The Waterstones Podcast
Episodes
Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2026
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time ever, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize assembles our shortlisted authors and illustrators for a special interview in which w...
Anthony Beevor
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The legends surrounding the figure of Rasputin are so well-trodden we may think we know the story, but how did a man born as a peasant come to find hi...
George Saunders
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Booker Prize-winner George Saunders takes us back to that space between life and death in his new novel, Vigil, leading to a fruitful conversation abo...
Julian Barnes
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Booker Prize-winner Julian Barnes has a bibliography that would keep a reader happy for many months, even years, but with mention that his latest book...
Gareth Southgate
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From the discipline he learnt from his grandfather and the integrity from his parents, to the lessons learned from everything from inflatable unicorns...
Val McDermid
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing the seasonal series after Michael Morpurgo’s Spring, Val McDermid turns from crime to Winter, with its festivals, rituals and new year dr...
Salman Rushdie
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Salman Rushdie’s return to fiction sees him sharing a collection of stories which look at the questions that await us all at the end of our lives. W...
RF Kuang in conversation with Samantha Shannon
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for what promises to be an unmissable evening with bestselling author R.F. Kuang, as we celebrate the publication of her much-anticipated new ...
Philip Pullman
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
30 years after he introduced the world to Lyra Belacqua, Philip Pullman launched the final volume in his Book of Dust series: The Rose Field. Just ahe...
Malala Yousafzai
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From the moment she began her education at Oxford University, Malala Yousafzai was aware how hard it would be for her to enjoy a normal student experi...
Kathy Burke
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From her childhood in Islington to the red carpet at Cannes, Kathy Burke has always spoken her mind, and that strength and independence of thought is ...
Ian McEwan
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ian McEwan's masterful new novel is a piece of speculative fiction that shows a radically altered UK on the other side of climate catastrophe and glob...
Samantha Shannon
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the arrival of Among the Burning Flowers, the majestic prequel to her classic fantasy, The Priory of the Orange Tree, we sat down with Samanth...
Mick Herron
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2017, we made Slow Horses by Mick Herron our Thriller of the Month in August and a whole host of readers found their new obsession. Now, 15 ye...
A. F. Steadman The Waterstones Interview
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We sat down with the phenomenal A. F. Steadman to discuss all things Skandar, including emergency sandwiches, superfan events and reading for pleasure...
Holly Jackson
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Already the best selling YA thriller writer, thanks to series like A Good Girl's Guide To Murder, Holly Jackson is back with Not Quite Dead Yet, her f...
Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2025 Shortlist Interview
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2025 shortlisted authors are here! Meet Catherine Airey (Confessions), Gurnaik Johal (Saraswati), Niamh Ní Mhaoli...
Terry Deary
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do you do when you've already sold over 36 million copies of your Horrible Histories books? You write the kind of book that you, as a reader, wou...
Ita O'Brien
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Known for her pioneering work as an intimacy co-ordinator on shows such as Normal People and I May Destroy You, Ita O'Brien has distilled her prac...
Frank Cottrell-Boyce
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We sat down with our beloved Waterstones Children's Laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce to discuss the magic of movie sets, the power of Shakespeare, the i...
Ocean Vuong
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing a conversation begun with his first novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, we sat down with Ocean Vuong to discuss his new book, The Emper...
Naga Munchetty
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From dismissal of symptoms to one-size-fits-all surgical solutions, women's healthcare comes under the spotlight in Naga Munchetty's important new boo...
Robert Macfarlane
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Macfarlane's latest book is his most personal and political yet, asking a question which may sound simple, but which forces the reader to look ...
Jack Fairweather
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jack Fairweather brings the same rigour and narrative flair that won him the Costa Book of the Year award for The Volunteer, to his new book, The Pros...
Philippe Sands
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Completing a trilogy of outstanding books that examine the efforts to bring Nazi war criminals to account, Philippe Sands blends memoir, travelogue, d...
Hallie Rubenhold
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hallie Rubenhold helped readers to see the Ripper murders from an entirely new perspective with The Five, which assiduously assembled the lives of his...
Michael Morpurgo
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Spring is Michael Morpurgo’s first non-fiction book for adults in almost 40 years and the book itself is a portrait of waiting for the seasons to ch...
Jessie Burton
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jessie Burton uses her literary skills to enchant and entertain younger readers in her new novel, Hidden Treasure, which is a luminous tale of fortune...
Natasha Brown
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Natasha Brown’s Assembly was a debut that announced the arrival of a fresh new voice in fiction and her latest, Universality, shows her wielding wor...
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When you've waited ten years for a new novel from one of the world's literary luminaries, you want to know as much as you can from the author. We were...
Mark Steel
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Steel brings his trademark humour to his account of cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery but is sure not to pull any punches whilst he’s at...
Kate Mosse
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
2025 is a big year for Kate Mosse. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of her bestselling novel, Labyrinth, and the 30th winner of the prize she helped f...
Andrew O'Hagan
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew O’Hagan’s Caledonian Road was one of 2024’s bestselling novels, with readers delighting in his searing portrayal of privilege punctured i...
Jojo Moyes
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling authorJojo Moyes knows how to create characters and relationships which engage her readers and We All Live Here is no exception. A blended...
Han Kang
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Han Kang accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature at the end of 2024, she spoke about the thread that connects her writing, from a poem she wrote ...
Holly Bourne
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Four university friends now in their thirties are all experiencing their own takes on motherhood in the new novel from Holly Bourne, and a baby shower...
Dr Julie Smith
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After the success of her first book, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? Dr Julie Smith wanted to create a new book, something to turn to when y...
Samantha Harvey
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Shortly after her Booker Prize win, we were delighted to host Samantha Harvey in conversation with Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, Gab...
