrit": home/slideshow (LINK1 | LINK2 | PDF) | advice (LINK) | guide to NY (LINK)
On BBC2's Faulks on Fiction Program LINK
Speaking with Sebastian Faulks about John Self, the narrator of Money, in an episode dedicated to analyzing "The Hero." In an earlier segment, Boris Johnson discusses Jim Dixon from Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim. BBC2, 5 February 2011.
During this interview Amis quipped that only a "brain injury" would make him consider writing a children's book. Benedicte Page summarized the ensuing controversy in the Guardian, 11 February (LINK | PDF); publisher Kate Wilson weighed in at BookBrunch, 13 February (LINK | PDF).
Select Interviews, 2006-2010
Amis and Isabel Fonseca interviewed about their marriage by Ariel Leve for the Wall Street Journal Magazine, 21 October 2010.
On the Charlie Rose Show LINK | FLV (161 MB)
Interviewed by Charlie Rose about The Pregnant Widow, Amis's career, and friendship with Christopher Hitchens, 11 August 2010.
Let's Talk about Sex LINK | PDF
Speaking with Flannery Dean for CBC News (Canada), 14 May 2010.
Martin Amis: As good as it gets LINK | PDF
Speaking with Philippa Kennedy for The National (U.A.E.), 13 March 2010. This interview took place after Amis's appearance at the International Festival of Literature in Dubai. Related coverage includes the following:
"Martin Amis comes close to apology over Islam comments," 12 March 2010. LINK | PDF
"I wish my sister had converted to Islam," 16 March 2010. LINK | PDF
Martin Amis: Talking about a revolution LINK | PDF
Speaking with Boyd Tonkin for the Independent, 5 February 2010. Tonkin's review of The Pregnant Widow appeared one week later (see Reviews).
On BBC 2's Culture Show program LINK
Speaking with Rowan Pelling about The Pregnant Widow, 4 February 2010.
On BBC Radio 3's Night Waves program LINK
Speaking with Philip Dodd about The Pregnant Widow, 4 February 2010.
On BBC 4's Front Row program LINK | FLV (11 MB)
Discussing The Pregnant Widow and contemporary politics, 1 February 2010.
Martin Amis: The Prospect Interview LINK | PDF
Speaking with Tom Chatfield for Prospect magazine, 1 February 2010.
'I don't want to tread carefully' LINK | PDF
Talking with Stephen Moss for the Guardian, 1 February 2010.
On Channel 4's 4Thoughts Program LINK
The interview that started the euthanasia controversy. 18 January 2010.
Martin Amis at Guardian Book Club
Speaking with John Mullan about Time's Arrow and related issues, Guardian, 9-30 January 2010. LINK | Time's Arrow (53 MB) | Euthanasia (42 MB)
Week One: Reverse Chronology LINK | PDF
Week Two: Narrative Voice LINK | PDF
Week Three: On Authorial Motivation LINK | PDF
Week Four: Reader Responses LINK | PDF
Feminism's Unlikely Ally, and Radical Islam's Foe LINK | PDF
Interviewed by Margaret Wente for the Globe and Mail, 13 November 2009.
Q & A with Martin Amis LINK | PDF
Interviewed by Mark Medley in The National Post, 1 August 2009. See also Medley's profile of Amis's creative writing classes: LINK | PDF
Me and My Terrible Twin LINK | PDF
Speaking with Harry de Quetteville in the Telegraph, 19 June 2009.
In Conversation with Martin Amis
LINK1 | PDF1 | FLV1 | LINK2 | PDF2 | FLV2 | LINK3 | PDF3 | FLV3 | LINK4 | PDF4 | FLV4
Interviewed by James Crabtree for Prospect Magazine, 13 May 2009.
Interviewed by Christina Patterson for the Independent, 10 April 2009.
Interviewed by James Knight for Vice Magazine, The Fiction Issue/December 2008.
The Mouth that Roars LINK | PDF
Interviewed by Andre Mayer for CBC News (Canada), 5 May 2008
Martin Amis is Feeling Vulnerable LINK | PDF | MP3 (3MB)
Interviewed by Elizabeth Renzetti in The Globe and Mail, 2 May 2008.
