Between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean lies the tiny island of Redonda. Uninhabitable by humans, Redonda is home instead to a variety of wildlife—including untold generations of seabirds that produce the island’s prized source of fertilizer. Though it might not seem like much, this peculiar island is the figurative home of a fantastical and international community of writers, with a highly-contested lineage of kings that includes John Gawsworth, Jon Wynne-Tyson, Dylan Thomas, Umberto Eco, Javier Marías, Alice Munro, and Pedro Almodóvar. In an exclusive Festival Week episode of the Books & Ideas Audio podcast, author Michael Hingston discusses his new book—Try Not to Be Strange: The Curious History of the Kingdom of Redonda—and sails us through the friendships, feuds, and fantasies that fueled the creation of one of the oddest and most enduring micronations ever dreamt into being. In conversation with Naben Ruthnum, the author ofA Hero of Our Time and Find You in the Dark, among other books. 

You don’t need to RSVP or book a ticket to this event. This podcast will be released at 9:00am PDT on Monday, October 17 on the Books & Ideas Audio podcast. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts! 

Event Participants:

Michael Hingston

MICHAEL HINGSTON is the bestselling author of Try Not to Be Strange, Let's Go Exploring (a history of Calvin and Hobbes), and The Dilettantes, as well as co-publisher of Hingston & Olsen Publishing. His journalism has appeared in Wired, National Geographic, the Washington Post, and The Guardian.