The Brit Lit Podcast

Claire speaks to Daisy Buchanan, who's a prolific journalist and the author of How to Be a Grown-Up, which is out now in paperback. They discuss how difficult the 20s years can be, their opposite experiences of family life, their shared ambivalence towards motherhood, and more.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

How to Be a Grown Up, by Daisy Buchanan

The Multi-Hyphen Method: Work less, create more, and design a career that works for you, by Emma Gannon

The Pursuit of Love, by Nancy Mitford

Love in a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford

The Blessing, by Nancy Mitford

Don't Tell Alfred , by Nancy Mitford

Highland Fling, by Nancy Mitford

Noblesse Oblige: an enquiry into the identifiable characteristics of the English aristocracy, by Nancy Mitford

Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton

Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Sisterland, by Curtis Sittenfeld

Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld

The Break, by Marian Keyes

The Art of Not Falling Apart, by Christina Patterson

Promising Young Women, by Caroline O'Donoghue

To Throw Away Unopened, by Viv Albertine

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys.: A Memoir, by Viv Albertine

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, by Judith Kerr

The Lost Letters of William Woolf, by Helen Cullen

Useless Magic: Lyrics and Poetry, by Florence Welch

Eye Can Write: A memoir of a child's silent soul emerging, by Jonathan Bryan

Slay In Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

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

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

Claire's guest is Alicia Drake, author of the Paris-set coming of age novel I Love You Too Much. They discuss something of Alicia's writing process, the Frenchness of her novel, and its themes – among them loneliness, the ache to belong, and what happens when beauty fades.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

I Love You Too Much, by Alicia Drake

The Beautiful Fall: Fashion, Genius, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris, by Alicia Drake

The Horseman, by Tim Pears

The Wanderers, by Tim Pears

Anything Is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout

Bookshop Girl, by Chloe Coles

How to Rob a Bank, by Tom Mitchell

Unconventional, by Maggie Harcourt

Theatrical, by Maggie Harcourt

How Do You Like Me Now?, by Holly Bourne

How to be Famous, by Caitlin Moran

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

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.

Pre-order Claire's novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.

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]

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Claire speaks to Rosie Walsh, whose novel The Man Who Didn't Call is out today. They talk about how love can drive us mad at any age, why Rosie loves the Elena Ferrante novels, how the Pomodoro technique helps her writing, and much more.

Books Mentioned in the Episode:

The Man Who Didn't Call/Ghosted, by Rosie Walsh

The Neapolitan Novels, by Elena Ferrante

Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff

The Woman In The Mirror, by Rebecca James

Whiskey When We're Dry, by John Larison

The Publishing Game: Adventures in Books: 150 years of Hodder & Stoughton, by Edward Stourton

Grenfell Hope: Ravaged by Fire but Not Destroyed, by Gaby Doherty

The Incurable Romantic: and Other Unsettling Revelations, by Dr Frank Tallis

The One Who Wrote Destiny, by Nikesh Shukla

Run, Riotby Nikesh Shukla

Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Holly Seddon

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Find out more about Clown Doctors and support Hearts and Minds here.

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.

Pre-order Claire's novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.

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]

*****

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Our guest on Episode 18 is Sarah Vaughan, author of three books including the bestseller Anatomy of a Scandal, which came out in January 2018. We talked about what inspired her best-selling novel, her experience of studying at Oxford, the advantages of writing fiction later in life, and more.

Books Mentioned on the Podcast:

Anatomy of a Scandal, by Sarah Vaughan

The Art of Baking Blind, by Sarah Vaughan

The Farm at the Edge of the World, by Sarah Vaughan

White Teeth, by Zadie Smith

Our Endless Numbered Days, by Claire Fuller

Jamaica Inn, by Daphne du Maurier

The Trick to Time, by Kit de Waal

He Said/She Said, by Erin Kelly

Tin Man, by Sarah Winman

Bitter Orange, by Claire Fuller

Swimming Lessons, by Claire Fuller

The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken, by the Secret Barrister

The Sparsholt Affair, by Alan Hollinghurst

The Line of Beauty, by Alan Hollinghurst

American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld

Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy

Beowulf

Disco Sour, by Giuseppe Porcaro

Waiting for Callback: It's a Wrap, by Honor and Perdita Cargill

*****

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.

Pre-order Claire's novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.

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]

*****

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In Episode 17, we hear from Guy Gunaratne, whose debut novel In Our Mad and Furious City has just come out to wide and well-deserved acclaim. We talked about the impetus for his book, what he's learned about storytelling from grime music and from his own work as documentary marker, and more.

