Storyshaped

This episode is one we've been hoping for since the beginning of the podcast! Today, we have the chance to sit down with the inexpressibly brilliant AF (Ashley) Harrold, prolific poet and author, Big Red Button pusher (if you haven't seen his excellent videos about his walks along the Thames, meeting herons and suchlike, you're in for a treat), hilarious performer and public speaker, and overall general Good Egg. We had so much fun chatting stories, books, and creativity with one of the best in the business. Won't you join us? Come along, then!

Books mentioned in this week's episode include AF's own:

The Imaginary

Imagining the Imaginary

The Afterwards

The Song From Somewhere Else

The Worlds We Leave Behind

... and countless books of poetry!

And the stories which shaped him include:

Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

Fox Eyes, by Margaret Wise Brown and Garth Williams

Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd (link to the Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen essay)

The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien

Dunmousie Monsters, by Robin and Jocelyn Wild

Tin Tin, by Herge

The World of Myth and Legend, by Brenda Ralph Lewis, illustrated by Rob McCaig

The Adventures of Humbert, Simp and Harquin, by John Burningham

Phenomena: A Book of Wonders, by John Mitchell and Robert J Rickard

Gentleman Jim, by Raymond Briggs

Fungus the Bogeyman, by Raymond Briggs

Father Christmas, by Raymond Briggs

When the Wind Blows, by Raymond Briggs

Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? by Barbara Firth and Martin Waddell

The work of Bernard O'Donoghue, including his translations of The Wanderer and The Seafarer

Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban

The Mouse and His Child, by Russell Hoban and David Small

A Bargain for Frances, by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban

Monsters, by Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake

M.O.L.E. by Russell Hoban and Jan Pienkowski

The Twenty-Elephant Restaurant, by Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake

Tom Tit Moves House, by Molly Brett

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne

Awful End, by Philip Ardagh and David Roberts

I Like This Poem, by Kaye Webb and Antony Maitland

This Craft of Verse, by Jorge Luis Borges

About the House, by WH Auden

The Tale of Beren and Luthien - translated by AF Harrold!

The Silmarillion, by JRR Tolkien

The Collected Poems of Stevie Smith

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imagine you found a book that had the answers to LITERALLY EVERYTHING? A book that could help you 'cheat' your way out of all situations, no matter how puke-sastrous they are... Well, this is the reality facing Kamal, the main character in The Cheat Book, written by today's guest - the explosively energetic, fascinatingly interesting, and laugh-a-minute RAMZEE. RAMZEE joins us this week for a chat through his Storyshaped life, and it's a good one. Get rrrrrrrrready!

Special thanks to Battersea Library for making RAMZEE's appearance on the podcast possible.

Please note: this podcast episode makes very brief reference to suicidal ideation. Please listen with caution.

Help is available in the UK: Phone 116 123, or email [email protected]

In Ireland: Phone 116 123, or email [email protected]

Books mentioned on this week's episode include RAMZEE's own:

The Cheat Book (and sequels!)

And the stories which shaped him include:

Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Adjustment Bureau, by Philip K. Dick

Red Shift, by Alan Garner

Everything Everywhere All at Once (dir. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, released 2022)

Hark! A Vagrant, by Kate Beaton

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, by Kate Beaton

High Plains Drifter (dir. Clint Eastwood, released 1973)

The work of Dapo Adeola

Planet Omar, by Zanib Mian, illustrated by Nasaya Mafaridik

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, by Shepherd Mead

The Boy at the Back of the Class, by Onjali Rauf

The work of Melinda Gebbie (comic artist)

The work of Rod Serling

The S-Man, by Mark Caine

The Prince, by Niccolo Macchiavelli

The work of Babette Cole

Tin Tin, by Hergé

Asterix, by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, et al

Under My Thumb: Songs that Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them, ed. Rhian E Jones and Eli Davies

