Byron Vincent, Wordsmith

‘I was absolutely convinced as a kid that I was an alien. That I was going to be picked up any day now. I used to go to bed at night and think ‘I wonder if tonight’s the night that my extra-terrestrial parents will arrive in their immaculate and beautiful spaceship and take me off to Alpha Centuri.’

Byron Vincent photographed by Julian Ward

My guest in this first post-pandemic episode of TWTH is the writer, performer and broadcaster Byron Vincent. He joined me in my shed at the bottom of the garden and it was really lovely to be able to record in interview in person for the first time in a long time.

Byron grew up poor. With the cards stacked against him. He had a tough time when he was younger. But through the nurturing of his home environment and his own character kooks – he used to bunk off school to go to the library – he managed to navigate those early challenges to become one of the most thoughtful and socially conscious writers working today.

Our conversation roams widely. We talk about creativity of course, but also about neurodiversity and addiction, about turning perceived deficits into attributes, about the scourge of social media and there’s some brilliant advice for anyone looking to make it as writer or performer from a background like Byron’s.

If you have time check out Byron’s BBC short and the James Price film we discuss. Oh, and if you get chance to see Instagramming the Apocalypse make sure you do.