The Waterstones Podcast

No matter how you feel about them, there’s no doubt that the Royal Family still play a crucial role in our national identity - but how did we get to where we are? And how much do we really know about the Kings and Queens of our past? We sat down with comedian and writer David Mitchell to discover why the early Kings were just successful bullies, why royal succession is a bit like losing your mobile phone, and why Magna Carta is important for many reasons, but doesn’t get you off wearing a face mask or paying your council tax.

The cause of more dropped jaws than almost any other entertainer, Miriam Margolyes shared a lifetime of hilarious incident in her first memoir, This Much Is True. Thankfully, she has plenty more to say, and in Oh Miriam! we have more hilarity, but also reflection, emotion, and a healthy dose of passion too; all of which is on display in our exclusive conversation with her.

Former Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-winner Katherine Rundell has turned to fantasy to create her latest fictional world. The Archipelago is a cluster of magical islands where humans live alongside the creatures of myth, but the magic is under threat. We sat down to speak about a childhood of adventure, standing on the shoulders of giants, and what readers can expect from this exciting new trilogy.

It was amusing at first when Naomi Klein found people would confuse her with fellow author Naomi Wolf. But when her namesake started to develop increasingly extreme views during the COVID pandemic, it required more attention, and opened up a mirror-world of conspiracy, misinformation and shifting ideologies. In a fascinating conversation with the author of No Logo we discuss why what Doppelgänger depicts is such a pressing issue for us all, and how to get back to what really matters.

Find all the books here.

Lorrie Moore has continued to delight readers with her short stories but it has been 14 years since her last novel, the Women’s Prize-shortlisted A Gate at the Stairs. Her new novel, I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home, contains dual narratives which deal with the themes of love, loss and memory. As one of America’s most distinctive voices it’s best not to try and summarise things for a pith intro, far better to join our conversation about literary forms, the absurdity of loss and why romantic love is a tricky thing.

Caroline O’Donoghue’s new novel for adults, The Rachel Incident, is a love story but just not the one you might be expecting from the book’s premise. Set in the post-economic crash Republic of Ireland of 2009 it sees our eponymous heroine looking for love and to be taken seriously in a world full of uncertainty. We sat down to talk about friendship, making memories and cultural touchstones.

After her attention-grabbing debut novel, The Girls, Emma Cline has been quietly getting on with the business of writing. A story collection, Daddy, is now followed by a new novel, The Guest, another stylish display of Cline’s considerable skills that follows a young woman, drifting amongst the elite of Long Island, with the threat of everything being washed away with one wrong decision. We sat down to speak about literary influences, avoiding the obvious and portraying femininity.

Stories of seafaring, shipwreck, mutiny and murder have long held a fascination, particularly for dwellers of this island nation and in his latest investigative piece of narrative non-fiction, David Grann has a tale that grips from first page to last. The Wager was a vessel shipwrecked in the 1740s, its crew presumed lost, until a group of survivors washed up on the coast of Brazil. Their story of survival would have been incredible enough except for a second group of survivors to appear in Chile with stories of mutiny, murder and even cannibalism. What follows is not so much a question of who is telling the truth, but of who gets to tell the story that will become the truth. A court martial of individuals but also the idea of Empire itself. We sat down to talk about the pursuit of truth, human survival and the power of stories to endure.

It’s an old question but one that seems to be asked with increasing frequency in the era of so-called cancel culture: can you separate the art from the artist? After Essayist and memoir-writer Claire Dederer wrote a viral article about her own response to Roman Polanski she looked further into the lives and works of other problematic figures. The result, Monsters, is a personal and entirely subjective look at creatives like Woody Allen, Miles Davis, Michael Jackson, Pablo Picasso and more, that invites the reader to really think about how they feel about the art they love that comes to be stained in some way. We sat down to talk about art monsters, creative genius, and self-indictment.

There is no stopping Rebecca Kuang. With the Poppy War trilogy already under her belt and the fantastic success of Waterstones Book of the Year nominee Babel, she has reinvented herself once again this year with Yellowface, a literary thriller that satirises the very industry she’s involved in, publishing and bookselling. As someone who has worked in both of those industries myself, not to mention the world of social media for 15 years, I couldn’t wait to read this one and was even more excited to sit down and talk with Rebecca about her approach to writing, her insights from the industry, and where she might take readers next.

