The Waterstones Podcast
Episodes
Sheena Patel
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 unn...
Benjamin Myers
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 i...
Tiffany McDaniel
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Katherine May
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Together with the disruption caused by the global pandemic and the lockdown periods that accompanied it, many people were left with a sense that thing...
Sebastian Barry
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 re...
Peter Frankopan
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 change...
Cariad Lloyd, Michael Rosen and Chloe Hooper
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 pers...
Tom Rob Smith
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 P...
Bret Easton Ellis
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shooting to stardom with his debut Less Than Zero aged just 21, courting controversy with his bestseller American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis returns wi...
In Real Life with Ian Rankin, Malorie Blackman, Anna James and Geena Davis
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Women in Art with Katy Hessel and Lizzy Stewart
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When E. H. Gombrich's seminal work of art history, The Story of Art, was first published in 1950 it featured precisely zero female artists. Even today...
Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize Special
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Featuring Bonnie Garmus, Tess Gunty, Louise Kennedy, Sequoia Nagamatsu, Eloghosa Osunde and Tara M. Stringfellow. A unique opportunity to hear all six...
New Histories with Gill Hornby, Sophie Irwin, Karen Joy Fowler & Susan Stokes Chapman.
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good podcast, must be in want of four historical fiction writers ready to...
Talking with Marian Keyes, Candice Carty-Williams, Dr Julie Smith and Nihal Arthanayake
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As we mark Mental Health Awareness Week and its theme of loneliness, we speak with four writers who know the importance of talking about difficult thi...
Consequences with Sam Knight and Jo Browning Wroe
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Consequences brings together two books that seemed to have one thing in common and then turned out to be connected in entirely different ways. Sam Kni...
Responding To The World with Jennifer Egan, Gary Shteyngart, Sequoia Nagamatsu and Ali Smith
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
All books respond to the world we live in but in this fascinating episode we speak to three incredible authors who have all written books which speak ...
Cosy Crime with Janice Hallett, Nita Prose and Reverend Richard Coles
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cosy crime has been popular for over a hundred years now but with a surge in popularity recently we speak to three authors who've all done something s...
How We Made: That Reminds Me with Derek Owusu
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Derek Owusu's debut novel was the first fiction to be published by Stormzy's fledgling imprint #Merky Books and went on to win the Desmond Elliot Priz...
BONUS: Fry's Ties with Stephen Fry
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It was during a lockdown tidying spree that Stephen Fry reacquainted himself with his substantial tie collection. It will come as no surprise that a m...
How We Made: A Brief History Of Seven Killings with Marlon James
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Marlon James became the first Jamaican-born writer to win the Booker Prize in 2015, when his multi-voiced epic, A Brief History of Seven Killings triu...
This Is The Book: We Are Not Like Them
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We Are Not Like Them shows the impact of a police shooting of an unarmed black teenager from a different angle. Two close friends, Jen and Riley, one ...
This Is The Book: The Dust Never Settles
05 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Some debut novelists arrive fully formed and as we’ll discover in this episode, Karina Lickorish Quinn is one such novelist; an Anglo-Peruvian write...
This Is The Book: Empress & Aniya
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes all you need is a one sentence pitch to immediately get excited about a book. And when publisher Knights Of announced earlier this year that...
How We Made: Signs Preceding The End Of The World with Yuri Herrera
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The rich mythology and linguistic skills on display in Yuri Herrera's Signs Preceding The End Of The World had been thought by some to make it untrans...
This Is The Book: Keeping The House
07 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Publisher And Other Stories have spent the last decade bringing bold new voices to English readers and in their anniversary year they continue to brea...
How We Made: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell with Susanna Clarke
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Susanna Clarke's magical vision of an alternate Georgian England arrived it became an instant bestseller but as we discover in this episode, the ...
How We Made: H is for Hawk with Helen Macdonald
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2014 a book with a striking bird on its cover appeared in bookshops but what kind of book was it? Was it a memoir about grief, or a book about trai...
How We Made: Ducks, Newburyport with Lucy Ellman
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Being a small, independent publisher doesn't mean thinking small, and with prize-winning successes already under their belt, Galley Beggar Press took ...
How We Made: A Kind Of Spark with Elle McNicoll
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With perfect timing, our episode telling the inside story of A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll arrives just as we announce that it has been chosen as t...
This Is The Book: Why We Kneel, How We Rise
22 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As a bowler for the West Indies, Michael Holding was well known for his measured run up and devastating fast bowling, an approach he has taken into hi...
This Is The Book: The Other Black Girl
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After a few years working at one of the most established publishers in New York, Zakiya Dalila Harris was inspired to write a novel which would turn i...
This Is The Book: The Vanishing Half
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Vanishing Half, our current Fiction Book of the Month was first published last year, as the impact of lockdown hit us all and, over in America, th...
This Is The Book: Insignificance
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As an independent publisher that consistently punches above its weight, with Booker Prize shortlisting and other notable successes, we speak to Sam Jo...
