Notes and Links to Imani Thompson’s Work
Imani Thompson is a British writer of Scottish, Irish, and Jamaican heritage. After studying Sociology at Cambridge University, she worked as a bookseller at Daunt Books. Honey is her first novel. She lives in London.
Buy Honey
Imani Thompson’s Author Page
Article about Imani Thompson in Vogue
At about 2:00, Imani responds to Pete asking about the way Honey has been received and interpreted since it came out in May 2026
At about 3:00, Imani speaks to her experience as a budding reader and writer
At about 6:00, Pete asks Imani about using an epigraph from Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” for Honey
At about 7:45, Imani responds to Pete’s question about the impact of Caribbean writers on Imani’s work; she notes the importance of Caribbean food in her book
At about 8:30, Imani recounts the “elevator pitch” for her daring and unique storyline
At about 9:40, Iamni says it’s “not possible” to “stand in judgment” of her characters morally and expands on why not
At about 10:25, Pete and Imani lay out some of the book’s exposition
At about 12:25, Imani provides background on "intersectionality" and its recent and not-so recent history
At about 14:15, Imani talks about the significance of race and class and racism and classism in the UK
At about 15:45, Imani reflects on Yrsa, the protagonist, and her seemingly “normal” family, as she sought to avoid tropes around serial killers
At about 18:10, The two set up the book’s inciting incident and ideas of power differential and misogyny
At about 20:00, Imani connects the recent tragic events involving Jason Arday to events in the novel
At about 21:10, The death of Richardson is dissected and talked about in legal terms
At about 23:05, Imani talks about a “reawken[ing]” and Yrsa as an “addict” after the first murder/manslaughter
At about 24:00, Pete stumbles through linking the post-death scene for Yrsa with Saltburn, and Imani remarks on the sensuous scene
At about 25:40, Imani speaks to a lack of emotion in Yrsa over death, and the idea of “death as liberating,” perhaps based on her early life experience
At about 27:40, Saidiya Hartman and other writers and their ideas of Black liberation and Afropessism are discussed in connection to Yrsa’s murders and philosophy
At about 29:10, Pete points to the ending of the novel as “unsettling”
At about 30:30, Yrsa and the quotidian and a budding romance are discussed, and the two reflect on Yrsa’s wants in a partner
At about 33:15, Imani responds to Pete’s asking about the “meta” nature of the book and what it was like to write satire, and humor, and chaos
At about 34:50, Imani discusses the flipping of gender roles in the novel, including her “big reason” for writing the book in an “accessible” way
At about 37:05, the two discuss Adolescence and American Psycho and incel culture in connection the novel
At about 42:00, Imani speaks to putting the past of the character into their present, and ideas of character building when using historical context
At about 44:30, Windrush and other Caribbean migration to the UK and the history of oppression there is discussed
At about 45:45, Imani talks about an exciting future media project for the novel
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This month’s Patreon bonus episode is the second episode for Pete’s limited podcast series, Rage is a Gift: Evil Empire at 30. Pete reflects on the Importance (and the power of this capital "I") of Rage Against the Machine and their seminal Evil Empire album, which is celebrating 30 years of resistance. The episode focuses on the opening track, “People of the Sun.” The limited podcast series will do a deep exploration of, and reflection on, the lyrics and context of each of the 12 powerful songs on the album.
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Please tune in for Episode 363 with Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor. Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor is a professor of history at Smith College where she teaches courses on race, slavery and her father, comedic legend Richard Pryor. She is the award-winning author of the article “The Etymology of [N-Word]: Resistance, Language, and the Politics of Freedom in the Antebellum North” and a 2016 book Colored Travelers: Mobility and the Fight for Citizenship before the Civil War. Her viral TED talk on why it's hard to talk about the n-word has been viewed over two million times.
Something We Said, Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me is Professor Pryor’s latest book (37 Ink an imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2026). The book is a braided narrative that seamlessly integrates the history of the n-word with her own story of growing up half Black, half Jewish and all Pryor.
The episode airs on October 13 or 14.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people.
You can also donate at chuffed.org, World Central Kitchen, and so many more, and/or you can contact writer friend Ursula Villarreal-Moura directly or through Pete, as she has direct links with friends in Gaza.
