The Waterstones Podcast

The Waterstones Podcast episodes:

• 04.23.2024

  David Nicholls

  Fresh from breaking hearts with the TV adaptation of his bestselling One Day, David Nicholls came in to talk to us about his new novel, You Are Here, which introduces us to Marnie and Michael, two souls on an epic...

  
• 04.19.2024

  Percival Everett

  Not many writers would be brave enough to take an American classic like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and rework it from a new perspective, but then Percival Everett isn’t like most writers. We sat down to talk about giving...

  
• 04.16.2024

  Zeinab Badawi

  With African history having largely been told through a western lens, Zeinab Badawi travelled to over 30 countries in the continent of her birth over the course of 7 years, speaking with historians, archaeologists and academics in order to give...

  
• 04.09.2024

  Marian Keyes

  Rejoice! For Marian Keyes is back with another hilarious novel which follows Anna Walsh's move from New York back to Ireland, leaving expensive beauty products and easy access to HRT behind, for a moving confrontation with her past - and...

  
• 04.02.2024

  Chimene Suleyman

  When Chimene Suleyman went to an abortion clinic with her partner, she had no idea that this would be the last time she would see him; even less that she was not the only woman to have been manipulated and...

  
• 03.26.2024

  Stuart Turton

  With a debut that became an immediate bestseller and a second novel that joined his first as a Waterstones Thriller of the Month, we were of course front of queue to find out where Stuart Turton might take us with...

  
• 03.19.2024

  Dr. Charan Ranganath

  If you’ve ever seen someone in the supermarket who you’re sure you know, but can’t remember their name, or had the answer for something on the tip of your tongue, or had that sense of deja-vu; this is the book...

  
• 03.12.2024

  Anna Jones

  Anna Jones has always been a passionate advocate for vibrant, sustainable cooking that places vegetables centre stage. In her latest book, Easy Wins, she highlights 12 hero ingredients that will allow you to get maximum flavour into your food with...

  
• 03.05.2024

  Gary Stevenson

  Growing up in the shadow of Canary Wharf’s towers, Gary Stevenson always yearned for more. In an eye-opening conversation we learn how a simple card game changed his life and how a nose for how the world turns combined with...

  
• 02.27.2024

  Sophie Elmhirst

  The facts are compelling: A couple sailing to the other side of the globe, adrift after their yacht sinks and a battle to survive for 117 days. But the telling of that story is taken to whole new level by...

  
• 02.06.2024

  Sam Sedgman

  Fresh from co-writing the brilliant Adventures on Trains series with M. G. Leonard, Sam Sedgman has created an ingenious new adventure for children that follows aspiring inventor, Isaac Turner, across London landmarks on the trail for clues to his father’s...

  
• 01.30.2024

  Alex Michaelides

  An idyllic, private Greek island in the company of a movie star may sound like paradise but things are about to turn deadly in The Fury, the latest thriller from Alex Michaelides. In a fascinating conversation we learn more about...

  
• 01.23.2024

  Chris Van Tulleken

  You've been told the problem is salt, or sugar, or even you! But in a fascinating conversation with Chris Van Tulleken we discover why it’s not you, it's the food. And by food we mean 'industrially produced edible substance' -...

  
• 11.07.2023

  Nina Stibbe

  After charming the nation with Love, Nina - the collection of letters written to her sister during a five year stint as a nanny in '80s London, surrounded by literary types all new to her - Nina Stibbe returns to...

  
• 11.02.2023

  Ed Gamble

  Looking back on his life so far through the prism of food, Ed Gamble’s Glutton is a hilarious take from a foodie obsessive who’s come to recognise quality over quantity. We sat down to talk about the ultimate cheeseboard, why...

  
• 10.24.2023

  Judi Dench

  Widely regarded as one of Britain’s greatest actresses, Dame Judi Dench has conquered both stage and screen in a career spanning six decades. In Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent, her conversations with actor and director Brendan O’Hea provide...

  
• 10.23.2023

  Patrick Stewart

  With a career spanning seven decades, Sir Patrick Stewart is still probably best known to many as Captain Jean-Luc Picard or Professor X - but what of the journey towards these career highs? With his memoir, Making it So, now...

  
• 10.17.2023

  Richard Armitage

  Having created thrills on screen as an actor it was perhaps only a matter of time before Richard Armitage decided to create a literary thriller of his own. After memorable appearances in TV thrillers like Spooks and three separate Harlan...

  
• 10.10.2023

  Madhur Jaffrey

  Familiar to millions as the woman who brought Indian cookery into UK kitchens through her books and TV series, Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a sumptuous new edition featuring some brand new recipes. We sat...

  
• 10.03.2023

  Mary Beard

  In her latest book, eminent historian and author, Mary Beard, presents a thematic approach to the role of Roman Emperor. What did it mean to be at the head of the empire, what daily work was involved, and what did...

  
• 09.26.2023

  Adrian Edmondson

  Well-known to fans of The Young Ones, Bottom, or any number of alternative comedy shoots from the 1980s onwards, Adrian Edmondson’s anarchic comedy of violence has surprising roots in an unsettled childhood. We sat down to talk about boarding school,...

  
• 09.19.2023

  David Mitchell

  No matter how you feel about them, there’s no doubt that the Royal Family still play a crucial role in our national identity - but how did we get to where we are? And how much do we really know...

  
• 09.13.2023

  Miriam Margolyes

  The cause of more dropped jaws than almost any other entertainer, Miriam Margolyes shared a lifetime of hilarious incident in her first memoir, This Much Is True. Thankfully, she has plenty more to say, and in Oh Miriam! we have...

  
• 09.12.2023

  Katherine Rundell

  Former Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-winner Katherine Rundell has turned to fantasy to create her latest fictional world. The Archipelago is a cluster of magical islands where humans live alongside the creatures of myth, but the magic is under threat. We...

  
• 09.11.2023

  Naomi Klein

  It was amusing at first when Naomi Klein found people would confuse her with fellow author Naomi Wolf. But when her namesake started to develop increasingly extreme views during the COVID pandemic, it required more attention, and opened up a...

  
• 09.05.2023

  Anne Enright

  The Wren, The Wren, the new novel from Booker Prize-winner Anne Enright, continues her examination of themes around motherhood, family relationships and connection. As we sat down to talk about it, we discussed how it is really a novel about...

  
• 08.31.2023

  Zadie Smith

  From her debut novel 23 years ago, Zadie Smith has held both readers and critics in rapt attention. That debut was of course White Teeth, which went on to become a multi award-winning bestseller, and whilst the novels that have...

  
• 08.25.2023

  Edinburgh International Book Festival

  Anyone who’s had the chance to meet a favourite author at an event knows that it can add something really special to the books you love; and book festivals offer the opportunity to do it again and again. In a...

  
• 07.13.2023

  Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize Shortlist 2023

  The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize returns for its second year and our booksellers have once again identified the most exciting new writing talent out there. We spoke with all six authors about how it feels to hand over that all-important...

  
• 07.04.2023

  Caitlin Moran

  When Caitlin Moran was out promoting her series of books about women and feminism, she would often encounter the same question from audiences at the end of the event: What about Men? At a time when people can claim that...

  
• 06.27.2023

  Lorrie Moore

  Lorrie Moore has continued to delight readers with her short stories but it has been 14 years since her last novel, the Women’s Prize-shortlisted A Gate at the Stairs. Her new novel, I Am Homeless If This Is Not My...

  
• 06.20.2023

  Caroline O'Donoghue

  Caroline O’Donoghue’s new novel for adults, The Rachel Incident, is a love story but just not the one you might be expecting from the book’s premise. Set in the post-economic crash Republic of Ireland of 2009 it sees our eponymous...

  
• 06.13.2023

  Emma Cline

  After her attention-grabbing debut novel, The Girls, Emma Cline has been quietly getting on with the business of writing. A story collection, Daddy, is now followed by a new novel, The Guest, another stylish display of Cline’s considerable skills that...

  
• 05.30.2023

  David Grann

  Stories of seafaring, shipwreck, mutiny and murder have long held a fascination, particularly for dwellers of this island nation and in his latest investigative piece of narrative non-fiction, David Grann has a tale that grips from first page to last....

