I am so excited to say that my guest on the GWA Podcast is the author, academic, screenwriter, creator of fantastical worlds and nocturnal roof-climber, Katherine Rundell.

An award-winning non-fiction author for adults and fiction writer for children – whose books have sold over 4million copies worldwide, Rundell has penned works that span from the Impossible Creatures series – set in magical, endangered Archipelago – to Rooftoppers, about a young girl called Sophie who climbs the roofs of Paris in search of her mother, which is, one of my favourites. Because another of Rundell’s great works is Why You Should Read Children’s Books Even Though You Are So Old and Wise, a small yet mighty book that argues for children’s fiction as integral to our reading output. A place which invites us not only to understand the fundamentals of good and evil, but reminds us of the importance of taking kids seriously, as Sophie, the protagonist in Rooftoppers, reminds us: “Do not underestimate children, do not underestimate girls.” I also highly recommend Rundell’s lecture on this subject that was published in the London Review of Books last winter.

A Fellow of St Catherine’s College, Oxford and quondam fellow of All Souls College, Oxford – where she was admitted as the youngest fellow in 2008 – Rundell is also a scholar on the 16th century poet, preacher, politician, lawyer, Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral (and more) John Donne, with her electrically-written biography, Super Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne that won her the Baillie Gifford Prize.

A #1 NYT and ST bestselling author, the winner of Waterstones Book of the Year, and the Author of the Year, as recognised by the British Book Awards, Rundell is one of our greatest thinkers, writers, creators, and campaigner for “putting imagination first”. And it is reading her books that I am reminded of that superpower, the brilliance of human capability that not only gets us to dream up different worlds, but imagine how we can make this complex one a much more beautiful and better place.

This week marks World Book Day 2026, and excitingly the publication of my first children's book, so I couldn't be more honoured to speak with Katherine today, about writing, art, books, and more.

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KATHERINE'S BOOKS: https://www.waterstones.com/author/katherine-rundell/53343

MY CHILDREN'S BOOK! https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-story-of-art-without-men/katy-hessel/9780241824214

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THIS EPISODE IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY THE LEVETT COLLECTION:

https://www.famm.com/en/

https://www.instagram.com/famm_mougins // https://www.merrellpublishers.com/9781858947037

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Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel

Sound editing by Nada Smiljanic

Music by Ben Wetherfield