Inklings Book Club

Jodie Harsh is a music producer, DJ, and legendary drag artist. In her new memoir, You Had To Be There, she takes us on a journey through London nightlife, explores the venues that hosted iconic parties, and pays homage to those who left early. You Had To Be There is out now in paperback!

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Hello and welcome to a very special mini series here on the Inklings Book Club podcast where we’ll be meeting each of the six shortlisted authors for the Women’s Prize for Fiction! 

The Women’s Prize for Fiction is one of the most successful, influential and popular literary prizes in the world, championing and amplifying women’s voices and nurturing a global community of readers.

The Prize was established in 1996 to highlight and remedy the imbalance in coverage, respect and reverence given to women writers versus their male peers, creating a platform for exception...

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Welcome back to our Women's Prize 2026 spotlight series.

Today we’re joined by Marcia Hutchinson, whose debut novel The Mercy Step is shortlisted for this year’s Women’s Prize and just won the Discovery Prize at the British Book Awards! Following the life of a child from the womb to age eleven, Marcia Hutchinson crafts a sharply-witted and tender portrait of a young girl’s quiet rebellion in 1960s Bradford.

Marcia also founded Primary Colours, a multicultural educational publishing and training company based in Huddersfield, who helped create resources on cultural education, for example celebrat...

Welcome to our special Inklings Book Club series spotlighting each of the Women's Prize for Fiction shortlisted authors. First up, we’re meeting Rozie Kelly, author of Kingfisher. This is her debut novel, about an academic married to a man who becomes infatuated with a female poet. Kelly finds beauty in the messiness of being human in this meditation on grief, power, desire, our search for identity, how we love and the consequences when we fall short.

Rozie Kelly was shortlisted for the PFD Queer Fiction Prize 2023 and was one of the eight participants in the inaugural Pr...

Today we’re joined by Anders Lustgarten whose new book Kill Billionaire follows a wise beyond her years 14 year old girl from rural Australia called Kayla, who starts taking down billionaires. I was so intrigued to ask Anders about crafting this character, and his outlook on the world.

He is a talented playwright – with 12 original plays under his belt. Now he’s turning his pen to novel writing – and he’s here to tell us all about it. 

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Greg James has been a presenter for BBC Radio 1 since 2007 where he now host the coveted breakfast show. He is also a children’s author, known for the Kid Normal series he writes with Chris Smith, and now his memoir is here. It’s called All The Best For The Future, and it’s a meditation on life and all its trimmings.

My first ever job was at a plastic factory, and when I worked there I used to always listen to Radio 1 and my favourite radio DJ, Greg James. Listening to how he hosted his show made m...

This month we have been reading Nova Scotia House by Charlie Porter. I totally fell in love with this book which follows a gay couple called Johnny and Jerry in the 90s, as Jerry lives his final days. He is a victim of the AIDS crisis, and this book is both a celebration of his life. We continue to follow Johnny in the present day after Jerry has passed, with a few appearances from Gareth, Jerry’s best friend. We see what Jerry’s life could have been like if he had survived, like Gareth, and what his life coul...

Today we’re joined by poet, lecturer, and literary critic Seán Hewitt. Seán is the author of three original poetry collections, a memoir, and several curations of other poets’ work, from wood engravings to tales of love from the ancient world. His debut novel, Open, Heaven, was published last year and I utterly adored it. A man returns to the small village in which he first fell in love, which summons up memories of the charismatic and impulsive Luke. There’s gorgeous nature writing, and plenty of yearning, but also that perfect literary alchemy that happens when a poet w...

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Benjamin Wood is the author of five novels, the first of which – called The Bellwether Revivals, was shortlisted for the 2012 Costa Book Awards and Commonwealth Book Prize. His fifth novel, Seascraper, won the Nero Book Award for fiction and was longlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Walter Scott Prize.

Seascraper is a portal to the seaside where we follow a young man called Thomas who works a pretty archaic job as a seascraper, which his family rely on him to do. He dreams, however, of becoming a folk singer, and longs to perform at his lo...

Hello and welcome back to the Inklings Book Club podcast and our March book of the month!!! This month we read Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar, and I’ve loved reading all of your insights on the Fable app. You sent in thoughtful, astute, and perceptive questions, and today I had the privilege of posing them to Kaveh Akbar, the author of Martyr!

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Rachel Khong started out as the executive editor of Lucky Peach Magazine, before turning her eye to novel writing. Her debut, Goodbye, Vitamin, was released in 2017 and won the California Book Award for First Fiction. Her second novel, Real Americans, became an instant New York Times bestseller, following three generations of a family, spanning 80 years. It explores themes of Chinese-American identity, genetic engineering, inheritance, and the way that our heritage shapes our lives. 

Today we’ll mostly be discussing her new short story collection, My Dear You, which uses supernatural elements to explore human concerns around race, des...

Today we’re joined by the incredibly talented novelist Julia Armfield. Julia wrote one of my favourite books ever, called Our Wives Under The Sea. It’s about a woman who returns from a disastrous deep-sea dive, and her wife who is now looking after someone she barely recognises. It’s so lyrical and beautiful, she is such a talent. We met to discuss her debut, as well as her newest release Private Rites, a similarly wet novel. In Private Rites, the world is drowning after so much rain. Three sisters are navigating love and loss in this new realit...

Today we have a very special episode where we’ll be talking about Enid Blyton’s classic series of children’s books The Faraway Tree, co-hosted by Ruby Granger! Ruby will be chatting with Claire Foy, Nicola Coughlan, Phoenix Laroche, Billie Gadsdon, Delilah Bennett Cardy, Simon Farnaby, and Ben Gregor.

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Andy Weir is the king of sci-fi. His first novel The Martian follows Mark Watney, an astronaut mistakenly presumed dead and abandoned on Mars by his crew during a dust storm. Stranded with limited supplies, he uses his botany and engineering skills to survive while NASA figures out how to rescue him. His next novel was Artemis, following a woman living in the first city on the Moon. Then came Project Hail Mary.

We follow science teacher Ryland Grace as he wakes up on a spaceship with no recollection of who he is or how he got...

If you know me you will know how much I adore the novel Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. We follow science teacher Ryland Grace as he wakes up on a spaceship with no recollection of who he is or how we got there. As his memory slowly returns, he discovers he is the last surviving person on a mission into space to understand a substance called astrophage. Astrophage is causing the sun to die out, and scientists have discovered a distant planet that might hold the key to destroying it. Ryland Grace has to use his scientific training...

Today we’re talking to one of the greatest living writers, George Saunders. He is the author of 12 books, including Tenth of December, Pastoralia, Swimming in a Pond in the Rain, and Lincoln in the Bardo which won the the Booker Prize. Three of his books were included in the New York Times’ top 100 books of the 21st century so far, and his work is noted for its humanity and unique, often experimental narrative style. He’s the king of short stories and has one of the best selling pages on Substack.

His newest release, Vigil, is about...

Today we’re talking to poet and novelist Aria Aber. Aria is an Afghan-German poet, novelist and educator. Her poetry collection Hard Damage won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize and Whiting Award. Her debut novel, Good Girl, was shortlisted for the 2025 Women’s Prize. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Yale Review, and Granta. Good Girl is my favourite book I’ve read so far in 2026, I absolutely loved it.

We follow a girl, Nila, who is immersed in the Berlin clubbing scene, grappling with her Aghan identity in the wake of increasing xenophobia toward...

Well, it’s safe to say the whole world is talking about Wuthering Heights. Hello and welcome back to the Inklings Book Club where this month we are reading Emily Brontë’s gothic classic, just in time for the release of Emerald Fennell’s adaptation. And so… who better to speak to than Emerald herself? I caught up with Emerald to chat all things Wuthering Heights, as well as her favourite books and poems.

