Bookshelfie: Women’s Prize Podcast

Chart-topping music artist Maisie Peters discusses her first love - books - and how they have shaped her songwriting, including the most important love story she’s ever known, Twilight’s Bella and Edward.

Maisie is an award-winning singer-songwriter, whose albums The Good Witch and latest release Florescence both reached No 1 in the UK charts. Starting as a teenage busker in Brighton, she released her debut studio album, You Signed Up For This, in 2021 which catalogued the highs and lows of early adult life. Maisie made her debut at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry in June, and will b...

In this deeply personal conversation, comedian and writer Meera Syal discusses how seeing herself in books helped her make sense of her own experience, the weight of intergenerational trauma and how humour saved her life. 

Meera is one Britain’s best-loved comedy legends. She grew up in the small mining village of Essington in Staffordshire, where her Indian Punjabi parents settled after moving from New Delhi. Her early life there, as the only Asian family, later served as inspiration for her semi-autobiographical novel, Anita and Me, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 1997. Meera gai...

Artist and performer anaiis explains how books influence her songwriting, the impact motherhood has had on her creative practice and why bell hooks has reframed her understanding of love. 

Born in Toulouse, France, anaiis grew up on the move. She was raised between Dakar, Dublin, and California, eventually settling in London where she lives now. Influenced by the work of Black thinkers and artists like Ella Fitzgerald, James Baldwin, bell hooks, Alice Walker and more, anaiis makes lush, genre-fluid music that explores themes like belonging, connection and motherhood. In 2018 she released her debut single, ‘Nina’, and since then...

Yellowface author Rebecca F. Kuang joins Vick in the Bookshelfie studio to discuss her five favourite books by women, why Sylvia Plath’s diaries made her rethink female jealousy, and how losing her grandfather served as inspiration for her latest novel, Taipei Story. 

A trailblazing talent whose literary career has unfolded at an extraordinary pace, Rebecca is the #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of Katabasis, Babel and global phenomenon Yellowface. She has won multiple awards including Fiction Book of the Year at the British Book Awards – twice! A Marshall Scholar, she has a masters in Ch...

A double bill for Toni Morrison in bestselling author Tayari Jones’ book picks – she explains why she’s her favourite author;  the need for deep, ferocious crying when reading; and her unexpected guilty pleasure – a good old murder mystery.

Tayari is the internationally bestselling author of five novels, including An American Marriage, which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2019. It was also an Oprah’s Book Club selection, was included on Barack Obama’s summer reading list and has been published in two dozen countries, selling over 350,000 copies in the UK alone.

Tayari was born and li...

In this funny and uplifting conversation, novelist and screenwriter Maria Semple discusses her desire to re-write women in fiction, why she feels “naked” when writing books and her fascination with stoicism.

Maria used to work in television, producing and writing for sitcoms and comedy specials such as Arrested Development, The George Carlin Show and Mad About You, which earned her a Primetime Emmy nomination. Maria’s novels – Today Will Be Different, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and This One Is Mine – have been translated into forty languages, and Where'd You Go, Bernadette has sold over 200 thousand copies in the UK alo...

Bestselling author Lousie O’Neill explains why she decided to set up daily dates around the world, how it inspired her new memoir and her journey to acceptance around addiction.

*Listener/viewer  note  - this episode contains reference to eating disorders and disordered eating*

Louise grew up in Clonakilty in the heart of the rugged coastline of West Cork in Ireland. After stepping away from a career in the fashion industry, she returned home to dedicate her time to writing her first novel, Only Ever Yours, a dystopian feminist story which went on to win The...

Diana Reid, the writer behind the new Sense and Sensibility adaption, explains to Vick how re-reading Austen taught her something unexpected and why she still cringes at the thought of herself as a writer. 

Diana is a screenwriter and the bestselling author of the novels Love & Virtue, Seeing Other People, and Signs of Damage. Her debut Love & Virtue won several prizes including the ABIA Book of the Year Award. She was also named Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian Novelist in 2022. Most recently, she’s written a new film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility for Worki...

