The Brit Lit Podcast
A show of news and views from the world of British books and publishing
Lindsey Kelk is back on the podcast today to catch us up on what she’s been up to in the last year. Lindsey is the author of the best-selling I Heart series of romantic comedies as well as countless other books and an exciting new project we possibly have the world exclusive on. She’s also the cohost of two podcasts. We talked about her favourite books of the year, the podcasts she likes, the joys and challenges of writing a beloved series, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
One in a Million, by Lindsey Kelk
I Heart Hawaii, by Lindsey Kelk
Cinders & Sparks, by Lindsey Kelk
I Heart New York, by Lindsey Kelk
I Heart Vegas, by Lindsey Kelk
I Heart Christmas, by Lindsey Kelk
I Heart Forever, by Lindsey Kelk
The Rise and Fall of Becky Sharp, by Sarra Manning
The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, by Philip Pullman
To All the Boys I've Loved Before, by Jenny Han
Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan
Wilde About The Girl, by Louise Pentland
Louis & Louise, by Julie Cohen
Becoming, by Michelle Obama
From the Corner of the Oval, by Beck Dorey-Stein
The Immortalists, by Chloe Benjamin
Lullaby/The Perfect Nanny, by Leila Slimani
The Travelling Cat Chronicles, by Hiro Arikawa
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
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Podcasts mentioned:
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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Our guest today is Lorraine Brown, whose debut novel Uncoupling came out a couple of weeks ago in the UK, and will be out in the US as The Paris Connection this summer. It’s a delightful love story which made for a great start to my reading year. Lorraine spoke to me just before her novel was published, and we had a meandering chat about all kinds of things from our love of trains, our experiences of LA, why authors should stay away from their Goodreads reviews, and more.
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Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
(All available in the UK here and most available in the US here)
Uncoupling/The Paris Connection, by Lorraine Brown
The Note, by Zoe Folbigg
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
The Chalet, by Catherine Cooper
The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley
The Guest List, by Lucy Foley
The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett
Girl A, by Abigail Dean
The Submission, by Amy Waldman
Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling, by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen
The Crow Folk, by Mark Stay
The Divines, by Ellie Eaton
Insatiable, by Daisy Buchanan
Raceless, by Georgina Lawton
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In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation?
Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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Lorraine Brown
Our guest today is Cherie Jones, whose Barbados-set novel How The One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House is hot off the press and has won praise from all quarters. Cosmopolitan calls it “visceral and haunting” and Bernadine Evaristo says that it’s “a hard-hitting and unflinching novel from a bold new writer who tackles head-on the brutal extremes of patriarchal abuse”.
Cherie and I talked about what it’s like to study writing far from home, where to start if you want to read short stories, what it’s like to live in Barbados, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
(All available in the UK here and most available in the US here)
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House, by Cherie Jones UK / US / Worldwide
In Praise of Love and Children, by Beryl Gilroy UK / US / Worldwide
The Girl with the Louding Voice, by Abi Daré UK / US / Worldwide
Augustown, by Kai Miller UK / US / Worldwide
The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead UK / US / Worldwide
Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, by Leanne Shapton UK / US / Worldwide
Ms Hempel Chronicles, by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum UK / US / Worldwide
Summer Lightning & Other Stories, by Olive Senior UK / US / Worldwide
Miguel Street, by V. S. Naipaul UK / US / Worldwide
People Like Her, by Ellery Lloyd UK / US / Worldwide
Rescue Me, by Sarra Manning UK / US / Worldwide
The Lonely Fajita, by Abigail Mann UK / US / Worldwide
Alexa, What Is There to Know About Love, by Brian Bilston UK / US / Worldwide (signed!)
Little Scratch, by Rebecca Watson UK / US / Worldwide
The Humiliations of Welton Blake, by Alex Wheatle UK / US / Worldwide
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe UK / US / Worldwide
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Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? Here are some painless ways.
In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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The Brit Lit Podcast
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Cherie Jones
Our guest today is bestselling novelist Milly Johnson, who’s the author of many books of romantic fiction, most recently I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day. Milly has had a fascinating career, including as a greetings card joke writer, and I hope you’ll enjoy learning about that as much as I did! She talks to us about Christmas themed-book recommendations, why her latest book is her favourite of hers, her time ghost writing for Purple Ronnie, and more.
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Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? Here are some painless ways.
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Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
(All availalble in the UK here)
I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, by Milly Johnson UK / US / Worldwide
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe UK / US / Worldwide
The Yorkshire Pudding Club, by Milly Johnson UK / US / Worldwide
The Birds and the Bees, by Milly Johnson UK / US / Worldwide
The Queen of Wishful Thinking, by Milly Johnson UK / US / Worldwide
For My Best Friend Forever, by Purple Ronnie UK / US / Worldwide
Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Jumper, by Debbie Johnson UK / US / Worldwide
The World at My Feet, by Catherine Isaac UK / US / Worldwide
Christmas For Beginners, by Carole Matthews UK / US / Worldwide
Let's Meet on Platform 8, by Carole Matthews UK / US / Worldwide
I Heart Christmas, by Lindsey Kelk UK / US / Worldwide
Seven Days of Us, by Francesca Hornak UK / US / Worldwide
The Adults, by Caroline Hulse UK / US / Worldwide
The Little Library Christmas, by Kate Young UK / US / Worldwide
Seven Kinds of People You Meet in Bookshops, by Shaun Blythell UK / US / Worldwide
The Flip Side, by James Bailey UK / US / Worldwide
Black History Walks, by Tony Warner UK / US / Worldwide
Erin's Diary, by Lisa McGee UK / US / Worldwide
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Find gift ideas for bookworms here in the UK, here in the US, and more here.
Buy a Libro.fm audiobook gift subscription and support the podcast here.
Lots of Christmas themed books collected for your reading pleasure here!
In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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The Brit Lit Podcast
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Milly Johnson
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Our guest on episode 66 is Lucy Farfort, who’s the illustrator of the gorgeous new picture book Afraid of the Dark, written by Isabel Otter and Sarah Shaffi. It’s a lovely book about moving house, new beginnings, friendship and finding ways to cope with fear. Lucy and I talked about the process of illustrating books, advice for anyone who’d like to get into the field, the importance of diversity in publishing, and more.
You can see Lucy Farfort talking about and showing us her book here.
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Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? Here are some painless ways.
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Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Afraid of the Dark, by Isabel Otter, Sarah Shaffi, and Lucy Farfort UK / US / Worldwide
Islandborn, by Junot Diaz and Leo Espinosa UK / US / Worldwide
Billy and the Beast, by Nadia Shireen UK / US / Worldwide
The Bear and the Piano, by David Litchfield UK / US / Worldwide
Holes, by Louis Sachar UK / US / Worldwide
When Life Gives You Mangos, by Kereen Getten UK / US /Wordwide
Failosophy, by Elizabeth Day UK / US / Worldwide
Ghosts, by Dolly Alderton UK / US / Worldwide
The Little Library Year, by Kate Young UK / US / Worldwide
The Little Library Christmas, by Kate Young UK / US / Worldwide
Freshers, by Lucy Ivison and Tom Ellen UK / US / Worldwide
All About Us, by Tom Ellen UK / US / Worldwide
I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, by Milly Johnson UK / US / Worldwide
Mantel Pieces, by Hilary Mantel UK / US / Worldwide
A Song for the Dark Times, by Ian Rankin UK / US / Worldwide
Symona's Still Single, by Lisa Bent UK / US / Worldwide
Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams UK / US / Worldwide
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe UK / US / Worldwide
*****
In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted, here in the UK, here in the US, and here worldwide.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Lucy Farfort
Our guest on episode 65 is Annie Lyons, who, among other books, is the author of the lovely, heart-warming novel Eudora Honeysett Is Quite Well, Thank You, known in the US as The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett. It’s about an older woman who grew up in the Second World War and is now at the end of her life, and kind of over the whole thing, and ready to be done. But then a new family moves in next door, and she makes a new friend. I read it this spring, when reading had been a struggle for weeks –it was just the book I needed.
Among other things, Annie talked to me about her recent favourite reads, her love of Mary Berry, and about her fascinating career in publishing – she worked as a bookseller on Charing Cross Road for a while, and I guarantee you will never be able to guess who her most famous customer was.
Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive?
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeysett
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, by Ruth Hogan
Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, by Louis de Bernieres
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
The Book of Echoes by Rosanna Amaka
Mary Berry's Christmas Collection, by Mary Berry
Mary Berry's Baking Bible, by Mary Berry
Once Upon a Tyne, by Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly
Byker Grove, by Adele Parks
The Diary of an MP’s Wife, by Sasha Swire
The Baby Group, by Caroline Corcoran
Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton
The High Moments, by Sara-Ella Ozbek
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
In the US, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In the UK, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Annie Lyons
Our guest today is Gillian Harvey, the author of Everything Is Fine. She and I talked about how she ended up living in France, how social media can affect our self-worth, and more.
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Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? Here are some painless ways.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Everything is Fine, by Gillian Harvey
A Year in Provence, by Peter Mayle
A Year in the Merde, by Stephen Clark
The Neighbour, by Nicola Gill
Normal People, by Sally Rooney
This Lovely City, by Louise Hare
After the End, by Clare Mackintosh
Intimations, by Zadie Smith
The Fleet Street Girls, by Julie Welch
Love in Colour, by Bolu Babalola
Diamonds at the Lost and Found, by Sarah Aspinall
Shuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? Here are some painless ways.
