Rodge Glass (18:15 BST)

Joshua died the same day he was born. In Joshua in the Sky, Rodge Glass memorializes his nephew, who died in 2017 from HHT (hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia), a genetic mutation that Rodge also carries, which causes blood vessels to form abnormally and in Joshua’s case meant he was unable to breathe.

In coming to terms with his grief and trying to make sense of his nephew’s death, Rodge considers the value of hidden lives, devoting the same attentiveness to describing the sadly small life of Joshua that he gave to Alasdair Gray when writing the biography for which he won the Somerset Maugham Award.

Rodge Glass, author of eight books, will explore why hidden lives should be cherished as part of the way decisions are taken by biographers to determine who gets to be remembered and how - from the great and the good, to the unseen.

In conversation with Meg Flaherty

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