Bookies' Favourite are co-judging the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize 2027, alongside writers Saraid de Silva & Ben Pester.

Acting as one judge on the literary prize's panel of three judges we'll work together to longlist, shortlist and find a winner from all nominated books from small presses across the UK &Ireland.

We previously covered some of the books selected for the 2026 prize, including the joint winners; Ghost Driver by Nell Osborne and Figures Crossing the Field Towards the Group by Rebecca Gransden.

In this episode we hear some of this years' winners, writer Nell Osborne and Hugh Nicholson from Moist Books behind Ghost Driver, as well as Michael Curran from Tangerine Press which brought you Figures Crossing the Field Towards the Group.

Follow along with us on our journey as an official literary prize judge.

We'll next be covering the Booker Prize 2026 Shortlist.

Follow our guests & the Prize

@republicofconsciousness
@nellosborne

@coolmoistbooks

@tangerine_press

💬 Share your thoughts with the book club

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Aaron @AaronRiceMedia

Lucy @bookz2026

Hannah @certifiedbookyapperhannah

Colin @c_f_writes

We've share our thoughts on this year's long listed books.

Aaron keeps his streaky having predicted a book which made it onto the list - everyone else has failed yet again to live up to his standard, but the group choice of John of John did make it onto the list.

The bookies describe each of the novels to each other and end with a Covergirl segment in which they judge the book covers.

We'll be covering the shortlist of 6 books, but we have

some surprise special episodes on the way beforehand.

Share your thoughts on the long list!

💬 Share your thoughts with the book club

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Email bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Aaron @AaronRiceMedia

Lucy @bookz2026

Hannah @certifiedbookyapperhannah

Colin @c_f_writes

Welcome back to our 5th series, we're jumping into the Booker Prize 2026. In this episode we predict the Bookers dozen ahead of the announcement.

Aaron, Hannah, Lucy & Colin pick 3 books eligible for the award, and combine them with the most popular choice, John of John by Douglas Stewart. They also share what other eligible books they've read.

The bookies catch up with each other following the International Booker Prize 2026 winner announcement & talk about what they've been reading & listening to since.

Stay tuned this week for our reaction to the longlist when it's announced. We'll be diving into the entire shortlist on the podcast in a few weeks.

Also, the podcast has an exciting announcement episode coming soon with some big news... what could it be?

Which books do you hope make it to the long list?

Will Aaron keep up his prediction streak?

Which books have you read from the bookies' predictions?

💬 Share your thoughts with the book club

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Goodreads @The Bookies' Favourite Bookclub

Email bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Aaron @AaronRiceMedia

Lucy @bookz2026

Hannah @certifiedbookyapperhannah

Colin @c_f_writes

The book club looks back on all 6 books from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist, share their rankings, predict a winner & discuss the bookies' odds.

💬 Share your thoughts with the book club

Instagram @bookiesfavouritebookclub

Goodreads @The Bookies' Favourite Bookclub

Email bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Aaron @AaronRiceMedia

Lucy @bookz2026

Hannah @certifiedbookyapperhannah

Colin @c_f_writes

The book club dives into their final read from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist.

The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from the German by Ross Benjamin and published by Riverrun.

💬 Share your thoughts with the book club

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Aaron @AaronRiceMedia

Lucy @bookz2026

Hannah @certifiedbookyapperhannah

Colin @c_f_writes

The book club dives into their fifth read from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist.

The Nights are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from the German by Ruth Martin, published by Scribe.

🍰Read it & Eat it

Aaron rustles up some Persian saffron & raisin cookies severed to the characters when they visit Iran.

If you enjoyed this book you might also enjoy our many discussions on the novel Eden’s Shore by Oisin Fagan.

⏭️Next Up

The final book on the shortlist that the book club is diving into is The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from the German by Ross Benjamin, published by Riverrun.

💬 Share your thoughts with the book club

Instagram @bookiesfavouritebookclub

Goodreads @The Bookies' Favourite Bookclub

Email bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Aaron @AaronRiceMedia

Lucy @bookz2026

Hannah @certifiedbookyapperhannah

Colin @c_f_writes

The book club dives into their fourth read from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist.

The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from the French by Jordan Stump, published by MacLehose Press.

🍰Read it & Eat it

Check out the club’s socials to see journalist & home baker Aaron’s baked cookies from this book.

If you’d like to see Aaron bake some of his recipes inspired by the books get in touch.

📛The Name Game

The club discuss the blandness of this book's title and come up with variations which might be more representative of the story.

📚Shelf-Help

Lucy & Hannah lend their bookworm expertise in offering up some books similar to this one if you enjoyed the themes, characters, location or plot.

While Aaron draws connections between this novel and the Marvel TV show WandaVision. Do you see the similarities

too?

If you enjoyed this book you might also enjoy our episode on Audition by Katie Kitamura.

⏭️Next Up

The fifth book in the shortlist that the book club is diving into is The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from the German by Ruth Martin, published by Scribe UK.

💬 Share your thoughts with the book club

Instagram @bookiesfavouritebookclub

Goodreads @The Bookies' Favourite Bookclub

Email bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Aaron @AaronRiceMedia

Lucy @bookz2026

Hannah @certifiedbookyapperhannah

Colin @c_f_writes

The book club dives into their third read from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist.

Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from the Mandarin Chinese by Lin King, published by And Other Stories.

This novel was previously awarded:

• The National Book Award for Translated Literature (2024)

• The Golden Tripod Award (2021)

• Baifang Schell Book Prize (2025)

• ALTA First Translation Prize (2025)

• Best Translation Award (Japan, 2024)

It was nominated for the Chommanard International Women's Literary Award (2026).

If you enjoyed this book you might also enjoy our many discussions on the novel Eden’s Shore by Oisin Fagan.

⏭️Next Up

The fourth book in the shortlist that the book club is diving into is The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from the French by Jordan Stump, published by MacLehose Press.

💬 Share your thoughts with the book club

Instagram @bookiesfavouritebookclub

Goodreads @The Bookies' Favourite Bookclub

Email bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com

Aaron @AaronRiceMedia

Lucy @bookz2026

Hannah @certifiedbookyapperhannah

Colin @c_f_writes