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Welcome to The Bookseller Podcast

The monthly podcast for book lovers

Introducing The Bookseller's monthly podcast, hosted by acclaimed author Cathy Rentzenbrink. From interviews with award winning authors to the latest reviews and book recommendations, our unique place at the heart of publishing means The Bookseller Podcast has something for every book lover.

Each month, we will deliver a variety of bookish delights for you to consume – wherever the mood takes you. Whether you’re commuting, listening at work, or relaxing at home, take The Bookseller Podcast with you.

Listen to Episode #10

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE – OCT 2019

Super Thursday titles with Caroline Sanderson and Tom Tivnan

Interviews with Andrew Michael Hurley and Okechukwu Nzelu

New section – Meet the Indie! With Helen Stanton from Forum Books

The best book/author events coming up this month in the UK from BookGig

Extracts from Twas the Night Shift Before Christmas by Adam Kay and The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

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MEET THE INDIE - OCT 2019

In our new section we meet Helen Stanton from Forum Books, located in the picturesque village of Corbridge in Northumberland. Helen talks to Nigel about the shop, the area, and the books that she recommends.

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INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW MICHAEL HURLEY - OCT 2019

An interview with author Andrew Michael Hurley, whose debut novel The Loney won the Nibbie for Book of the Year in 2016. Andrew chats to Cathy about his soon-to-be released third novel Starve Acre, a Gothic tale of grief and loss set against the haunting backdrop of the Yorkshire moors.   

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INTERVIEW WITH OKECHUKWU NZELU - OCT 2019

Teacher turned novelist Okechukwu Nzelu discusses his debut title The Private Joys of Mnenna Maloney, his own coming of age in the story’s Manchester setting and the difficulties we can encounter when it comes to family communication.

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Previous Episodes

Missed last month's episode? Catch up on previous episodes of The Bookseller Podcast here.

Catch up here

ASK THE INDIE!

Get advice from the bookselling experts! Ask Indie Bookshops about their recommendations for your next read by filling in this simple form.

ASK HERE

books featured in episode eight

  • The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney

    by Okechukwu Nzelu

    Category: General & Literary Fiction, Fiction
    Imprint: Dialogue Books
    Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
    Publication date: 3 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9780349701059

    A hilarious and heart-warming novel set in Manchester about a half-Nigerian teenager searching for the answer to that essential question: Who am I? Perfect for fans of Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams and Zadie Smith's White Teeth.

     

  • Starve Acre

    by Andrew Michael Hurley

    Category: General & Literary Fiction, Fiction, Horror & Supernatural
    Imprint: John Murray Publishers Ltd
    Publisher: John Murray Press
    Publication date: 29 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9781529387261

    The new novel from 'the new master of menace' (Sunday Times)

    Read reviews for this book.

  • Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas

    By Adam Kay

    Category: Biography & Memoirs, Non-fiction
    Imprint: Picador
    Publisher: Pan Macmillan
    Publication date: 15 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 978152901858

    From the multi-award-winning and million-copy bestselling author of This is Going to Hurt comes Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas, a brand new gift book that alternates between the hilarious and the heartbreaking, in a love letter to all those who spend their festive season on the front line.

  • The Giver of Stars

    by Jojo Moyes

    Category: General & Literary Fiction, Fiction, Romance
    Imprint: Michael Joseph Ltd
    Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
    Publication date: 3 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9780718183202

    A thrilling tale of derring-do and murder set in Kentucky.

    Read reviews for this book.

  • Unicorn: The Memoir of a Unicorn Drag Queen

    by Amrou Al-Kadhi

    Category: Biography & Memoirs, Non-fiction
    Imprint: Fourth Estate Ltd
    Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
    Publication date: 24 Sep 2019
    ISBN: 9780008306069

    From a god-fearing Muslim boy enraptured with their mother, to a vocal, queer drag queen estranged from their family, this is a heart-breaking and hilarious memoir about the author's fight to be true to themself

  • Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn

    by Brett Anderson

    Category: Biography & Memoirs, Non-fiction
    Imprint: Little, Brown
    Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
    Publication date: 3 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9781408711842

    The essential second volume of memoirs by Brett Anderson, which reveals the key years of the Suede story

    Read reviews for this book.

  • Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister

    by Jung Chang

    Category: Biography & Memoirs, Non-fiction, History, Current Affairs
    Imprint: Jonathan Cape Ltd
    Publisher: Vintage Publishing
    Publication date: 17 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9781910702789

    The best-known modern Chinese fairy tale is the story of three sisters from Shanghai, who for most of the twentieth century were active at the centre of power in China. It was sometimes said that `One loved money, one loved power and one loved her country', but the Soong sisters were far more than these caricatures.

    Read reviews for this book.

     

  • No Mercy

    by Martina Cole

    Category: Thrillers, Fiction, Crime & Mystery Fiction
    Imprint: Headline Book Publishing
    Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
    Publication date: 15 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9781472249401

    The brand new novel from the queen of crime and No. 1 bestseller Martina Cole

     

  • All Good Things

    by Stephen Ellcock

    Category: Non-fiction
    Imprint: September Publishing
    Publisher: September Publishing
    Publication date: 17 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9781912836000

    Over 250 powerful, profound and playful images to help us through our daily lives, selected by internationally renowned Facebook curator Stephen Ellcock.

    Read reviews for this book.

  • Face It

    by Debbie Harry

    Category: Biography & Memoirs, Non-fiction
    Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
    Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
    Publication date: 1 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9780008229429

    `I was saying things in songs that female singers didn't really say back then. I wasn't submissive or begging him to come back, I was kicking his ass, kicking him out, kicking my own ass too. My Blondie character was an inflatable doll but with a dark, provocative, aggressive side. I was playing it up, yet I was very serious.'

    Read reviews for this book.

  • Leonard and Hungry Paul

    by Ronan Hession

    Category: General & Literary Fiction, Fiction
    Imprint: Bluemoose Books Ltd
    Publisher: Bluemoose Books Ltd
    Publication date: 20 Mar 2019
    ISBN: 9781910422458

    LEONARD AND HUNGRY PAUL is the story of two friends who ordinarily would remain uncelebrated. They change the world differently to the rest of us: we try and change it by effort and force; they change it by discovering the small things they can do well and offering them to others.

     

  • The Northumbrians

    by Dan Jackson

    Category: History, Non-fiction
    Imprint: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
    Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
    Publication date: 5 Sep 2019
    ISBN: 9781787381940

    The Northumbrians have been overlooked by British and global history, but they've made astonishing contributions to both. Dan Jackson sets out to recover this lost history, exploring the deep roots of Northumbrian culture-hard work and heavy drinking, sociability and sentimentality, militarism and masculinity-through centuries of border warfare and dangerous industry. He explains what we can learn about Northumbria's people from its landscape and architecture, and revisits the Northumbrian Enlightenment that gave the world the locomotive and the lightbulb. This story reaches right to the present day, as this extraordinary region finds itself caught between an indifferent south and an increasingly confident Scotland. From the Venerable Bede and the prince-bishops of Durham to Viz and Geordie Shore, this vital new history reveals a part of England with an uncertain future, but whose people remain as remarkable as ever.

  • Me

    by Elton John

    Category: Biography & Memoirs, Non-fiction
    Imprint: Macmillan
    Publisher: Pan Macmillan
    Publication date: 15 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9781509853311

    Coming in October 2019, the first and only official autobiography of a much-loved global icon.

    Read reviews for this book.

  • The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse

    by Charlie Mackesy

    Category: Philosophy, Non-fiction, Graphic Novels
    Imprint: Ebury Press
    Publisher: Ebury Publishing
    Publication date: 10 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9781529105100

    Charlie's first book includes his most-loved illustrations and new ones too.The conversations of the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse have been shared thousands of times online, recreated in school art classes, hung on hospital walls and turned into tattoos. 'A wonderful work of art and a wonderful window into the human heart' Richard Curtis

  • Underland

    by Robert McFarlane

    Category: Non-fiction
    Imprint: Hamish Hamilton Ltd
    Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
    Publication date: 2 May 2019
    ISBN: 9780241143803

    The highly anticipated new book from the internationally bestselling, prize-winning author of Landmarks, The Lost Words and The Old Ways Discover the hidden worlds beneath our feet... In Underland, Robert Macfarlane takes us on a journey into the worlds beneath our feet. From the ice-blue depths of Greenland's glaciers, to the underground networks by which trees communicate, from Bronze Age burial chambers to the rock art of remote Arctic sea-caves, this is a deep-time voyage into the planet's past and future.

    Read reviews for this book.