Caleb Azumah Nelson made a huge impression with his debut novel Open Water, an emotionally complex novel of love that was also a celebration of black creativity. His new novel, Small Worlds, continues both of those themes, whilst also looking at notions of family, home and a connection with the authors own Ghanaian culture. We sat down for a talk about love, memory and the creative urge.

When Han Kang won the International Booker Prize in 2016 the bonus for readers was that there were more of her books ready to be translated into English. Her latest, Greek Lessons, features a woman who has stopped speaking and her professor, a man who has gradually been losing his sight in a tale of human connection and communication, translated once again by her fellow Booker-winner Deborah Smith, working this time with Emily Yae Won. I sat down with her and interpreter Mi Na Sketchley to talk about the novel’s inspiration, style and experience for the reader.

Emily Henry had already published four young adult novels before turning 30 but with her fifth, Beach Read, and a switch to writing romantic comedy for adults she found a whole new level of engagement with readers. With huge popularity on TikTok and a boom in romantic fiction in general, we sat down to talk about writing through phases in life, creating relatable characters and whether those cartoon covers are hiding something a little darker inside.

In Diana Evans’ previous book we were introduced to the couple Melissa and Michael. That novel, Ordinary People, was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Rathbones Folio Prize, and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. It was also beloved by readers and so many of those will be delighted to hear that her latest novel, A House for Alice, continues their story, together with that of Melissa’s family, headed up by her mother, the titular Alice. I sat down with Diana to talk about being driven by your characters, the complexities of family dynamics and why there will never be any place like home.

In 2022, Sheena Patel published her debut novel I’m A Fan and was chosen as one of the Observer’s Top 10 best debut novelists. In the book, an unnamed narrator tells us about the similarly unnamed ‘woman I am obsessed with’ and ‘man I want to be with’ in a tale of social media, obsessive love, power, privilege and race. It’s an incendiary novel, chosen by Foyles as their fiction Book of the Year and one I knew would allow us to have a frank and funny conversation about where we find ourselves right now.

Benjamin Myers is the kind of writer who has devoted readers. A series of novels over the last 15 years or so, particularly those published by indie imprint Bluemoose, have earned him awards, plaudits, and many dedicated booksellers keen to hand-sell his books. His prolific output belies the fact that for the last 5 years he has been working on Cuddy, a novel that takes inspiration from Saint Cuthbert, the unofficial patron saint of the North of England. What led an atheist to write a novel about faith, and how did he alight on the novel’s multiple timelines and connected narratives? Join us as we find out.

Tiffany McDaniel’s previous novel, Betty, made such a huge impact with booksellers and readers that we were delighted to make it the fiction book of the month back in August 2021. It was brutal read at times, but violence and poverty were combined with an attention to language that made it a must-read for many. Her new novel, On the Savage Side, deals in similarly dark terrain so I sat down with Tiffany to talk about the real unsolved crime that inspired it, writing about the most difficult things and finding hope in the darkness.

Together with the disruption caused by the global pandemic and the lockdown periods that accompanied it, many people were left with a sense that things weren’t quite right, though it proved hard to put a finger on exactly what was wrong. Feelings of fatigue, anxiety and the great overwhelm led writer Katherine May to seek a closer connection to nature’s ability to inspire both wonder and something slightly more magical - enchantment. We sat down to talk about play, pebbles and why you’ll never regret a paddle.

The novels of Sebastian Barry form an intriguing web of family history and his latest, Old God's Time, follows a retired policeman who is forced to reckon with the past as an old case rears its head. We spoke with two-time Costa Book of the Year-winner Sebastian Barry about fleshing out the past, fatherhood and falling in love.

Peter Frankopan's epic new history, The Earth Transformed, begins at the very dawn of our planet, 4.5 billion years ago, and shows how climatic changes have shaped nations, notions, religions and empires. We sat down to talk about the science behind his new work, some of the astounding discoveries, and what the past can teach us about our current crisis.

Many people find it difficult to know how to speak with others about death and grieving, especially when the experience of it can be so intensely personal. In an extended conversation we speak with three authors who have shared their own experiences and wisdom; Chloe Hooper, author of Bedtime Story, Michael Rosen, author of Getting Better and Cariad Lloyd, creator of Griefcast and author of You Are Not Alone. 

Tom Rob Smith became an international bestselling author with his debut, Child 44, but he's not a writer to rest on his laurels. His new novel, Cold People, is a piece of speculative fiction which sees the human race adapting to survive in the most inhospitable part of the planet: Antarctica. We spoke with him about alien invaders, human tenacity and what the future might really hold.

