Papertrail Podcast

Hello everyone, happy new year! As mentioned in our christmas episode, Papertrail is going on hiatus for a while, but do not fear! Alex has been working on a side project we wanted to share with you here first. PageBreak explores the process of taking your work from first draft, to finished product, and the challenges along the way. Listen on our website / Listen on Soundcloud The show seeks to illuminate parts of the creative process which are often overlooked, and offer support and encouragement to writers at all stages of their practice. If you enjoy the show, please let me know @AlexBlott, or by emailing PapertrailPodcast@gmail.com. This pilot is to gauge whether people are interested in the concept, so if you want to hear more, even a quick

Season's greetings, everyone! Join Sophie and Alex as they discuss some of their favourite books from the year, including a round-up of what they read for the show in 2019. Papertrail is going on hiatus for the first half of 2019, but there are plenty of episodes in the back-catalogue so gorge yourself on them and we'll see you in the future for 'season 2'. Happy holidays! Sophie's Choices: Cassandra At The Wedding - Dorothy Baker Voices from Chernobyl - Svetlana Alexievich Thus Were Their Faces - Silvina Ocampo From the show: Prater Violet - Christopher Isherwood This Is Not A Novel - David Markson Constellations - Sinéad Gleeson Alex's Choices: Ombria in Shadow - Patricia A McKillip The Fisherman - John Langan Doggerland - Ben Smith From the show: Homesick For Another World - Otessa Moshfegh Grief Is The Thing With Feathers - Max Porter The Snow Leopard - Peter Matthiessen   MUSIC BY: SCOTT GRATTON

Lucia Osborne-Crowley is a writer and journalist. Her news reporting and literary work has appeared in Granta, the Sunday Times, HuffPost UK, the Guardian, and others. ‘I Choose Elena’ is her first book. Lucia's Book Choices: Make It Scream Make It Burn by Leslie Jamison Constellations: Reflections from life by Sinéad Gleeson The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh You can follow Lucia on twitter @LuciaOC_ If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Anna Sherman was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. She studied Greek and Latin at Wellesley College and at Lincoln College, Oxford. The Bells of Old Tokyo is her first book. Anna's Book Choices: Sanshiro by Natsume Sōseki Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen You can follow Anna on twitter @anna_charlbury If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Season is a London and Berlin-based writer, performance artist and teacher, and an associate producer of the I'm With You art collective. She works as a dramaturg, mentor, sensitivity editor and workshop facilitator in Creative Writing, Performance Practice and Theory, and difference-consciousness training for the arts and heritage sector. Cygnet is her first novel. Season's Book Choices: Island by Aldous Huxley The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison You can follow Season on twitter @season_butler If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is a Writer, a Comics Letterer, and the Eisner Award-Winning Editor of PanelxPanel. He has written for screen and for comics, and also runs the excellent Strip Panel Naked on YouTube. Hass's Book Choices: Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons Blankets by Craig Thompson Digital Filmmaking by Mike Figgis You can follow Hass on Twitter @HassanOE If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Hannah Sullivan is a poet and academic currently working at Oxford University. Her first collection of poetry, Three Poems, was published in 2018 and won the T.S. Eliot Prize. Hannah's Book Choices: Coventry: Essays by Rachel Cusk Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood Notebook by Robert Lowell You can find out more about Hannah on her website. If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Fiona’s debut novel, Elmet, is set in Yorkshire and explores what happens when a family’s idyllic, self-sufficient life is interrupted by the world outside of them. The novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and Ondaatje Prize and was also longlisted for the Dylan Thomas and Womens prize. Fiona is currently working on her second novel. Fiona's Book Choices: The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. LeGuin Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy Painter To The King by Amy Sackville You can follow Fiona on twitter @fjmoz If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show. You can also support us financially by donating to our Patreon/Steady page, or by buying a book through our affiliate programme. For more information. Click here.

