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In 2013 we encountered a pamphlet-sized book published by n1 called No Regrets It contained a series of conversations between different groups of women about the books that had formed them Each discussion took the form of an edited transcript and was presented on the page as a dialogue, and although the format wasn’t original, it felt new and important The discussions were frank, unexpected and revelatory in the way only conversations between friends can be Yet how rarely is the feeling – and the work they do in shaping us – of those conversations captured?   This was our starting point when it came to introducing a new feature to this magazine We wanted to host a series of discussion on topics that feel pertinent to our times, around the subjects that dominate our lives and politics, and impact how art is made and books written We wanted to ask those with experience the questions we were asking ourselves, questions like ‘how did we get here?’ or simply, ‘how was it for you?’   This form, which we have called ‘roundtables’, blends the qualities of the personal essay and interview but aims to overcome the constraints of both Instead of privileging only one voice, a number combine to share experiences and challenge each other Informed but informal, led by anecdote and personal experience, we hope that each conversation will result in an unexpected and multi-faceted picture of the given topic – and inspire further conversations among readers   Our first roundtable is on the subject of work, because how could it not be? The question of how we spend our days has never been more all-consuming or vexed Over the past few years we have had to rethink everything we took for granted about work: getting paid, having a fixed place of work, the concept of leisure time, even the need for human beings in the workplace, when an app might do it better But were we ever ready? As Joanna Biggs writes in All Day Long, her book on modern work, ‘University had made us employable but hadn’t