Journalist and author India Knight discusses her “north star” books, the role that home has played in her life and writing, and why she’s now professionally the happiest she’s ever been.

India is the author of five novels: Darling, Mutton, Comfort and Joy, Don't You Want Me? and My Life on a Plate. She is a columnist for the Sunday Times, and author of the Substack newsletter Home, which inspired her most recent book of the same name – a love letter to the places we live which explores with wit, wisdom and reassurance why the state of our abodes is so vitally important to our wellbeing. India has also written the foreword to Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor for the Mermaid Collection edition – classic books by popular pioneering female authors republished to delight new generations of readers.

India’s book choices are:

09:54 The L-Shaped Room by Lynn Reid Banks
17:47 I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
24:27 The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
33:37 Good People by Patmeena Sabit
42:27 Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans

You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org – every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops.

Every week on Bookshelfie, Vick Hope is joined by inspirational women to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction, the greatest celebration of female creativity in the world, is run by the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing.

Don’t want to miss the rest of season nine? Follow or subscribe now!

This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Women’s Prize Trust

Chart-topping music artist Maisie Peters discusses her first love - books - and how they have shaped her songwriting, including the most important love story she’s ever known, Twilight’s Bella and Edward.

Maisie is an award-winning singer-songwriter, whose albums The Good Witch and latest release Florescence both reached No 1 in the UK charts. Starting as a teenage busker in Brighton, she released her debut studio album, You Signed Up For This, in 2021 which catalogued the highs and lows of early adult life. Maisie made her debut at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry in June, and will be playing a headline show at The O2 in May 2027, which no doubt will be watched by her loyal fandom “The Daisies”. This tightly knit, committed group of young women has fallen in love with Maisie’s catchy and emotionally honest indie-pop sound.

Maisie’s book choices are:

11:12 Twilight by Stephanie Myer
20:26 Famesick by Lena Dunham
29:10 Heartburn by Nora Ephron
37:22 Babel by R. F. Kuang
44:19 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org – every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops.

Every week on Bookshelfie, Vick Hope is joined by inspirational women to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction, the greatest celebration of female creativity in the world, is run by the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing.

Don’t want to miss the rest of season nine? Follow or subscribe now!

This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Women’s Prize Trust

In this deeply personal conversation, comedian and writer Meera Syal discusses how seeing herself in books helped her make sense of her own experience, the weight of intergenerational trauma and how humour saved her life.

Meera is one Britain’s best-loved comedy legends. She grew up in the small mining village of Essington in Staffordshire, where her Indian Punjabi parents settled after moving from New Delhi. Her early life there, as the only Asian family, later served as inspiration for her semi-autobiographical novel, Anita and Me, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 1997. Meera gained widespread recognition for her work in the late 1990s as a writer and performer in the multi-award-winning, iconic BBC comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me and for portraying the character Ummi in the International Emmy-award-winning TV series The Kumars at No. 42. In 2023, she was awarded the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship and last month saw the publication of her memoir, Vigilauntie.

7:32 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
17:14 Finding A Voice: Asian Women in Britain by Amrit Wilson
26:17 The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
34:11 Beloved by Toni Morrison
43:50 I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections by Nora Ephron

You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org – every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops.

Every week on Bookshelfie, Vick Hope is joined by inspirational women to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction, the greatest celebration of female creativity in the world, is run by the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing.

Don’t want to miss the rest of season nine? Follow or subscribe now!

This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Women’s Prize Trust