In a first for Bookshelfie, Vick is brought to tears by bestselling author Katherine Rundell’s rousing speech on the importance of teaching children courage and not breaking faith with the beauty and love of the world.

Katherine’s novels for children have won the Waterstones Book of the Year, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Costa Children’s Book Award, among many others. In 2024, she was named the British Book Awards Author of the Year, and Impossible Creatures won the Children’s Fiction Book of the Year. She is a Fellow of St Catherine’s College, O...

Recorded Live at Women’s Prize Live, global bestselling writer Kathryn Stockett talks to Vick about the enduring allure of Mississippi, the book that gave her  “electricity in my ass” and her long awaited second novel, 17 years in the making, The Calamity Club.

Kathryn  was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama, she moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing for nine years. Her first novel, The Help, which was first published in the US back in 2009 has sold over 1 million copies in the UK and 15 m...

Live from Baileys HQ, Ashley James joins Vick Hope to discuss how motherhood transformed her perspective, the realities of class in modern Britain, and the rise of the “trad-wife” movement.

Ashley is a broadcaster, author, DJ and advocate who first appeared on our screens in the early days of Made in Chelsea back in 2012, and has since gone on to be a feminist campaigner and social commentator. Her debut book BIMBO was published earlier this year. A Number 1 Sunday Times bestseller, BIMBO has been described as a rallying cry for every woman who’s ever felt ‘too much’ or...

The UK’s bestselling poet, Donna Ashworth, joins Vick to discuss why ‘Instapoetry’ should not be dismissed, finding herself in the words of Sylvia Plath and the power of a midlife muse. 

Donna started her social media accounts in 2018 in a bid to create a 'safe' space for women to come together and connect, but her love of all things wordy quickly became the focus, and a past love for poetry was reignited. Over 10 books and nearly 2 million followers later, Donna has made it her daily mission to shower the world with words and bring poetry back into fo...

Award-winning poet, playwright, and novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave makes a confession about her book “borrowing”, and explains why a 50 year old book about photography should be mandatory reading for young people before they join social media. 

Kiran’s first novel for adults, The Mercies, became an instant Sunday Times bestseller. It won a Betty Trask Award, was longlisted for the Jhalak Prize and was named among the New York Times 100 Most Notable Books of 2020. Her bestselling works for children include The Girl of Ink & Stars. Her new book, Almost Life, a queer love story that spans decades, is out...

Skins and Game of Thrones star Hannah Murray talks about the journey to writing her new memoir, early acting fame and why a love story with a merman had her spellbound to the end.

Hannah worked as an actor for over a decade, cast as Cassie in E4’s Skins at the tender age of 16, and later as Gilly in HBO’s Game of Thrones, alongside numerous other roles for theatre, TV and film. During her early acting career, Hannah studied English at Cambridge University and later Creative Writing at UEA, and is about to release her firs...

Pioneering businesswoman Emma Grede defends the work-life balance honesty which has ignited recent online debates, and shares her passion for getting more women talking about money and power. 

Emma is the Co-Founder and CEO of Good American, a B-Corp certified brand setting new standards for inclusivity in fashion, and a Founding Partner of SKIMS, now valued at $4 billion and recognised as one of the world’s most influential apparel brands. She also serves as Chairwoman of The Fifteen Percent Pledge, leading real systemic change to support Black-owned businesses. She’s the first female judge of colour on ABC’s...

Holly Jackson – aka the “Taylor Swift of books” – tells Vick about how she laughs at her bad reviews, her love of funny books about murder and what fans can expect from the second series of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Holly is a superstar of crime fiction. She has sold over 10 million copies of her books worldwide, with translations in 45 different languages, a loyal following and a highly engaged global fanbase. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder has spent over three years on the New York Times bestseller list and the series is now a major BBC...