Hanif Kureishi
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Boxing Day 2022, whilst in Rome, Hanif Kureishi fell after feeling faint. When he awoke, he realised he couldn't move his limbs, and life changed p...
Ali Smith
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After the completion of her seasonal quartet, readers will have been wondering where Ali Smith might take us next and it shouldn't be a surprise that ...
Rick Astley
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From his mega-selling debut, to viral superstardom and a career-renaissance that continues to this day, Rick Astley’s life has always been filed wit...
Stanley Tucci
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes you want a second helping, and so it is with Stanley Tucci. After speaking with him about his memoir Taste, we were delighted to chat again ...
Rob Biddulph
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Since winning the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2015 with his debut picture book, Blown Away, we have been big fans of the work of Rob Biddul...
Alan Hollinghurst
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With a narrative that stretches over seven decades, the new novel from Alan Hollinghurst doesn’t just give us the intimate details of a man’s life...
Kate Summerscale
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Following her bestselling classic, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Kate Summerscale now transports the reader to 1950s Britain and the murders at Ril...
Nigel Slater
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The ability to appreciate even the smallest moments of joy in our busy lives can be the difference between just another day and a truly memorable one....
Joe Lycett
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When you have a world-renowned portraitist like Joe Lycett in the building, you get easels, paints and canvas out and indulge in a bit of dual-portrai...
Ben Macintyre
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Iranian Embassy siege of 1980 was one of those ‘where were you when it happened?’ moments, but beyond the explosive live footage of the SAS as...
David McWilliams
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The sound of change jangling in our pockets may be less familiar in these days of contactless payment, but we all know how important money can feel in...
Bella Mackie
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After creating the irresistible anti-hero Grace in How To Kill Your Family, Bella Mackie returns with more familial dysfunction, more unlikeable chara...
Clare Chambers
27 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Clare Chambers knows how to hook readers, with her previous novel, Small Pleasures, winning The British Book Awards 2022 Pageturner Book of the Year. ...
Bob Mortimer
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After introducing us to legal dogsbody Gary Thorn in The Satsuma Complex, comedian Bob Mortimer returns with its sequel, The Hotel Avocado. We sat dow...
Ferdia Lennon - Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize winner 2024
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ferdia Lennon’s riotously funny debut disarms from the very first page. With a setting of Syracuse in 412 BC but a very modern Irish vernacular, rea...
Chris Whitaker
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Whitaker's previous novel, We Begin At The End, was a multi-award-winning smash with readers, who fell in love with its characters and press...
Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2024 Shortlist
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize is powered by our brilliant booksellers, whose keen eye for the most exciting new talent makes it a thrilling shor...
V. V. Ganeshananthan
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hot from winning the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024, we spoke with V. V. Ganeshananthan about her novel, Brotherless Night, which took over 15 years...
Colm Tóibín
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The concept of following Brooklyn with a sequel took even the author by surprise, but after 15 years the story of Eilis continues in Long Island. We s...
Kaliane Bradley
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Some debuts are so assured and so distinctive that you just have to know more about what went into their creation. Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of...
Sarah Perry
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With a novel that spans twenty years, marked by three celestial events and characters with their feet firmly on the ground, we sat down for a fascinat...
Salman Rushdie
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On 12 Aug 2022, over 30 years after a fatwa had been ordered against him, Salman Rushdie was attacked as he was about to give a public lecture at the ...
David Nicholls
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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, ...
Percival Everett
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
Zeinab Badawi
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Marian Keyes
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rejoice! For Marian Keyes is back with another hilarious novel which follows Anna Walsh's move from New York back to Ireland, leaving expensive be...
Chimene Suleyman
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Stuart Turton
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 fr...
Dr. Charan Ranganath
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
Anna Jones
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Jones has always been a passionate advocate for vibrant, sustainable cooking that places vegetables centre stage. In her latest book, Easy Wins, ...
Gary Stevenson
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Sophie Elmhirst
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Sam Sedgman
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fresh from co-writing the brilliant Adventures on Trains series with M. G. Leonard, Sam Sedgman has created an ingenious new adventure for children th...
Alex Michaelides
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Chris Van Tulleken
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Nina Stibbe
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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, su...
Ed Gamble
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Judi Dench
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Sha...
Patrick Stewart
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Richard Armitage
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Madhur Jaffrey
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Mary Beard
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Adrian Edmondson
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
David Mitchell
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Miriam Margolyes
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The cause of more dropped jaws than almost any other entertainer, Miriam Margolyes shared a lifetime of hilarious incident in her first memoir, This M...
Katherine Rundell
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Former Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-winner Katherine Rundell has turned to fantasy to create her latest fictional world. The Archipelago is a c...
Naomi Klein
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 increa...
Anne Enright
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Wren, The Wren, the new novel from Booker Prize-winner Anne Enright, continues her examination of themes around motherhood, family relationships a...
Zadie Smith
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 o...
Edinburgh International Book Festival
25 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 fe...
Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize Shortlist 2023
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize returns for its second year and our booksellers have once again identified the most exciting new writing talent ou...
Caitlin Moran
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 e...
Lorrie Moore
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Caroline O'Donoghue
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 pre...
Emma Cline
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After her attention-grabbing debut novel, The Girls, Emma Cline has been quietly getting on with the business of writing. A story collection, Daddy, i...
David Grann
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Stories of seafaring, shipwreck, mutiny and murder have long held a fascination, particularly for dwellers of this island nation and in his latest inv...
Claire Dederer
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Rebecca F. Kuang
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 nomine...
Caleb Azumah Nelson
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Han Kang
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Engli...
Emily Henry
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 fo...
Diana Evans
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Diana Evans’ previous book we were introduced to the couple Melissa and Michael. That novel, Ordinary People, was shortlisted for the Women’s P...