Sandman Mystery Theatre, by Matt Wagner and Stephen T. Seagle, art by Guy Davis, John Watkiss, RG Taylor, Vince Locke, Warren Pleece, Matthew Dow Smith

The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman, art by various artists incl. Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg

The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler, by Gene Kemp

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume

Superfudge, by Judy Blume

Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, by Judy Blume

The stories of Ramona Quimby, by Beverly Cleary

The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis

Matilda, by Roald Dahl

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner

Elidor, by Alan Garner

The work of the movie director Roger Corbin

JAWS (dir. Steven Spielberg, released 1975)

The work of Diana Wynne Jones

Black Hearts in Battersea, by Joan Aiken

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken

Blade Runner (dir. Ridley Scott, released 1982)

The Godfather I and II (dir. Francis Ford Coppola, released 1972, 1974)

Jurassic Park (dir. Steven Spielberg, released 1993)

The work of George Lucas, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We were lucky to get this chance to have a chat on the fly with the super-busy Jennifer Claessen - she was between school visits on the day we spoke to her! Huge thanks to her for making the time to sit down with us. In this week's episode, we take a high-energy whizz through a brilliantly Storyshaped life, so strap in and get ready. This one was fun!

Books mentioned in this week's episode include Jenny's own:

The October Witches

The November Witches

The December Witches

The January Witches (novella)

Netta Becker and the Timeline Crime

And the stories which have shaped her include:

Scribble Boy, by Philip Radley

The work of Tamora Pierce

The Redwall books, by Brian Jacques

Red Thread, by Jorge Luis Borges

The legend of King Arthur, particularly The Sword in the Stone

Myth and legend in general!

This episode of Storyshaped, with Louie Stowell

The work of Sophocles

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and the stage show version

The Tiger Who Came to Tea, by Judith Kerr

The work of Eva Ibbotson

Brambly Hedge, by Jill Barklem

Angelina Ballerina, by Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig

Northern Lights, by Philip Pullman

Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood

Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer

The Morse books by Colin Dexter

Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett

Skullduggery Pleasant, by Derek Landy

Peter Pan, by JM Barrie

Daughter of the Sea, by Berlie Doherty

The Sea Maiden's Odyssey, by Berlie Doherty and Tamsin Rosewell

Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones

The work of Benjamin Zephaniah, particularly his version of Tam Lin

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, it's our treat to talk to the prolific Peter Bunzl, whose books are packed with imagination, heart, and a whirling sense of adventure. We chatted Death, the Brontes, and snogging Lord Bertilak, among loads of other bookishly brilliant stuff. Come and join us on our Storyshaped ramble through Peter's writing life.

Books mentioned in this week's episode include Peter's own:

Cogheart

Moonlocket

Skycircus

Shadowsea

The Clockwork Queen

Featherlight

Dragon Racers

Magicborn

Glassborn

And the stories which have shaped him include:

His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman

Brightstorm, by Vashti Hardy

The Mortal Engines series, by Philip Reeve

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken

The work of Charles Dickens

Bangers and Mash (an early school reader)

The work of Roald Dahl

Watership Down, by Richard Adams

Plague Dogs, by Richard Adams

The Iron Man, by Ted Hughes

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in all its formats (and Miss Hann, the school teacher who cast Peter as the Green Knight)

The Beano

Carl Bark's Donald Duck

Asterix, by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, et al

The Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien - particularly the audiobook edition

The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

The work of Terry Pratchett

Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake

The Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K Le Guin

A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare

Macbeth, by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare

The Tempest, by William Shakespeare

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones

Peter the Wild Boy - a historical figure

Peter Pan, by JM Barrie

Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg

The Magicians Trilogy, by Lev Grossman

The Magic Toyshop, by Angela Carter

Icarus, by Kay Ancrum

Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban

Turtle Diary, by Russell Hoban

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This week, we're sitting down (on a gorgeously tropical beach, no less) with debut YA author Sharada Keats. Sharada's book These Stolen Lives is a gripping, powerfully resonant story of colonisation, resistance, and whacking power across the head with truth - as well as humour, drama, family and found family, and a swoonsome romance. We had a hugely fun and illuminating chat with Sharada about her life, her career, her creative work (and where her writing is going next), and - if you're ready - you can settle back and listen to it all, right now. Sweet!