Chef, broadcaster, and food and travel writer, Romy Gill, tells Vick about her experience as a first generation immigrant to the UK, the food that punctuated the 24 hour train journeys of her childhood, and how Nigella Lawson’s cookbooks inspired her own writing.

Born in West Bengal, India, Romy first learned to cook from her mother – famous for her aloo parathas and using every unloved scrap of plants and vegetables long before zero-waste became a trend. Romy moved to the UK in 1993, and began her cooking career hosting dinner parties and running cookery classes before opening her own...

South African broadcaster, author, world-champion dancer and star of Strictly, Oti Mabuse tells Vick about her love of spicy romance novels, her rejection of tokenism and why she loves audiobooks. 

Oti captured the hearts of the British public on Strictly Come Dancing, and is the only dancer to have won the show twice in a row - in 2019 and 2020. She’s presented and judged on a whole host of prime-time TV shows, including entertaining young children during lockdown with her CBeebies show Boogie Beebies, and her children’s book series Dance with Oti which celebrates dance and expre...

Award-winning football presenter and broadcaster Kelly Cates talks about finding new opportunities in midlife, her love for the way Marian Keyes captures female conversation and why deep down she is a terrible gossip. 

Kelly has been a familiar and much-loved face in sports broadcasting for over 27 years, covering everything from the Premier League to the World Cup and the Olympics. Known for her warmth, wit and sharp insight, she has become one of the most respected voices in football. A lifelong Liverpool fan, Kelly grew up in Southport as the daughter of football legend Kenny Dalglish, before g...

Bestselling crime writer Karin Slaughter reveals the gruesome storytelling culture she grew up in and why she thinks Wuthering Heights’ Cathy is “kind of a whiny bitch”. 

Karin is one of the world’s most well-known and popular crime writers. Since publishing her debut novel, Blindsighted, in 2001, she has gone on to sell more than 40 million copies of her books internationally, including the hugely popular Grant County and Will Trent series. Karin is known for reaching beyond simple formulas of suspense and satisfying resolution. Instead she chooses to explore the darker side of humanity, criminal psychology and the syste...

Engineer, author and broadcaster Roma Agrawal talks to Vick about reclaiming her body after childbirth, centring the knowledge of non-western cultures and why engineering is more creative than you think. 

Roma is best known for working on the design of The Shard, Western Europe’s tallest tower, and is a judge for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, sponsored by Findmypast. She has given talks to tens of thousands at universities, schools and organisations around the world, including TEDx, and presented numerous TV, radio and podcast shows for the BBC, Channel 4 and Discovery. Her first book, Built, won m...

Fresh from her recent Traitors appearance, author and former barrister Harriet Tyce talks to Vick about the brilliance of female crime writers, her biggest literary crush and THAT moment with Rachel in the confessional at the Traitors castle.

Harriet left behind a career in criminal law to complete a Masters in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. In 2019, she published her debut novel Blood Orange, which follows attorney Alison as she defends a woman accused of murder and jeopardises her own picture-perfect life in the process. Harriet followed this with three other standalone crime thrillers...

To kick off a new season of Bookshelfie, author, model, entrepreneur and women’s rights activist Charli Howard talks to Vick about finding confidence in your 30s, dating disasters and the therapeutic process of writing her latest book.

Charli’s coming-of-age memoir, Misfit, was published in 2019, which followed her rise in the modelling industry, her battle against body shaming and the normalisation of size zero. She’s also the author of children’s novel, Splash, which Jacqueline Wilson called a ‘much needed book that will strike a chord with so many girls – and help them dare to be different...

Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem talks to Vick about pushing back against the male gaze, the healing power of her art and how to carry on as a female music artist in your 40s. 

Rebecca is one of the UK’s most exciting breakout musical stars of the past decade. Performing as Self Esteem, she rose from cult favourite to mainstream hero following the huge success of her empowering, truth-telling 2021 single, I Do This All The Time. Her trademark lyricism and razor-sharp wit led to a Mercury Prize nomination for her second solo album, Prioritise Pleasure, and was...

