For this episode, Gary chats with the very busy and very talented Nnedi Okorafor, who has had quite a year with the publication of major new novel Death of the Author; One Way Witch, the second novella in her She Who Knows trilogy; Space Cat, a children’s book starring her own cat Periwinkle; and The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025, which she co-edited with John Joseph Adams.

We chat about what she’s been reading, her fondness for Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman, and what’s up for next year, including the final volume of that trilogy, set in the world of her World Fantasy winning Who Fears Death.

For Day 11 of our Advent Calendar, Jonathan calls up long-time friend of the podcast, acclaimed writer James Bradley, to discuss what he's been reading lately, his fabulous new novel Landfall, whether he revisits any favourite books or movies at this time of the year, and what he's been working on.

As always, our thanks to James for making the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode.

As we approach the halfway mark of our Advent Calendar, Jonathan calls Emily Tesh, Hugo Award winning author of Some Desperate Glory and co-host of reigning Hugo Best Fancast Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones, to discuss the podcast she hosts with Rebecca Fraimow, her year in reading, her wonderful novel The Incandescent, and what she's working on now.

For Day 9 of the 2025 Advent Calendar, Jonathan and Gary called Paul McAuley to discuss the books he's been reading and would recommend, holiday traditions, what he's had out recently, and his exciting new novel, Loss Protocol, which is due out in February.

As always, our thanks to Paul for making time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode.

With our provider struggling a little following the various Cloudflare issues of late, Gary and Jonathan call up Nebula and BSFA Award winner Isabel J. Kim to talk about what she's been reading, her holiday favourites, what she had out in the past year, and the upcoming publication of her debut novel Sublimation next year.

As always, our thinks to Isabel for making time to talk to us today. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Today Jonathan sits down with British SF Award winner and Arthur C. Clarke Award, BFA, and Tiptree Award nominee Aliya Whiteley to talk about what she's been reading and would recommend as the holidays get underway, as well as her recent collaboration with Oliver K Langmead, and her upcoming novel The Misheard World.

As always, our thanks to Aliya for making time to talk to us. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Day 6 of the 2025 Coode Street Advent Calendar sees Gary and Jonathan taking a moment to catch up Hugo and Nebula Award winner Nancy Kress about what she's been reading, her most recent short story collection, and the new fantasy novel she has coming in 2026.

As always, our thanks to Nancy for making time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

As we move towards the end of the first week of our 2025 Advent Calendar, Gary and Jonathan take a moment to sit down with Adrian Tchaikovsky to talk about what he's been working on, what he has coming out, and what holiday recommendations he might have.

Adrian is the author of the brilliant Tyrant Philosophers series, which has been a highlight of the past couple of years, among many other wonderful books, and now co-hosts the Starship Alexandria podcast with Emma Newman.

As always, our thanks to Adrian for making time to talk to us! We hope you enjoy the episode.