Shooting to stardom with his debut Less Than Zero aged just 21, courting controversy with his bestseller American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis returns with his first novel for 13 years, a fusion of fact and fiction called The Shards. We spoke with the author about notoriety, being a teenager and the similarities between writers and serial killers.

After almost two years where book events had to take place online only, we take a moment to celebrate the return of in-person events with a trip to the Cheltenham Literature Festival and our flagship shop in London Piccadilly. We speak with Ian Rankin, Malorie Blackman, Anna James and Geena Davis about connecting with readers, the questions that come up, and why you should always meet your heroes.

When E. H. Gombrich's seminal work of art history, The Story of Art, was first published in 1950 it featured precisely zero female artists. Even today its latest edition features only one. Luckily Katy Hessel has produced The Story of Art Without Men, a timely corrective that puts women centre stage as we have too in this episode of the podcast which sees Katy in conversation with artist and illustrator, Lizzy Stewart, whose latest graphic novel, Alison, follows her heroine's creative awakening against the London art scene of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Featuring Bonnie Garmus, Tess Gunty, Louise Kennedy, Sequoia Nagamatsu, Eloghosa Osunde and Tara M. Stringfellow.

A unique opportunity to hear all six authors shortlisted for the inaugural Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. With a prize celebrating debut novels across genres it's no surprise to find such variety amongst our six nominees. Social commentary, science fiction, family sagas, spirituality, great characters and unforgettable lessons in life from the most exciting new voices in fiction. Join us as we discover their road to publication and hear their answers to questions from those who've championed their books: Waterstones booksellers.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good podcast, must be in want of four historical fiction writers ready to entertain listeners with their insights on why the nineteenth century has so much to tell us about today, how to balance research with storytelling, and why history’s habit of erasing women’s significance is all the invitation they need to set the record straight. Luckily we had Susan Stokes Chapman, Gill Hornby, Karen Joy Fowler and Sophie Irwin on hand to do just that. Enjoy!

Consequences brings together two books that seemed to have one thing in common and then turned out to be connected in entirely different ways. Sam Knight's The Premonitions Bureau is a fascinating look at the work of psychiatrist John Barker and a network of psychic visionaries in the 1960s. A Terrible Kindness is the debut novel from Jo Browning Wroe which shows how compassion and sacrifice can shape a life and how hard it can be to change course. In a fascinating discussion we discover more about the nature of time, of structure and of averting disaster.

All books respond to the world we live in but in this fascinating episode we speak to three incredible authors who have all written books which speak to something absolutely of this time and very often beyond it. How much has the pandemic changed the way we view the world and each other, what about the impact of technology, and what does the future hold? Featuring The Candy House by Jennifer Egan, Our Country Friends Gary Shteyngart, How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu and Companion Piece by Ali Smith

Cosy crime has been popular for over a hundred years now but with a surge in popularity recently we speak to three authors who've all done something slightly different with the genre to discover the reasons for its enduring appeal, the techniques they use to build up their stories and why we as humans have a fascination with the dark side of life. Featuring Janice Hallett, Nita Prose and the Reverend Richard Coles.

Derek Owusu's debut novel was the first fiction to be published by Stormzy's fledgling imprint #Merky Books and went on to win the Desmond Elliot Prize in 2020. In this episode we hear from Derek about the mental health crisis that first encouraged him to put pen to paper, from his editor Tom Avery about changing the mainstream and from chair of judges Preti Taneja, herself a previous winner of the prize, about why this book is so special.

Featuring: Derek Owusu, Tom Avery, Preti Taneja

Marlon James became the first Jamaican-born writer to win the Booker Prize in 2015, when his multi-voiced epic, A Brief History of Seven Killings triumphed amongst a strong shortlist. In this episode we hear from the author about how the novel took its shape, from the publisher about what makes the book such a compelling read and from one of the judges about why it emerged as their unanimous winner. 

Featuring: Marlon James, Juliet Mabey, Sam Leith.

We Are Not Like Them shows the impact of a police shooting of an unarmed black teenager from a different angle. Two close friends, Jen and Riley, one white, one black, one the wife of the police officer responsible, one the news anchor charged with covering the story. A premise made all the more intriguing as it was written by not one author but two, Jo Piazza and Christine Pride, one white, one black, both working together to create an unflinching novel that will start conversations.