Nicole is a fiction and non-fiction writer, her work has appeared in The Dublin Review, The Stinging Fly, The Irish Times, and on BBC 4. She won the 2017 White Review Short Story Prize with her short story ‘Track’. Her short story collection, ‘Show Them A Good Time’ is out now. Nicole's Book Choices: Veronica by Mary Gaitskill The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson Self-Help by Lorrie Moore You can follow Nicole on Twitter @nicoleflattery Please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Michael is the author of ‘Hold’, which was just shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize for first novels. He is a graduate of the Royal Holloway writing programme and lives in London, where he works as a teacher. Michael's Book Choices: The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín Grief Is The Thing With Feathers by Max Porter You can follow Michael on twitter @michaeldonkor If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Marc’s Novel, ‘Three Dreams In The Key Of G’ was published by Dead Ink Books in 2018. He is the author of many other novels, as well as short and flash fiction. He can also be found on YouTube where he reviews and discusses literary and experimental fiction. Marc's Book Choices: The Damned United by David Pearce This Is Not a Novel by David Markson Cobralingus by Jeff Noon You can follow Marc on twitter @21stCScribe, on his website, and on YouTube. If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Tyler Wetherall is a journalist and author living in New York. Her work has appeared in a range of publications, including The Guardian, The Times, Vice, Electric Literature. She teaches Creative Writing and Journalism at Manhattanville College. Tyler's Book Choices: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado You can follow Tyler on twitter @TylerWrites If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Megan Hunter is the author of ‘The End We Start From’. Her poetry has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and she was a finalist for the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award with her short story ‘Selfing’. Megan's Book Choices: Bluets by Maggie Nelson In The Cut by Susanna Moore NW by Zadie Smith You can follow Megan on Twitter and Instagram @meganfnhunter If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Chris is the author of the short story collection ‘Mothers’. You can find his ‘A Brief Survey of The Short Story’ columns on The Guardian. Chris's Book Choices: A Tomb for Boris Davidovich by Danilo Kiš Molloy by Samuel Beckett Homesick For Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh You can follow Chris on twitter @Chris_Power If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Happy holidays everyone! This is a different episode to usual, where Alex and Sophie have a festive round-up of some of their favourite books from this year (and a few from previous years) Was the crackling fire a bit much? Shownotes: Longform interview with Sheila Heti Nut Loaf Recipe 

Rhiannon is a columnist, feature writer, and editor for The Guardian. In 2012 she co-founded The Vagenda which was published in book form by Vintage. Her debut Novel, ‘The Tyranny of Lost Things’ was published by Sandstone Press in 2018. Rhiannon's Book Choices: Dept. Of Speculation by Jenny Offill The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante Bad Behaviour by Mary Gaitskill You can follow Rhiannon on twitter @RhiannonLucyC and find out more about her on her website. If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Tasha is a SFF writer living in London. Her debut novel, the Mughal India inspired epic fantasy, ‘Empire of Sand’ came out on the 13th of November in the US and the 15th of November in the UK. Go check it out! TASHA'S BOOK CHOICES: The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore You can follow Tasha on twitter @TashaDrinksTea If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Daisy’s debut short story collection ‘Fen’ came out in 2016 and made some serious waves. Now, at just 27, she’s on the Booker Prize Shortlist for her novel ‘Everything Under’. Sophie spoke with Daisy about three of the books that are important to her and her writing. (They spoke before the shortlist was announced, so please forgive there being no mention of that). DAISY’S BOOK CHOICES: Miss Smilla’s Feeling For Snow by Peter Høeg White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi Get In Trouble by Kelly Link You can follow Daisy on twitter @DJdaisyjohnson If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Aaron is the Director & Editor of Broken Sleep Books as well as the author of the poetry collection ‘Tertiary Colours’. He has two upcoming collections in 2019, ‘Angels The Size of Houses’ and ‘The Last Hundred’ Aaron's Book Choices: The Dirt by Neil Strauss, Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami The White Stones by J.H. Prynne You can follow Aaron on twitter @GodzillaKent If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Kirsty Logan is an author, freelance editor, and book reviewer. She is also a writing mentor for the WoMentoring Project. (Check out a previous episode with WoMentoring Founder Kerry Hudson) Her most recent book, The Gloaming, is out now. Kirsty Logan's Book Choices: The Dolls Alphabet by Camilla Grudova Gossip From The Forest by Sarah Maitland Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel You can follow Kirsty on twitter @KirstyLogan and visit her website for more information. If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

