You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Waterstones has unveiled two new podcast series, "How We Made" and "This Is The Book", to explore the inside story of popular books published in recent times, and recommendations publishing this year.
"How We Made" will delve into the past to discover what happened when modern classics were first published. Featuring titles including Wolf Hall, Cloud Atlas, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and A Brief History of Seven Killings, episodes will involve authors, agents, publishers, booksellers and readers delving into each book.
"This Is The Book" asks publishers to choose just one book from 2021 that they want to introduce to readers, and will feature new fiction, memoirs and books that are improving the inclusivity of stories available in bookshops.
Podcast creator Will Rycroft said: "Having now worked in publishing and bookselling I’ve seen the thoughtful work that goes into bringing a book to print and I know that there are fascinating stories to tell about the process which will give readers a whole new appreciation for these books. As well as talking to the authors about where these books come from I wanted to hear from the brilliant people who helped shape them and the booksellers and readers who love them. What they all have to tell us completes the story."
The new series launches today (17th March) with the first episode of "This Is The Book" featuring We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan, inaugural co-winner of the Merky Books New Writer’s Prize. From the email asking for open submissions, to the conversation Hafsa Zayyan had with her husband that led to the seed of her story, and the winning qualities spotted by the judges, the episode shows how a debut writer saw their idea become a reality and also discusses the aims of this publishing collaboration with Stormzy and the need to enable new voices to tell their story.
Episodes will be released on Wednesdays with the first from "How We Made" arriving on 28th April, featuring Dame Hilary Mantel on the first masterpiece in her Cromwell trilogy, Wolf Hall. Both series are available on iTunes, Spotify, Anchor and most popular podcast providers.