Listen to author and critic Erica Wagner in conversation with Florence Knapp, writer of “The Names”, her debut novel published by Phoenix in 2025, and recently published in French by JC Lattès. In her novel, Florence Knapp tells the story of a family marked by domestic abuse and explores the theme of identity—what a name means to someone and how it defines a person. As the conversation unfolds, Florence Knapp mentions her literary influences and the rejection of her first manuscript.

As part of the Rendez-vous littéraires rue Cambon [Literary Rendezvous at Rue Cambon], the podcast “les Rencontres” highlights first time women novelists.

(00:00) Introduction

 

(00:56) Presentation of Florence Knapp and her novel “The Names” by Erica Wagner

 

(03:57) On the author’s path to becoming a writer

 

(05:08) On her interest in paper piecing

 

(06:27) The rejection of her first manuscript

 

(08:58) On the challenges she encountered writing “The Names”

 

(10:09) The publication process of her novel

 

(13:17) Reading an extract of “The Names” by Florence Knapp

 

(16:31) The writing process of her novel

 

(19:09) On how craftsmanship inspires her

 

(20:40) The difficulty to write about domestic abuse

 

(23:34) On her literary influences

 

(25:58) The reception of the book

 

(28:36) The ending questionnaire of “Les Rencontres”

Florence Knapp, The Names © The Orion Publishing Group, 2025

 

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

Copyright © 2021 by Oliver Burkeman

Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux

All Rights Reserved

 

Charlotte’s Web © 1952 by E.B. White, courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers

 

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

Copyright © 1985, Oliver Sacks

All Rights Reserved

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, copyright © 2017 by Celeste Ng

Published by Penguin Random House US