  
• 05.23.2023

  Claire Dederer

  It’s an old question but one that seems to be asked with increasing frequency in the era of so-called cancel culture: can you separate the art from the artist? After Essayist and memoir-writer Claire Dederer wrote a viral article about...

  
• 05.16.2023

  Rebecca F. Kuang

  There is no stopping Rebecca Kuang. With the Poppy War trilogy already under her belt and the fantastic success of Waterstones Book of the Year nominee Babel, she has reinvented herself once again this year with Yellowface, a literary thriller...

  
• 05.09.2023

  Caleb Azumah Nelson

  Caleb Azumah Nelson made a huge impression with his debut novel Open Water, an emotionally complex novel of love that was also a celebration of black creativity. His new novel, Small Worlds, continues both of those themes, whilst also looking...

  
• 05.02.2023

  Han Kang

  When Han Kang won the International Booker Prize in 2016 the bonus for readers was that there were more of her books ready to be translated into English. Her latest, Greek Lessons, features a woman who has stopped speaking and...

  
• 04.25.2023

  Emily Henry

  Emily Henry had already published four young adult novels before turning 30 but with her fifth, Beach Read, and a switch to writing romantic comedy for adults she found a whole new level of engagement with readers. With huge popularity...

  
• 04.04.2023

  Diana Evans

  In Diana Evans’ previous book we were introduced to the couple Melissa and Michael. That novel, Ordinary People, was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Rathbones Folio Prize, and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. It was also...

  
• 03.28.2023

  Sheena Patel

  In 2022, Sheena Patel published her debut novel I’m A Fan and was chosen as one of the Observer’s Top 10 best debut novelists. In the book, an unnamed narrator tells us about the similarly unnamed ‘woman I am obsessed...

  
• 03.21.2023

  Benjamin Myers

  Benjamin Myers is the kind of writer who has devoted readers. A series of novels over the last 15 years or so, particularly those published by indie imprint Bluemoose, have earned him awards, plaudits, and many dedicated booksellers keen to...

  
• 03.14.2023

  Tiffany McDaniel

  Tiffany McDaniel’s previous novel, Betty, made such a huge impact with booksellers and readers that we were delighted to make it the fiction book of the month back in August 2021. It was brutal read at times, but violence and...

  
• 03.07.2023

  Katherine May

  Together with the disruption caused by the global pandemic and the lockdown periods that accompanied it, many people were left with a sense that things weren’t quite right, though it proved hard to put a finger on exactly what was...

  
• 02.28.2023

  Sebastian Barry

  The novels of Sebastian Barry form an intriguing web of family history and his latest, Old God's Time, follows a retired policeman who is forced to reckon with the past as an old case rears its head. We spoke with...

  
• 02.21.2023

  Peter Frankopan

  Peter Frankopan's epic new history, The Earth Transformed, begins at the very dawn of our planet, 4.5 billion years ago, and shows how climatic changes have shaped nations, notions, religions and empires. We sat down to talk about the science...

  
• 01.31.2023

  Cariad Lloyd, Michael Rosen and Chloe Hooper

  Many people find it difficult to know how to speak with others about death and grieving, especially when the experience of it can be so intensely personal. In an extended conversation we speak with three authors who have shared their...

  
• 01.24.2023

  Tom Rob Smith

  Tom Rob Smith became an international bestselling author with his debut, Child 44, but he's not a writer to rest on his laurels. His new novel, Cold People, is a piece of speculative fiction which sees the human race adapting...

  
• 01.17.2023

  Bret Easton Ellis

  Shooting to stardom with his debut Less Than Zero aged just 21, courting controversy with his bestseller American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis returns with his first novel for 13 years, a fusion of fact and fiction called The Shards. We...

  
• 11.08.2022

  In Real Life with Ian Rankin, Malorie Blackman, Anna James and Geena Davis

  After almost two years where book events had to take place online only, we take a moment to celebrate the return of in-person events with a trip to the Cheltenham Literature Festival and our flagship shop in London Piccadilly. We...