May-Lan Tan is a British Chinese writer based in Berlin. Having studied fine art at Goldsmiths, she now works as a ghostwriter. Her collection, Things To Make and Break, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, and is one of Alex's favourite reads of 2018. For further discussion about Things to Make and Break, check out episode 24 with Sharlene Teo. MAY-LAN'S BOOK CHOICES: Why the Tree Loves the Axe by Jim Lewis Coin Locker Babies by Ryū Murakami The Notebook by Ágota Kristóf You can follow May-Lan Tan on twitter @amanlyant If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Hannah is a poet, memoirist and creative writing tutor. Her books include 'Chick', 'Long Time No See', and most recently, 'Chan'. HANNAH'S'S BOOK CHOICES: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Small Island by Andrea Levy Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times, Edited by Neil Astley You can follow Hannah on twitter @HannaLowePoet If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Samantha Harvey is the author of four novels, the most recent of which is The Western Wind. Her novels have been shortlisted many prizes, including the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Guardian First Book Award and the James Tait Black Prize. She won the AMI Literature Award and the Betty Trask Prize. She lives in Bath, UK, and is a Reader in creative writing at Bath Spa University. Sam's Book Choices: Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf All The Names by Jose Saramago Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace You can find out more about Sam on her website. If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Jules is an author interested how individuals and organisations use therapeutic practices from ancient philosophies and wisdom traditions today. His first book, Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations, explored how people are rediscovering ancient Greek and Roman philosophies and was a Times book of the year. His second book, The Art of Losing Control, was published in the UK in May 2017 JULES'S BOOK CHOICES: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Moksha by Aldous Huxley You can find out more about Jules on his website. If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Sharlene Teo was born in Singapore in 1987and has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, where she received the Booker Prize Foundation Scholarship and the David TK Wong Creative Writing award.  In 2016, she won the inaugural Deborah Rogers Writer's Award for Ponti, her first novel, which is coming out on the 19th of April. Sharlene's Book Choices: Things To Make And Break by May-Lan Tan Nowhere To Be Found by Bae Suah Dear Friend, From My Life I Write To You In Your Life – Yiyun Li You can follow Sharlene on twitter @treebirds Support The Show! If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show. Also, consider supporting the show by buying one of the books we spoke about today using the links above. We get a small portion of what you spend, which helps keep the show running smoothly.

Johnny Harris is a writer, actor, and producer. His latest film, Jawbone, came out in 2017 and has been nominated for a BAFTA. Johnny has also starred in This is England '86, Welcome to the Punch, London to Brighton, and more. He was BAFTA nominated for his performance in This is England '86. Johnny's Book Choices: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde The Grass Arena by John Healy The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter You can follow Jawbone on twitter @Jawbonethemovie If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Dr Preti Taneja is the author of 'We That Are Young', published by Galley Beggar Press. We that are young was listed as one of the Sunday Times' 'Books of 2017'. She is also the author of a novella 'Kumkum Malhotra' which was published in 2015 and won the Gatehouse Press New Fictions Prize. As well as being a writer, Preti is a Leverhulme Early Career Reseach Fellow at Warwick University working in the department of English and Comparative Literary Studies, and the Centre for Human Rights in Practice. She is also the co-founder and editor of Visual Verse, an anthology of art and words. Preti's Book Choices: A Spy In The House of Love by Anaïs Nin Everybody Loves a Good Drought by P. Sainath Citizen by Claudia Rankine You can find out more about Preti by visiting her website. And you can follow her on Twitter @PretiTaneja.

Niven is the author of four books. Including All the Days And Nights, and Black Bread White Beer. He has also been featured in Best British Short Stories 2017. He is currently working on his next novel. NIVEN'S BOOK CHOICES: Shadows On The Hudson by Isaac Bashevis Singer The Door by Magda Szabo There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce by Morgan Parker Niven tweets @Niven_Govinden. You should also check out the Tumblr for Black Bread White Beer If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Dan is the author of 'Climbing Days' in which he retraces the steps of his great-great-aunt and uncle, the mountaineers Dorothy Pilley and I.A. Richards . He is also the author of 'The Beechwood Airship Interviews', and co-authored 'Holloway' with Robert Macfarlane and Stanley Donwood. He is currently working on his next book, Outpost. DAN'S BOOK CHOICES: But Beautiful by Geoff DyerThe Book of Fame by Lloyd Jones Bluets by Maggie Nelson Dan tweets @Dan_Zep   If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.  

Darran is the author of 'Imaginary Cities', an exploration of metropolis, imagination, and the symbiosis within. It was published by Influx Press. His second book, Tidewrack will be released on the 8th of March 2018 from Chatto & Windus. It is the second in a trilogy of books about cities. He is a Contributing Editor for White Noise Magazine. DARRAN'S BOOK CHOICES: The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov Darran tweets prolifically @Oniropolis and you can visit his website for more information about what he's up to. If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes. It makes a massive difference and helps new people discover the show.

Joanna Walsh is a writer of fiction and non, fiction. Her latest book, 'Worlds From The Words End', is available now from And Other Stories. She has been published in a number of magazines, including Granta Magazine, Gorse Journal, and the Dublin Review. She is also a contributing editor at 3:AM Magazine and Catapult.co.  You can read her experimental digital novella 'Seed' for free here. JOANNA'S BOOK CHOICES: Zoo: Or Letters Not About Love by Viktor Shklovsky Gaudy Bauble by Isabel Waidner Garments Against Women by Anne Boyer Joanna tweets @badaude. You can find out all about her on her website. She also runs the twitter account @read_women If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes.

Dan is a writer and journalist. His first novel 'The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas' is currently available for pre-order from the wonderful Dead Ink Books. You can pre-order your copy of Ezra Maas, as well as four other excellent new titles, by visiting Dead Ink's Site. DAN'S BOOK CHOICES: The Eye of the Beholder by Marc Behm The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski Dan tweets @DanJamesWriter. You can find out all about him on his website. If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes.

Cassandra is a writer of fantastic stories that blend cultures, mythologies, and the modern world together in wonderful ways. The sequel to her fantastic novella 'Hammers on Bone' will be out in August 2017, and she is also one of the writers for the eagerly anticipated '2084' from Unsung Stories. CASSANDRA'S BOOK CHOICES: Flex by Ferrett Steinmetz Brimstone by Cherie Priest The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco Cassandra tweets @CassKhaw. You can find out all about her work, both existing and upcoming, on her website.  If you haven't already, please consider leaving the podcast a review on iTunes.

This month I'm joined by novelist Helen McClory. Helen's novel, Flesh of the Peach, is available now from Freight Books. She is also the author of On The Edges of Vision, a collection of short stories. HELEN'S BOOK CHOICES: The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa Hera Lindsay Bird by Hera Lindsay Bird Helen tweets @HelenMcClory and you can find out more about her on her website. She also curates a wonderful TinyLetter with essays on under-hyped books. If you're enjoying the show, please consider leaving us a review on iTunes. It makes a world of difference. If you love Podcasts, but wish there was an easier way to discover new shows you'll love, consider signing up for PodChaser with the beta code 'Papertrail'. If you do, we'd love a rating and review from you as well!

Sarah is an Online Editor at The Bookseller, and writes about books for Stylist Magazine. She is also the co-founder of BAME in publishing, a network for people who are from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and who work in the UK publishing industry, to come together and connect. SARAH'S BOOK CHOICES: The Peacock Garden by Anita Desai Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling The Good Immigrant, edited by Nikesh Shukla Pippa tweets @sarahshaffi and you can find out more about her on her website.

Pippa is a Novelist and Short Story writer with a PhD in Astronomy. She was awarded a New Writers Award in 2012 by the Scottish Book Trust and her novel 'The Falling Sky' was runner-up in the Dundee International Book Prize. Her latest collection, 'The Need For Better Regulation Of Outer Space', is clever and entertaining, exploring untold stories about science and scientists. PIPPA'S BOOK CHOICES: The Owl Service by Alan Garner Burn Your Boats by Angela Carter Kepler by John Banville Pippa tweets @goldipipschmidt and you can find out more about her and her upcoming projects on her website.

Martine is a novelist and the Programme Leader of the MA in Creative Writing & Publishing at the University of Sussex. Her previous novels are 'After Pheonix' and 'I Have Waited and You Have Come'. Her latest novel, Narcissism for Beginners was released earlier this month from Unbound. MARTINE'S BOOK CHOICES: The Man Who Watched Trains Go By by Georges Simenon Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton A Crisis of Brilliance by David Boyd Haycock Martine Tweets @MartineM_Writer and you can find out more about her, her writing, and upcoming events on her website.

Paul is the Editor of 'Elsewhere', a journal of place. His latest book, 'Ghosts on the Shore: Travels along Germany's Baltic Coast' will be published in June by Influx Press. You can find much of his writing about place on the website 'Caught by the River'. Paul's Book Choices: Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris (Faber Books) Yugoslavia, My Fatherland by Goran Vojnović (Istros Books) What I Saw by Joseph Roth (W. W. Norton & Company) Paul Tweets @underagreysky and @seeyouelsewhere

Irenosen is the author of two books. Her novel 'Butterfly Fish' won a 2016 Betty Trask Award, and her short story collection 'Speak Gigantular' is Longlisted for the inaugural Jhalak prize. Both books are published by Jacaranda Books. IRENOSEN'S BOOK CHOICES: Geek Love - Katherine Dunn (Abacus) Glyph - Percival Everett (Graywolf Press) Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen - Marilyn Chin (Penguin) She tweets @IrenosekOkojie and you can visit her website for more information. SHOW NOTES: Mentioned: Ishmael Reed What Irenosen's reading at the moment: Kevin Barry's Beatlebone

Kerry is the Author of two books: 'Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma' won the Scottish First Book Award. And her second, 'THIRST', won the Prix Femina Étranger, France's most prestigious award for foreign fiction. She is also the founder of The WoMentoring Project. Kerry's Book Choices: Jazz - Toni Morrison (Vintage Books) The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler (Vintage Books) 'Tis - Frank McCourt (Harper Perennial) She tweets @KerrysWindow and you can visit her website for more information Show Notes: 2:20 The Accidental Tourist discussion begins. 17:25 Jazz discussion begins. 26:40 'Tis discussion begins. 40:20 Kerry speaks about her involvement with the WoMentoring Project.

Hannah is a Graphic Novelist and illustrator. She has also worked as a Tutor for the Arvon Foundation and was the Online Writer in Residence for Booktrust. HANNAH'S BOOK CHOICES: Cruddy - Lynda Barry Weapons of Mass Diplomacy - Lanzac & Blain Through The Woods - Emily Carroll She tweets at @streakofpith and you can find out more about her/her books on her website. Show Notes: Other books mentioned: Emily Carroll co-created a game called 'THE YAWHG' (Hannah apologises for mauling the spelling in the original recording) Becoming Unbecoming, by Una. About Peter Sutcliffe, The Yorkshire Ripper Publishers mentioned: Save Our Souls Magazine Self Made Hero Avery Hill Jonathan Cape Hannah recommends the following comic shops: "both of these shops are light and airy and welcoming. Anyone concerned about walking into a sweaty comics dungeon needn't worry." Gosh Comics, London Page 45, Nottingham

Lara is a writer working and living in Manchester. Her debut short story collection, 'Treats', was published this year by Freight. Lara's Book Choices: Two Girls, Fat and Thin - Mary Gaitskill The Gin Closet - Leslie Jamison Self Help - Lorrie Moore She tweets at @Lara_A_Williams

Harry is a writer and an artist. His debut novel, Anatomy of a Soldier, came out this year and was shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize. He's currently working on his second novel. Harry's Book Choices: For Whom The Bell Tolls - Earnest Hemingway How To Be Both - Ali Smith Pincher Martin - William Golding He tweets at @harrybparker

Simon runs a YouTube channel focused on teaching people about physics, climate science, and studying. He also makes videos that help people who are applying, or considering applying, to Oxford and Cambridge university.  His Youtube Channel is 'SimonOxfPhys' Simon's Book Choices: My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig Brave New World - Aldous Huxley He tweets @SimonOxfPhys

Sophie's short story 'Grace' won The White Review Short Story Prize this year. She has also been published in Tank Magazine, Neon, and Valve Journal. She is currently working on a book about an all-female community on an oil rig at the end of the world. SOPHIE'S BOOK CHOICES: Morvern Callar - Alan Warner Nobody Is Ever Missing - Catherine Lacey Ice - Anna Kavan She tweets at @fairfairisles

Neil's debut novel 'The Moon King' came out in 2014 and was nominated for the 2015 BSFA award and British Fantasy award. He lives and works in Glasgow, and is a member of the Glasgow SF Writers Circle. NEIL'S BOOK CHOICES: The Wooden Sea - Jonathan Carroll Zombie - Joyce Carol Oates The Limits of Enchantment - Graham Joyce He blogs at ayeahmur and tweets @neilwilliamson

Paul's first novel 'River of Ink' was released at the beginning of 2016. He is currently working on his second novel. “An extraordinary debut … Paul M.M. Cooper is writer of real talent … River of Ink is what historical fiction should be: immersive, illuminating and captivating” –  The Times PAUL'S BOOK CHOICES: My Name Is Red - Orhan Pamu Alias Grace - Maragaret Atwood Sexing The Cherry - Jeanette Winterson Paul's Twitter Paul is published by Bloomsbury

Tim released his first book, 'The Last King of Lydia' in 2013. Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, it was one of my favourite books that year. He has since released a sequel 'The King and The Slave'.  He lives in Sheffield and teaches on the Warwick University undergraduate writing program. TIM'S BOOK CHOICES: Watership Down - Richard Adams Tales from Ovid - Ted Hughes East of Eden - John Steinbeck Bluets - Maggie Nelson Both of Tim's books are published by Atlantic Books. Tim's Website and Twitter.