On the BBC’s The Interview program. LINK | WMV (4MB)
Interviewed by Carrie Gracie, 8 February 2008.
Martin Amis: interview LINK | PDF
With Jonathan Derbyshire. Time Out (London), 4 February 2008.
Amis and J. G. Ballard LINK | RAM (20MB)
With Philip Dodd on BBC Radio 3's Night Waves program, 30 January 2008.
The Two Faces of Amis LINK | PDF | FLV (5MB) | HARI
Interviewed by Johann Hari for The Independent, 29 January 2008. See also the additional commentary from the interview in the same day's coverage. LINK | PDF
On the Start the Week program LINK | MP3 (19MB)
For BBC Radio 4, 28 January 2008.
Amis rejects 'anti-Islam' claims LINK | PDF | WMV (4MB)
Profile and interview by Razia Igbal for BBC News, 26 January 2008.
Speaking with Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times, 2 November 2007.
Amis Interviewed on Channel Four LINK | LINK2 | STREAM | WMV (35MB)
Speaking with Jon Snow about Islamism, literature, and the Terry Eagleton controversy 17 October 2007. For commentary on this interview see Laura Clark & Tahira Yaqoob in The Daily Mail, 18 October.
Martin Amis Leaps Back into the Ring LINK | PDF1 | PDF2 | PDF3
Amis's first interview on the Eagleton controversy. Interviewed by Kate Summerscale in The Telegraph, 15 October 2007.
Amis v. Eagleton Controversy
Select links from the furor surrounding Terry Eagleton's comments about Kingsley and Martin Amis in the revised edition of his book Ideology: An Introduction.
Initial Coverage, The Independent, 4 October 2007 LINK | PDF
Nigel Reynolds, The Telegraph, 5 October 2007 LINK | PDF
Michael Henderson, The Telegraph, 6 October LINK | PDF
John Sutherland, The Guardian Arts Blog, 4 October LINK
Letters from relatives in defense of Kingsley Amis LINK | PDF
Philip Hensher on Kingsley Amis, The Independent, 9 October LINK | PDF
Geoffrey Levy, The Daily Mail, 11 October 2007 LINK | PDF
Robert Baird on the digital emunction blog LINK | PDF
Terry Eagleton responds in The Guardian, 10 October LINK | PDF
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in The Independent, 8 October LINK | PDF
Amis replies to Alibhai-Brown, The Independent, 12 October LINK | PDF
Alibhai-Brown replies in The Evening Standard, 18 October LINK | PDF
Amis speaks at The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, 15 October LINK | PDF
More coverage from Cheltenham LINK | PDF
Amis's letter to the Guardian, 12 October LINK | PDF
Richard Lea, The Guardian, 12 October LINK | PDF
"Enough ... for now," The Guardian, 13 October LINK | PDF
"Hero or Villain?" The Independent, 21 October LINK | PDF
"The Truth Stirrer," Scotsman.com, 3 November LINK | PDF
Elizabeth Jane Howard in the Daily Mail, 1 November LINK | PDF
A "cultural conversation" with Amy Finnerty in the Wall Street Journal, 25 April 2007.
On the Bat Segundo Show, 17 March 2007. LINK | POD/MP3
On the Bookwork program LINK | RM
Interviewed by Michael Silverblatt, KCRW (California), 15 March 2007.
"Birnbaum v. Martin Amis" LINK | PDF
Speaking with Robert Birnbaum for The Morning News, 28 February 2007.
"To Russia, but not with Love" LINK | PDF
Simon Haupt in the Globe and Mail, 27 February 2007.