Books mentioned this week include Sharada's own:

The Poetical Institute's Particular Powers of Vegetables and Fruit

These Stolen Lives

This Shattered Promise (forthcoming)

And the books that shaped her include:

Arabella and Mortimer, by Joan Aiken

The work of Enid Blyton

The work of Roald Dahl

The work of Dick King-Smith

The work of Diana Wynne Jones, in particular Archer's Goon

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien

The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

Blitzcat, by Robert Westall

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine l'Engle

The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien

The Halfmen of O, by Maurice Gee

I Like This Poem, published by Puffin

The Rattlebag, by Seamus Heaney

The Crone, by James Herbert Brennan

Dune, by Frank Herbert

The work of Iain M. Banks

The work of Andre Norton

The work of Orson Scott Card

The work of Jane Yolen

The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham

Hamlet, by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare

The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams

The work of John Steinbeck

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

The work of Jane Austen

Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery

Shitty First Draft, by Anne Lamott

Talks by Malorie Blackman and Patrice Lawrence

Towards Asmara, by Thomas Kenneally

The work of Langston Hughes

The work of Wole Soyinka

The work of Rabinadrath Tagore

The work of Maya Angelou

The work of John Agard

The work of Imtiaz Dharker

The work of Tracy Chapman

The work of Ted Hughes

The work of Seamus Heaney

The work of Michael Rosen

The work of Spike Milligan

The work of Roger McGough

The work of Wislawa Szymborska

The work of Andrei Voznesensky

The work of Miroslav Holub

The work of CP Cavafy

Sword of the Sun, by Sinéad O'Hart

The World Between the Rain, by Susan Cahill

People Like Stars, by Patrice Lawrence

Tidemagic, by Claire Harlow

Mission: Microraptor, by Philip Kavvadias

The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We had the immense privilege of speaking with prolific author Ian Eagleton this week on Storyshaped, and it was a heartfelt, moving, and very fun conversation about finding your own voice, fighting against prejudice, and (not) fitting in. Described as 'an inspiration' by Mariah Carey, no less, Ian is not only an author, but also Creative Director of The Reading Realm, which aims to be a resource centre for anyone who loves children's books; a former teacher; a learning resources provider, as well as a husband and a dad. Join us for a gorgeous trip down the winding road of Ian's Storyshaped life.

Books mentioned on this week's episode include Ian's own:

Nen and the Lonely Fisherman (ill. James Mayhew)

The Woodcutter and the Snow Prince (ill. Davide Ortu)

Violet's Tempest (ill. Clara Anganuzzi)

Rory's Room of Rectangles (ill. Jessica Knight)

Millie's Big Decision (ill. Max Rambaldi)

Glitter Boy

The Boy Who Cried Ghost

And the stories which shaped him include:

The Goosebumps series, by RL Stine

The Alfie and Annie Rose books, by Shirley Hughes

Roger's Red Hat, Jennifer's Yellow Hat, Billy's Blue Hat (Reading scheme school readers)

The Little Mermaid, in all its forms, from the original fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen to the recent Disney live-action remake of its own animated classic

Super Gran, by Forrest Wilson

The work of Simon James Green

Hideous Beauty, by William Hussey

The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman

A Fairly Honourable Defeat, by Irish Murdoch

Pirate Mums, by Jodie Lancet-Grant and Lydia Corrie

My Daddies!, by Gareth Peter and Garry Parsons

Grandad's Camper, by Harry Woodgate

The work of John Grisham

This Place Has No Atmosphere, by Paula Danziger

The work of Paula Danziger

The work of Judy Blume

Dodos Are Not Extinct!, by Paddy Donnelly

And... the Life, Work, and Art of the one and only Mariah Carey.

