Storyshaped

We have the splendid pleasure of speaking with Sharon Gosling this week on the podcast - yes, only the author of one of our absolute favourite books of 2022, The Extraordinary Voyage of Katy Willacott! The stories that shaped Sharon are wide-ranging and exciting, and our chat with her was fun, informative, and full of brilliant books. Come along with us as we take a walk through Sharon's Storyshaped life, and who knows? You might find she's Storyshaped in just the same way as you.

Books mentioned in this episode include some of Sharon's own:

The Diamond Thief, winner of the Redbridge Children’s Book Award 2014

The Ruby Airship

The Sapphire Cutlass

The Golden Butterfly

House of Hidden Wonders

The Extraordinary Voyage of Katy Willacott.

Her adult books have included The House Beneath the Cliffs and The Lighthouse Bookshop

And the stories that shaped her include:

Little Grey Rabbit, by Alison Uttley

Meg and Mog, by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski

Boys' Best Adventures (any books that helped you to survive in the wild)

The Circus of Adventure, by Enid Blyton

Amazon Adventure, by Willard Price

Beaver Towers, by Nigel Hinton

When Marnie Was There, by Joan Robinson

The Girl Who Ran Away, by Joan Robinson

The Flight of the Doves, by Walter Macken

Trixie Belden series, by Julie Campbell Tathem and others

The Hardy Boys, by Franklin W. Dixon (collective pen-name)

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

The Animals of Farthing Wood, by Colin Dann

Twenty-Five Years in the Word Mines, by Graham Joyce

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson

The novels of Terry Pratchett

Babel, by R.F. Kuang

The British Library collections of short stories

The novels and short stories of Shirley Jackson

The work of Kelly Link

Hag, edited by Carolyne Larrington

Folk, by Zoe Gilbert

Parnassus on Wheels, by Christopher Morley

A Necklace of Raindrops and Other Stories, by Joan Aiken

The Faithless Lollybird, by Joan Aiken

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie

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.

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Today's guest is the BRILLIANT M.G. Leonard, author of some of the best books for young children available today. Her books have been personally inspirational to us, and M.G. herself is such a fount of inspiration, wisdom, and compassion - her insights into writing, the importance of stories, and how she used her own story to reshape her own life, is a must-listen. Come and join us, and find out how M.G. Leonard is Storyshaped.

Books mentioned in this week's episode include M.G.'s own:

Beetle Boy

Beetle Queen

The Battle of the Beetles

The Beetle Collectors' Handbook (non-fiction)

The Tale of a Toothbrush

The Highland Falcon Thief (with Sam Sedgman)

Kidnap on the California Comet (with Sam Sedgman)

Murder on the Safari Star (with Sam Sedgman)

Danger at Dead Man's Pass (with Sam Sedgman)

Sabotage on the Solar Express (with Sam Sedgman)

The Arctic Railway Assassin (with Sam Sedgman)

Twitch

Spark

The Ice Children

The stories which shaped her include:

Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Roald Dahl, The Twits

The Work of Enid Blyton

Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking

William Shakespeare, Macbeth

E.L. Grant Watson, What to Look for in Autumn (Ladybird Book)

Elise Rousseau and Phillipe J. Dubois, A Short Philosophy of Birds

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie

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.

It's Thursday, which means we've got another wonderful Storyshaped podcast for you all! We're speaking with the incredible Efua Traoré, author of Children of the Quicksands and The House of Shells, two beautiful Middle Grade novels set in Nigeria and infused with the folklore, magic, and culture of that vibrant country. Efua takes us through her early days as an adventurer, tree-climber, go-getter and dreamer, and how stories - both in her local library and in the culture all around her - shaped her imagination and sparked her creativity. Come with us as we learn about how her first published story was shaped, and by whom; listen in as she shares her dreams for the future of children's literature in Nigeria and in Africa, and stay with us till the end for some tantalising hints about what's next from this incredible author! Are you ready? Then, let's get Storyshaped.

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

Children of the Quicksands

The House of Shells

The stories which shaped Efua include:

Tales by Moonlight - a TV show from Efua's childhood in Nigeria which retold stories from folklore

Enid Blyton, The Famous Five

Alf Proysen, Mrs Pepperpot

C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia

Astrid Lindgren, The Six Bullerby Children

Otfried Preussler, The Little Water-Sprite

Tales From... (A collection of folktales and legends from all around the world)

Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Arthur Conan Doyle, The Speckled Band (Sherlock Holmes)

Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes)

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus

Sabine Adeyinka, Jummy at the River School

Tolá Okogwu, Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun

Tomi Adeyemi, Children of Blood and Bone

Nnedi Okorafor, Akata Witch

Natasha Bowen, Skin of the Sea

Namina Forna, The Gilded Ones

Jordan Ifueko, Raybearer

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie

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, Susan and Sinéad are welcoming two authors for the price of one - sisters Katharine and Liz Corr are here to tell us all about their marvellous books and also the stories that shaped their lives. Come with us as we talk about the shaping power of the stories of Star Trek, the power of historical fiction and classical heroes (and anti-heroes), the wonder of Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising, and how significant are the stories we're told about our family and our history. We also discuss the importance of feisty heroines, and how much they owe to Anne-with-an-E Shirley. Let's get Storyshaped!