  • Morning Glory on the Vine

    by Joni Mitchell

    Category: Music, Non-fiction, Poetry, Art & Antiques
    Imprint: Canongate Books Ltd
    Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
    Publication date: 22 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9781786898586

    Originally handcrafted in 1971 as a gift for friends, this edition of Joni Mitchell's best-loved poems, illustrations, watercolours and hand-lettered song lyrics is now publicly available for the first time.

  • The Starless Sea

    by Erin Morgenstern

    Category: General & Literary Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy
    Imprint: Harvill Secker
    Publisher: Vintage Publishing
    Publication date: 5 Nov 2019
    ISBN: 9781910701454

    This door leads to a subterranean labyrinth filled with stories, hidden far beneath the surface of the earth.When the labyrinth is threatened, Zachary must race with Mirabel, and Dorian, a handsome barefoot man with shifting alliances, through its twisting tunnels and crowded ballrooms, searching for the end of his story.

  • Cilka's Journey

    by Heather Morris

    Category: Historical Fiction & Sagas, Fiction, Adventure, History, Non-fiction
    Imprint: Zaffre Publishing
    Publisher: Zaffre Publishing
    Publication date: 1 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9781785769047

    Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival. After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to Siberia.

  • Among the Summer Snows

    by Christopher Nicholson

    Category: Travel, Non-fiction
    Imprint: September Publishing
    Publisher: September Publishing
    Publication date: 13 Jun 2017
    ISBN: 9781910463604

    Christopher Nicholson's first book of nature writing is a beautiful account of an unusual obsession. In 2016 he spent August searching for the remaining snows of the Scottish Highlands. His account of his solitary walk is by turns funny, fascinating and inspiring. A meditation on walking, mountains, snow and our changing climate, Nicholson also turns his curious eye on nature-lovers themselves. What are we looking for when we walk and what is it we want from nature? What is it we see and what is it we miss? What remains when we are gone and what have we lost from the landscape forever?

  • Truth to Power

    by Jess Phillips

    Category: Current Affairs, Non-fiction, Humour
    Imprint: Octopus Publishing Group
    Publisher: Octopus Publishing Group
    Publication date: 3 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9781913183011

    Fearless Labour MP Jess Phillips inspires us to speak out against injustices.

  • Lanny

    by Max Porter

    Category: General & Literary Fiction, Fiction
    Imprint: Faber & Faber
    Publisher: Faber & Faber
    Publication date: 7 Mar 2019
    ISBN: 9780571340286

    Everyday lives conjure a tapestry of fabulism and domesticity. This village belongs to the people who live in it and to the people who lived in it hundreds of years ago.

    Read reviews for this book.

  • The Secrets We Kept

    by Lara Prescott

    Category: Historical Fiction & Sagas, Fiction
    Imprint: Hutchinson
    Publisher: Cornerstone
    Publication date: 5 Sep 2019
    ISBN: 9781786331663

    A joy to read a story about spies that has lots of women in active roles.' CATHY RENTZENBRINK`A fascinating story, so cleverly told, of the long chain of people who helped to bring Pasternak's masterpiece into the world.

  • The Secret Commonwealth

    by Philip Pullman

    Category: Children's, General & Literary Fiction, Fiction, Crime & Mystery Fiction
    Imprint: Penguin and David Fickling Books
    Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
    Publication date: 3 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9780241373330

    It is twenty years since the events of La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One unfolded and saw the baby Lyra Belacqua begin her life-changing journey.

  • Wham! George & Me

    by Andrew Ridgeley

    Category: Biography & Memoirs, Non-fiction
    Imprint: Michael Joseph Ltd
    Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
    Publication date: 3 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9780241385807

     

  • Grand Union

    by Zadie Smith

    Category: Fiction
    Imprint: Hamish Hamilton Ltd
    Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
    Publication date: 3 Oct 2019
    ISBN: 9780241337028

    Zadie Smith's first ever collection of short stories.

    Read reviews for this book.

  • The Little Library Year

    by Kate Young

    Category: Food & Drink, Non-fiction
    Imprint: Head of Zeus
    Publisher: Head of Zeus
    Publication date: 24 Sep 2019
    ISBN: 9781788545280

    Kate Young returns with a book about eating and reading through the seasons. Beautifully photographed throughout, The Little Library Year is full of delicious seasonal recipes, menus and reading recommendations.

Production

The Bookseller Podcast is a Heavy Entertainment Production.