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if time started to go a bit wibbly-wobbly? How it might affect the planet, the seasons, wildlife, populations - all the way down to the individual? Well, time getting a bit wibbly-wobbly is one of the themes in Clara Kumagai's amazing debut novel Catfish Rolling, which we discuss on today's podcast, along with LOADS of books that make Clara her Storyshaped self. From Japan to Canada to Ireland to... somewhere in space and time, come with us as we wander through Clara's Storyshaped life.

Books mentioned on this week's episode include Clara's own:

A Girl Named Indigo (published in Japan as Indigo wo sagashite), illustrated by Yokosuka Kaori

Catfish Rolling

Songs for Ghosts (forthcoming)

And the stories which have shaped her include:

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (an example of bad representation!)

The Private Life of Plants by David Attenborough

The Narnia books, particularly Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by CS Lewis

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

The Babysitters' Club, created by Ann M. Martin

American Born Chinese (graphic novel series), by Gene Luen Yang

The work of Joy Kogawa

The work of Paul Yee

The story of Madama Butterfly

Annihilation, by Jeff Vander Meer

His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman

The Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula Le Guin

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

The Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett

Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett

Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett

Snuff, by Terry Pratchett

The Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett

Fun and Games, by John Patrick McHugh

The work of Ann Sei Lin

The work of Adiba Jaigirdar

Hyo the Hellmaker, by Mina Ikemoto Ghosh

Interior Chinatown, by Charles Yu

An Illustrated Guide to Time

Our podcast bookshop (for children's books) in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. If you're in Ireland, you might also like to check out kennys.ie for free shipping, island-wide.

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Annnnnd here you go! Part Two of our long-awaited* Questions and Answers episode, where we tackle some of the fiendishly difficult queries sent in by listeners, including: 'Were you introduced to any new authors in doing the podcast?' (SPOILER: yes!), 'Should stories for children always end with hope?' (SPOILER: no spoilers 'ere, you've got to listen), and 'what are your predictions for the next 5 years?' (SPOILER: *spooky music*)

These episodes were so much fun to record and release, and we hope you enjoy the window into our podcast's production and planning (haphazard, at best), and that you get a sense of the magic that makes it work. Enjoy! And we're back next week with a brilliant author interview - don't miss it!

*I mean, chances are SOMEONE was waiting for it...

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We're nothing if not PROFESSIONAL and TIMELY around here... Oh, yes!

*cough*

Yeah, all right. So, on occasion, we do slip up a bit with the whole 'organisational skills' stuff. Here we have Part 1 of a 2-part episode, in which we attempt to answer the fiendishly tricky questions sent in by listeners. The fact that these questions were sent in so long ago that neither of us can remember exactly when? Psssshaw. Surely irrelevant. (But seriously: thanks to the listeners who sent in these questions, not just for the questions themselves, but for their patience in waiting for the answers!)

We tackle things like: what we've learned since becoming podcasters and what we wish we'd known before we started (spoiler: LOADS); books we'd recommend from the past three years (spoiler: ALSO LOADS); whether our definitions of 'Storyshaped' have changed since we started podcasting (spoiler: A BIT), and loads more. There'll be part 2 of this episode next week, and then after that we'll be back into the guest interviews (and spoiler: they're AMAZING).

For now, sit back, relax, and enjoy our Q and A episode: Part 1!

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Get settled into your favourite chair, a glass of whatever pleases you in hand, and come with us on a journey through Joan Aiken's tiny masterpiece, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. In it, we discuss not only Aiken's book, but also make mention of The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, and lots of other snowy, wintry children's stories.

This year, 2024, marks Joan Aiken's centenary - she would have turned 100 years old in September - so it's doubly appropriate that we salute the end of the year with a trip through one of her best loved books. Have you got your ice-skates on? Let's go - and watch out for the wooooooooooooolves....

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