Emerald Fennell is an actress, filmmaker and writer. In 2021, Promising Young Woman won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay – one of three nominations the film re...

When I asked Inklings members what book we should read for February, you guys voted overwhelmingly for Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontè’s gothic masterpiece. Set amongst the backdrop of the sprawling Yorkshire Moors, in the first part of the novel Bronte details the all consuming, toxic, passionate, obsessive, and destructive relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. Heathcliff is a real enigma and a social outcast – he is adopted from Liverpool and brought up alongside Cathy. But, when Catherine chooses a wealthier man to marry – Edgar Linton – Heathcliff embarks on a bitter quest for vengeance. The second part of the novel det...

I always say the best celebrity memoir I’ve ever read is I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy -- it’s so open and vulnerable and honest and raw, but it’s also beautifully written. She details what it was like to grow up as a child star, especially when a parent is putting an immense amount of pressure on you. Not just to be a breadwinner, but to look a certain way, behave in a certain way, and nothing is enough for them.

The memoir went on to be crowned winner of the 2023 American...

One of the most enduring, perennial and important plays ever written, and Shakespeare’s longest, Hamlet tells the story of a man torn by internal conflict after his uncle murders his father, the king of Denmark, and marries his mother, the queen. Many actors have dreamed of taking on this role, and Riz Ahmed is the latest to do so in his new adaptation of Hamlet in cinemas now. Riz Ahmed is an Oscar-nominated British-Pakistani actor, who you’ll know from Sound of Metal, Rogue One, Nightcrawler, and The Night Of. This adaptation is refracted through a South Asian lens...

Today I’m joined by Jente Posthuma whose novel What I’d Rather Not Think About was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2024. Ironically, is something I ALWAYS THINK ABOUT!!! The novel is fertile ground for rumination and thought-provoking conversation. It’s told in a series of vignettes, as a woman contemplates the suicide of her twin brother. It’s a deeply felt meditation on grief, translated into English from the original Dutch by Sarah Timmer Harvey

I wanted to ask Jente about the process of crafting this gorgeous little book, and I hope you enjoy this con...

Today I’m excited to be sharing an interview with one of my favourite short story writers, Bora Chung. Bora is a South Korean writer, as well as a translator. She has a pHD in Slavic literature. I first encountered her work when her short story collection Cursed Bunny was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022, translated from the original Korean into English by Anton Hur – straight out of the gate, from the opening line, it’s unlike anything else I’ve ever read. The first line is “She was about to flush the toilet” – and you’ll hear Bora explai...

A debut novel being shortlisted for The Booker Prize and WINNING the Women's Prize -- yeah, it doesn't get much bigger than that. Yael Van Der Wouden's The Safekeep totally floored me. It considers ownership, property, lust, yearning, repression, and the echoes of war that richochet long after the final bullet is fired. It’s historical fiction set in 1961, and writes hatred and love with the same passion and intensity. This was one of my favourite conversations I’ve had for the podcast, and I’m so happy to be sharing it with you today. I asked Yael a tonne...

Caroline O'Donoghue is a New York Times bestselling author and podcaster. Her podcast Sentimental Garbage has been streamed 12 million times. Her book The Rachel Incident has sold over 250,000 copies and is currently being adapted for the screen. Meanwhile, her young adult debut was All Our Hidden Gifts which became a much loved trilogy. Today we’re also going to be discussing her new book, the first in a duology, titled Skipshock! We discussed Irish literature, being described as Sally Rooney-esque, and the difference between YA and adult fiction.

Thanks to Hay Festival for hosting us :)

Tom Blyth (The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) and Emily Bader (My Lady Jane) star in the first of Emily Henry's book-to-screen adaptations, People We Meet On Vacation. Here, they talk about their characters, Alex and Poppy, as well as their taste in books!!

