The Brit Lit Podcast

On episode 61, we hear from Rosanna Amaka, whose debut novel The Book of Echoes came out in the now long-distant era of February this year, though I spoke to her just before her publication date. The Book of Echoes is a powerful novel that encompasses several different points in history, including the slave trade and the Brixton Riots. Alex Wheatle, who also writes about that part of London, said the following about the Book of Echoes: 'So bewitching I almost felt like I time-travelled back into Brixton 1981. A gorgeous book'. The Observer called it impassioned, lyrical, and affecting, and the Independent called it powerfully redemptive.

Rosanna Amaka talked about her long and winding path to publication, how Brixton has changed over the years, and more.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

The Book of Echoes, by Rosanna Amaka

The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead

The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead

The Intuitionist, by Colson Whitehead

The Flatshare, by Beth O'Leary

The Switch, by Beth O'Leary

A Theatre for Dreamers, by Polly Samson

You People, by Nikita Lalwani

Stim, by Lizzie Huxley-Jones

Sway, by Dr Pragya Agarwal

Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret, by Craig Brown

One Two Three Four, by Craig Brown

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

In the US, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!

Get 20% off a year's digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout.

Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.

Buy Claire's novel, Unscripted.

Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.

Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.

Sign up to Claire's newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.

For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at [email protected]

*****

The Brit Lit Podcast

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Rosanna Amaka

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On Episode 60, our guest today is Clare Pooley, who's known for her blog Mummy Was a Secret Drinker. She's the author most recently of the heart-warming novel The Authenticity Project. Clare Pooley and I talked about up lit, the importance of community, how writing a novel compares to writing a memoir, and more.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

The Authenticity Project, by Clare Pooley

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

Three Hours, by Rosamund Lipton

Saving Missy/The Love Story of Missy Carmichael, by Beth Morrey

One Day in December, by Josie Silver

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, by Josie Silver

The Light we Lost, by Jill Santopolo

One True Loves, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

If I Never Met You, by Mhairi McFarlane

Island Stories: an Unconventional History of Britain by David Reynolds

The World According to Physics, by Jim Al-Khalili

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

Get 20% off a year's digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout!

Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.

Buy Claire's novel, Unscripted.

Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.

Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.

Sign up to Claire's newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.

For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at [email protected]

*****

The Brit Lit Podcast

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Claire

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Clare Pooley

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Our guest on episode 59 is Dolly Alderton. As well as being half of the High Low podcast, Dolly is also a successful journalist and columnist, and her novel, Ghosts, is forthcoming later this year. Her bestselling memoir Everything I Know About Love came out in the UK in 2018, and is finally out in the US this month, in hardcover, ebook and also audio. We covered her favourite literary friendships, how it feels to write a novel after writing a memoir, the challenges and joys of working closely with a good friend on a hugely successful project, and more.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton

Ghosts, by Dolly Alderton

My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante

Standard Deviation, by Katherine Heiny

Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding

Your Voice in My Head, by Emma Forrest

The Hungover Games, by Sophie Heawood

The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes

The Sea, the Sea, by Iris Murdoch

Me, by Elton John

Silver Sparrow, by Tayari Jones

Reckless Daughter: a Portrait of Joni Mitchell, by David Yaffe

High Times, Hard Times, by Anita O'Day

A Theatre for Dreamers, by Polly Sampson

Actress, by Anne Enright

Nothing To See Here, by Kevin Wilson

The Pisces, by Melissa Broder

Actress, by Anne Enright

My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

Get 20% off a year's digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout!

Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.

Buy Claire's novel, Unscripted.

Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.

Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.

Sign up to Claire's newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.

For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at [email protected]

*****

The Brit Lit Podcast

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Claire

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Dolly Alderton

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On episode 58, we hear from Erin Somers, the American author of the novel Stay Up with Hugo Best. From time to time on the podcast, I interview people who are not British, for their take on UK books and culture, and it was great to chat to Erin about what differentiates British humour from American humour in particular. We talked about the American institution that is the late night show, the challenge of writing humour, the ridiculous tradition of book blurbing, and more.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

Stay Up with Hugo Best, by Erin Somers

Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernadine Evaristo

Spring, by Ali Smith

Women Talking, by Miriam Toews

Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home, by Nina Stibbe

Man at the Helm, by Nina Stibbe

The Lido/Mornings with Rosemary, by Libby Page

People Like Us: What it Takes to Make it in Modern Britain, by Libby Page

What Would the Spice Girls Do?, by Lauren Bravo

How To Break Up With Fast Fashion: A guilt-free guide to changing the way you shop - for good, by Lauren Bravo.