Comedian, actor and improviser Rachel Parris discusses why people can be so wrong about Jane Austen, the knotty complexities of female friendship and her love for crime fiction. 

Rachel is officially a member of the British comedy elite – she has appeared on Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News For You, and Mock the Week, and was BAFTA-nominated for her satirical sketches on BBC's The Mash Report, which have garnered over 100 million views online. She’s a regular on BBC Radio 4 where she can be heard on Just A Minute, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and, forme...

Broadcasting legend Clare Balding tells us why the Celebrity Traitors’ castle was the perfect place to finish writing her latest book, how the author of a ‘bonkbuster’ that was banned from her school became the person who got Clare into novel-writing, and the animals and women in literature who have captured her imagination.

Clare grew up in the countryside surrounded by horses and dogs, reading everything from Jilly Cooper to Henry James. A keen rider, she competed as an amateur flat jockey during her teenage years, winning Champion Lady Rider in 1990. She is now one of Britain’s leading...

Irish broadcaster, podcaster and author Angela Scanlon discusses why Marian Keyes was so inspirational to her, how an unexpected honeymoon reading choice had her bawling, and why choosing not to get your nails done is a radical act. 

Angela is best known for hosting shows on the BBC and RTÉ as well as her weekend breakfast show on Virgin Radio. Her first major documentary, Oi Ginger! aired in 2014, trending worldwide and showcasing her ability to dig deep into a subject matter. The success of the show led to a follow-up series, Angela Scanlon: Full Frontal, where she tackled ta...

Radio 1 DJ Sian Eleri discusses her love for Welsh language writing, the power of a creative vocabulary and why home is such a complicated subject. 

Sian is one of the biggest music tastemakers at BBC Radio 1 and shares her love for music across three shows at the station – Future Artists, Power Down Playlist and Chillest Show – as well as hosting a weekly show for Selector Radio, a global station celebrating British music. Named Music Week’s Rising Star in 2021, Sian has judged some of the UK’s biggest music prizes, including the AIM Independent Music Awards, the Youth Music Awa...

Award-winning author Lily King joins us from the road during her book tour to explore how women finding themselves and love are such big topics in her favourite books. Plus, she tells us the novels she returns to over and over again for comfort; and why Virginia Woolf has been such an important writer in her life.

Lily has written six novels which have been published in 28 languages. Her 2020 novel, Writers & Lovers, won the New England Society Book Awards, was a New York Times Notable Book and was chosen as a top-ten best book of 2020 by The Washington...

Multi-exit entrepreneur, investor and one of the UK’s most influential business figures, Debbie Wosskow OBE discusses the gender pay gap in writing, her fearlessness in asking men for money, and why the Women’s Prize Trust is so important.

Debbie is best known for founding the home-swapping platform Love Home Swap and co-founding the women’s network AllBright. She has built and scaled multiple successful businesses, advised the UK government on the sharing economy and now co-chairs the Invest in Women Taskforce, driving hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into female-led companies. 

A former board m...

Presenter and author Alice Loxton discusses how fiction can help us understand the past – particularly when it comes to women’s stories; finding humour in classic literature; and her companionship with figures from history.

Alice is passionate about bringing history to mainstream, younger audiences, and she has over three million followers on social media, where her videos educate on British history, heritage and art. She has worked with many organisations including 10 Downing Street, The Royal Academy, English Heritage, The National Gallery, Tate, BBC, ITV, and Microsoft, and she writes about history for publications including The Times, Telegraph and Spec...

Presenter, DJ and radio host Kemi Rodgers is excited to head back to the jungle for the new series of I’m A Celebrity and shares what books she’ll be packing for the journey.

Kemi is best known for her work on Capital Radio and as a co-host for I'm a Celebrity: Unpacked on ITV2 alongside Joel Dommett. Kemi’s love for music extends beyond radio – her expertise led her to produce a documentary for Warner Music, and she’s a familiar face at festivals and events, where she frequently DJs. She often hosts art events and shares her...

