Kitchen memories, coastal stories, crime fiction and Festival voices
Welcome to the third and final Festival Special episode from A Shared Reading Podcast by Derby Book Festival.
Hosted by Shared Reading volunteers Ellie and Steve, this jam-packed episode was recorded during the Festival in May and brings together author interviews, readings, volunteer reflections and voices from festival-goers, all celebrating the conversations and connections that happen when people come together around books.
Author of The Heart-Shaped Tin, Bee talks about the memories associated with kitchen objects and the stories held in the everyday items we keep and treasure. Ellie and Steve also share their own meaningful kitchen objects — the ones they would never part with.
Author of The Drowning Place, part of her police detective series set in the Peak District, Sarah talks about her writing and shares a reading from the book.
Author of A Brief History of the Coast in 100 Objects, Sally talks about coastlines, objects, history and the stories we can uncover through the things around us. She also shares a reading from her book.
Author of Muv: The Story of the Mitford Girls’ Mother, Rachel shares more about the life of Sydney Bowles and the story behind her book.
Derby Book Festival volunteer Jeremy shares his experiences of volunteering with the Festival and what it means to be part of the Festival community.
You’ll also hear Ellie and Steve reading out some of the postcards completed by festival-goers in response to our question: How does reading bring people together?
Listen to the full conversations
We’ve included edited highlights in this episode, but you can also listen to the full interviews here:
Full interview with Bee Wilson
Full interview with Sarah Hilary
Full interview with Sally Coulthard
Full interview with Rachel Trethewey
Full interview with Jeremy
This episode was recorded and edited by Rose Braisby.
With thanks to our Shared Reading podcast hosts Ellie and Steve, everyone who spoke to us at the Festival, and the Derby Book Festival team and volunteers who helped make these special recordings possible.
Catch up on the Festival Specials
This episode brings our summer Festival Special series to a close, but you can catch up on all three episodes whenever you like.
Across the series, you’ll hear author interviews, festival voices and reflections on books, reading, wellbeing and connection.
Catch up on the Festival Specials here
New to the podcast?
A Shared Reading Podcast by Derby Book Festival celebrates local voices, community connection and the conversations that begin when we read together.
Each episode gives a flavour of our Shared Reading programme: warm, welcoming conversations through stories, poems and other short texts. Across the series, we’ve featured local writers, Shared Reading volunteers and participants, all sharing their experiences of reading, connection and community.
You can catch up on all our previous episodes here
Could you help bring the podcast to the autumn Festival?
Have you enjoyed listening to our summer Festival Special podcast episodes?
We would love to create another Shared Reading podcast episode at the autumn edition of Derby Book Festival this November, capturing more of the ideas, experiences and conversations that make the Festival so special.
We’re seeking £600 in sponsorship to make the episode possible. This could come from one organisation or be shared between two or more co-sponsors.
This could be a particularly good opportunity for organisations that share our commitment to community, connection, wellbeing, inclusion, or widening access to books and reading.
If your organisation might be interested, or you know someone we should speak to, please get in touch with Katie at [email protected]. We would be very happy to have an informal conversation about the opportunity and how your support could be recognised.
Shared Reading is a simple, welcoming way to enjoy stories, poems and other short texts in a group. A trained volunteer reads aloud, then everyone is invited to chat about whatever the words bring up - memories, feelings, ideas, favourite lines, or anything else that comes to mind.
There’s no prep, no pressure and no need to be a literature expert. You can share as much or as little as you like, or simply listen.
We run Shared Reading groups across Derby and Derbyshire, including in community venues, libraries, cafés, healthcare settings and online.
The Shared Reading Team @ Derby Book Festival
📑 Join a Shared Reading session near you, find out more here
📚 Volunteer with us, find out more and register your interest here
📰 Sign up to our Shared Reading newsletter here
💛 Support Shared Reading with a donation here
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