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  • Episode 36 - Nathanael Lessore, author of Steady for This and King of Nothing
    2025/10/12

    We talk to Nathanael Lessore about his very successful debut and follow up books, about what's important when writing for teens and the role of humour.

    You can find Nate's books here:

    Teen/KS3 Books

    Steady for This

    King of Nothing

    What Happens Online

    Middle Grade Books

    Solving Crimes is NOT my Superpower

    Time Travel is NOT my Superpower


    SAIL Fest (South Asian Children's Illustration and Literature)

    To find out more about SAIL Fest have a look on their website.

    And to check out all the authors that were there have a look here.

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    40 分
  • Episode 35 - Poetry by Heart, an interview with Dr Julie Blake
    2025/10/02

    Just in time for National Poetry Day, we have an interview with Dr Julie Blake the founder and co-director of Poetry by Heart. Working with schools across the whole of England, over 128,000 pupils take part every year, learning poems by heart and performing them.

    There are lots of fantastic clips on their website of young people performing and all the information you need to sign up this year. And it is completely free to do so.

    We also talk about Ross Montgomery's latest books - lots to recommend here. For children there is Small Wonder and for adults The Murder at World's End . Enjoy!

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    48 分
  • Episode 34 - Author Ashley Thorpe on his new middle grade book, Spirit Warriors, and his debut success, The Boy to Beat the Gods
    2025/09/17

    Author Ashley Thorpe joins us to talk about his middle grade books The Boy to Beat the Gods and Spirit Warriors. Find out about how he was inspired by West African and Jamaican mythology and how long it really does take to have a breakout success as your debut book.

    There is also a new Loki book out by Louie Stowell - A Bad God's Guide to Causing Chaos and there is a giveaway for a signed copy (UK only) - details will be on our socials. Also find out about her Lokifesto.

    If you are looking for any of the books we talk about on the podcast, they can be found in our Bookshop.org shop here (and if you buy them we earn a small commission and a donation also goes to support independent bookshops). Win, Win.

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    36 分
  • Episode 33 - Maisie Chan talking about her latest book, Nate Yu's Blast from the Past
    2025/08/13

    We are joined by Maisie Chan to talk about her latest book, Nate Yu's Blast from the Past. It's a draws on the untold history of the Chinese Labour Corps in WW1 in a story that combines a ghost story with a warm and humorous exploration of belonging, friendship and family.

    Look out for the event that Maisie mentions at the British Library in September which can be found here

    Maisie's website can be found here with lots more information about her books and other resources.

    Her other books include:

    Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths

    Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu

    Tiger Warrior: Attack of the Dragon King: Book 1


    We also talked about books set at the seaside. These included:

    The Last Pebble, by Alex Horne

    Changing Tides, by Julia Moscardo

    Our Pebbles, by Jarvis

    Vanishing Edge, by Zillah Bethell

    Turtle Moon, by Hannah Gold, illustrated by Levi Pinfold


    If you have any book recommendations or topics you would like us to cover, get in touch.

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    45 分
  • Episode 32 - Pirate adventures with Justin Somper and his latest book, Pirate Academy - Sword Echoes
    2025/07/24

    In this episode we talk with Justin Somper about the latest book in his Pirate Academy series, Sword Echoes. It came out in the UK in May and the series sets sail in Australia next week. Full of adventure and intrigue - perfect for a summer read.

    Justin can be found on Instagram here

    And links to his books are below:

    New Kid On Deck: Pirate Academy #1

    Missing at Sea: Pirate Academy #2

    Sword Echoes: Pirate Academy #3

    Demons of the Ocean

    Tide of Terror

    The Week Junior's Book Awards can be found here

    And the apps we talked about are (no sponsorship involved!)

    The StoryGraph

    Novellic


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    54 分
  • Episode 31 - Tom McLaughlin and his graphic novel, Alan, King of the Universe
    2025/06/29

    We talk with Tom McLaughlin about his graphic novel Alan, King of the Universe. Alan is an orange cat convinced he is born to rule. Blessed with opposable thumbs and a side kick called Fido, he spends his days dreaming up ways to take up the universe.

    Tom's website can be found here and here are some links to his books:

    Alan King of the Universe

    The Day that Aliens (nearly) Ate our Brains

    The Day I Became the Most Wanted Boy in the World

    The Accidental Prime Minister

    You've Been Werewolfed

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    31 分
  • Episode 30 - Jasbinder Bilan talking about her new book, Naeli and the Secret Song
    2025/06/14

    Join us to hear all about Jasbinder Bilan's new book, Naeli and the Secret Song. Find out where the idea came from and the research she did.

    Here are links to all of Jasbinder's Books

    Naeli and the Secret Song

    Aarti and the Blue Gods

    Tamarind and the Star of Ishta

    Asha and the Spirit Bird

    India, Incredible India, illustrated by Nina Chakrabarti

    Xanthe and the Ruby Crown

    Calling the Whales, illustrated by Skylar White

    Nush and the Stolen Emerald

    Paloma and the Bear, illustrated by Skylar White

    Anya's Quest, illustrated by Jane Ray


    And links to the book prizes we mentioned;

    Jhalak Prize

    The Women's Prize

    The Week Junior Book Awards

    Branford Boase Award


    Keep up to date with Mostly Book Talk's newsletter on Substack

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    44 分
  • Episode 29 - Carnegie Medal Chat and Predictions
    2025/06/07

    We are joined by Alison Jewitt a teacher from South London who leads a Carnegie Shadowing Group at her school and Sophia Bower a school librarian from Durham who is a Carnegie judge this year.

    We talk about shadowing groups and then all of the books on the Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist. Sophia then hides while the rest of us make our predictions about who wins - we were completely wrong last year, can we do better this year?

    Carnegie Medal Short Listed Books

    All That it Ever Meant, Blessing Musariri

    Glasgow Boys, Margaret McDonald

    King of Nothing, Nathanael Lessore

    Little Bang, Kelly McCaughrain

    Play, Luke Palmer

    The Final Year, Matt Goodfellow

    The Things we Leave Behind, Clare Furniss

    Treacle Town, Brian Conaghan

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    57 分