Chair of Judges for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, Baroness Thangam Debbonaire explains why the prize is so important; the enduring importance of democracy for women worldwide; and her formative years working in a communist bookshop. 

Thangam is a Labour Member of the House of Lords, where her key interests include arts policy, international cultural partnerships and diplomacy, copyright and AI. A former Labour MP, she served as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from September 2023 until May 2024. Before parliament, Thangam worked for 25 years on the protection from - and prevention of - violence aga...

Actor Nikki Amuka-Bird discusses her awe for Zadie Smith, the need for humour in books about difficult conversations and her relationship with playing “mean” characters. 


Nikki is an actor whose career spans across film, television, and stage. She was born in Nigeria and grew up in Antigua before moving to the UK to attend boarding school. She studied at LAMDA – the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art – and quickly fell in love with the craft, before beginning what would become a stellar stage career with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Nikki has starred in a number of critic...

Columnist and writer Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett talks to Vick about motherhood, neurodivergence  and her love for quiet books which look at interior lives.

Rhiannon is best known as a writer and columnist for The Guardian, co-founder of the feminist satire blog The Vagenda (later a book) and as a writer for Vogue, Elle and the Independent.  She’s also the author of multiple books. Her debut novel, The Tyranny of Lost Things, is a beautiful coming of age story that deals with trauma and memory, set against the backdrop of the 2011 London riots. Her critically acclaimed memoir, The Year...

Feminist campaigner and founder of Sex Ed Matters, Laura Coryton discusses the power of sisterhood, the books which have inspired her campaigning and why sex education in schools still needs to evolve.

In 2014, Laura led the petition ‘Stop Taxing Periods’ to end tampon tax, which gained over 300,000 signatures and support from major political figures including Barack Obama. The campaign successfully lobbied the government to abolish the tax in 2021, before which they established the ‘Tampon Tax Fund’, through which almost £100 million pounds was donated to female-focused charities. Laura is an Obama Foundation European Leader and stood in the 2024 parliamentary election...

Body positivity influencer and feminist writer Megan Jayne Crabbe discusses female hunger, moving beyond the ‘male saviour’ narrative and learning to accept her race, sexuality and place in the body positivity movement. 

Megan is best known for changing the narrative of how women feel about their bodies. She’s amassed over 1.3 million followers on social media, and has built her platform by creating empowering content on the topics of body positivity, mental health, feminism and beyond. She is also a seasoned presenter and podcast host, working with major broadcasters like the BBC, Universal Studios, Channel 4, The Brits and MTV, wh...

Queen of Irish comedy Joanne McNally kicks off the second instalment of Bookshelfie series eight talking about her love for Bridget Jones, and why she’s drawn to stories about break-ups and revenge.

Joanne is known for her sharp wit and self-deprecating humour, and her hotly-anticipated new show Pinotphile, which is selling out venues across the UK and Ireland, tackles everything from dating disasters to the wild journey of being single in her 40s. She’s also a primetime TV regular and one of podcasting’s best loved names, co-hosting the award-winning My Therapist Ghosted Me alongside her best f...

Accomplished writer and this year’s Chair of Judges for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction Kit de Waal talks to Vick about her memoir, the value of audiobooks and why we need to see more writing about women in mid life. 

Kit de Waal has written novels for adults and young adults, short stories and her memoir Without Warning and Only Sometimes was published in 2022. Her debut novel My Name is Leon was an international bestseller; in 2022 it was adapted for television by the BBC and it is now on the GCSE curriculum. She is founder of the T...

Historian and award-winning biographer Anne Sebba talks about her incredible career interviewing everyone from Elizabeth Taylor to the Duchess of Windsor and the process of writing her newest book: The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz: A Story of Survival.

Anne Sebba began her career as a Reuters correspondent based in London and Rome. She has written eleven works of non-fiction, mostly about iconic 20th century women, translated into a variety of languages. Anne makes regular television and radio appearances and has presented two BBC radio documentaries about musicians. She is the author of the international bestseller That Woman, an...