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

'Truly insightful, conversational and unique... Absolutely brilliant' ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS 'Intimate and moving... Elegant in tone and finely wrought in form' EKOW ESHUN

I am sitting in bed next to Mariah Carey. She's wearing a pair of tiny boxer shorts and a belly-airing vest. 'You can lie down if you want,' she says. 'I mean it's fine, be comfortable.' So I lean further back into the pillows, feigning being comfortable.

As a young magazine intern, Diana Evans was catapulted overnight into the role of culture editor, and so began her career as a journalist, writing about musicians, dancers and artists, interviewing the likes of 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.

Crafted over twenty-five years, with the intelligence and sensitivity for which Diana Evans is celebrated, I Want to Talk to You invites you into a conversation about literature, art and music, identity, and everything in between.