Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Stefan Fatsis, whose classic Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble is 25 years old this year. Stefan tells me how a journalistic project turned into a quarter-century obsession, how dramatically tournament Scrabble differs from the living-room game, why we’re still having the same arguments over word lists … and how it has become a family story for him. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble is an episode from Spectator Books by The Spectator.

This episode is 49:40 long.

This episode was published on Mar 25, 2026.

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