Worm in the Bud: A Fable

From A Reading Life, A Writing Life, with Sally Bayley by Sally Bayley, Andrew Smith

February 22, 2026 · 52 min · Episode 93

About this episode

Sally Bayley discusses her latest work, 'Worm in the Bud: A Fable', with producer James Bowen, exploring themes of interpretation and narrative.

‘Enter Lillian…’ This week, we join Sally once again in conversation with the producer, James Bowen, on the subject of Sally’s latest work, Worm in the Bud: A Fable. Listen for a conversation on interpretation, ambiguity, and the instructive value of narrative. Worm in the Bud is published by the New Menard Press, and is available from all good booksellers. The wonderful piano accompanying Sally's reading of 'The Forest' is ‘Monday’, by Paul Seba. More on Paul and his work can be found here. This episode was edited and produced by James Bowen. More information on James and his work can be found here. Special thanks to Andrew Smith, Violet Henderson, Kris Dyer, and Maeve Magnus.

People in this episode

Hosts: Sally Bayley, Andrew Smith

Guest: James Bowen

Topics covered

interpretation
ambiguity
narrative
literature
conversation

Keywords

Worm in the Bud
Sally Bayley
James Bowen
narrative
ambiguity
literature
New Menard Press

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New Menard Press

Books & works: Worm in the Bud: A Fable, The Forest