On the COUCH
Dubliner Sarah Davis-Go is co-founder of the awardwinning publisher Tramp Press and her own ction début, the post-apocalyptic thriller, Last
Ones Left Alive, , is out on March 7. She appears at the Ennis Book Festival on March 2
How much TV do you think you watch every week?
Here’s hoping I never nd out. I’d be horri ed! Often I use television to try and acquire a certain mood, the same as people do for music, and I’ll have something light on in the background if I’m doing something dull.
What book would you love to see made into a TV show?
I love sci- – please someone make Ann Leckie’s award-winning Ancillary trilogy, or Nnedi Okorafor’s Lagoon. Colson Whitehead has a zombie novel called Zone One which I’d love to see adapted; I nd di erent interpretations of esheating monsters fascinating, and so fun to watch.
Who controls the remote in your house?
I like to think it’s a democratic process. We’ll make a decision together on what we watch. Unless I’m sick, in which case I watch all the property shows I want…
Do you watch many arts programmes?
I don’t, really, but we’re so lucky that arts are a part of our everyday conversation. There are books segments on daytime TV shows, as well as on radio, and there’s often an arts segment on the RTÉ news – I love that.
Are you a “telly on, laptop on the knees and phone for tweeting” overload kind of person?
Oh de nitely. It’s all-nonsense, all the time in the Davis-Go -Rudden (author Dave) household.
What are your unmissable shows right now?
I love dramatic US political shows like House of Cards and Homeland. I also have a serious soft spot for Winning Streak, and I really enjoy The Zoo. It’s eclectic!
Who would be your dream directing, producing and acting team to adapt your own novel for TV?
Element for everything. I think Lenny Abrahamson is a genius. Could he somehow co-direct with Jane Campion? There’s two women living alone o the west coast of Ireland in my novel that I’d love to see played by the wonderful Tara Flynn with Maria Doyle Kennedy.
Are there any genres of TV you just can’t abide?
Just as in literature, genre is for me inconsequential; the only thing that matters is quality. That said, gardening shows are not interesting.
Has TV influenced your writing in any way?
Absolutely. TV is a great way to watch a structure develop, how themes can be played with over the course of a long series, and to see how talented writers deal with exposition.
Are there any shows you have on box-set, DVR or red button that you haven’t quite got round to watching?
We have The Sopranos which I’ve never watched. The rst in this era of prestige TV, it’s a real gap in my knowledge. Just as in books, there’s a constant feeling that I need to catch up.
Sarah Davis-Go is a guest at this year’s Ennis Book Club Festival on March 2, ennisbookclubfestival.com