In the US, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In the UK, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Gillian Harvey
Our guest on episode 63 is Robert Webb, who, as well as being a writer, is an actor, best known for the hit British comedy Peep Show. He’s the author most recently of the novel Come Again. He describes that novel like this: Middle-aged widow time travels back to 1992 and tries to save future dead husband when he is an annoying student. Grief, nostalgia, jokes, car-chase, new love, renewal, joy. He and I talked about 90s nostalgia, the unusual structure of his book, and the emotional toll of time travel.
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Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? Here are some painless ways.
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Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Come Again, by Robert Webb
The Innocent, by Ian McEwan
Feel Free, by Zadie Smith
Sweet Sorry, by David Nicholls
One Day, by David Nicholls
Under the Volcano, by Malcolm Lowry
A Star is Bored, by Byron Lane
Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher
The Golden Rule, by Amanda Craig (UK, 2nd July, literary fiction)
Hearts and Minds, by Amanda Craig
How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right? by Pandora Sykes (UK, 9th July, essays)
The Hungover Games, by Sophie Heawood
My Best Friend's Girl, by Dorothy Koomson
All My Lies Are True by Dorothy Koomson
In Case You Missed It by Lindsey Kelk
Note to Boy, by Sue Clarke
Older and Wider, by Jenny Eclair (UK, 2nd July, non-fiction)
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
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Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? Here are some painless ways.
Sign up for Book of the Month and get your first book for just $9.99 with the code BRITLIT!
In the US, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In the UK, and for paperbacks and hardbacks published in the UK and not available elsewhere, head to Blackwells.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
I encourage you, now and always, to buy some of your books from Black-owned bookshops in London and in the UK more generally.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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The Brit Lit Podcast
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Robert Webb
Today, we’re revisiting our interview with Diana Evans from a couple of years ago, as well as hearing about new books out this month. Diana Evans is the author of three novels, 26a, The Wonder, and most recently Ordinary People, which came out this spring in the UK to much acclaim and is out this week in the US. She talked to Claire about her favourite London-set books, her own past life as a dancer, why it was important for her to capture the experience of middle class black brits, and more.
Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? Here are some painless ways.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
26a, by Diana Evans
The Wonder, by Diana Evans
Ordinary People, by Diana Evans
After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie, by Jean Rhys
On Beauty, by Zadie Smith
This Is London: Life and Death in the World City, by Ben Judah
Heart Berries, by Terese Marie Mailhot
Tender Is the Night, by F Scott Fitzgerald
Dancer, by Colum McCann
Lucia Joyce: To Dance in the Wake, by Lucia Joyce
Nijinski, by Richard Buckle
The Cranes Dance, by Meg Howrey
Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates
Get a Life, Chloe Brown, by Talia Hibbert
Take a Hint, Dani Brown, by Talia Hibbert
To Be Someone, by Ian Stone
Out of Love, by Hazel Hayes
The Seduction, by Joanna Briscoe
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
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I encourage you, now and always, to buy some of your books from Black-owned bookshops in London and in the UK more generally.
Here's a list of books by Black British authors.
Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? Here are some painless ways.
Sign up for Book of the Month and get your first book for just $9.99 with the code BRITLIT!
In the US, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? Here are some painless ways.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Diana Evans
On episode 62, we hear from Rachel Winters, the author of the rom com Would Like to Meet. She and I talked about our favourite rom coms in both books and film form, advice for people wanting to get into publishing, books featuring older people, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
(buy them all here)
Would Like to Meet, by Rachel Winters
You Deserve Each Other, by Sarah Hogle
You Had Me At Hello, by Mhairi McFarlane
If I Never Met You, by Mhairi McFarlane
The Switch, by Beth O'Leary
The Flatshare, by Beth O'Leary
The Lido/Mornings with Rosemary (US title), by Libby Page
Now Let’s Dance, by Karine Lambert
The Binding, by Bridget Collins
Well Met, by Jen De Luca
Heat Stroke, by Hazel Barkworth
The High Moments, by Sara-Ella
The Cabinet of Calm, by Paul Anthony Jones
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
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Get your first book for just $9.99 when you sign up for Book of the Month with the code BRITLIT!
In the US, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
Get 20% off a year’s digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout.
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
*****
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Rachel Winters
On episode 61, we hear from Rosanna Amaka, whose debut novel The Book of Echoes came out in the now long-distant era of February this year, though I spoke to her just before her publication date. The Book of Echoes is a powerful novel that encompasses several different points in history, including the slave trade and the Brixton Riots. Alex Wheatle, who also writes about that part of London, said the following about the Book of Echoes: 'So bewitching I almost felt like I time-travelled back into Brixton 1981. A gorgeous book'. The Observer called it impassioned, lyrical, and affecting, and the Independent called it powerfully redemptive.
Rosanna Amaka talked about her long and winding path to publication, how Brixton has changed over the years, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Book of Echoes, by Rosanna Amaka
The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead
The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
The Intuitionist, by Colson Whitehead
The Flatshare, by Beth O'Leary
The Switch, by Beth O'Leary
A Theatre for Dreamers, by Polly Samson
You People, by Nikita Lalwani
Stim, by Lizzie Huxley-Jones
Sway, by Dr Pragya Agarwal
Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret, by Craig Brown
One Two Three Four, by Craig Brown
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
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In the US, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
Get 20% off a year’s digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout.
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Rosanna Amaka
On Episode 60, our guest today is Clare Pooley, who’s known for her blog Mummy Was a Secret Drinker. She's the author most recently of the heart-warming novel The Authenticity Project. Clare Pooley and I talked about up lit, the importance of community, how writing a novel compares to writing a memoir, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Authenticity Project, by Clare Pooley
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
Three Hours, by Rosamund Lipton
Saving Missy/The Love Story of Missy Carmichael, by Beth Morrey
One Day in December, by Josie Silver
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, by Josie Silver
The Light we Lost, by Jill Santopolo
One True Loves, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
If I Never Met You, by Mhairi McFarlane
Island Stories: an Unconventional History of Britain by David Reynolds
The World According to Physics, by Jim Al-Khalili
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
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Get 20% off a year’s digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout!
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Clare Pooley
Our guest on episode 59 is Dolly Alderton. As well as being half of the High Low podcast, Dolly is also a successful journalist and columnist, and her novel, Ghosts, is forthcoming later this year. Her bestselling memoir Everything I Know About Love came out in the UK in 2018, and is finally out in the US this month, in hardcover, ebook and also audio. We covered her favourite literary friendships, how it feels to write a novel after writing a memoir, the challenges and joys of working closely with a good friend on a hugely successful project, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton
Ghosts, by Dolly Alderton
My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante
Standard Deviation, by Katherine Heiny
Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
Your Voice in My Head, by Emma Forrest
The Hungover Games, by Sophie Heawood
The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes
The Sea, the Sea, by Iris Murdoch
Me, by Elton John
Silver Sparrow, by Tayari Jones
Reckless Daughter: a Portrait of Joni Mitchell, by David Yaffe
High Times, Hard Times, by Anita O'Day
A Theatre for Dreamers, by Polly Sampson
Actress, by Anne Enright
Nothing To See Here, by Kevin Wilson
The Pisces, by Melissa Broder
Actress, by Anne Enright
My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Get 20% off a year’s digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout!
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Dolly Alderton
On episode 58, we hear from Erin Somers, the American author of the novel Stay Up with Hugo Best. From time to time on the podcast, I interview people who are not British, for their take on UK books and culture, and it was great to chat to Erin about what differentiates British humour from American humour in particular. We talked about the American institution that is the late night show, the challenge of writing humour, the ridiculous tradition of book blurbing, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Stay Up with Hugo Best, by Erin Somers
Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernadine Evaristo
Spring, by Ali Smith
Women Talking, by Miriam Toews
Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home, by Nina Stibbe
Man at the Helm, by Nina Stibbe
The Lido/Mornings with Rosemary, by Libby Page
People Like Us: What it Takes to Make it in Modern Britain, by Libby Page
What Would the Spice Girls Do?, by Lauren Bravo
How To Break Up With Fast Fashion: A guilt-free guide to changing the way you shop - for good, by Lauren Bravo.
People Like Us, by Hashi Mohamed
Miss Austen, by Gill Hornby
Harry Potter Knitting Magic: The Official Harry Potter Knitting Pattern Book, by Tanis Grey
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Get 20% off a year’s digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout!
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Erin Somers
Our guest on episode 57 is Talia Hibbert, who’s the author of many romance novels including, most recently, Get a Life, Chloe Brown.
We talked about the illustrated cover trend, how she got her start writing novels, what it’s like to get picked as a Book of the Month author, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Get a Life, Chloe Brown, by Talia Hibbert
Splendid , by Julia Quinn
Take a Hint, Dani Brown, by Talia Hibbert
The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black
The Kingmaker, by Kennedy Ryan
The Rebel King, by Kennedy Ryan
Three Little Words, by Jenny Holiday
Roaring Girls: The Forgotten Feminists of British History, by Holly Kyte
Genius and Ink: Virginia Woolf on How to Read
The Matchmaker, by Catriona Innes
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, by Abbi Waxman
Star-Crossed, by Minnie Darke.
Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Very Nice, by Marcy Dermansky
Nothing to See Here, by Kevin Wilson
Summerlings, by Lisa Howarth
The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Get 20% off a year's digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout!