Misc. Links Concerning Amis's Appointment at the University of Manchester
Contract Details & Controversy, 25 January 2008. LINK | PDF | LINK | PDF
Alexi Mostrous on Amis's salary, 26 January 2008. LINK | PDF
Interviewed by Peter Millar, Sunday Times, 18 February 2007. LINK | PDF
Interviewed on the Manchester Evening News, 16 February 2007. WAV (50MB)
Sarah Walters, Manchester Evening News, 16 February 2007. LINK | WORD
Alexander Topping, The Guardian, 15 February 2007. LINK | PDF
Yakub Qureshi, Manchester Evening News, 15 February 2007. LINK | WORD
Kristy Lang, BBC4's Front Row, 15 February 2007. RM (10MB)
See also the ensuing debate about Amis's rank among "great" living writers:
"Who is the greatest of them all?" Guardian, 23 February 2007 LINK | PDF
"The best according to ..." Guardian, 23 February 2007 LINK | PDF
"The Bard of Brash" LINK | PDF1 | PDF2
Interviewed by Chris Lehmann for Radar magazine, 16 February 2007.
On the Charlie Rose Show LINK | FLV (127MB) | PREVIEW (6MB)
Interviewed by Charlie Rose, 5 February 2007. Also featuring Norman Mailer.
Q & A with Martin Amis LINK | PDF
With Lev Grossman, Time magazine, 5 February 2007.
On the Writers and Company program LINK | RM1 | RM2
Two interviews conducted by Eleanor Wachtel for the Canadian Broadcast Company.
28 January 2007 and 4 February 2007.
On the Writers on the Record program LINK | MP3 (28MB)
Interviewed by Victoria Lautman, 28 January 2007.
Martin Amis: You Ask the Questions LINK | PDF
Responding to reader's emails in the Independent, 15 January 2007.
Amis and Zachary Leader Discuss Kingsley Amis LINK
Three-part video to promote the release of Leader's authorized biography, The Life of Kingsley Amis. At the London Review Bookshop, 28 November 2006.
On BBC Radio 4’s Open Book program LINK | RM
Speaking about his father and Zachary Leader's biography, 19 November 2006.
Inteviewed by Silvia Spring in the 6 November 2006 issue of Newsweek International.
Amis speaks with Tony Jones LINK | WMV | PDF
On the Lateline program, Australian Broadcast Television, 1 November 2006.
"Martin Amis expects upset with autobiographical novel" LINK | PDF
Interviewed by Mike Collett-White for Reuters, 17 October 2006.
"Martin Amis: 30 Things I've Learned about Terror" LINK | WORD
Speaking with Alex Bilmes in The Independent, 8 October 2006.
"My life with the unfaithful old devil Kingsley Amis" LINK | PDF
Sarah Sands speaks with Hilly Kilmarnock about Kingsley and their children. The Daily Mail, 6 October 2006.
Speaking to Rachel Cooke at the Fonseca family compound in the Hamptons. The Observer, 1 October 2006.
"Still Life in the Old Dog" WORD
Rosemary Goring in The Herald [Glasgow], 30 September 2006.
A profile of Amis on BBC2's Newsnight, 28 September 2006. LINK | WMV | RM
"Is Martin Amis Turning Into his Father?" LINK | PDF
Geoggrey Levy speaks with Elizabeth Jane Howard and Hilly Kilmarnock in discussing the affinities between Kingsley and Martin Amis. The Daily Mail, 27 September 2006.
On BBC Radio 4's Front Row program LINK | MP3
Speaking with Mark Lawson, 26 September 2006.
On BBC Radio 3's Night Waves program LINK | RM
Interviewed by Isabel Hilton about House of Meetings, 26 September 2006.
"The Voice of Experience" LINK | PDF
Interviewed by Ginny Dougary in the Times Magazine, 9 September 2006.
"Londres me llama" Amis in Radar, Pagina/12 LINK | PDF
A Spanish-language interview with Andrew Graham-Yooll that offers insight into Amis's thoughts about living in Uruguay and the forthcoming books House of Meetings and The Pregnant Widow. Click here for translation assistance. Or click here for a summary that references the interview's first appearance in the 9 July Buenos Aires Herald.
Amis on Bill Moyers's Faith and Reason LINK | PDF | FLV Preview | RM
The episode featuring Amis and Margaret Atwood was broadcast on 28 July 2006. The transcript and video preview are linked above; the full-length broadcast (in streaming media) is available here.
Amis at the 2006 PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature
The PEN American Center, 25-30 April. Visit the World Voices home page for a full listing of the program and other speakers.
