Graduates of Anglia Ruskin's MA Creative Writing take to the airwaves

On March 12 2013, community radio station Cambridge 105 announced the launch of a new night-time show hosted by Leigh Chambers and Alex Ruczaj, both keen writers and readers who met while studying for the MA Creative Writing at Anglia Ruskin.

'Book Night' broadcasts every fortnight on Wednesdays from 22.00-23.00, and is also available on listen again, or downloadable as a podcast, via Cambridge 105's website.

Since graduating in 2010, Leigh has been finishing her first novel Scapa Flow, the opening chapters of which were shortlisted for both the Hookline Competition (2009) and the Great Literary Openings Competition (2011). She also works as a journalist and editor, with work published in The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday and City Limits, and has also co-authored a series of books for children in the care system, published by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering.

Alex has only recently completed the MA Creative Writing and, as well as working as a writer and a marketing consultant, also runs the Early Night Club in Cambridge (for people who want to dance but don't want to stay out too late). She is currently working on a collection of short stories, including several that have been shortlisted for national prizes such as the Asham Award and Cinnamon Press Short Story Award. Alex also runs writing events and recently hosted a workshop with Booker-nominated author M J Hyland.

Speaking about the rationale for their radio show, Alex said: "We're both very community minded and we love books and writing so this combined many passions for us. A community radio station is such a great way to bring people together and to be able to do that around literature is fantastic. We hope to make the show more and more interactive as the weeks go on and gain input from listeners on who they'd like us to interview as well as find out which books people are reading."

Leigh added: "Cambridge is teeming with readers and writers so we'll have no shortage of subject matter and, hopefully, no shortage of listeners either. We want to cover all book genres and plug in to what's exciting those who love literature."

The first show, which aired on 20 March, focused on memoirs and featured an interview with Azadeh Moaveni, author of Lipstick Jihad, Honeymoon in Tehran, and co-author, with Shirin Ebadi, of Iran Awakening. Cambridge-based Moaveni, who was the only Western journalist in Iran during the highly volatile period of the late-1990s, talked about her experiences and her decision to write a memoir, and also shared some of her favourite music. The show included interviews with Joanne Limberg, author of The Woman Who Thought Too Much (a memoir about battling neurosis and OCD), and biographer and life-writing tutor Midge Gillies.

Future shows will highlight crime writing, Cambridge Wordfest, short stories and science-fiction.

For more information on the show please email booknight@cambridge105.fm.

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