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Talia Hibbert
On episode 56, we hear from Kate Young, who’s the author of The Little Library Cookbook and The Little Library Year, collections of recipes inspired by books. Kate Young is Australian but has lived in the UK for ten years, so I think we can claim her as one of our own. We talked about her journey writing about books and food, the process of creating recipes, Australian authors who deserve to be better known elsewhere, and more.
You can listen to the episode here,
or wherever else you get your podcasts.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Little Library Cookbook: 100 Recipes from Your Favorite Books, by Kate Young
The Little Library Year: Seasonal Cooking and Reading, by Kate Young
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Song for Summer, by Eva Ibbotson
Home Fire, by Kamila Shamsie
Possum Magic, by Mem Fox
Looking for Alibrandi, by Melina Marchetta
Saving Francesca, by Melina Marchetta
Cloudstreet, by Tim Winton
The Secret River, by Kate Grenville
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, by Italo Calvino
Bowie's Books, Bowie's Bookshelf, by John O'Connell
That Reminds Me, by David Owusu
She Speaks: The Power of Women's Voices, by Yvette Cooper
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Kate Young
Our guest on episode 55 is Fiona Collins, who's the author of several novels including, most recently, You, Me and the Movies, a story about bumping into a long-ago love and the feelings it reignites. It's out now as an ebook and will be coming out in paperback on Boxing Day.
Fiona Collins and I talked about audiobooks, one of my favourite American authors, and film adaptations -- including the perennial debate of which screen version of Pride and Prejudice we prefer.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
You, Me and the Movies, by Fiona Collins
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
You, Me and the Movies, by Fiona Collins
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Expectation, by Anna Hope
Becoming, by Michelle Obama
Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
(some of Claire’s favourite quotes from the book can be found here)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Forever, Interrupted, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
After I Do, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
One True Loves, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Beautiful Ones, by Prince
I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story, by Anthony Daniels
Between the Stops: The View of my Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus, by Sandi Toksvig
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Get a week of access to the full digital archive of Mslexia Magazine with the code BRITLIT.
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Claire
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On this episode, we hear from Stephen Cox, whose debut novel Our Child of the Stars came out earlier this year. And he’s also part of an innovative new bookshop in North London that’s being run by a cooperative.
He and I talked about what makes the '60s such an interesting time to set a novel, the importance of bookshops on the high street, what makes a great writers’ group, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Our Child of the Stars, by Stephen Cox
This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood Today would have been my dad's 76th birthday. In his honour, I've made five of his songs public on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, and all (or most of) the other places people listen to music.
These songs were part of the soundtrack to my childhood. You On My Mind is my favourite of these, and I love that Have Another Drink really showcases his piano playing -- the riffs are very him, very representative of his best musicianship.
In his later years, he got a bit obsessed with adding electronic music effects, and I much prefer the original song-and-piano only versions of his songs. I hope some of those survive somewhere, and that I'll be able to share them one day.
He also got a bit obsessed with the Obama campaign in '07-'08, and wrote a whole load of songs about that. They're not his best work, but I'll share them at some point too. Heck, maybe the Crooked media boys will get a kick out of them.
I miss my dad often and a lot these days -- a lot of his heroes and influences are hitting milestones, releasing memoirs, and, sadly, passing away. I wish I could have seen Rocketman with him, and bought him Elton John's memoir. I wish I could have ranted about Brexit with him, too -- though it's probably best he never had to live through it. I know he'd be pleased that his music lives on, though. I hope people will enjoy it.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6Gw81dZOrnvx2kpFKpKN8P?si=NG9WPRjpQSSQPNod7CtN5w
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Grand Union: Stories, by Zadie Smith
Me, by Elton John
Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, Julie Andrews
Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella
Christmas Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Stephen Cox
All Good Bookshop
From time to time on the podcast, we speak to someone who is not British, so that we get an outside perspective on UK books. On episode 53, we hear from Liberty Hardy, Book Riot's resident velocireader and all round Queen Of All Things Books. She talked about how she manages to read as much as she does – and she really does read a LOT – and we also talked about her favourite Kate Atkinson book, what Sarah Waters quote she has as a tattoo, and a lot more. It's a fun one -- have a listen!
Also, it's the podcast's 2nd birthday today! If you'd like to buy it a present, some love on patreon.com/britlitblog is always appreciated.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Himself, by Jess Kidd
Things in Jars, by Jess Kidd
From The Wreck, by Jane Rawson
Star-Crossed, by Minnie Darke.
Ghost Wall, by Sarah Moss
A God in Ruins, by Kate Atkinson
Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson
The Paying Guests, by Sarah Waters
The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters
The Confessions of Frannie Langton, by Sara Collins
Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams
Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, by Max Porter
Lanny, by Max Porter
Here We Are, by Graham Swift
The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator, by Timothy C Winegard
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Liberty Hardy
We hear from Owen Nicholls, author of the debut rom com Love, Unscripted. If you liked High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, Love Unscripted is definitely one for you to pick up. Owen Nicholls talks about some underrated rom coms, a little known film he recommends to us all, the breathtaking speed of the publishing industry (!) when compared to film making, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Love, Unscripted by Owen Nicholls
In at the Deep End, by Kate Davies
Do Not Feed the Bear, by Rachel Elliott
Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro
Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Confession, by Jessie Burton
Gotta Get Theroux This: My Life and Strange Times on Television, by Louis Theroux
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Other things mentioned:
Love, Unscripted Giveaway!
The Maid's Head Hotel, Norwich
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Owen Nicholls
From time to time on the podcast, we speak to someone who is not British, so that we get an outside perspective on UK books. Helen Cullen is Irish, though she has lived in London a long time and her debut novel, The Lost Letters of William Woolf, is set there.
Helen talked to me about the lost art of letter writing, some of her favourite epistolary novels, why she loves London, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Lost Letters of William Woolf, by Helen Cullen
84, Charing Cross Road, by Helen Hanff
Persuasion, by Jane Austen
Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home, by Nina Stibbe
A Room of One's Own, by Virginia Woolf
Three Guineas, by Virginia Woolf
Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn, by Brett Anderson
The Hiding Game, by Naomi Woods
Mrs. Hemingway, by Naomi Woods
The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett
They Don’t Teach This, by Eniola Aluko
Confessions of a Bookseller, by Shaun Blythell
To War with the Walkers, by Annabel Venning
Come Again, by Robert Webb
For Emily, by Katherine Slee
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Read Helen's review of The Hiding Game by Naomi Woods.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Helen Cullen
Our guest today is Laura Jane Williams, who’s the author most recently of Our Stop, a new romcom out this summer. It’s the story of Daniel and Nadia, who take the 7.30 train every morning. One morning, Nadia’s eye catches sight of a post in the daily paper: To the cute girl with the coffee stains on her dress. I’m the guy who’s always standing near the doors… Drink sometime? So begins a story of near-misses, true love, and the power of the written word. Laura and I talked about what makes train travel romantic, what she thinks of the chick lit label, how she feels about her four-book deal, and more.
City of Girls, by Elizabeth Gilbert
One Day, by David Nicholls
Praise Song for the Butterflies, by Bernice L McFadden
Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams
How to Fail, by Elizabeth Day
Three Women, by Lisa Taddeo
Fleishman Is in Trouble, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
Love, Unscripted, by Owen Nicholls
You, Me and the Movies, by Fiona Collins
The School Run, by Helen Whitaker
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Laura Jane Williams
I’ve got a great interview for you today that’s both fascinating and more than a little mouth-watering. Olivia Potts is the author of A Half Baked Idea, a memoir which tells the story of how baking became first her comfort and then her profession in the aftermath of her mum’s passing away.
We talked about Olivia's time at culinary school, how she came to make what sound like amazing artisanal donuts, her favourite food magazine, and much more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
A Half Baked Idea, by Olivia Potts
Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany, by Bill Buford
Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, by Julie Powell
The Comfort Food Diaries: My Quest for the Perfect Dish to Mend a Broken Heart, by Emily Nunn
Poor Man’s Feast: A Love Story of Comfort, Desire, and the Art of Simple Cooking, by Elissa Altman
Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding: Sweet and Savoury Recipes from Britain's Best Baker, by Justin Gellatly
The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster, by Sarah Krasnostein
One Good Turn, by Kate Atkinson
The Secret Place, by Tana French
Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise, by Katherine Rundell
What Happens Now?, by Sophia Money-Coutts
Crossfire (Noughts and Crosses), by Malorie Blackman
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Olivia Potts
Our guest on episode 48 is Anna Stuart, author of the novel Bonnie and Stan, which Ruth Hogan has called “a fresh, original love story beautifully told”. If you loved the film Yesterday, you’ll find echoes of it in this novel. I spoke to Anna about the setting of her book in both time and place – 1960s Liverpool – how being untidy can help with creativity, the challenges of writing historical fiction, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Bonnie and Stan, by Anna Stuart
She's Leaving Home, by Edwina Currie
Four Minutes to Save a Life, by Anna Stuart
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, by Ruth Hogan
The Keeper of Lost Things, by Ruth Hogan
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson
Headlines and Hedgerows, by John Craven
Please Miss, We're Boys, by Susan Elkin
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Anna Stuart
Abbi Waxman’s latest novel The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is out this week on both sides of the Atlantic. Nina Hill loves trivia and her cat, and works in a delightful but struggling bookshop. She’s an introvert who’s got her life and social calendar under control – until she finds out about a whole big family she never knew she had. And just as she’s struggling to get her head around that, the trivia competition world throws an attractive guy into her path, too. What I loved best about this book – and there’s a lot to love -- was the charming, witty tone of the writing, which addresses the reader directly in places.