How We Made: Cloud Atlas with David Mitchell
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The novel that cemented the reputation of David Mitchell as one of the most exciting and innovative writers of his generation is also a masterclass in...
How We Made: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Not many books make a big fanfare about their 42nd anniversary but fans will know why this year is important for Douglas Adams's comic masterpiece. To...
How We Made: Wolf Hall with Hilary Mantel
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The first in a new series that discovers the story behind books which went on to become prize-winners, trail-blazers, or are now seen as modern classi...
This Is The Book: This One Sky Day
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After two critically acclaimed novels it has been a long wait for Leone Ross's third but you know what they say about all good things. Fifteen years i...
This Is The Book: The Last House on Needless Street
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The buzz is real and in this episode we find out why so many people are talking about The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward. We speak wit...
This Is The Book: The Lamplighters
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Based on real events and a novel that has been ten years in the making, The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex is a pitch-perfect mystery that will tempt any...
This Is The Book: We Are All Birds Of Uganda
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Co-winner of the inaugural Merky Books New Writer's Prize, We Are All Birds of Uganda is the debut novel from Hafsa Zayyan. In this episode we find ou...
BONUS: CLANLANDS with Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A bonus episode in which we get to speak to two stars of the hugely popular TV series Outlander, actors Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish. Adapted from ...
42. PUB GRUB with Tom Kerridge
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A pub with two Michelin stars is no ordinary pub and in what has been no ordinary year for the entire hospitality industry we sat down with celebrated...
41. OBLIVION with Rumaan Alam
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes novels come along that seem to show an uncanny prescience for the world we live in. And whilst no one could have quite predicted what 2020 h...
40. CHOICE with Christa Parravani
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Americans go to the polls to chose their next president it's clear the result could have far-reaching repercussions in many areas. For many Am...
39. CARE with Christie Watson and Madeleine Bunting
27 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When the pandemic hit, it was nurses who provided the critical care needed to save lives. And when the waves have passed it will be nurses providing t...
38. JUST KEEP LIVIN' with Matthew McConaughey
20 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Whichever of his many film roles first made an impression on you, you definitely never forget a Matthew McConaughey performance. With his new memoir G...
37. GHOSTS with Dolly Alderton
14 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After sharing her own experiences in the memoir Everything I Know About Love, Dolly Alderton turns to fiction in her new book and explores the perils ...
36. SECRETS with Graham Norton
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With his third novel, Graham Norton is now cementing his place as a writer with a keen sense of community, repression and the power of buried secrets....
35. WORDS with Susie Dent & Eley Williams
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Join us in dictionary corner as we chat to Countdown's Susie Dent about her love of language and her new book, Word Perfect, which shares the stories ...
34. MY STORY with Chanel Miller
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Chanel Miller published her memoir it was the first time that many people discovered that she was Emily Doe, the Stanford sexual assault survivor...
33. PURPOSE with Jay Shetty
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After three years as a monk in India, Jay Shetty set off to bring wisdom to the world using the modern tools of the internet and the ability to make w...
32. RAMBLING with Adam Buxton
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this extended episode we go for a ramble with Adam Buxton, back to an eighties childhood, boarding school, Bowie, Baadad! And also to confront rece...
31. LIFE with Paul Nurse
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It doesn't matter how you fared in biology at school, Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Sir Paul Nurse is here with the perfect book to understand biolog...
30. DIVISION with Elif Shafak
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Even before the turmoil of 2020, the last few years have seen the rise of populist politics, people split into tribes, and the disintegration of const...
29. TRESPASSING with Nick Hayes
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A love of the natural world has always suffused the graphic novels of Nick Hayes but his latest book takes things even further as he trespasses the En...
28. CHILDREN with Nathan Bryon, Dapo Adeola, Sharna Jackson & Liz Hyder
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A celebration of the best new talent in children's writing and illustration, the Waterstones Children's Book Prize has recently announced its winners....
27. EXPECTATIONS with Emma Gannon
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We all grow up with a sense of the expectations our family or, indeed, wider society might have of us: grow up, get a job, buy a house, get married, h...
26. DOING IT RIGHT with Pandora Sykes
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The millennial generation have grown up with more choice available than ever before and the encouragement always to be living your best life. So why, ...
25. OUTRAGE with Dotty Charles
07 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Anyone who has spent any time on social media will have seen how outrage provides the fuel for many a discussion. And despite well-meaning intentions,...
24. GUILTY PLEASURES with Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Daisy Johnson
26 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the recent announcement that Stephanie Meyer’s retelling of the Twilight saga from Edward Cullen’s perspective (Midnight Sun) will finally be...
23. KINDNESS with Rutger Bregman
10 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We have been told for centuries that humans are not much more than brutal animals with a thin veneer of civilisation on top but in his radical new his...
22. APOCALYPSE with Mark O'Connell
10 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Now, it might seem a strange time to be calling a podcast episode Apocalypse but in many ways now is the perfect time to enjoy the insights of Mark O’...
