My guest this week is Alice Slater, former bookseller, and author of Death of a Bookseller and Let the Bad Times Roll, which is out now in paperback. Alice chose Melvin Burgess’ seminal 1996 YA novel, Junk. We talk about looking at older books through a modern lens, unlikeable characters and second album syndrome as novelists.

You can find Alice’s and my own books on 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.

Former children's laureate and poet Joseph Coelho joins me to talk about Raymond Brigg's beloved Christmas classic, The Snowman. We talk about festive traditions, some of Brigg's other work including When the Wind Blows, and about the importance of poetry for young people.

You can find a selection of Joseph's books along with The Snowman and my own work at: 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.

Debut novelist Rochelle Dowden-Lord joins me to talk about Kasper in the Glitter, Philip Ridleys' gloriously odd 1994 children's book that's illustrated by Chris Riddell. We talk about the importance of weird children's books, researching wine, and have a frank chat about our experiences of being published while working in the book industry. Please note this episode contains an instance of very strong language.

Lush, Rochelle's Nero Prize shortlisted novel, is out now and you can find it alongside my books at: 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.