Abbi Waxman talked to the podcast about the booksellers that inspired the book, the neighbourhood of LA in which it’s set, how her degree in anthropology informs her writing, the joys and challenges of being a Brit living in the US, and more.
You can listen to the episode here,
or wherever else you get your podcasts.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, by Abbi Waxman
Other People's Houses, by Abbi Waxman
The Garden of Small Beginnings, by Abbi Waxman
Attention All Shipping: A Journey Round the Shipping Forecast, by Charlie Connelly
Notes from a Small Island, by Bill Bryson
The Body: A Guide for Occupants, by Bill Bryson
At Home: A Short History of Private Life, by Bill Bryson
Sweet Sorrow, by David Nicholls
Expectation, by Anna Day
A Half Baked Idea, by Olivia Potts
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Abbi Waxman
Our guest today is Beth O’Leary, who’s the author of the runaway hit The Flatshare, which is a Sunday Times bestseller and has been translated into multiple languages, including Dutch, Polish and Catalan. Beth talks about her former job in children’s publishing, what it was like drafting her novel on the train, how objects left around a flat can tell us a lot about a person, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Flatshare, by Beth O'Leary
Our Stop, by Laura Jane Williams
Are We Nearly There Yet?, by Lucy Vine
Hot Mess, by Lucy Vine
What Fresh Hell, by Lucy Vine
Everything You Ever Wanted, by Luiza Sauma
When We Were Rich, by Tim Lott
Sweet Sorrow, by David Nicholls
One Day, by David Nicholls
The Plus One, by Sophia Money-Coutts
What Happens Now?, by Sophia Money-Coutts
The Switch, by Beth O'Leary
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Beth O'Leary
Jennifer Ryan returns as a guest to discuss her newly published second novel, The Spies of Shilling Lane. She talked about the woman who inspired the novel, the importance of the British stiff upper lip in the Second World War, why women made great spies in that period, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, by Jennifer Ryan
The Spies of Shilling Lane, by Jennifer Ryan
Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly
Lost Roses, by Martha Hall Kelly
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Jennifer Ryan
Our guest today is Rajeev Balusabranyam. Rajeev is the author of the novel Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss, which came out earlier this year. He’s also very accomplished, with a few literary awards and nominations under his belt and degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge. He talks about his meditation practice, why he loves California, and what it was about the academic world that he wanted to explore in his novel.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss, by Rajeev Balasubramanyam
Island of a Thousand Mirrors, by Nayomi Munaweera
Tell Her Everything, by Mirza Waheed
Those Who Are Loved, by Victoria Hislop
The Book Club, by CJ Cooper
Bonnie and Stan, by Anna Stuart
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Rajeev Balasubramanyam
On today’s episode, we hear from Louise Walters, who’s the author of three novels and also runs her own small publishing company. We talked about why she started Louise Walters Books, what kind of books she looks for, and the advice she has for anyone wanting to go the same route.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Last Words of Madeleine Anderson, by Helen Kitson
Don't Think a Single Thought, by Diana Cambridge
Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase, by Louise Walters
A Life Between Us, by Louise Walters
The Road to California, by Louise Walters
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson
Climbers, by John Harrison
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, by Carlo Rovelli
Lowborn: Growing Up, Getting Away and Returning to Britain’s Poorest Towns, by Kerry Hudson
Conviction, by Dame Denise Mina
A Nice Cup of Tea, by Celia Imrie
Unscripted, by CLaire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Louise Walters
Our guest today is Laura Mucha, who studied psychology, philosophy and flying trapeze, worked as a face painter,and swam in Antarctica before becoming a lawyer for an international law firm. Then, when she was hit by a car aged 29, she decided to change career – she’s now an award-winning poet, author, broadcaster, performer and speaker, and most recently the author of the fabulously named book Love Factually, which is about the science of who, how, and why we love.
Laura was so much fun to talk to, and full of wisdom too. We covered some big topics in this interview – love, death, and poetry among them – and she also mentioned some fascinating-sounding books about creativity.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Love, Factually/Love Understood, by Laura Mucha
Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio, by Jessica Abel
A Poem for Every Day of the Year, by Esiri Ali
With the End in Mind: Dying, Death, and Wisdom in an Age of Denial, by Kathryn Mannix
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
Saturday Night at the Movies: The Extraordinary Partnerships Behind Cinema's Greatest Scores, by Jennifer Nelson
The Science of Fate: Why Your Future is More Predictable Than You Think, by Hannah Critchlow
This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, by Adam Kay
Hard Pushed: A Midwife’s Story, by Leah Hazard
Don't Touch My Hair, by Emma Dabiri
Faber & Faber: The Untold Story, by Toby Faber
Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernadine Evaristo
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Laura Mucha
Daisy Buchanan is the author most recently of the memoir The Sisterhood, a book about growing up as the eldest of six girls. She and I talked about the books she recommend to her sisters, why Judy Blume’s novels have been so formative for so many of us, what book covers featuring the back of a woman’s head have going for them, and more.
You can listen to the episode here,
or wherever else you get your podcasts.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Sisterhood: A Love Letter to the Women Who Have Shaped Me, by Daisy Buchanan
I Love You More Than You Know: Essays, by Jonathan Ames
The Blessing, by Nancy Mitford
Anybody Out There, by Marian Keyes
What a Carve Up! , by Jonathan Coe
Oh My God What a Complete Aisling, by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen
Last Minute Rooms in Bethlehem: And Other Great Internet Search Histories of the Past, by Dale Shaw
Forever, by Judy Blume
Flowers in the Attic, by V C Andrews
Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann
The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k, by Sarah Knight
The Time of Indifference, by Alberto Moravia
The Neapolitan Novels, by Elena Ferrante
Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer
How to Be a Grown Up, by Daisy Buchanan
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
Sex and Rage, by Eve Babitz
Scribble Scribble, by Nora Ephron
Delight, by JB Priestley
The Flatshare, by Beth O'Leary
Our Life in a Day, by Jamie Fewery
Machines Like Me, by Ian McEwan
The Parisian, by Isabella Hamma
Going Solo: My choice to become a single mother using a donor, by Genevieve Roberts
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
Podcasts Mentioned on the Show:
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Daisy Buchanan
Daisy Buchanan is the author most recently of the memoir The Sisterhood, a book about growing up as the eldest of six girls. She and I talked about the books she recommend to her sisters, why Judy Blume’s novels have been so formative for so many of us, what book covers featuring the back of a woman’s head have going for them, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Sisterhood: A Love Letter to the Women Who Have Shaped Me, by Daisy Buchanan
I Love You More Than You Know: Essays, by Jonathan Ames
The Blessing, by Nancy Mitford
Anybody Out There, by Marian Keyes
What a Carve Up! , by Jonathan Coe
Oh My God What a Complete Aisling, by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen
Last Minute Rooms in Bethlehem: And Other Great Internet Search Histories of the Past, by Dale Shaw
Forever, by Judy Blume
Flowers in the Attic, by V C Andrews
Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann
The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k, by Sarah Knight
The Time of Indifference, by Alberto Moravia
The Neapolitan Novels, by Elena Ferrante
Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer
How to Be a Grown Up, by Daisy Buchanan
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
Sex and Rage, by Eve Babitz
Scribble Scribble, by Nora Ephron
Delight, by JB Priestley
The Flatshare, by Beth O'Leary
Our Life in a Day, by Jamie Fewery
Machines Like Me, by Ian McEwan
The Parisian, by Isabella Hamma
Going Solo: My choice to become a single mother using a donor, by Genevieve Roberts
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
Podcasts Mentioned on the Show:
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Daisy Buchanan
On today's episode, you get to hear from Claire, the host of the podcast, about her own novel, Unscripted, out today. It's a smart beach read about a young aspiring writer with a celebrity crush and a determined plan. Claire speaks to her friend Juliet about the challenge of writing from multiple points of view, how Myers Briggs has helped form her characters, what she really thinks of LA, her long and torturous route to publication, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley
Star-Crossed, by Minnie Darke
One Day in December, by Josie Silver
Becoming, by Michelle Obama
So Here's the Thing . . .: Notes on Growing Up, Getting Older, and Trusting Your Gut, by Alyssa Mastromonaco
Reasons to Be Cheerful, by Nina Stibbe
How to Fail, by Elizabeth Day
The Party, by Elizabeth Day
Some Kids I Taught And What They Taught Me, by Kate Clanchy
*****
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Get your ticket to see Claire and four other debut authors at the Riff Raff on Thursday 11th April.
See other information for Claire's book tour.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Claire
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Mariam Khan is the editor of the new collection of essays called It's Not About The Burqa, in which seventeen Muslim women write about faith, feminism, sexuality and race. She talks to the podcast about the process of putting together the anthology, what she thinks about feminism, why she loves audio books, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Good Immigrant, by Nikesh Shukla
Scythe, by Neal Shusterman
Let Me Tell You This, by Nadine Aisha Jassat
Nasty Women, by 404 Ink
My Past Is a Foreign Country, by Zeba Talkhani
The Good Immigrant USA: 26 Writers Reflect on America, ed. Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman
The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Mariam Khan
Our guest today is Charlie Morris, who’s a senior publicity and marketing exec at Little Tiger UK and Stripes Books. She talks to the podcast about what her job looks like day to day, advice she has for people wanting to get into the publishing industry, a groundbreaking book she’s been working on for a year, and more.
