Isolationcast #16: Harriet Walker on imposter syndrome, the front row and her book, The New Girl

Fashion! Psychodrama! Jealousy! Harriet Walker's debut novel The New Girl has it all. A psychological thriller about the relationship between a magazine's fashion editor and her maternity cover, I could not put it down - and I'm not surprised that it is one of the year's most buzzed-about books. As you can imagine, I was delighted to have the chance to grill Harriet on how much of it was drawn from personal experience (as fashion editor of The Times, she has seen her fair share of Devil Wears Prada-style madness) and how on earth she managed to write it while on maternity leave (as you will hear, it was a bit more complicated than that). And there was so much else I loved about our chat - from Harriet's honesty about the imposter syndrome she struggles with as an author to how she juggled looking after her daughter with working full time in lockdown, to the time she interned at Tatler and was too afraid to speak. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Twitter: @Aliceazania / @harrywalker1 Instagram: @aliceazania / _harrywalker1 Buy the book here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-new-girl/harriet-walker/9781529304008 Edited by Chelsey Moore