Books We Opened in 'Opening Up a Can of Worms'
Over the past year, our podcast guests have shared the books that shaped their lives, inspired their work, and sparked their creativity. Here’s a list of their absolute favorites—a glimpse into the reads that fuel great minds!
Want to know why these books matter so much to our guests? Listen back to the episodes for the full stories and insights. You might just find your next great read (or re-read)!
WORMS READER with ELIDA SILVEY, KITA WARD & CACONRAD
Elida Silvey is a self-taught Mexican-American poet, writer, and editor living in London. She is a writer for Hard of Hearing Magazine and a member of the Gobjaw Poetry Collective. She is also the Assistant Editor at Montez Press. Kita Ward is an artist, writer and food researcher looking to deepen our connection to every being we eat through story telling. CACONRAD is an author and poet. They teach regularly at Columbia University in New York City and Sandberg Art Institute in Amsterdam.
Listen to the Golden Boomerang Return by CAConrad
Nothings by Elida Silvey
Opening Up a Can of Worms with CLAIRE MARIE HEALY
Claire Marie Healy’s writing and curated projects explore film, art, fashion, and the internet, with a focus on the experiences of young women. Formerly the editor of Dazed, she has since edited publications on roller discos, dancefloors and SFX makeup for places like IDEA and A24. Her writing has been published by the Tate ("Girlhood", 2023), The Guardian, Dirt, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Cultured, Real Review and others, and she is also a Contributing Editor for AnOther, where her Girlhood Studies column has lived since 2019. Lately, Claire has been working on a new history of girlhood as told through clothing and makeup.
Girlhood by Claire Marie Healy
A Summer Bird Cage by Margaret Drabble
Opening Up a Can of Worms with TRAVIS ALABANZA
Travis Alabanza is a writer, performer and theatre maker. Their theatre shows Burgerz, Overflow and Sound Of The Underground were all received with critical acclaim. They have given talks on Race and Gender at Harvard, Oxford and Bristol, with their impact in the LGBT plus community being noted in the Forbes 40 under 30 list, Dazed 100 and Attitudes magazine 100 list.
None of the Above by Travis Alabanza
The Will to Change by bell hooks
Opening Up a Can of Worms with ELLA FREARS
Ella Frears is a poet and artist based in London. Her collection Shine, darling was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for best first collection, and the TS Eliot prize for poetry.
Goodlord by Ella Frears
Opening Up a Can of Worms with TICE CIN
Tice Cin is an interdisciplinary artist from North London. A London Writers Award winner, her work has appeared in numerous magazines including Extra Teeth and Skin Deep. "Keeping Up The House" is her debut novel.
Keeping the House by Tice Cin
Opening Up a Can of Worms with OLIVIA SUDJIC
Olivia Sudjic is a writer living in London. Her writing has appeared in publications including the New York Times, Financial Times, Guardian, Vogue, Frieze and Wired. She has taught Creative Writing at Kings College London and is the author of Asylum Road {2021}, Exposure {2018} and Sympathy {2017}.
Asylum road by Olivia Sudjic
Motherhood by Sheila Heti
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James
Mother State by Helen Charman
Everyday Utopia by Kirsten R Ghodsee
Opening Up a Can of Worms with OLIVIA LAING
Olivia Laing is an acclaimed writer and critic. Recently the author of The Garden Against Time, Laing writes on art and culture for the Guardian, Financial Times and New York Times.
The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing
The Trip to Echo Spring by Olivia Laing
Everybody by Olivia Laing
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Modern Nature by Derek Jarman
The Artists Way by Julia Cameron
Opening Up a Can of Worms with AMELIA ABRAHAM
Amelia Abraham is a journalist and author. She has worked as an editor for VICE, Refinery29 and Dazed, and writes for The Guardian, British Vogue, and many other publications. Amelia edited ‘We can do better than this: 35 voices of LGBTQ+ rights’ and her first book ‘Queer Intentions’ is a first-person exploration of the mainstream of queer culture across the West. Amelia’s favourite book is ‘Walking through clear water in a pool painted black’ by Cookie Mueller.