*****
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Proud, ed. Juno Dawson
Once and Future, by Amy Rose
Music and Malice in Hurricane Town, by Alex Bell
All The Lonely People, by David Owen
In at the Deep End, by Kate Davies
Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts), by L C Rosen
The Good Immigrant, by Nikesh Shukla
The Good Immigrant USA: 26 Writers Reflect on America, ed. Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman
How to Be a Grown-Up, by Daisy Buchanan
The Sisterhood: A Love Letter to the Women Who Have Shaped Me, by Daisy Buchanan
Don’t You Forget About Me, by Mhairi McFarlane
You Had Me At Hello, by Mhairi McFarlane
Roald Dahl's Rotsome & Repulsant Words
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Charlie Morris
Lucy Foley is the author of four novels, including most recently The Hunting Party. It’s a creepy, insightful thriller about a group of university friends who, for their annual New Year’s Eve trip, have chosen a remote location in the Scottish Highlands. And a few days into their trip, one of them is found dead. Who died; who killed them; and why: that’s what we read on to find out. Lucy spoke to the Brit Lit Podcast about her pivot away from historical fiction to thrillers, why she structured The Hunting Party as she did, her favourite fiction about groups of friends and what it is that makes groups of longtime friends such fertile territory for fiction, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Secret History , by Donna Tartt
The Shooting Party , by Isabel Colegate
Big Little Lies , by Liane Moriarty
The Lady Vanishes , by Ethel Lina White
The Dry , by Jane Harper
Stone Mothers , by Erik Kelly
He Said/She Said , by Erin Kelly
Blood Orange , by Harriet Tyce
It's Not About the Burqa: Muslim Women on Faith, Feminism, Sexuality and Race , by Mariam Kham
Stubborn Archivist , by Yara Rodrigues Fowler
Late in the Day , by Tessa Hadley
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Lucy Foley
Twitter
Mark Stay's new fantasy novel, The End of Magic, is hot off the press. As well as being an author, he's one half of the podcast The Bestseller Experiment, which chronicles his adventures in publishing alongside another Mark. The podcast has tons of useful advice for anyone conducting their own experiment in becoming a bestselling author. We talked about Mark's new novel, his experience of crowdfunding, three things he’s learned along the way of his experiment in becoming a bestselling author, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Back to Reality, by Mark Stay and Mark Oliver
The End of Magic, by Mark Stay
Robot Overlords, by Mark Stay
Headhunters, by Jo Nesbo
Robot Overlords, by Tade Thompson
Soupy Twists!: The Full Official Story of the Sophisticated Silliness of Fry and Laurie, by Jem Roberts
The Lost Properties of Love, by Sophie Ratcliffe
The Face Pressed Against a Window, by Tim Waterstone
A Love Story for Bewildered Girls, by Emma Morgan
I Owe You One, by Sophie Kinsella
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Mark Stay
The Bestseller Experiment
Alexandra Sheppard is the author of YA novel Oh My Gods, the story of Helen Thomas, whose dad is none other than the Greek god Zeus. Not only does Helen have all the usual teen stuff to deal with — like new friends to make and a cute boy to impress — she also has to keep her chaotic family’s true identities secret. Alex talks about her love for Greek mythology, how it felt to re-read her teenage diaries, an author she and Claire love, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Oh My Gods, by Alexandra Sheppard
The Everlasting Rose, by Dhonielle Clayton
The Belles, by Dhonielle Clayton
On The Come Up, by Angie Thomas
The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
Tiny Pretty Things, by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra
Shiny Broken Pieces, by Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra
Well-Read Black Girl, ed. by Glory Edim
Roald Dahl’s Creative Writing with Matilda
Kick the Moon, by Muhammad Khan
The Wall, by John Lanchester
The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Alexandra Sheppard
Our guest today is Ben from the Bookshop Band. The Bookshop Band started in 2010 and write songs inspired by – you’ve guessed it – books. They’re about to embark on their first tour of the US, so if you’re based in or around New York, New Mexico, or Colorado, you’ll have a chance to catch Ben and Beth at one of several locations between now and the first week of February. I spoke to Ben about their upcoming tour, how they started out, their songwriting process, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Paris Wife, by Paula McLane
The Book of Dust, by Philip Pullman
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce
All The Lonely People, by David Owen
Oh My Gods, by Alexandra Sheppard
Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss, by Rajeev Balasubramanyam
The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton, by Anstey Harris
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Links mentioned in the podcast episode:
The Open Book - a bookshop holiday
A Critic Sells Books Down by the Seashore -- New York Times article calling the Bookshop Band "not just good but achingly good".
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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The Bookshop Band
We hear from Francesa Hornak, the author of Seven Days of Us, a page-turner of a novel about family tension perfect to curl up with over the Christmas holidays. In episode 32 of the Brit Lit Podcast, she tells us about the books she likes to give for Christmas, her favourite reads about family tension, the novel her grandmother wrote, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Seven Days of Us, by Francesca Hornak
The Nest, by Cynthia d'Aprix Sweeney
The Vacationers, by Emma Straub
Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng
Hangover Square, by Patrick Hamilton
Love, Nina, by Nina Stibbe
A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan
The Diary of a Nobody, by George Grossmith
Eleven, by Patricia Highsmith
One Point Two Billion, by Mahesh Roa
The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachmann
The Pure Gold Baby, by Margaret Drabble
Normal People, by Sally Rooney
Conversations with Friends, by Sally Rooney
Theresa's Choice, by Rachel Cecil
In Our Mad and Furious City, by Guy Gunaratne
The Au Pair, by Emma Rous
Friends Like These, by Sarah Alderson
Friend Request, by Laura Marshall
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Francesca Hornak
Josie Silver is the author of One Day in December, a delightful novel, perfect for curling up with by the fire. Claire loved it, and she’ll be recommending it to all the romantics in her life. Josie talked to the Brit Lit Podcast about why winter brings out our romantic side, her favourite love stories in fiction, an example of how much blind luck can be involved in succeeding in the publishing industry, and more.
You can listen to the episode here,
or wherever else you get your podcasts.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
One Day in December, by Josie Silver
Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
The Time Traveller's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
The Break, by Marian Keyes
Star-Crossed, by Minnie Darke
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Josie Silver
Lauren Bravo is the author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up, which makes some fascinating and important points about identity, feminism, and the power of the girl gang. In this episode, Lauren talks to Claire about what she was reading back in the days when the Spice Girls were blaring out from her ghetto blaster, her friendship with previous podcast guest Daisy Buchanan, the book she made her boyfriend read while standing over him to make sure he laughed in the right places, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up, by Lauren Bravo
Sweet Valley Twins, by Francine Pascal
The Baby-Sitters Club, by Ann M. Martin
Anastasia Krupnik Stories, by Lois Lowry
Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
I'll Be There for You: The One about Friends, by Kelsey Miller
Promising Young Women, by Caroline O'Donoghue
The Break, by Marian Keyes
OMG, What a Complete Aisling, by Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght
Conversations with Friends, by Sally Rooney
Work Like a Woman, by Mary Portas
Crudo, by Olivia Laing
Vile Bodies, by Evelyn Waugh
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison
The Diary of a Nobody, by George and Weedon Grossman
Middle England, by Jonathan Coe
Five Days of Fog, by Anna Freeman
The Story of Crossrail, by Christian Wolmar
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Lauren Bravo
Caroline Hulse is the author of The Adults, a really enjoyable novel about what happens when two exes go on holiday together, with their new partners and the daughter who links them. What could possibly go wrong? She talks to Claire about her love of board games, how being a writer has changed her relationship with books, why she chose to start her novel with the revelation that someone gets shot with an arrow at the end, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Adults, by Caroline Hulse
For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker, by Victoria Coren
Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
Anatomy of a Scandal, by Sarah Vaughan
Standard Deviation, by Katherine Heiney
Degrees of Guilt, by HS Chandler
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
It's All a Game: A Short History of Board Games, by Tristan Donovan
Should I Stay Or Should I Go?: And 87 Other Serious Answers to Questions in Songs, by James Ball
Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery: A Guide to the truly good restaurants and food experiences of the United Kingdom, by Giles Coren and Jules Mercer
Let's Get Fizzical: More than 50 Bubbly Cocktail Recipes with Prosecco, Champagne, and Other Sparkling Wines, by Pippa Guy.
*****
Claire's post on bookish board games is here.
Why pre-ordering book is a great way to support an author: read about it here.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Sign up to Claire’s newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
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Claire
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Caroline Hulse
Our guest this time is AJ Pearce, the author of Dear Mrs. Bird , a lovely novel about female friendship set in World War II's London. Emmy is determined to be a Lady War Correspondent, but instead finds herself working for the redoubtable Mrs Bird at the problem page of a Women's Magazine. AJ spoke to me about how she put herself in the shoes of women who lived during the blitz, the challenges of using real events in her fiction, and her own favourite World War II novels.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Dear Mrs. Bird, by AJ Pearce
Cheerfulness Breaks In, by Elizabeth E. Wein
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne
Code Name Verity, by Angela Thirkell
Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams
Pigeon Pie, by Nancy Mitford
Louis & Louise, by Julie Cohen
If Only I Could Tell You, by Hannah Beckerman
The Doll Factory, by Elizabeth Macneal
What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up, by Lauren Bravo
The Book of the Year 2018: Your Definitive Guide to the World’s Weirdest News, by No Such Thing As a Fish
Brief Answers to the Big Questions, by Stephen Hawking
The Life and Times of a Very British Man, by Kamel Ahmed.
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
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In this first anniversary episode, we hear from Claire Fuller, who is the author of three novels: Our Endless Numbered Days, Swimming Lessons, and Bitter Orange, which came out in the UK in September and is out in the US next week. She talks about the intriguing dedication in that novel, her love of Shirley Jackson, how Leonard Cohen's music coloured her writing of her latest novel, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Bitter Orange, by Claire Fuller
No Voice from the Hall: Early Memories of a Country House Snooper, by John Harris
The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson
The Lottery and Other Stories, by Shirley Jackson
The Hours, by Michael Cunningham
The Essex Serpent, by Sarah Perry
Melmoth, by Sarah Perry
A Better Me: The Official Autobiography, by Gary Barlow
The Story of NOW That's What I Call Music in 100 Artists
Best of Today: 60 Years of Conversations, Contradictions and Controversies, by the BBC
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Claire speaks to Charlotte Duckworth, author of psychological suspense novel The Rival. They discuss Charlotte’slong journey as a writer and some of her novel’s themes: how motherhood changes a woman and often rocks her sense of identity and how that can play out against the backdrop of her work.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Rival, by Charlotte Duckworth
Our Kind of Cruelty, by Araminta Hall
No Further Questions,by Gillian McAllister
Rosie Loves Jack, by Mel Darbon
Help Me!: One Woman's Quest to Find Out if Self-Help Really Can Change Her Life, by Marianne Power
Dear Mr Pop Star, by Derek and Dave Philpott
The Good Guys: 50 Heroes Who Changed the World with Kindness, by Rob Kemp
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Pregnant Then Screwed offers support for women who have faced maternity of pregnancy discrimation.
The Faber Academy's Writing a Novel course is a comprehensive six-month writing course for the serious writer, with access to some of the biggest names in publishing.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
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Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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Diana Evans is the author of three novels, 26a, The Wonder, and most recently Ordinary People, which came out this spring in the UK to much acclaim and is out nextz week in the US. She talked to Claire about her favourite London-set books, her own past life as a dancer, why it was important for her to capture the experience of middle class black Brits, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
26a, by Diana Evans
The Wonder, by Diana Evans
Ordinary People, by Diana Evans
After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie, by Jean Rhys
On Beauty, by Zadie Smith
This Is London: Life and Death in the World City, by Ben Judah
Heart Berries, by Terese Marie Mailhot
Tender Is the Night, by F Scott Fitzgerald
Dancer, by Colum McCann
Lucia Joyce: To Dance in the Wake, by Lucia Joyce
Nijinski, by Richard Buckle
The Cranes Dance, by Meg Howrey
Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates
Rise, by Gina Miller
Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated Story, by Viviana Durante
Ed Sheeran: Memories We Made, by Christie Goodwin
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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Claire’s guest today is Joanna Penn, who's a bit of a superstar in the world of self-publishing. She's the author of 28 books to date, including thrillers and non-fiction to help authors with their careers, and she's an award-winning creative entrepreneur, podcaster, and professional speaker. Her website, TheCreativePenn.com, has been named as one of the Top 100 sites for writers by Writer's Digest. She talks about her own career journey, the state of self-publishing now and how it has changed, and more. If you're an aspiring author, this episode is full of practical tips -- as well as a lot of encouragement!
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Valley of Dry Bones, by JF Penn
How To Write Non-Fiction, by Joanna Penn
Successful Self-Publishing, by Joanna Penn
Map of Shadows, by JF Penn
A Thousand Fiendish Angels, by JF Penn
Crypt of Bone, by JF Penn
Danse Macabre, by Stephen King
Rot & Ruin, by Jonathan Maberry
State of Play: Under the Skin of the Modern Game, by Michael Galvin.
Four Feet Under: Thirty Untold Stories of Homelessness in London, by Tamsen Courtenay.
The Island, by M A Bennett
Prague Spring, by Simon Mawer
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
(A note on my book links: they usually take you to Amazon, and I get a few pence per sale at no extra cost to you if you click them and buy from there, which will help me make this podcast viable long-term. But better than Amazon, who are, let’s be honest, not the greatest, is Blackwells or Waterstones, or, even better, your local independent bookshop. If you live in the US or elsewhere further afield, you can find UK books at Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) at a good price and with no postage cost, or sometimes at Wordery.com, or you can buy them from Amazon US, or, even better, an independent bookshop.)
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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On this week's episode, we hear from Sarah J Harris, who's the author of The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder, as well as YA novels under a different name. She discusses the particular loneliness of synaesthesia, her love for the martial arts, the long path to publication, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder, by Sarah J Harris
Jessica Cole: Model Spy, by Sarah Sky
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton
Don’t You Cry, by Cass Green
The Woman Next Door, by Cass Green
In a Cottage in a Wood, by Cass Green
I Am Heathcliff, ed. by Kate Mosse
Hold Back the Stars, by Katie Khan
The Light Between Us, by Katie Khan
The Versions of Us, by Laura Barnett
The Summer of Impossible Things, by Rowan Coleman
Bitter Orange, by Claire Fuller
Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes?, by Holly Bourne
Perfidious Albion, by Sam Byers
Country, by Michael Hughes
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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We hear from Bronte Hutchinson, who's a successful and popular Bookstagrammer. She talks about the logistics of what she does, what she looks for in a book cover, how she organises her to-be-read pile, and the books she can’t stop raving about.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
The Water Cure, by Sophie Mackintosh
The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder, by Sarah J Harris
Vox, by Christina Dalcher
A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings, by Helen Jukes
Around the World in 80 Days: My World Record Breaking Adventure, by Mark Beaumont
I Am Heathcliff, ed. Kate Mosse
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Claire speaks to Daisy Buchanan, who's a prolific journalist and the author of How to Be a Grown-Up, which is out now in paperback. They discuss how difficult the 20s years can be, their opposite experiences of family life, their shared ambivalence towards motherhood, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
How to Be a Grown Up, by Daisy Buchanan
The Multi-Hyphen Method: Work less, create more, and design a career that works for you, by Emma Gannon
The Pursuit of Love, by Nancy Mitford
Love in a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford
The Blessing, by Nancy Mitford
Don't Tell Alfred , by Nancy Mitford
Highland Fling, by Nancy Mitford
Noblesse Oblige: an enquiry into the identifiable characteristics of the English aristocracy, by Nancy Mitford
Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton
Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Sisterland, by Curtis Sittenfeld
Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld
The Break, by Marian Keyes
The Art of Not Falling Apart, by Christina Patterson
Promising Young Women, by Caroline O'Donoghue
To Throw Away Unopened, by Viv Albertine
Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys.: A Memoir, by Viv Albertine
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, by Judith Kerr
The Lost Letters of William Woolf, by Helen Cullen
Useless Magic: Lyrics and Poetry, by Florence Welch
Eye Can Write: A memoir of a child’s silent soul emerging, by Jonathan Bryan
Slay In Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Claire’s guest is Alicia Drake, author of the Paris-set coming of age novel I Love You Too Much. They discuss something of Alicia’s writing process, the Frenchness of her novel, and its themes – among them loneliness, the ache to belong, and what happens when beauty fades.
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
I Love You Too Much, by Alicia Drake
The Beautiful Fall: Fashion, Genius, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris, by Alicia Drake
The Horseman, by Tim Pears
The Wanderers, by Tim Pears
Anything Is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout
Bookshop Girl, by Chloe Coles
How to Rob a Bank, by Tom Mitchell
Unconventional, by Maggie Harcourt
Theatrical, by Maggie Harcourt
How Do You Like Me Now?, by Holly Bourne
How to be Famous, by Caitlin Moran
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Alicia Drake
Claire speaks to Rosie Walsh, whose novel The Man Who Didn’t Call is out today. They talk about how love can drive us mad at any age, why Rosie loves the Elena Ferrante novels, how the Pomodoro technique helps her writing, and much more.
Books Mentioned in the Episode:
The Man Who Didn't Call/Ghosted, by Rosie Walsh
The Neapolitan Novels, by Elena Ferrante
Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff
The Woman In The Mirror, by Rebecca James
Whiskey When We're Dry, by John Larison
The Publishing Game: Adventures in Books: 150 years of Hodder & Stoughton, by Edward Stourton
Grenfell Hope: Ravaged by Fire but Not Destroyed, by Gaby Doherty
The Incurable Romantic: and Other Unsettling Revelations, by Dr Frank Tallis
The One Who Wrote Destiny, by Nikesh Shukla
Run, Riotby Nikesh Shukla
Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Holly Seddon
*****
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Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Our guest on Episode 18 is Sarah Vaughan, author of three books including the bestseller Anatomy of a Scandal, which came out in January 2018. We talked about what inspired her best-selling novel, her experience of studying at Oxford, the advantages of writing fiction later in life, and more.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Anatomy of a Scandal, by Sarah Vaughan
The Art of Baking Blind, by Sarah Vaughan
The Farm at the Edge of the World, by Sarah Vaughan
White Teeth, by Zadie Smith
Our Endless Numbered Days, by Claire Fuller
Jamaica Inn, by Daphne du Maurier
The Trick to Time, by Kit de Waal
He Said/She Said, by Erin Kelly
Tin Man, by Sarah Winman
Bitter Orange, by Claire Fuller
Swimming Lessons, by Claire Fuller
The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken, by the Secret Barrister
The Sparsholt Affair, by Alan Hollinghurst
The Line of Beauty, by Alan Hollinghurst
American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld
Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy
Disco Sour, by Giuseppe Porcaro
Waiting for Callback: It's a Wrap, by Honor and Perdita Cargill
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Sarah Vaughan
In Episode 17, we hear from Guy Gunaratne, whose debut novel In Our Mad and Furious City has just come out to wide and well-deserved acclaim. We talked about the impetus for his book, what he’s learned about storytelling from grime music and from his own work as documentary marker, and more.
Books mentioned on the episode:
In Our Mad and Furious City, by Guy Gunaratne
Go Tell It on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
The Tin Drum, by Gunter Grass
The Adventures of Augie March, by Saul Bellow
Epitaph of a Small Winner, by Machado de Assis
Ponti, by Sharlene Teo
Hold Tight: Black Masculinity, Millennials and the Meaning of Grime, by Jeffrey Boakye
Memory Songs: A Personal Journey into the Music that Shaped the 90s, by James Cook
Soap the Stamps, Jump the Tube, by Gail Thibert
My Box-Shaped Heart, by Rachel Lucas
Meet Me at the Museum, by Anne Youngson
Happy Little Bluebirds, by Louise Levene
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Guy Gunaratne
Our guest on Episode 16 is Caroline Ambrose, who’s the founder of the Bath Novel Award, an advocate for public libraries, a quiz show veteran, and a superfan of super trees.
She talks us through the ins and outs of running a writing prize, what it is that makes the Bath Novel Award special, some of the exciting books that have been shortlisted and are now out in the world, her work campaigning for libraries, and more.
Books mentioned on the episode:
Rainbirds, by Clarissa Goenawan
Precocious, by Joanna Barnard
Hush Little Baby, by Joanna Barnard
Baby Doll, by Holly Overton
Friend Request, by Laura Marshall
Troublemakers, by Catherine Barter
Testament, by Kim Sherwood
The Book of Dust, by Philip Pullman
The Lido, by Libby Page
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
Writers as Readers: A Celebration of Virago Modern Classics, by Virago
Casablanca: My Moroccan Food, by Nargisse Benkabbou
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, by Ruth Hogan
Ella on the Outside, by Cath Howe
White Rabbit, Red Wolf, by Tom Pollack
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
Other podcasts mentioned on the show:
*****
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Claire speaks to Libby Page, author of The Lido, which is out today. They discuss the inspiration for the book, the magic of outdoor swimming, the new Up Lit trend, and more.
Books mentioned on the episode:
The Lido, by Libby Page
(pre-order The Lido in the US)
Tin Man, by Sarah Winman
Three Things About Elsie, by Joanna Cannon
I Love You Too Much, by Alicia Drake
Swell, by Jenny Landreth
Floating, by Joe Minihane
Leap In: A Woman, Some Waves, and the Will to Swim, by Alexandra Heminsley
Waterlog: A Swimmer's Journey Through Britain, by Roger Deakin
Now Let's Dance, by Karine Lambert
White Teeth, by Zadie SmithArticle mentioned on the episode:
Up Lit: the new book trend with kindness at its core
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Libby Page
Claire's guest is Muhammad Khan, author of the recent YA Novel I Am Thunder. They discuss the inspiration for his book, his transition from teacher to writer, the first book he read featuring an Asian character and the impact that it had on him, and more.
Books mentioned on the episode:
I Am Thunder, by Muhammad Khan
Rice without Rain, by Minfong Ho
The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
Apple Tree Yard, by Louise Doughty
The Worst Witch, by Jill Murphy
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
Dear Mrs Bird, by A J Pearce
The One Who Wrote Destiny, by Nikesh Shukla
Clean, by Juno Dawson
The Music: A Novel Through Sound, by Matthew Herbert
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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In this bonus episode, hear an excerpt from Claire’s novel, Unscripted, forthcoming from Unbound. You can pre-order the novel and pledge for Kickstarter-style rewards at UnscriptedNovel.com
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
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Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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Our guest on Episode 13 is John Mitchinson, a long-time publishing veteran, co-founder of Unbound and co-host of the Backlisted Podcast. We go deep into the weeds of the groundbreaking publishing company he helped found, his own role there, and publishing in general.
Books mentioned on the episode:
The Good Immigrant, by Nikesh Shukla
A Murder of Crows, by Ian Skewis
The Sewing Machine, by Natalie Fergie
Black And Blue, by Ian Rankin
My House of Sky: A Life of J A Baker, by Hetty Saunders and Robert Macfarlane
The Peregrine, by J A Baker
Something Happened, by Joseph Heller
Town House, by Norah Lotts,
Dance To The Music Of Time, by Anthony Powell
The Kingdom, by Emmanuel Carrere, transl. John Lambert
Jesus' Son, by Denis Johnson
Berg, by Ann Quinn
The Perfect Girlfriend, by Karen Hamilton
Panic Room, by Robert Goddard
Morning: How to Make Time, by Allan Jenkins
The Feed, by Nick Clark Windo
The Sparsholt Affair, by Allan Hollinghurst
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
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*****
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
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*****
Our guests today are Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison, two authors who co-write YA novels about awkward love stories. They discuss their books, their friendship, their university years, and differences between the British and American teen experiences, and it’s a lot of (almost clean) bookish fun.
*****
Books mentioned on the episode:
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
Lobsters/A Totally Awkward Love Story, by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison
Never Evers, by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison
Freshers/Freshmen, by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison
Malory Towers, by Enid Blyton
Sweet Valley High, by Francine Pascal
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 & 3/4, by Sue Townsend
I Capture The Castle, by Dodie Smith
Withering Tights, by Louise Rennison
Holes, by Louis Sachar
Born A Crime, by Trevor Noah
Seven Days of You, by Cecilia Vinesse
Hot Mess, by Lucy Vine
What Fresh Hell, by Lucy Vine
Tender, by Eve Ainsworth
The Exact Opposite of Okay, by Laura Steven
Life Lessons from Remarkable Women: Tales of Triumph, Failure and Learning to Love Yourself, by Stylist Magazine
Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, by Lucy Mangan
Love After Love, by Alex Hourston
The Perfect Girlfriend, by Karen Hamilton
*****
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*****
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Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison
We hear from Jimena from Belgravia Books, a London-based independent bookshop which is also the home of Gallic Books, a publisher devoted to bringing the best of French literature to an English-speaking audience. We talked about what she loves most about working in a bookshop, French books to put on your reading list, and the new worlds that translated fiction opens to us.
*****
Books mentioned in this episode:
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
The Red Notebook, by Antoine Laurain
Lullaby/The Perfect Nanny, by Leila Slimani
We Need To Talk About Kevin, by Leila Slimani
The Foundling Boy, by Michel Déon
The Foundling's War, by Michel Déon
Your Father's Room, by Michel Déon
The Great and the Good, by Michel Déon
La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One, by Philip Pullman
The Shortest History of Germany, by James Hawes
Hot Milk, by Deborah Levy
Black Sugar, by Miguel Bonnefoy, transl. Emily Boyce
Smoking Kills, by Antoine Laurain, transl. Loise Lalaurie Rogers
Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions, by Valeria Luiselli
Prodigal, by Charles Lambert
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, by Yuval Noah Harari
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari
Brixton Beach, by Roma Tearne
Monsieur Ka, by Vesna Goldsworthy
Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, by Andrew Morton
Wallis in Love: The untold true passion of the Duchess of Windsor, by Andrew Morton
Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains, by Helen Thomson
The Image of You, by Adele Parks
*****
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.
Pre-order Claire’s novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
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Claire speaks to Daniel Ross, whose novel Bobby Denise is Reigning Rampant is forthcoming from Unbound. They talk about the process of crowdfunding a novel as well as some of his favourite books about cats and music.
Books mentioned this episode:
Bobby Denise Is Reigning Rampant, by Daniel Ross
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
Johnny Ruin, by Don Dalton
The Second Death of Daedalus Mole, by Niall Slater
Such Small Hands, by Andres Barba
Know Your Place: Essays on the Working Class by the Working Class, ed. Nathan Connolly
Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
Kafka On The Shore, by Haruki Murakami
Cat Country, by Lao She
The Travelling Cat Chronicles, by Hiro Arikawa
Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop, by Bob Stanley
Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton
The Adulterants, by Joe Dunthorne
Feel Free, by Zadie Smith
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turnton
The Only Story, by Julian Barnes
Goodbye, Perfect, by Sarah Barnard
A Quiet Kind of Thunder, by Sarah Barnard
*****
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Daniel Ross
Our guest today is Maggie Harcourt, author of the YA novels The Last Summer of Us, Unconventional, and the forthcoming Theatrical. We talked about our respective fandoms past and present, her experience of conventions, why fanfiction can be a useful tool for the beginner writer, and much more.
Books mentioned on the show:
Unconventional, by Maggie Harcourt
Theatrical, by Maggie Harcourt
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
Hold Back the Stars, by Katie Khan
Wing Jones/The Heartbeats of Wing Jones, by Katherine Webber
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe, by Lauren James
The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes
After You, by Jojo Moyes
Still Me, by Jojo Moyes
The Feed, by Nick Clark Windo
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
Trying, by Emily Phillips
I Am Thunder, by Muhammad Khan
*****
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Maggie Harcourt
Our guest today is Nikesh Shukla, writer, editor, rapper, and advocate for BAME voices in publishing. We talked about the pervasiveness of social media, the upcoming US edition of The Good Immigrant, and his response to the ubiquity of fictional white boys with dogs called Timmy.
Books mentioned on the show:
Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton
Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, by Lucy Mangan
Dear Mrs. Bird, by A J Pearce
In Our Mad and Furious City, by Guy Gunaratne
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder, by Sarah Harris
Bitter Orange, by Claire Fuller
Transcription, by Kate Atkinson
Coconut Unlimited, by Nikesh Shukla
Meatspace, by Nikesh Shukla
The Good Immigrant, ed. Nikesh Shukla
The One Who Wrote Destiny, by Nikesh Shukla
Feel Free: Essays, by Zadie Smith
The Adulterants, by Joe Dunthorne
I Still Dream, by Jane Smythe
The Buddha of Suburbia, by Hanif Kureshi
Happiness for Humans, by PZ Reizin
The Fandom, by Anna Day
Hearts And Minds: The Untold Story of the Great Pilgrimage and How Women Won the Vote, by Jane Robinson
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, by Joanna Cannon
Three Things About Elsie, by Joanna Cannon
Anatomy of a Scandal, by Sarah Vaughan
*****
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
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Nikesh Shukla
As we look to the New Year, we hear from Rosy Edwards and Amy Baker of The Riff Raff, a London-based community of writers. They spoke about their memoirs about dating and travel, recommended books they’ve recently loved, and gave tips to anyone whose Near Year’s Resolution is to finally write that book.
Books mentioned on the show:
Confessions of a Tinderella, by Rosy Edwards
Miss-adventures: A Tale of Ignoring Life Advice While Backpacking Around South America, by Amy Baker
His Frozen Fingertips, by Charlotte Bowyer
Is Monogamy Dead?: Rethinking relationships in the 21st century, by Rosie Wilby
Rattle, by Fiona Cummins
Dark Pines, by Will Dean
What We Lose, by Zinzi Clemons
Girl in Snow, by Danya Kukafka
Fire Sermon, by Jamie Quatro
Little Deaths, by Emma Flint
Educated, by Tara Westover
The Party, by Elizabeth Day
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, by Jennifer Ryan
Unconventional, by Maggie Harcourt
Freshers, by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison
Now Let's Dance, by Karine Lambert, translated by Anthea Bell
Piglettes, by Clémentine Beauvais
*****
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Claire speaks to stand-up comedian Rosie Wilby, author of Is Monogamy Dead?, about literary friendships, the painfulness of breakups, and her favourite music memoirs. There’s also news of a giveaway and books recommendations for a listener’s mum and sister.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Is Monogamy Dead? by Rosie Wilby
Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
Tales Of The City, by Armistead Maupin
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, by Carrie Brownstein
Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star, by Tracey Thorn
She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music, by Lucy O’Brien
Trans: A Memoir, by Juliet Jacques
How To Be a Woman, by Caitlin Moran
Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own, by Kate Bolick
Modern Romance, by Aziz Ansari
Out of Time, by Miranda Sawyer
Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly
Still Alice, by Lisa Genova
The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Wals
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews
The Diplomat's Daughter, by Karin Tanabe
An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
Astonish Me, by Maggie Shipstead
A Kind of Freedom, by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
A Dirty Job, by Christopher Moore
A Man Called Ove, by Frederik Backman
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, by Joanna Cannon
Love in Small Letters/Love in Lowercase, by Francesc Miralles
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
The Terrible Privacy Of Maxwell Sim, by Jonathan Coe
Man at the Helm, by Nina Stibbe
*****
Enter to win a Brit Lit Podcast mug by recreating the logo with your favourite book of the year, posting it on Instagram or Twitter, and mentioning @britlitpodcast.
Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.
For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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Rosie Wilby
This week, we hear from Lucy Vine, author of the 2017 summer hit Hot Mess. She tells us why we need a new Bridget Jones-style heroine, talks about her favourite books of the year, and reflects on the challenges of the second novel.
Books mentioned on the show:
Hot Mess, by Lucy Vine
Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
What Fresh Hell, by Lucy Vine
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Sweetpea, by C J Skuse
Unconventional, by Maggie Harcourt
Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton
Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body, by Sarah Pascoe
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
How to Be a Grown-Up, by Daisy Buchanan
How to Stop Time, by Matt Haig
Trying, by Emily Phillips
Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, by Lindy West
World War Z, by Max Brooks
Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
The Essex Serpent, by Sarah Perry
The Boy From Aleppo Who Painted The War, by Sami Sukkar
Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
Love in Small Letters/Love in Lowercase, by Francesc Miralles
*****
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
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Lucy Vine
Our guest today is Lindsey Kelk, the best-selling author of the I Heart series, among other rom com novels. We talk about reading age-inappropriate books as child, discuss the relative merits of LA and New York, and gush about John Green.
Books mentioned on the show:
The I Heart series, by Lindsey Kelk
We Were On a Break, by Lindsey Kelk
The Sweet Valley High series, by Francine Pascal
The Casteel Family Saga, by V C Andrews
Flowers in the Attic, by V C Andrew
The Magic Cottage, by James Herbert
Looking for Alaska, by John Green
An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
Paper Towns, by John Green
The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
I Heart Forever, by Lindsey Kelk
I Heart Christmas, by Lindsey Kelk
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë
Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics), by Charlotte Brontë
Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding
American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis
Ham on Rye, by Charles Bukowski
Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green
The Book of Dust, by Philip Pullman
Faking Friends, by Jane Fallon
Some Kind of Wonderful, by Giovanna Fletcher
A Christmas Wedding, by Paige Toon
Milk and Honey, by Rupi Kaur
Wild Embers, by Nikita Gill
Christmas on Coronation Street, by Maggie Sullivan
Keep Smiling Through, by Dame Vera Lynn
We’re Asleep, Dad, by Simon Key
The Bacon Book, by Christopher Sjuve
The Best of A. A. Gill, by A A Gill
Balancing Acts: Behind the Scenes at London’s National Theatre, by Sir Nicholas Hytner
*****
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Lindsey Kelk
Full Coverage Podcast
Claire speaks to Elizabeth Day, author of the literary thriller The Party, about her time at Cambridge, how her journalism career trained her to be a novelist, and our picks for the Man Booker Prize.
Books mentioned in this episode:
The Party, by Elizabeth Day
Middlemarch, by George Eliot
The Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe
The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen
Underworld, by Don DeLillo
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P, by Adelle Waldman
Swing Time, by Zadie Smith
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
Gnomon, by Nick Harkaway
History of Wolves, by Emily Fridlund
Elmet, by Fiona Mozley
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, by Arundhati Roy
The Burning Girl, by Claire Messud
Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
Invitation To The Waltz, by Rosamond Lehmann
The Weather In The Streets, by Rosamond Lehmann
Love & Fame, by Susie Boyt
Autumn, by Ali Smith
Winter, by Ali Smith
Mythos, by Stephen Fry
An Almost Perfect Christmas, by Nina Stibbe
Love, Nina, by Nina Stibbe
*****
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
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Elizabeth Day
Claire talks to Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of The Nest, about the British authors who inspire her, as well as her love of London and of the Great British Bake Off. She also highlights new books out this week and gives tips on finding British books if you’re not UK-based.
Books mentioned in this episode:
The Nest, by Cynthia d'Aprix Sweeney
The Master Bedroom, by Tessa Hadley
The Past, by Tessa Hadley
The Photograph, by Tessa Hadley
The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities: A Yearbook of Forgotten Words, by Paul Antony Jones
Of Women, by Shami Chakrabati
Seven Days of Us, by Francesca Hornak
The Vacationers, by Emma Straub
The Power, by Naomi Alderman
The Secret Life: Three True Stories, by Andrew O'Hagan
*****
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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Claire
Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
Welcome to the Brit Lit podcast, where we talk about all things books from a British perspective. Claire’s first guest is Jennifer Ryan, author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, an epistolary novel set in an English village in World War II. She also explains what Super Thursday is and gives a shout out to some interesting new books.
Books mentioned:
Me. You. A Diary, by Dawn French
Thinking Out Loud: Love, Grief and Being Mum and Dad, by Rio Ferdinand
Finding My Virginity, by Richard Branson
Mary's Household Tips and Tricks: Your Guide to Happiness in the Home, by Mary Berry
Nadiya's Bake Me a Festive Story: Thirty festive recipes and stories for children, by Nadiya Hussain
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Mrs Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf
The Stranger, by Albert Camus
Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
Hamlet, by Shakespeare
The Diaries of Nella Last, by Nella Last
Year of Wonder, by Clemency Burton-Hill
When They Go Low, We Go High, by Philip Collins
The Little Library Cookbook, by Kate Young
The Sparsholt Affair, by Alan Hollinghurst
The Party, by Elizabeth Day
*****
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For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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The Brit Lit Podcast
Claire
Jennifer Ryan
The Brit Lit Podcast is coming soon! Have a listen to this short episode to learn more about the show.