LINK to Amis Reading (on Islamism), 26 April 2006 | MP3 (2MB)
LINK to Amis Reading his essay "Graham Greene", 27 April 2006 | MP3 (2MB)
LINK to Amis's Interview with Patrick McGrath, 27 April 2006 | MP3 (20MB)
Select Interviews, 2000-2005
"Old Martin Amis is In Your Face Again" LINK | PDF
Interviewed by Dave Weich for Powells.com (30 November 2004).
"Martin Amis, Author of Yellow Dog, talks with Robert Birnbaum" LINK | PDF
From Identitytheory.com (posted 8 December 2003).
"Dirty Little Secrets" LINK | PDF
Amis speaks with Justine Elias for Newsweek (4 December 2003).
On the Charlie Rose Show LINK | FLV1 | FLV2 | FLV3 | FLV Full (107MB)
Amis discusses Yellow Dog and related matters. From the 18 November 2003 episode also featuring Gore Vidal.
"Martin Amis -- the Playboy conversation" LINK | PDF1 | PDF2 | PDF3 | PDF4
Sam Jemielity interviews Amis for Playboy (undated; late 2003).
"Off the Page: Martin Amis" LINK | PDF
Carole Burns interviews Amis online for the Washington Post (7 November 2003).
Philip Higgs interviews Amis about Yellow Dog for Nerv.com. LINK | PDF
"It's a mad, mad world that inspires Martin" LINK | PDF
Gerald Isaaman interviews Amis at the Cheltenham Festival for the Camden New Journal, 30 October 2003.
Amis interviewed by Tina Brown. WORD | PDF
Amis discusses Yellow Dog, pornography, and morality; transcript of his 29 October 2003 appearance on the CNBC program Topic A.
Martin Amis and James Wood discuss Saul Bellow
on The Connection, WBUR Boston and NPR, 16 October 2003. LINK | RM
"Amis Needs a Drink" WORD | PDF
Kate Muir interviews Amis in the wake of negative Yellow Dog reviews (13 September 2003).
Amis on the Front Row program, speaking about Yellow Dog, 1 September 2003. RM
"Even the Praise is Bad for You" LINK | PDF
Martin Amis's new novel Yellow Dog is the most eagerly awaited book of the year, dividing the literary world even before its publication. On the eve of its serialisation in the Guardian, the writer tells Emma Brockes about his style, his critics and why his daughters are so special. The Guardian, 29 August, 2003.
Amis speaking with Clive James, from the Talking in the Library series LINK | WMV
"Bringing out the Dread" LINK | PDF
Anthony Quinn interviews Amis for the Daily Telegraph (filed 31 December 2002).
"Laughter in the Dark" WORD | PDF
Tishani Doshi interviews Amis about the anniversary of September 11 (from the Hindu Literary Review, 6 October 2002).
Amis on Front Row, speaking about Koba the Dread. LINK | EXCERPT | FULL
2 September 2002.
"It's a bit girly, but it really works" LINK | PDF
Amis discusses Pilates with journalist Victoria Lambert in the Telegraph (13 June 2002).
"Pinter's New Companion" LINK | PDF
Susannah Herbert weighs in on the preceding interview in the opinions section of the Telegraph (16 June 2002).
Electronic Telegraph, 11 December 2001. "Martin Amis, who is giving a Last Word Lecture tomorrow on his father Kingsley, tells Claudia FitzHerbert how he has come to understand why their attitudes to women, politics and writing were so different."
On The Connection with Christopher Leighton 6 July 2001 RM
On NPR's Wait Wait -- Don't Tell Me LINK | RM
Playing a game called "Is Your Bathroom Breeding Bolsheviks". 23 June 2001.
On Fresh Air with Terry Gross. WORD
Transcript of Amis's 1 June 2001 appearance on NPR's Fresh Air program; discusses Experience and his relationship with Kingsley Amis.
"The Living V-Sign" LINK | PDF
Lewis Jones interviews Amis for the Telegraph (26 January 2001).
