I Want to Talk to You

Portraits of icons from Maya Angelou to Viola Davis, collected alongside dazzling essays and criticism by the Women's Prize-shortlisted author of Ordinary People

'A pleasure and an invigoration' — Guardian

'A moving, witty and seductive anthology' — Financial Times

'Every piece feels beautifully sewn together and complete' — Bernardine Evaristo

Crafted over twenty-five years, I Want to Talk to You invites you into a conversation about literature, art and music, identity, grief and everything in between.

As a young journalist, Diana Evans was catapulted overnight into the role of culture editor, going on to interview a roster of stars including Lauryn Hill, Viola Davis, Alice Walker and Edward Enninful.

In these portraits of contemporary icons, the author remains the observer. Alongside them, in pieces collected here for the first time, we also see her turning the lens on herself. We watch as she dances on stages in London and travels through Cuba. We sit beside her desk as she develops her voice as a writer, shaped by her love for Jean Rhys, James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. We walk by her side as she navigates the world — her family and the midlife sandwich, reflections on fashion, yoga, the British monarchy and lockdowns, and the lasting impact of George Floyd and Grenfell.

'Truly insightful, conversational and unique... Absolutely brilliant' — Ore Agbaje-Williams

'Intimate and moving... Elegant in tone and finely wrought in form' — Ekow Eshun

'A celebration of a career that has been anything but ordinary and an intellectual mind forever evolving' — Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff