Episodes

  • Ocean Vuong: The Emperor of Gladness

    Ocean Vuong: The Emperor of Gladness
    Jul 20 2026
    Hello and welcome back to the Inklings Book Club podcast – this month our book club picks as The Emperor of Gladness and today we’re joined by the inimitable Ocean Vuong. Ocean is one of my favourite writers. His debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous won the American Book Award, The Mark Twain Award, and The New England Book Award, and has sold more than two million copies. He was the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius" Grant. His books of poems include Time is a Mother, a finalist for the Griffin prize, and Night Sky with Exit Wounds, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize, the Whiting Award, and the Thom Gunn Award. Today he joins us to talk about his newest novel Emperor of Gladness, which we recorded live in London at the Emmanuel Centre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Douglas Stuart: John of John

    Douglas Stuart: John of John
    Jul 17 2026
    Doglas Stuart is the author of Young Mungo and the Booker-winning Shuggie Bain. Now, he's back with the captivating John of John. This episode was recorded live at Union Chapel in collaboration with Intelligence Squared so it is audio-only. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Jodie Harsh: You Had To Be There

    Jodie Harsh: You Had To Be There
    Jul 11 2026
    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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • Lily King: Heart The Lover

    Lily King: Heart The Lover
    Jun 19 2026
    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 exceptional writing by women to shine. The Prize is awarded annually to the author of the best full-length novel of the year written in English and published in the UK. The winner receives £30,000, anonymously endowed, and the ‘Bessie’, a bronze statuette created by the artist Grizel Niven. Today we’re meeting, Lily King, author of Euphoria, The English Teacher, Writers & Lovers, and Heart The Lover, among others. Heart the Lover is her sixth novel, both a prequel and a sequel to the wildly successful Writers & Lovers – she’s the patron saint of love triangles. Even Pythagorus didn’t explore triangles as much as Lily King. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    38 mins
  • Virginia Evans: The Correspondent

    Virginia Evans: The Correspondent
    Jun 11 2026
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Addie E Citchens: Dominion

    Addie E Citchens: Dominion
    May 29 2026
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    43 mins
  • Marcia Hutchinson: The Mercy Step

    Marcia Hutchinson: The Mercy Step
    May 20 2026
    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 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Empire Windrush arriving in the UK. Marcia was awarded an MBE in the Queens Birthday Honours list in 2010 for services to cultural diversity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    35 mins
  • Rozie Kelly: Kingfisher

    Rozie Kelly: Kingfisher
    May 18 2026
    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 Prototype Development Programme 2024. Her debut novel Kingfisher won the NorthBound Book Award before being shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    46 mins