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Emily Henry is the queen of romance, author of novels like Beach Read, Happy Place, Book Lovers, and Funny Story. I sat down with her to discuss People We Meet On Vacation, her first book to be adapted for the screen, alongside director Bret Haley.

With tremendous thanks to Marc Uddo for helping me clean up the audio!

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Harlan Coben is the number-one bestsellling author of 35 novels, translated into 46 different languages. Specifically, he's sold over 90 MILLION copies, and 12 of his stories have been adapted for the screen by Netflix. The newest adaptation is Run Away, starring James Norton and Ruth Jones, which follows a family trying to find their daughter Paige. I wanted to ask Harlan about finding that perfect formula that has made him the king of the thriller.

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It's the day after Christmas, and you might be wondering How To Kill Your Family...

Author of How to Kill Your Family, Bella Mackie, has done it again. She's back with her sophomore novel What A Way To Go and discusses it here, on launch day, with Jack.

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I'm so thrilled to introduce a hero of mine to the Inklings Book Club: Rick Riordan. Author of over 40 books, including the iconic Percy Jackson series, Rick is infatuated with mythology. From Norse to Egyptian myths, he's brought characters of legends to life and introduced them to a whole new audience. Firstly, I had to just say: thank you.

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In 2016, David Szalay's novel All That Man Is was nominated for the biggest prize in books, The Booker Prize. Then, in 2025, he was shortlisted for his newest offering, Flesh, and won the whole thing!! It's well-documented that Flesh was my personal winner this year, and I was elated to see it propser.

Flesh tells the story of István, a Hungarian immigrant working for a wealthy English family as a chauffeur. In a way, István is the chauffeur of the novel too, silently driving us forward -- however, all we see is his side profile, his ou...

Sorry for the lisp this mic seemed to give my audio guys.

This is Saba Sams’ debut novel, all about the sticky stuff, the scum and the scuzz. It’s about the things we’d usually scrub away – instead of glossing over it, we linger there and embrace the mess.

Set in Brighton, we follow an unconventional family dynamic – two young divorcees, Jules and Leon, and the girl, Nim, who gives them her baby,

I interviewed Saba at The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Book Festival, as part of their Voicebox programming, which provides i...

Our December book of the month is... HAMNET!

Maggie O'Farrell's novel Hamnet won the Women’s Prize in 2020 – an apt year to be awarded, given that it is, in part about a plague. While our own plague, COVID-19 locked us all in our houses, many of us found solace in this beautiful novel. O'Farrell took us back a few centuries to Stratford Upon Avon where Shakespeare's family resided. But this book isn't about Shakespeare -- in fact he's never mentioned by name -- instead, t’s about the playwright's wife Agnes and children Hamnet and Judith. I sat do...

As soon as I started a book club, I knew we’d have to read Hamnet at some point. Hamnet is a fictional imagination of the life of Anne Hathaway -- here called Agnes because that’s what her family called her -- as well as her children. It’s about the family of William Shakespeare, but in the book he is never called by name. Instead, the spotlight is shifted to his family who are so often a mere footnote in his biography. Here, they are the focal point. Unfortunately his son Hamnet tragically died aged just eleven and, w...

Dustin Thao's first novel broke the internet. You've Reached Sam was a BookTok sensation, selling over 1 MILLION copies. Now, he's back with a companion piece called You've Found Oliver, as well as a standalone queer romance novel When Haru Was Here. He joined us during his UK book tour to speak about his timeline-bending novels, the YA genre, and the inspiration behind his work.

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It's getting to that time of year where we start to think about what our favourite book of the year is going to be… and I think I know mine. This is Rejection by Tony Tulathimmute – it’s a collection of interconnected stories with the overarching theme of rejection, and I think it’s one of the most well-constructed and thoughtful satires I’ve ever read. I can’t recommend it enough, it feels like the perfect analysis of the “loneliness epidemic” and the way that rejection manifests in our romantic lives, professional lives, and creative lives. I loved this conversatio...