Featuring: Jo Piazza, Christine Pride, Manpreet Grewal, Stephanie Heathcote

Some debut novelists arrive fully formed and as we’ll discover in this episode, Karina Lickorish Quinn is one such novelist; an Anglo-Peruvian writer who has drawn on family memories and the wider history of Peru to create a novel about home, injustice and ghosts that recalls Faulkner’s famous line, ‘The past is never dead. It's not even past.’ Coming from a publisher that has already chalked up multiple Booker Prize wins in recent years you’ll want to know why this year, for them, This Is The Book.

Featuring: Karina Lickorish Quinn, Juliet Mabey, Kate Bland, Ben Summers, Seren Adams.

Sometimes all you need is a one sentence pitch to immediately get excited about a book. And when publisher Knights Of announced earlier this year that they would be publishing Empress & Aniya, a YA novella from Candice Carty-Williams which would be South London’s answer to Freaky Friday, you could almost hear the whoops and squeals across social media. In this episode we’ll hear from author, publisher and early readers about why, particularly if you’re a teenage girl, This Is The Book.

Featuring: Candice Carty-Williams, Aimée Felone, Eishar Brar, Tanya Byrne.

The rich mythology and linguistic skills on display in Yuri Herrera's Signs Preceding The End Of The World had been thought by some to make it untranslatable but in this episode we hear from the author about the mythical basis for this modern tale of border crossing, from translator Lisa Dillman about meeting the challenges of bringing the Spanish text to an English readership, from cultural critic and commentator Maya Jaggi about what makes the book so special and from publisher Stefan Tobler about why translating fiction is so important to And Other Stories as they celebrate their 10th birthday.

Featuring: Yuri Herrera, Stefan Tobler, Lisa Dillman, Maya Jaggi

Featuring: Tice Cin, Max Porter, Stefan Tobler, Nichola Smalley, Donald Winchester.

When Susanna Clarke's magical vision of an alternate Georgian England arrived it became an instant bestseller but as we discover in this episode, the book's journey was far from certain. Clarke shares how a writer's confidence can wax and wane and we discover how secret support behind the scenes helped her writing come into the light. Featuring Neil Gaiman and voices from publishing and bookselling, this is the inside story of an 'instant' classic.

Featuring: Susanna Clarke, Neil Gaiman, Alexandra Pringle, Kathleen Farrar, Josh Prince, Becky Kelly

Featuring: Helen Macdonald, Dan Franklin, Suzanne Dean, Chris Wormell, Ruth Waldram, Rob Verner Jeffreys, Steve Bundy

Featuring Lucy Ellman, Sam Jordison, Eloise Millar, Alex Billington, Stephanie Ellyne, Aaron Myles, Rob Verner-Jeffreys

With perfect timing, our episode telling the inside story of A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll arrives just as we announce that it has been chosen as the overall winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2021. We speak to those involved about the serendipity of how it came to be published, why it's important to get the right people in the room when it comes to publishing and why this book is not just important but also one of the best books for children of the last decade.

Featuring: Elle McNicoll, David Stevens, Eishar Brar, Lauren Gardner, Marissaié Jordan, Kay Wilson, Lizzie Huxley Jones, Florentyna Martin

As a bowler for the West Indies, Michael Holding was well known for his measured run up and devastating fast bowling, an approach he has taken into his punditry where he is always calm and controlled but also frank and honest with his opinions. So when rain delayed the start of play and conversation was steered to the impact of racism in cricket in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Holding spoke with a clarity which forced everyone watching and those who caught up later to take notice of his words. A year on, the conversation he started has become a book, including the conversations he's had with other sporting icons, and another view of history that shows how important education is in eradicating racism and improving equality for all. In this episode we find out from those involved why this book is so important and their hopes for what it might achieve.

Featuring: Michael Holding, Ed Hawkins, Ian Marshall, Samar Habib

After a few years working at one of the most established publishers in New York, Zakiya Dalila Harris was inspired to write a novel which would turn its gaze on the world of publishing itself and set up one of the most intriguing literary thrillers of the year. She spoke to us about the encounter that provided the novel's seed and the experience of working both inside publishing and outside it as an author. We also hear from editor Alexis Kirschbaum about this book's unique qualities and fellow author Erin Kelly about why she couldn't stop turning its pages.

Featuring: Zakiya Dalila Harris, Alexis Kirschbaum, Erin Kelly