We Can Do Better Than This by Amelia Abraham
Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black by Cookie Mueller
The Woman in Me by Brtiney Spears
Down the Drain by Julia Fox
Opening Up a Can of Worms with NATHALIE OLAH
The author of ‘Bad Taste: or the politics of ugliness’, Nathalie Olah is an author, journalist and cultural critic whose writing has been published in The New Statesman, The Guardian, Dazed, and i-D amongst many others.
Bad Taste by Nathalie Olah
A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin
Opening Up a Can of Worms with OCTAVIA BRIGHT
Recently the author of "This Ragged Grace", Octavia Bright is a writer and broadcaster. She co-hosted Literary Friction, the literary podcast and NTS show, with Carrie Pitt. Her writing has been published in a number of magazines including The White Review, Harpers Bazaar, Elle, The Sunday Times, amongst others.
This Ragged Grace by Octavia Bright
Opening Up a Can of Worms with CHARLIE FOX
Charlie Fox is a writer and artist based in London. Charlies book was The Safety of Objects by A.M Homes.
This Young Monster by Charlie Fox
The Safety of Objects by AM Homes
Opening Up a Can of Worms with SKY DAIR
Sky Dair (she/her) is a writer, filmmaker and musician from London. Her practice focuses on the presence of catharsis within the act of making and thinking. She is interested in the intersection and collaging of video, photography, audio and language as a vessel to explore emotional release.
Kind is Cool by Sky Dair and Clem McLeod
Opening Up a Can of Worms with JENNIFER HIGGIE
Most recently the author of “The Other Side: a journey into women, art and the spirit world” Jennifer Higgie is an acclaimed writer, screenwriter, art critic and former editor of the London based contemporary arts magazine, Frieze.
The Other Side by Jennifer Higgie
Jigsaw by Sybille Bedford
The See Through House by Shelley Klein
Opening Up a Can of Worms with JULIET JACQUES
Juliet is a writer and filmmaker. Her short fiction and journalism have appeared in Frieze, The New York Times, Granta, London Review of Books and other publications. Her short films have screened in galleries and festivals worldwide. She is the author of Trans: A Memoir (2015), Variations (2021), Front Lines: Trans Journalism 2007 - 2021 (2022). Juliet appears in issue 2 of WORMS MAGAZINE.
Variations by Juliet Jacques
Trans a Memoir by Juliet Jacques
Opening Up a Can of Worms with REBECCA MAY JOHNSON
Rebecca May Johnson has published essays, reviews and non-fiction with Granta, Times Literary Supplement and Daunt Books Publishing, among others, and is an editor at the trailblazing food publication Vittles. Small Fires is her first book- it was short listed for Foyles Nonfiction Book of the year 2022 and was Foyles Non-fiction Book of the Month for September 2023.
Small Fires by Rebecca May johnson
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor
Opening Up a Can of Worms with CHARLIE PORTER
Most recently the author of ‘Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion’ Charlie Porter is a writer, fashion critic and curator. He has written for The Financial Times, The Guardian, The New York Times amongst others. He is one of the most influential fashion writers of his time.
Bring no Clothes by Charlie Porter
In Search of Lost Time Series by Marcel Proust
Opening Up a Can of Worms with LAUREN ELKIN
Lauren Elkin is a writer and translator, most recently the author of Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art and the UK translator of Simone de Beauvoir's previously unpublished novel The Inseparables. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications including the London Review of Books, the New York Times, Granta, Harper’s, Le Monde, the Times Literary Supplement and Frieze.
Art Monsters by Lauren Elkin
Bodies of Work by Kathy Acker
The Art of Cruelty by Maggie Nelson
Opening Up a Can of Worms with SHEENA PATEL
Sheena Patel is a poet and writer. She is part of the 4 BROWN GIRLS WHO WRITE collective and her debut novel I'm a Fan won the Discover Book of the Year at the British Book Awards 2023, has been longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction, shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and it was Foyles Fiction Book of the Year 2022. Sheena was also our cover star on issue 6 of WORMS.
I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel
