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.

David Mitchell

Going beyond the book with a wide range of authors to discover the story behind the books we love.

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With a novel that spans twenty years, marked by three celestial events and characters with their feet firmly on the ground, we sat down for a fascinating conversation with former Waterstones Book of the Year author, Sarah Perry. How do faith and science intersect, what do we really mean by love, friendship and family, and when our orbits bring us back together how do we mark this significance?

Sarah Perry

On 12 Aug 2022, over 30 years after a fatwa had been ordered against him, Salman Rushdie was attacked as he was about to give a public lecture at the Chautauqua​ Institution. By his own admission, he shouldn’t have survived such serious injuries. So what was it that helped him to persevere and how has it changed his outlook on life. We spoke with him about the hard work of recovery, the need to write about the ordeal, and what it means to have a second chance at living.

Salman Rushdie

Fresh from breaking hearts with the TV adaptation of his bestselling One Day, David Nicholls came in to talk to us about his new novel, You Are Here, which introduces us to Marnie and Michael, two souls on an epic walk, on the precipice of a new friendship, and maybe more. We sat down to talk about his love of walking, music and, well... love.

David Nicholls

Not many writers would be brave enough to take an American classic like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and rework it from a new perspective, but then Percival Everett isn’t like most writers. We sat down to talk about giving fresh voice to one of American literature’s most important characters, the whole concept of ‘black voices’ and what drives his prolific output.


Percival Everett

With African history having largely been told through a western lens, Zeinab Badawi travelled to over 30 countries in the continent of her birth over the course of 7 years, speaking with historians, archaeologists and academics in order to give them voice and weave an epic narrative from the cradle of humanity to a vibrant future.

David Mitchell

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