People Like Us, by Hashi Mohamed

Miss Austen, by Gill Hornby

Harry Potter Knitting Magic: The Official Harry Potter Knitting Pattern Book, by Tanis Grey

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

Get 20% off a year's digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout!

Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.

Buy Claire's novel, Unscripted.

Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.

Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.

Sign up to Claire's newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.

For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at [email protected]

*****

The Brit Lit Podcast

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Claire

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Erin Somers

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Our guest on episode 57 is Talia Hibbert, who's the author of many romance novels including, most recently, Get a Life, Chloe Brown.

We talked about the illustrated cover trend, how she got her start writing novels, what it's like to get picked as a Book of the Month author, and more.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

Get a Life, Chloe Brown, by Talia Hibbert

Splendid , by Julia Quinn

Take a Hint, Dani Brown, by Talia Hibbert

The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black

The Kingmaker, by Kennedy Ryan

The Rebel King, by Kennedy Ryan

Three Little Words, by Jenny Holiday

Roaring Girls: The Forgotten Feminists of British History, by Holly Kyte

Genius and Ink: Virginia Woolf on How to Read

The Matchmaker, by Catriona Innes

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, by Abbi Waxman

Star-Crossed, by Minnie Darke.

Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Very Nice, by Marcy Dermansky

Nothing to See Here, by Kevin Wilson

Summerlings, by Lisa Howarth

The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

Get 20% off a year's digital subscription to the writing magazine Mslexia. Just click this link and use the code BRITLIT20 at the checkout!

Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.

Buy Claire's novel, Unscripted.

Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.

Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.

Sign up to Claire's newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.

For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at [email protected]

*****

The Brit Lit Podcast

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Claire

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Talia Hibbert

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On episode 56, we hear from Kate Young, who's the author of The Little Library Cookbook and The Little Library Year, collections of recipes inspired by books. Kate Young is Australian but has lived in the UK for ten years, so I think we can claim her as one of our own. We talked about her journey writing about books and food, the process of creating recipes, Australian authors who deserve to be better known elsewhere, and more.

You can listen to the episode here,

or Spotify, or iTunes,

or wherever else you get your podcasts.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

The Little Library Cookbook: 100 Recipes from Your Favorite Books, by Kate Young

The Little Library Year: Seasonal Cooking and Reading, by Kate Young

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Song for Summer, by Eva Ibbotson

Home Fire, by Kamila Shamsie

Possum Magic, by Mem Fox

Looking for Alibrandi, by Melina Marchetta

Saving Francesca, by Melina Marchetta

Cloudstreet, by Tim Winton

The Secret River, by Kate Grenville

If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, by Italo Calvino

Bowie's Books, Bowie's Bookshelf, by John O'Connell

That Reminds Me, by David Owusu

She Speaks: The Power of Women's Voices, by Yvette Cooper

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.

Buy Claire's novel, Unscripted.

Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.

Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.

Sign up to Claire's newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.

For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at [email protected]

*****

The Brit Lit Podcast

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Claire

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Kate Young

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Our guest on episode 55 is Fiona Collins, who's the author of several novels including, most recently, You, Me and the Movies, a story about bumping into a long-ago love and the feelings it reignites. It's out now as an ebook and will be coming out in paperback on Boxing Day.

Fiona Collins and I talked about audiobooks, one of my favourite American authors, and film adaptations -- including the perennial debate of which screen version of Pride and Prejudice we prefer.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

You, Me and the Movies, by Fiona Collins

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

You, Me and the Movies, by Fiona Collins

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Expectation, by Anna Hope

Becoming, by Michelle Obama

Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(some of Claire's favourite quotes from the book can be found here)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Forever, Interrupted, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

After I Do, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

One True Loves, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Beautiful Ones, by Prince

I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story, by Anthony Daniels

Between the Stops: The View of my Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus, by Sandi Toksvig

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

Get a week of access to the full digital archive of Mslexia Magazine with the code BRITLIT.

Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm

Buy Claire's novel, Unscripted.

Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.

Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.

Sign up to Claire's newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.