21. TRANSLATION with Walter Iuzzolino and Sam Taylor
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After bringing the best of world TV to UK screens with Walter Presents, Walter Iuzzolino is now doing the same with literature in conjunction with Pus...
20. TOGETHERNESS with Vivek Murthy
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A book about human connection would an essential read at any time but right now it seems vital. Vivek Murthy served as Surgeon General in the US and f...
19. COPING WITH CHANGE with Julia Samuel
08 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As a psychotherapist with over 30 years of experience Julia Samuel knows that change can present moments of crisis and crisis can force moments of ext...
TABLE MANNERS BONUS EPISODE with Jessie Ware & Lennie Ware
31 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A little bonus episode for you, recorded with Jessie Ware and Lennie Ware of Table Manners podcast fame when they came to launch their cookbook at Wat...
18. FEAR, HOPE & ACTION with Jenny Offill, Rosamund Lupton and Julia Ebner
24 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In these uncertain times we bring you a podcast that confronts our fears and anxieties to bring a note of hope and even some ideas about what we can d...
17. MEMORY with Nicci Gerrard, Eimear McBride and Meera Sodha
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Memory gives us the chance to speak to three authors who all approach this theme from completely different directions. Eimear McBride takes us to a se...
16. MOTHERHOOD with Giovanna Fletcher and Maggie O'Farrell
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There is something unique about the bond of motherhood but with social media adding to the pressures already present, how do we keep our expectations ...
15. STORIES with Naomi Ishiguro, Zadie Smith and Julia Armfield
11 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is it that short stories can do that novels cannot? Why does it appeal to some writers and not others? In this episode we embrace the short form ...
14: ADAPTATION with R. J. Palacio, Neil Gaiman and Margaret Atwood
28 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Books have provided the inspiration for countless films, plays, musicals, TV series, and other works of art. In Adaptation we speak to R. J. Palacio a...
13. CHANGES with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, Emily Dean and Claudia Hammond
14 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At the start of a new year, and indeed a new decade, we’re taking the theme of Changes to allow us to talk to Dr Rangan Chatterjee about the simple ...
12. EATING with Jay Rayner, Lara Williams and Michael Palin
03 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Beware: this episode may make you hungry. We’re joined by gourmand Jay Rayner to look back at the life experiences that shaped his taste as he searc...
11. MEETINGS with Malcolm Gladwell, Sally Rooney and Arundhati Roy
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Malcolm Gladwell brings fascinating anecdotes and insight to why humans are so bad at reading each other on first meeting, drawing on events that end ...
10. COMMUNITY with Ann Patchett, Jason Reynolds, Amrou Al-Kadhi and Zing Tsjeng
19 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Author and bookshop owner Ann Patchett joins us to talk about why a bookshop should be at the heart of any community and why book design is more impor...
9. CULTURE with Richard Ayoade, Debbie Harry and Jia Tolentino
11 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Culture comes in many forms and we’ve tried to cram as much as we can into this week’s episode. Richard Ayoade takes us to the movies with his ini...
8. OUTSIDE with Robert Macfarlane, Rebecca Solnit and Shane O'Mara
05 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Macfarlane joins us in the studio to talk about the world outside, the climate emergency and how the landscape has shaped his writing and thoug...
7. HAUNTING with Stephen Chbosky, Andrew Michael Hurley and Jeanette Winterson
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
You don’t start a new podcast season at this time of year without injecting some thrills and chills. Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being A...
6. FAMILY with Jeanette Winterson, A. M. Homes and Emilie Pine
24 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
For our final episode in season one we tackle our nearest (if not dearest). Jeanette Winterson talks about how being adopted has shaped her concept of...
5. SUCCESS with Elizabeth Day, Arundhati Roy and Sarah Perry
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Day, creator of the How To Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast and book joins the team to share failures and to see what their connection is to ...
4. PERFECTION with Charly Cox, Sebastian Faulks and Gabriel Tallent
27 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What do we mean by perfection and is the pursuit of it a pointless exercise? We hear from poet Charly Cox about why just the word alone is enough to i...
3. SEX with Hannah Witton, Caitlin Moran & Candice Carty-Williams
13 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah Witton joins Will and Holly in the studio to talk about Sex. As a sex-positive vlogger on YouTube, author of Doing It and The Hormone Diaries, ...
2. FRIENDSHIP with Angie Thomas, Tash Aw, Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené
30 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Will, Dan and Holly talk about friendship with book recommendations coming straight away from Holly, who loves Expectation by Anna Hope. Dan talks abo...
1. BEGINNINGS with David Nicholls, Michael Palin and Tomi Adeyemi
16 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this first episode we get to meet hosts Will Rycroft, Holly Davies and Dan Bird as they talk with bestselling author and screenwriter David Nicholl...
The Waterstones Podcast Trailer
12 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Waterstones Podcast, a chance to hear authors going beyond the book to talk about the themes and ideas that obsess us all. This is a bo...