Among the books mentioned this week are Katharine and Liz's own:

The Witch's Kiss

The Witch's Tears

The Witch's Blood

A Throne of Swans

A Crown of Talons

Daughter of Darkness

Queen of Gods (forthcoming 2023)

And the stories that shaped them include:

The Peter and Jane Ladybird Reading Scheme books, written by William Murray and illustrated by Robert Ayton

The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien

The Pied Piper of Hamelin, written by Robert Browning and illustrated by Kate Greenaway

The Water Babies, by Charles Kingsley

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

The Grey King, by Susan Cooper

The novels of Isaac Asimov

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien

The Gormenghast Trilogy, by Mervyn Peake

Gods, Men and Monsters by Michael Gibson and Giovanni Caselli

The myth of Perseus

Mythologica, by Stephen Kershaw and illustrated by Victoria Topping (erroneously referred to as 'Mythipedia' in the episode!)

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

The novels of Terry Pratchett

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie

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's guest is the wonderful Debbie Thomas! Susan and Sinéad had so much fun chatting to Debbie, who was full of wisdom and wit as we discussed the stories that shaped her - not only the stories in the books she loved, but also the stories of her family. This episode is filled with laughter and suffused with joy, the same joy that Debbie (and we at Storyshaped!) see as being vital in every child's - and every person's - life. Come with us as we meet Debbie, who not only crafts the most wonderful books, but who also uses her storytelling skills to show every single child the true value of story: that their story is important, and that they're worth being listened to.

Find Debbie online via her website and find out more about her books, and her work with children in direct provision, in underprivileged areas, and in hospitals

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

Dead Hairy (Mercier Press)

Jungle Tangle (Mercier Press)

Monkie Business (Mercier Press)

Class Act (Mercier Press)

My Secret Dragon (Little Island)

Chameleon Dad (Little Island)

And the stories and books which shaped her include:

The Storytelling Animal, by Jonathan Gottschall

The Seven Basic Plots, by Christopher Booker

The Science of Storytelling, by Will Storr

Andrew Stanton: The Clues to a Great Story (TED Talk)

Steering the Craft, by Ursula K. Le Guin

Harry the Dog (series), by Gene Zion

Flat Stanley (series), by Jeff Brown

The King of the Copper Mountains, by Paul Biegel

My Naughty Little Sister (series), by Dorothy Edwards and Shirley Hughes

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis

The work of Roald Dahl

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster

The Tin Drum, by Gunter Grass

Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie

The Dragonfly Pool, by Eva Ibbotson

The Abominables, by Eva Ibbotson

East of Eden, by John Steinbeck

The International Yeti Collective, by Paul Mason and Katy Riddell

The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, ill. Jules Feiffer, Notes by Leonard S. Marcus

Collected Fairy Tales

"This life was hired out to me/To decorate the earth with glee."

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie

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 we're welcoming the fantastic Aislinn O'Loughlin to the podcast, where we talk about things like: how it feels to be a published author in your teens; how having a writer for a parent helps you to deal with the inevitable rejection that comes from making writing your career (and how marvellous it is to have a creative parent to help Storyshape you as you grow up); how having a love for drama can help you to shape your own stories, and how Terry Pratchett is responsible for her marriage. Tune in and come with us on a ramble through Aislinn's Storyshaped life!

Find Aislinn's book online via her publisher: https://www.littleisland.ie/products/big-bad-me

Follow Aislinn on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AshiLockie

Books mentioned in this episode include Aislinn's own:

Cinderella's Fella, illustrated by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

A Right Royal Pain, illustrated by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

Fionn the Cool

Shak and the Beanstalk

Big Bad Me (Little Island Books, 2022)

And the books which Storyshaped her include:

The Fairytales of the Brothers Grimm

The Fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen

Matilda, by Roald Dahl

Mort, by Terry Pratchett

The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde

The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

Carrie, and Misery, by Stephen King

Harrow Lake, and Wicked Little Deeds, by Cat Ellis

The work of Cynthia Murphy, Kathryn Foxfield, Amy McCaw, and Naomi Gibson

The Haunting of Tyrese Walker, by JP Rose

Crater Lake, by Jennifer Killick

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie

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.

In this week's episode of Storyshaped, come hunting for the Sweet Tree with Nicola Colton...

Nicola is an Irish author and illustrator living in Bristol, but in this episode she shares some of the sheer magic of her childhood, where stories weren't confined to the pages of the books she read but instead seemed to come to life all around her. From finding a Banshee's comb to imagining storms in teacups, Nicola's life has been suffused with, and shaped by, stories from her earliest days. Listen in, and be swept away!

