The Brit Lit Podcast

Our guests today are Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison, two authors who co-write YA novels about awkward love stories. They discuss their books, their friendship, their university years, and differences between the British and American teen experiences, and it's a lot of (almost clean) bookish fun.

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Books mentioned on the episode:

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

Lobsters/A Totally Awkward Love Story, by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Never Evers, by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Freshers/Freshmen, by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Malory Towers, by Enid Blyton

Sweet Valley High, by Francine Pascal

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 & 3/4, by Sue Townsend

I Capture The Castle, by Dodie Smith

Withering Tights, by Louise Rennison

Holes, by Louis Sachar

Born A Crime, by Trevor Noah

Seven Days of You, by Cecilia Vinesse

Hot Mess, by Lucy Vine

What Fresh Hell, by Lucy Vine

Tender, by Eve Ainsworth

The Exact Opposite of Okay, by Laura Steven

Life Lessons from Remarkable Women: Tales of Triumph, Failure and Learning to Love Yourself, by Stylist Magazine

Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, by Lucy Mangan

Love After Love, by Alex Hourston

The Perfect Girlfriend, by Karen Hamilton

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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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We hear from Jimena from Belgravia Books, a London-based independent bookshop which is also the home of Gallic Books, a publisher devoted to bringing the best of French literature to an English-speaking audience. We talked about what she loves most about working in a bookshop, French books to put on your reading list, and the new worlds that translated fiction opens to us.

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Books mentioned in this episode:

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

The Red Notebook, by Antoine Laurain

Lullaby/The Perfect Nanny, by Leila Slimani

We Need To Talk About Kevin, by Leila Slimani

The Foundling Boy, by Michel Déon

The Foundling's War, by Michel Déon

Your Father's Room, by Michel Déon

The Great and the Good, by Michel Déon

La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One, by Philip Pullman

The Shortest History of Germany, by James Hawes

Hot Milk, by Deborah Levy

Black Sugar, by Miguel Bonnefoy, transl. Emily Boyce

Smoking Kills, by Antoine Laurain, transl. Loise Lalaurie Rogers

Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions, by Valeria Luiselli

Prodigal, by Charles Lambert

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, by Yuval Noah Harari

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari

Brixton Beach, by Roma Tearne

Monsieur Ka, by Vesna Goldsworthy

Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, by Andrew Morton

Wallis in Love: The untold true passion of the Duchess of Windsor, by Andrew Morton

Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains, by Helen Thomson

The Image of You, by Adele Parks

*****

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 Daniel Ross, whose novel Bobby Denise is Reigning Rampant is forthcoming from Unbound. They talk about the process of crowdfunding a novel as well as some of his favourite books about cats and music.

Books mentioned this episode:

Bobby Denise Is Reigning Rampant, by Daniel Ross

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe

Johnny Ruin, by Don Dalton

The Second Death of Daedalus Mole, by Niall Slater

Such Small Hands, by Andres Barba

Know Your Place: Essays on the Working Class by the Working Class, ed. Nathan Connolly

Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders

Kafka On The Shore, by Haruki Murakami

Cat Country, by Lao She

The Travelling Cat Chronicles, by Hiro Arikawa

Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop, by Bob Stanley

Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton

The Adulterants, by Joe Dunthorne

Feel Free, by Zadie Smith

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turnton

The Only Story, by Julian Barnes

Goodbye, Perfect, by Sarah Barnard A Quiet Kind of Thunder, by Sarah Barnard

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Pre-order Claire's novel Unscripted at Unbound.

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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 today is Maggie Harcourt, author of the YA novels The Last Summer of Us, Unconventional, and the forthcoming Theatrical. We talked about our respective fandoms past and present, her experience of conventions, why fanfiction can be a useful tool for the beginner writer, and much more.

Books mentioned on the show:

Unconventional, by Maggie Harcourt

Theatrical, by Maggie Harcourt

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

Hold Back the Stars, by Katie Khan

Wing Jones/The Heartbeats of Wing Jones, by Katherine Webber

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe, by Lauren James

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes

After You, by Jojo Moyes

Still Me, by Jojo Moyes

The Feed, by Nick Clark Windo

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

Trying, by Emily Phillips

I Am Thunder, by Muhammad Khan

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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.

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 today is Nikesh Shukla, writer, editor, rapper, and advocate for BAME voices in publishing. We talked about the pervasiveness of social media, the upcoming US edition of The Good Immigrant, and his response to the ubiquity of fictional white boys with dogs called Timmy.

Books mentioned on the show:

Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton

Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, by Lucy Mangan

Dear Mrs. Bird, by A J Pearce

In Our Mad and Furious City, by Guy Gunaratne

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder, by Sarah Harris

Bitter Orange, by Claire Fuller

Transcription, by Kate Atkinson

Coconut Unlimited, by Nikesh Shukla

Meatspace, by Nikesh Shukla

The Good Immigrant, ed. Nikesh Shukla

The One Who Wrote Destiny, by Nikesh Shukla

Feel Free: Essays, by Zadie Smith

The Adulterants, by Joe Dunthorne

I Still Dream, by Jane Smythe

The Buddha of Suburbia, by Hanif Kureshi

Happiness for Humans, by PZ Reizin

The Fandom, by Anna Day

Hearts And Minds: The Untold Story of the Great Pilgrimage and How Women Won the Vote, by Jane Robinson

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, by Joanna Cannon

Three Things About Elsie, by Joanna Cannon

Anatomy of a Scandal, by Sarah Vaughan

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

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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As we look to the New Year, we hear from Rosy Edwards and Amy Baker of The Riff Raff, a London-based community of writers. They spoke about their memoirs about dating and travel, recommended books they've recently loved, and gave tips to anyone whose Near Year's Resolution is to finally write that book.

