Actor, comedian and writer Harry Trevaldwyn joins me to talk about Twilight, Stephenie Meyer's iconic 2005 YA vampire novel. We talk about Harry's obsession with the book as a teenager, the spirit of Georgia Nicholson, hoa hoa season and why it's so vital to have queer YA love stories.

Harry's debut YA romcom, The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King is out now.

You can find The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King, Twilight and my own books here: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/acaseforbooks

The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

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

Award-winning author Rachel Khong joins me to talk about Half Magic, Edward Eager's 1954 fantasy classic about a family who find a coin that grants them half wishes. Rachel is the author of Goodbye, Vitamin and most recently Real Americans, which is out now in paperback. We talk about Eager's love of E. Nesbit, why Rachel went back to Half Magic when writing Real Americans and how to write magic in literary fiction.

You can find Real Americans and my own books on my Bookshop page, although Half Magic is out of print in the UK currently: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast

The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

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

Bestselling author Jessie Burton joins me to talk about A Traveller in Time, Alison Uttley's 1939 time slip novel about a girl who falls back to Tudor times. Jessie is the author of many books including The Miniaturist, The House of Fortune, and Medusa. Her debut children's novel, Hidden Treasure, is out now.

We talk about both being deeply weird about history as kids, the books refusal to do anything but be its own thing, and some of the gorgeous coincidences that happened as Jessie was writing Hidden Treasure and researching her own family history.

You can find Hidden Treasure, A Traveller in Time and my own books here: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/acaseforbooks

The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

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

Comedian, writer and podcaster Cariad Lloyd joins me to talk about Jane Austen. Cariad is the co-creator of Austentatious, the improvised Jane Austen play, the host of Griefcast, and Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club with Sara Pascoe. She’s also the author of The Christmas Wish-Tastrophe, amagical middle grade Regency story.

We started with Pride and Prejudice but cover a bit of everything Austen. We talk about our favourite and least favourite Austen novels, the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and why writing and reading the Regency period is such fun.

You can find The Christmas Wish-Tastrophe, my favourite Austen editions and my books at my Bookshop page: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast? and find our more about Brian's work at https://cariadlloyd.com/

The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

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

Theatre producer and friend of the pod Brian Hook joins me to talk about the first three books in Ursula K Le Guin's Earthsea series. Brian is the co-owner of Hartshorn Hook which has produced shows including Immersive Gatsby, Choir of Man, Amelie the Musical and Immersive Peaky Blinders. Brian and I are both huge fans of Earthsea and we chatted about why it means so much to us, bookish tattoos, and why the natural pause point in the series is after book three, not the traditional book four break.

You can find Earthsea and my books at my Bookshop page: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast? and find our more about Brian's work at https://hartshornhook.com/

The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

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

Laura Wood joins me to talk about Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. Laura is the bestselling author of several books for children, teens and adults including newly released Under Your Spell, Laura's debut adult romcom. Laura's choice was Gail Carson Levine's 1997 classic Ella Enchanted and we chatted about retellings, library book limits and the Anne Hathaway film adaptation.

You can find Laura's and my books at my Bookshop page: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast?

The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

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

In episode ten, Jay McGuiness joins me to talk about Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings. 

Jay is a member of boyband The Wanted and previous winner of Strictly Come Dancing but also the author of Blood Flowers, his debut YA novel, which is out in February and available to pre-order now. Jay’s choice was David Eddings’ 1982 fantasy book Pawn of Prophecy, the first book in the Belgariad series. We chatted about what makes a book YA, how fantasy can be used to explore almost any idea or issue and the similarities and differences between the publishing and music industry.  

You can find Blood Flowers, Pages & Co, and Pawn of Prophecy at my Bookshop page: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast-s2

This is the last episode of series two but Bookwandering will be back in the New Year for series three. The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

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

In episode nine, C Pam Zhang joins me to talk about American classic A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. 

Pam is the author of Booker Prize-longlisted How Much of These Hills is Gold and this year's Land of Milk and Honey, one of my favourite books of the year. Pam's pick was A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle's beloved 1962 award-winning novel which kicked off the Time Quintet. We chatted about world hopping and climate change, the religious elements of the book and its refusal to sit neatly in a genre. 

You can find Pam's books, Pages & Co, and A Wrinkle in Time at my Bookshop page: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bookwandering-the-podcast-s2

Next week's episode features Jay McGuiness on Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings. 

The podcast is produced by Adam Collier with artwork by Hester Kitchen.

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