"The Gender Benders" LINK | PDF
On Britain's Radio 4 "In Our Times" program 19 January 2000, Melvyn Bragg interviewed Amis and Prof. Cora Kaplan about feminism and male portraiture in fiction. Lucretia Stewart wrote this 24 January 2000 feature for the Guardian/Observer online.
"Time's Arrows" LINK | PDF1 | PDF2
Chris Wright profiles/interviews Amis for The Portland Phoenix (13-20 July 2000).
Amis on NPR's Morning Edition WORD
Speaking with Renee Montague on 6 July 2000.
On the Charlie Rose Show LINK | FLV (111MB) | FLV2 (63 MB)
The 5 June 2000 episode also featured B. Lewis.
"January Experiences Martin Amis" LINK | PDF
Linda Richards profiles Amis for January magazine, June 2000. Good material on Experience, Koba the Dread, fatherhood, laughter, and children.
"Bestial Turbulence" WORD | PDF
Mark LePage of the Montreal Gazette interviews Amis during Amis's Canadian Experience tour (23 June 2000).
An interview with Martin Amis in conjunction with the
publication of Experience, at the amazon.co.uk web site (2000).
On Canada AM program WORD
Speaking with Wei Chen, 2 June 2000.
On ABC's 20/20 program WORD
Transcript of Amis's 15 June 2000 interview with Bill
Ritter. Discusses Experience and his relationship with
Kingsley Amis.
Select Interviews from the 1990s and Earlier
Speaking at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. Undated, but sometime between 1998 and 2001. LINK | WMV
Romona Koval interviews Amis for headspace #9 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), June 1999. LINK | PDF
On the Charlie Rose Show. LINK | FLV (136MB)
A Conversation with Elmore Leonard and Martin Amis, 17 February 1999.
Amis Remembers Iris Murdoch WORD | PDF
Transcript of Amis's interview on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, 9 February 1999.
On the Charlie Rose Show LINK | FLV (23 MB)
Interviewd by Charlie Rose about Amis's novel Night Train, 26 August 1998.
Martin Amis, the Art of Fiction, No. 151 LINK | PDF
Interviewed by Francesca Riviere for The Paris Review, Spring 1998.
The Sadistic Muse LINK | PDF1 | PDF2
Laura Miller interviews Amis for Salon.com, 10 February 1998.
On the Charlie Rose Show LINK | FLV (61 MB)
Interviewd by Charlie Rose about Amis's novel Night Train, 5 February 1998.
Amis interviews Elmore Leonard, 23 January 1998. WORD | PDF
Success. Money. Happy? LINK | PDF
Tim Adams interviews Amis for the Guardian/Observer online, 12 October 1997.
On NPR's Weekend Edition program WORD | PDF
Transcript of Amis's 6 May 1995 appearance with Ian Sinclair; interviewed by Michael Goldfarb.
On the Charlie Rose Show LINK | FLV (151 MB)
Interviewed by Charlie Rose about the novel The Information, 1 May 1995.
The Prose and Cons of Martin Amis LINK | WORD | PDF
Graham Fuller interviews Amis in Interview magazine (v. 25.5, May 1995).
No More Illusions: Martin Amis is Getting Old and Wants to Talk about It.
Interview by Alexander Laurence and Kathleen McGee for Alt-X, 1995. LINK | PDF
Will Self interviews Martin Amis for The Mississippi Review, October 1995. LINK | PDF
On the Late Show: Face to Face program LINK
Speaking with Jeremy Isaacs for BBC2 about writing, Kingsley Amis, and the future of the novel, 25 October 1993.
On the Bookworm program LINK
Interview by Michael Silverblatt, 8 June 1992.
A Satirist Rages at England, America Books LINK [cf. Notable Oldies] | PDF
Kevin Allman for the Los Angeles Times, 29 March 1990.
Martin Amis: Down London's Mean Streets LINK | PDF | WORD
Mira Stout in the New York Times Magazine, 4 February 1990.
Amis speaking with Don Swaim, 1990. Discusses London Fields, although the recording cuts off because of technical issues. LINK | RM
Amis speaking with Don Swaim, 1985. Discusses Money. LINK | RM
On the BBC's World Book Club program, 1985. Discusses Money. LINK | RM