For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at [email protected]

*****

The Brit Lit Podcast

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Claire

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On this episode, we hear from Stephen Cox, whose debut novel Our Child of the Stars came out earlier this year. And he's also part of an innovative new bookshop in North London that's being run by a cooperative.

He and I talked about what makes the '60s such an interesting time to set a novel, the importance of bookshops on the high street, what makes a great writers' group, and more.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

Our Child of the Stars, by Stephen Cox

This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood Today would have been my dad's 76th birthday. In his honour, I've made five of his songs public on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, and all (or most of) the other places people listen to music.

These songs were part of the soundtrack to my childhood. You On My Mind is my favourite of these, and I love that Have Another Drink really showcases his piano playing -- the riffs are very him, very representative of his best musicianship.

In his later years, he got a bit obsessed with adding electronic music effects, and I much prefer the original song-and-piano only versions of his songs. I hope some of those survive somewhere, and that I'll be able to share them one day.

He also got a bit obsessed with the Obama campaign in '07-'08, and wrote a whole load of songs about that. They're not his best work, but I'll share them at some point too. Heck, maybe the Crooked media boys will get a kick out of them.

I miss my dad often and a lot these days -- a lot of his heroes and influences are hitting milestones, releasing memoirs, and, sadly, passing away. I wish I could have seen Rocketman with him, and bought him Elton John's memoir. I wish I could have ranted about Brexit with him, too -- though it's probably best he never had to live through it. I know he'd be pleased that his music lives on, though. I hope people will enjoy it.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6Gw81dZOrnvx2kpFKpKN8P?si=NG9WPRjpQSSQPNod7CtN5w

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

Beowulf

Dracula, by Bram Stoker

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

Grand Union: Stories, by Zadie Smith

Me, by Elton John

Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, Julie Andrews

Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella

Christmas Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.

Buy Claire's novel, Unscripted.

Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.

Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.

Sign up to Claire's newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.

For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at [email protected]

*****

The Brit Lit Podcast

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Claire

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Stephen Cox

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All Good Bookshop

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From time to time on the podcast, we speak to someone who is not British, so that we get an outside perspective on UK books. On episode 53, we hear from Liberty Hardy, Book Riot's resident velocireader and all round Queen Of All Things Books. She talked about how she manages to read as much as she does – and she really does read a LOT – and we also talked about her favourite Kate Atkinson book, what Sarah Waters quote she has as a tattoo, and a lot more. It's a fun one -- have a listen!

Also, it's the podcast's 2nd birthday today! If you'd like to buy it a present, some love on patreon.com/britlitblog is always appreciated.

Books mentioned in this episode:

Himself, by Jess Kidd

Things in Jars, by Jess Kidd

From The Wreck, by Jane Rawson

Star-Crossed, by Minnie Darke.

Ghost Wall, by Sarah Moss

A God in Ruins, by Kate Atkinson

Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson

The Paying Guests, by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters

The Confessions of Frannie Langton, by Sara Collins

Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams

Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, by Max Porter

Lanny, by Max Porter

Here We Are, by Graham Swift

The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator, by Timothy C Winegard

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

Get your first three audiobooks for under $5 each with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.

Buy Claire's novel, Unscripted.

Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.

Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.

Sign up to Claire's newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.

For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at [email protected]

*****

The Brit Lit Podcast

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Claire

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Liberty Hardy

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We hear from Owen Nicholls, author of the debut rom com Love, Unscripted. If you liked High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, Love Unscripted is definitely one for you to pick up. Owen Nicholls talks about some underrated rom coms, a little known film he recommends to us all, the breathtaking speed of the publishing industry (!) when compared to film making, and more.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

Love, Unscripted by Owen Nicholls

In at the Deep End, by Kate Davies

Do Not Feed the Bear, by Rachel Elliott

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Confession, by Jessie Burton

Gotta Get Theroux This: My Life and Strange Times on Television, by Louis Theroux

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

Other things mentioned:

Love, Unscripted Giveaway!

The Maid's Head Hotel, Norwich

The Script Notes podcast

*****

Buy Claire's novel, Unscripted.

Support Claire on Patreon to get bonus content and personalised book recommendations.

Buy Brit Lit Podcast merch to show your love for your podcast and help support it.

Sign up to Claire's newsletter to get updates on her writing, as well as recommendations for books and podcasts.

For daily news and views from British books and publishing, follow the Brit Lit Blog.

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at [email protected]

*****

The Brit Lit Podcast

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Claire

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Owen Nicholls

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