In today's festive show we have a new chat with one of Britain's best loved children's authors, Sir Michael Morpurgo OBE, about retelling the bard's work for a modern audience in his Tales from Shakespeare and we get to bring in games in the form of live D&D shows in the RNIB Library, and we find some festive and not so festive brand new audiobooks.

What would you do if you walk down the aisle and find the wrong man waiting for you? And no-one else sees anything wrong?

This week a return visit from Fiona Lucas with her deeply emotional story of love, secrets and second chances, Always and Only You. Plus we find four brand new books in the RNIB Library.

This week we chat to Anita Frank about the Sunday Times bestselling WW1 historical fiction murder mystery thriller, The Good Liars. Plus we find some brand new audio out now and also available from RNIB.

In today’s 400th episode of Read On – The Audiobook Show, Robert Kirkwood chats to Anne Michaels about her book ‘Held’, which last week was the winner of the $100K Giller Prize in Canada. The audio version of the book, which was also Booker shortlisted in the UK, is narrated by the author and she tells us why she was the only person for the job.

We also find some brand new books in the RNIB Library and have a very quick look back over 400 episodes.

This week author Rachel Greenlaw tells us about a cosy new tale of witches, magic, mystery, family and romance, The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells plus we here from Blind Poet Dave Steele about The Big Test. All that plus some new books in the RNIB Library.

The image is a book cover with a magical, mystical theme. The background is a deep navy blue, scattered with golden and turquoise stars, crescent moons, and glowing accents. At the top, the text reads: “Love can be a curse…” in a delicate, curved font.

In the center, the title of the book is displayed in bold, white letters: "The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells". Below it, there’s an illustration of an open book emitting faint, glowing light, with ornate decorative patterns on either side.

The author’s name, Rachel Greenlaw, is written at the bottom in white uppercase text.

The corners of the cover are framed with intricate golden floral and vine-like designs, which give the image a whimsical and enchanting look.

Today a long chat with Booker Winner 2024 Samantha Harvey and a listen to her winning book Orbital. We hear about the quirks of living on the ISS, about sleeping in orbit, and closer to home we hear about the importance of accessible reading and that Samantha is currently training a guide dog puppy. All that plus some new books in the RNIB Library on today's Read On.

Image is the cover of the book Orbital by Samantha Harvey, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2024. The design features a cosmic or abstract space-themed illustration with a black background dotted by colorful, cloud-like shapes in blue, orange, white, and green. The design gives an impression of planets or nebulae in space, with Earth visible in the lower left. The title "Orbital" is prominently centred in large, white text, and the author's name appears below in smaller, yellow font. The Penguin Books logo is at the bottom right.

Full interview on Friday's show, but here's a clip from my interview with Booker winner 2024, Samantha Harvey

We have spoken to all of the Booker Shortlisted authors here at Read On, many on the days leading up to, or in one case the day of, the award ceremony, far too soon to get them onto a regular episode of the show.

So here, ahead of the ceremony tonight, is a supercut of all six interviews featuring Percival Everett, Samantha Harvey, Yael van der Wouden, Charlotte Wood, Rachel Kushner and Anne Michaels. 

We'll have all of the interviews, uncut, on future editions of Read On.

The image showcases six book covers from the Booker shortlist 2024

James by Percival Everett - The cover features bold typography with a striking orange background. A small illustrated figure appears at the bottom, rowing a boat.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey - This cover has a cosmic theme with abstract celestial shapes in vibrant colours against a dark background, resembling planets or bubbles in space.

Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner - The cover uses bold, playful typography with red and yellow text. An upside-down black-and-white photograph of a woman wearing sunglasses adds a surreal element.

Held by Anne Michaels - The cover is minimalist and grayscale, with the word "Held" repeated multiple times vertically. A small orange dot pattern adds subtle colour.

The Safe Keep by Yael Van Der Wouden - This cover depicts an interior scene, looking into a room with an open door, hinting at themes of mystery or domesticity.

Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood - The cover shows a dilapidated room with peeling walls and sunlight filtering in, suggesting an exploration of decay or solitude.

This week features each book on the 2024 Booker Prize shortlist and a listen to the audio versions, plus some book recommendations from last year’s winner Paul Lynch.

Image shows the shortlisted books on a shelf, spines towards the camera.

This week on Read On we have three very different authors, 

Ariane Bankes discovers her mother's and aunt's correspondence in The Quality of Love: Twin Sisters at the Heart of the Century, Irvine Welsh tells us about the third Ray Lennox book, Resolution, and Elizabeth Oldfield is Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times in her book, Fully Alive.

All that plus some new books (including the new Sally Rooney) in the RNIB Library.

The image features elements associated with the Wigtown Book Festival

Top Left Corner: The book cover for The Quality of Love: Twin Sisters at the Heart of the Century by Ariane Bankes. The cover has a bright green background with a vintage-style image of two women, likely representing the twin sisters mentioned in the title, facing each other.

Top Center: A photograph of Irvine Welsh and Robert Kirkwood. Irvine, on the left, is bald, with a slight smile, dressed casually in a light brown jacket over a striped shirt. Robert, on the right, is taking the selfie, recognizable by his glasses and beard.

Bottom Left Corner: The logo for the Wigtown Book Festival, featuring stylized text with a tree sprouting from the letter “W.” Below this is the logo for RNIB Connect Radio

Bottom Center: A smiling portrait of Elizabeth Oldfield, who is standing indoors, wearing a black top with a blue and turquoise jacket. Her open, warm smile and relaxed pose convey a friendly, engaging presence.

Bottom Right Corner: The book cover for Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times by Elizabeth Oldfield. This cover has a circular design with green and yellow rings radiating from the title.