Find Nicola online at her website: www.nicolacolton.com

Follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NicolaColton1

Follow her on Instagram: www.instagram.com/NicolaColton1/

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

Jasper and Scruff

Jasper and Scruff: The Hunt for the Golden Bone

Jasper and Scruff: Take a Bow

Jasper and Scruff: The Great Cat Cake-Off!

Fizzy and Bandit (with Sarah Crossan)

Fizzy and the Party (with Sarah Crossan)

A Dublin Fairytale

A Dublin Christmas

Zim Zam Zoom (with James Carter)

The stories that shaped her include:

Roald Dahl, Revolting Rhymes

Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Roald Dahl, Matilda

Roald Dahl, George's Marvellous Medicine

Garfield (comic strip, created by Jim Davis, est. 1978)

Dinosaurs magazine

Treasures of the Earth magazine

Out of this World: The Illustrated Library of the Bizarre and the Extraordinary (24 vols), ed Perrott Philips

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings

Sweet Valley High, created by Francine Pascal

The novels of Stephen King and Anne Rice

Jayde Perkins, Mum's Jumper

Paula Bowles, Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab

Freya Hartas and Joseph Coelho, Zombierella and Creeping Beauty

Freya Hartas, Slow Down

Caroline O'Donoghue, All Our Hidden Gifts

Movie/screen influences include:

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

The Simpsons (1989-present)

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie

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.

DISCLAIMER/CONTENT WARNING: This episode of Storyshaped includes some discussion of adult themes and topics, including eating disorders, and may be best avoided by very young listeners and/or those for whom these topics may be triggering or upsetting. If this is you - catch you next week!

This week's Storyshaped delves into the bookish life of acclaimed and bestselling author Louise O'Neill, who has written for young adults and older adults over the course of her decade-long career as a novelist and journalist. Join us as we discuss the books that shaped Louise into the thinker, cultural critic, and creator that she is today, and the books that made her realise: I can be a writer, too.

Find Louise online:

Via her agents, Mushens Entertainment

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

Only Ever Yours

Asking For It

The Surface Breaks

Almost Love

After The Silence

Idol

And the books which Storyshaped her include:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The books of Enid Blyton

The books of Roald Dahl

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Only a Paper Moon and Catch the Magpie by Tina (Cristina) Pisco

The Babysitters' Club by Ann M. Martin

Amongst Women by John McGahern

Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Sweet Valley High created by Francine Pascal

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Pants on Fire by Maggie Alderson

Sushi For Beginners by Marian Keyes

The novels of Louise Bagshawe

The Stormkeeper's Island trilogy by Catherine Doyle

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

The Double Love podcast - not Double Trouble, as we say, erroneously, in the episode - is available here

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie

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.

It's not every day you get to talk to an author who's been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, but today Susan and Sinéad get to do just that! We're welcoming Sam Thompson to the podcast, and we couldn't be happier about it. Sam's the author of the brilliant children's novels Wolfstongue and The Fox's Tower, but his first novel (Communion Town) was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize back in 2012. We talk shamanic spaces, the nature of deep time (especially as expressed in books), building roots into the unknown, the plays of Shakespeare, and the power of ambient stories, among many other brilliant things. Come and join us as we find out the answer to the question: Sam Thompson, are you Storyshaped?

Find Sam online at:

https://samthompsonwriter.com

Books mentioned in this episode include Sam's own:

Communion Town (2012, Fourth Estate)

Jott (2018, John Murray)

Wolfstongue (2021, Little Island)

The Fox's Tower (2022, Little Island)

And Sam's Storyshaped books include:

Haunted House by Jan Pienkowski

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Tower by William Butler Yeats

The Magus by John Fowles

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by the Pearl poet (14th Century); J.R.R. Tolkien did a good modern edition

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Red Shift, Boneland and The Owl Service by Alan Garner

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

The Tripods by John Christopher

The novels of John Wyndham (including Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos, and The Chrysalids)

A fascinating interview with Alan Garner about his Booker-prize shortlisted Treacle Walker

Mind out of Time: An Interview with Alan Garner

Treacle Walker: Alan Garner and Elizabeth Garner in Conversation

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie

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.

Don't say we never spoil you! Sit back and enjoy this BONUS Storyshaped Podcast episode, recorded to celebrate Irish Book Week, which is running from October 15th to October 22nd, 2022. Susan gives Sinéad a good old-fashioned grilling about her books, her writing life, how she came to have a writing career in the first place, and gets ALLLL the tips on how to become - and how to stay - a published author. Perfect listening for those who like books, and books by Irish authors in particular.

Tune in again on Thursday for our regular scheduled episode, and for now? Just enjoy this extra hour-and-a-bit of bookish chat.

Find out more about Irish Book Week here: https://www.publishingireland.com/irish-book-week-15th-22nd-oct-2022/

Find out more about Sinéad O'Hart (your fearless co-host) here: https://sjohart.wordpress.com/

All the info you'll need about Susan Cahill (your other fearless co-host) is here: https://susancahill.co.uk

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