Books mentioned on the episode:

In Our Mad and Furious City, by Guy Gunaratne

Go Tell It on the Mountain, by James Baldwin

The Tin Drum, by Gunter Grass

The Adventures of Augie March, by Saul Bellow

Epitaph of a Small Winner, by Machado de Assis

Ponti, by Sharlene Teo

Hold Tight: Black Masculinity, Millennials and the Meaning of Grime, by Jeffrey Boakye

Memory Songs: A Personal Journey into the Music that Shaped the 90s, by James Cook

Soap the Stamps, Jump the Tube, by Gail Thibert

My Box-Shaped Heart, by Rachel Lucas

Meet Me at the Museum, by Anne Youngson

Happy Little Bluebirds, by Louise Levene

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

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.

Pre-order Claire's novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.

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]

*****

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Our guest on Episode 16 is Caroline Ambrose, who's the founder of the Bath Novel Award, an advocate for public libraries, a quiz show veteran, and a superfan of super trees.

She talks us through the ins and outs of running a writing prize, what it is that makes the Bath Novel Award special, some of the exciting books that have been shortlisted and are now out in the world, her work campaigning for libraries, and more.

Books mentioned on the episode:

Rainbirds, by Clarissa Goenawan

Precocious, by Joanna Barnard

Hush Little Baby, by Joanna Barnard

Baby Doll, by Holly Overton

Friend Request, by Laura Marshall

Troublemakers, by Catherine Barter

Testament, by Kim Sherwood

The Book of Dust, by Philip Pullman

The Lido, by Libby Page

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

Writers as Readers: A Celebration of Virago Modern Classics, by Virago

Casablanca: My Moroccan Food, by Nargisse Benkabbou

The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, by Ruth Hogan

Ella on the Outside, by Cath Howe

White Rabbit, Red Wolf, by Tom Pollack

*****

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.

Pre-order Claire's novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.

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]

*****

Other podcasts mentioned on the show:

The Joined Up Writing Podcast

The Pro Book Nerds

The Bookstore Podcast

Better Words Podcast

Nerdy Things Podcast

Your Biggest Fangirl Podcast

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Claire speaks to Libby Page, author of The Lido, which is out today. They discuss the inspiration for the book, the magic of outdoor swimming, the new Up Lit trend, and more.

Books mentioned on the episode:

The Lido, by Libby Page

(pre-order The Lido in the US)

Tin Man, by Sarah Winman

Three Things About Elsie, by Joanna Cannon

I Love You Too Much, by Alicia Drake

Swell, by Jenny Landreth

Floating, by Joe Minihane

Leap In: A Woman, Some Waves, and the Will to Swim, by Alexandra Heminsley

Waterlog: A Swimmer's Journey Through Britain, by Roger Deakin

Now Let's Dance, by Karine Lambert

White Teeth, by Zadie SmithArticle mentioned on the episode:

Up Lit: the new book trend with kindness at its core

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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.

Pre-order Claire's novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.

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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Libby Page

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Claire's guest is Muhammad Khan, author of the recent YA Novel I Am Thunder. They discuss the inspiration for his book, his transition from teacher to writer, the first book he read featuring an Asian character and the impact that it had on him, and more.

Books mentioned on the episode:

I Am Thunder, by Muhammad Khan

Rice without Rain, by Minfong Ho

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

Apple Tree Yard, by Louise Doughty

The Worst Witch, by Jill Murphy

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle

Dear Mrs Bird, by A J Pearce

The One Who Wrote Destiny, by Nikesh Shukla

Clean, by Juno Dawson

The Music: A Novel Through Sound, by Matthew Herbert

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

*****

Buy the new Cotton Bureau tshirt to support the podcast!

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.

Pre-order Claire's novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.

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]

*****

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In this bonus episode, hear an excerpt from Claire's novel, Unscripted, forthcoming from Unbound. You can pre-order the novel and pledge for Kickstarter-style rewards at UnscriptedNovel.com

*****

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.

Pre-order Claire's novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.

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]

*****

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Our guest on Episode 13 is John Mitchinson, a long-time publishing veteran, co-founder of Unbound and co-host of the Backlisted Podcast. We go deep into the weeds of the groundbreaking publishing company he helped found, his own role there, and publishing in general.

Books mentioned on the episode:

The Good Immigrant, by Nikesh Shukla

A Murder of Crows, by Ian Skewis

The Sewing Machine, by Natalie Fergie

Black And Blue, by Ian Rankin

My House of Sky: A Life of J A Baker, by Hetty Saunders and Robert Macfarlane

The Peregrine, by J A Baker

Something Happened, by Joseph Heller

Town House, by Norah Lotts,

Dance To The Music Of Time, by Anthony Powell

The Kingdom, by Emmanuel Carrere, transl. John Lambert

Jesus' Son, by Denis Johnson

Berg, by Ann Quinn

The Perfect Girlfriend, by Karen Hamilton

Panic Room, by Robert Goddard

Morning: How to Make Time, by Allan Jenkins

The Feed, by Nick Clark Windo

The Sparsholt Affair, by Allan Hollinghurst

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

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Order your Brit Lit Podcast tshirt here!

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.

Pre-order Claire's novel, Unscripted, help make the book happen, and get rewards too.

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]

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