This Storyshaped chat is a feast for the soul. We were delighted to get a chance to sit down with Kel Menton, debut author, and talk to them all about their brilliant first novel, A Fix of Light, and the stories that have shaped not only the book, but Kel themself. We went on a fantastic trip from local ghost-lore to titans of the fantasy genre all the way to the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda - because, of course you'd end up there! Come on and join us for a fantastic meander through a marvellously Storyshaped life.

Find Kel on their newsletter, Marginalia

Books mentioned in this week's episode include Kel's own:

A Fix of Light

And the stories which have shaped them include:

The Sleeping Giant, by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

Cailín an Bhúrna/Colleen of the Barley, a local ghost story

The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater

The Demon's Lexicon, by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Inkheart trilogy, by Cornelia Funke

Reckless, by Cornelia Funke

Wintersmith, by Terry Pratchett

Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo

The work of John Green

The Ruby Redfort books, by Lauren Child

Beowulf, the Old English epic (HWAET!)

Judith and Holofernes, the Old English poem

The Poetic Edda

The Prose Edda, compiled by Snorri Sturluson

Summer Sons, by Lee Mandelo

All For the Game, by Nora Sakavic

Don't Let the Forest In, by CG Drews

The Three Body Problem, by Cixin Liu

The work of NK Jemisin

The work of Ursula le Guin

The work of RF Kuang

Sentimental Garbage podcast - The Phantom of the Opera with Rebecca Kuang

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

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We were privileged today to speak to the authors of the brilliant essay anthology, Beyond the Secret Garden, which is a vital critique of the current state of children's literature and its inclusivity problem. Dr Chetty and Prof Sands-O'Connor have written for many years over at Books for Keeps around these vital issues, and today they bring us through the importance of decolonising the children's literature canon - while also giving us an insight into their own Storyshaped lives, and what stories led them to the work they do today.

You can purchase your copy of Beyond the Secret Garden here

Stories mentioned in this week's episode include:

The Good Immigrant, ed. Nikesh Shukla

Sesame Street

Roy of the Rovers football comic

The work of JD Salinger and Jack Kerouac

Dr Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting

The Wizard of Oz (movie version)

Mythologies, by Roland Barthes

Elmer, by David McKee

Tusk Tusk, by David McKee

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte

The work of Charles Dickens

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

Sight and Sound magazine

The Buddha of Suburbia, by Hanif Kureishi

The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis

Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens

Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe

Sing, Unburied, Sing, by Jessamyn Ward

Freud in Oz, by Kenneth Kidd

James, by Percival Everett

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We don't have *much* in common with the Terminator around here, it must be said, but one of the things we do share is this: we come back. So, here we are! This is a special LIVE episode, recorded in May 2025 at the brilliant International Literature Festival Dublin in front of an audience of Kieran Larwood fans (and, perhaps, one or two who were there to see us), and we had the most fun. We chatted fantasy, Tolkien, the powers of maps as ways into story, 90s music, and loads more.

Our very special thanks to the team at International Literature Festival Dublin for facilitating this dream come true for us - it has long been our ambition to record a live episode, and we were delighted to get the chance to do just that as part of this fantastic festival, which happens in Dublin in May every year. We hope the recording gives you a flavour of how much we enjoyed talking to Kieran and getting an insight into his very special Storyshaped life.

PLEASE NOTE: The audio didn't pick up the audience, so during question time, the questions we are responding to are as follows:

1. What children's book that you read as an adult do you wish you'd read as a child?
2. Will we find out more about the Ancients?

Books mentioned in this week's episode include:

The work of Enid Blyton

The work of JRR Tolkien

A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula le Guin

The Moomins, by Tove Jansson

The Hounds of the Morrigan, by Pat O'Shea

The World Between the Rain, by Susan Cahill

Fighting Fantasy book series, created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone

Stone of Farewell, by Tad Williams

The work of Robin Hobb

Mort, by Terry Pratchett

The work of Terry Pratchett, especially the Tiffany Aching series

Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett

Watership Down, by Richard Adams

Neuromancer, by William Gibson

Escape Room: Game Zero, by Christopher Edge

I Am Wolf, by Alastair Chisholm

The Bone Ships, by RJ Barker

October, October, by Katya Balen

The Storm and the Sea Hawk, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

I Am Raven, by Alastair Chisholm

A Fix of Light, by Kel Menton

On Midnight Beach, by Marie Louise Fitzpatrick

The work of Jamie Littler, esp. Frostheart

The music of Pearl Jam and Nirvana and Soundgarden

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