Books mentioned on the show:

Confessions of a Tinderella, by Rosy Edwards

Miss-adventures: A Tale of Ignoring Life Advice While Backpacking Around South America, by Amy Baker

His Frozen Fingertips, by Charlotte Bowyer

Is Monogamy Dead?: Rethinking relationships in the 21st century, by Rosie Wilby

Rattle, by Fiona Cummins

Dark Pines, by Will Dean

What We Lose, by Zinzi Clemons

Girl in Snow, by Danya Kukafka

Fire Sermon, by Jamie Quatro

Little Deaths, by Emma Flint

Educated, by Tara Westover

The Party, by Elizabeth Day

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, by Jennifer Ryan

Unconventional, by Maggie Harcourt

Freshers, by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Now Let's Dance, by Karine Lambert, translated by Anthea Bell

Piglettes, by Clémentine Beauvais

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Enter to win a Brit Lit Podcast mug by recreating the logo with your favourite book of the year, posting it on Instagram or Twitter, and mentioning @britlitpodcast.

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

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 stand-up comedian Rosie Wilby, author of Is Monogamy Dead?, about literary friendships, the painfulness of breakups, and her favourite music memoirs. There's also news of a giveaway and books recommendations for a listener's mum and sister.

Books mentioned in this episode:

Is Monogamy Dead? by Rosie Wilby

Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding

Tales Of The City, by Armistead Maupin

Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, by Carrie Brownstein

Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star, by Tracey Thorn

She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music, by Lucy O'Brien

Trans: A Memoir, by Juliet Jacques

How To Be a Woman, by Caitlin Moran

Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own, by Kate Bolick

Modern Romance, by Aziz Ansari

Out of Time, by Miranda Sawyer

Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly

Still Alice, by Lisa Genova

The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Wals

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews

The Diplomat's Daughter, by Karin Tanabe

An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green

Astonish Me, by Maggie Shipstead

A Kind of Freedom, by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

A Dirty Job, by Christopher Moore

A Man Called Ove, by Frederik Backman

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, by Joanna Cannon

Love in Small Letters/Love in Lowercase, by Francesc Miralles

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

The Terrible Privacy Of Maxwell Sim, by Jonathan Coe

Man at the Helm, by Nina Stibbe

*****

Enter to win a Brit Lit Podcast mug by recreating the logo with your favourite book of the year, posting it on Instagram or Twitter, and mentioning @britlitpodcast.

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

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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This week, we hear from Lucy Vine, author of the 2017 summer hit Hot Mess. She tells us why we need a new Bridget Jones-style heroine, talks about her favourite books of the year, and reflects on the challenges of the second novel.

Books mentioned on the show:

Hot Mess, by Lucy Vine

Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding

What Fresh Hell, by Lucy Vine

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Sweetpea, by C J Skuse

Unconventional, by Maggie Harcourt

Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton

Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body, by Sarah Pascoe

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

How to Be a Grown-Up, by Daisy Buchanan

How to Stop Time, by Matt Haig

Trying, by Emily Phillips

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, by Lindy West

World War Z, by Max Brooks

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

The Essex Serpent, by Sarah Perry

The Boy From Aleppo Who Painted The War, by Sami Sukkar

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

Love in Small Letters/Love in Lowercase, by Francesc Miralles

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

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Our guest today is Lindsey Kelk, the best-selling author of the I Heart series, among other rom com novels. We talk about reading age-inappropriate books as child, discuss the relative merits of LA and New York, and gush about John Green.

Books mentioned on the show:

The I Heart series, by Lindsey Kelk

We Were On a Break, by Lindsey Kelk

The Sweet Valley High series, by Francine Pascal

The Casteel Family Saga, by V C Andrews

Flowers in the Attic, by V C Andrew

The Magic Cottage, by James Herbert

Looking for Alaska, by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green

Paper Towns, by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

I Heart Forever, by Lindsey Kelk

I Heart Christmas, by Lindsey Kelk

Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë

Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics), by Charlotte Brontë

Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding

American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis

Ham on Rye, by Charles Bukowski

Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green

The Book of Dust, by Philip Pullman

Faking Friends, by Jane Fallon

Some Kind of Wonderful, by Giovanna Fletcher

A Christmas Wedding, by Paige Toon

Milk and Honey, by Rupi Kaur

Wild Embers, by Nikita Gill

Christmas on Coronation Street, by Maggie Sullivan

Keep Smiling Through, by Dame Vera Lynn

We're Asleep, Dad, by Simon Key

The Bacon Book, by Christopher Sjuve

The Best of A. A. Gill, by A A Gill

Balancing Acts: Behind the Scenes at London's National Theatre, by Sir Nicholas Hytner

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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 Elizabeth Day, author of the literary thriller The Party, about her time at Cambridge, how her journalism career trained her to be a novelist, and our picks for the Man Booker Prize.

Books mentioned in this episode:

The Party, by Elizabeth Day

Middlemarch, by George Eliot

The Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe

The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen

Underworld, by Don DeLillo

The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P, by Adelle Waldman

Swing Time, by Zadie Smith

The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante

Gnomon, by Nick Harkaway

History of Wolves, by Emily Fridlund

Elmet, by Fiona Mozley

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, by Arundhati Roy

The Burning Girl, by Claire Messud

Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders

The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

Invitation To The Waltz, by Rosamond Lehmann

The Weather In The Streets, by Rosamond Lehmann

Love & Fame, by Susie Boyt

Autumn, by Ali Smith

Winter, by Ali Smith

Mythos, by Stephen Fry

An Almost Perfect Christmas, by Nina Stibbe

Love, Nina, by Nina Stibbe

*****

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

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