Talking of Books

01 Feb 2020: Hafsa Lodi has covered fashion in the region for a decade, and is a seamstress and designer herself. Her non-fiction book Modesty: A Fashion Paradox is an in-depth look into a multi billion dollar retail sector that is no stranger to controversy.

08 Feb 2020: Montegrappa Writing Prize winner Stacey Siebritz explains what the prize means to her, and UK literary agent Luigi Bonomi explains the role he'll play mentoring her and helping take her manuscript 'The Leap' to publication.

08 Feb 2020: Tayari Jones shares the sofa with Annabelle Corton on Talking of Books live at the Emirates Festival of Literature 2020 to discuss her novel 'An American Marriage’ which traces the lives of Roy, a man wrongly convicted of a crime, and his wife Celestial. 

08 Feb 2020: The man behind the scenes of 17 of Sir David Attenborough’s nature documentaries, award-winning cameraman Gavin Thurston, shares his secrets on how to capture cheeky monkeys at their cheekiest and chats about his book 'Journeys in the Wild: The Secret Life of a Cameraman’.

08 Feb 2020: Scottish artist Ross Collins has illustrated over 100 books for children and written a few too. He shares his insights on drawing for children in favourites like ’There’s a Bear on My Chair’ and 'This Zoo Is Not for You’.

08 Feb 2020: Sara-Jane Arbury and Fiona Ross are the wordsmiths behind 'Roald Dahl’s Rotsome and Repulsant Words’. They explain to Annabelle Corton how their lively lexicon lets children discover etymologies, definitions and fascinating language facts along the way.

08 Feb 2020: Poet Kevin Crossley-Holland met Syrian refugee Nujeen Mustafa here in Dubai at the 2017 Litfest which resulted in him writing her story 'Everyday Wonders: The Girl from Aleppo’. They discuss their collaboration on the eve of a multinational choir performing their work at the Festival Finale.

08 Feb 2020: The former foreign minister of Somaliland, Edna Adan Ismail, joins Annabelle Corton live at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature to discuss her work reducing maternal mortality.

08 Feb 2020: Historical fiction writer, Esi Edugyan, explains to Annabelle Corton the ideas and process behind ‘Washington Black’ the story of an eleven-year-old slave who finds himself pursuing a promise of freedom.

08 Feb 2020: Bestselling Australian author Markus Zusak explains to the Talking of Books team the pressure of finishing a book that was 13 years in the making, and why his daughter is perhaps the sharpest critic of his productivity.

07 Feb 2020: Sustainability campaigner Tony Juniper asks ‘What has Nature Ever Done for Us?’ in his new book and explains to Sonal Rupani that 100% of our economic development comes from what nature provides yet still, we take most of it for granted.

07 Feb 2020: Henry Firth and Ian Theasby are the boys from Bosh! and they’re here to help everyone eat more plants. They’re the most popular vegans on YouTube, reaching more than half a billion people in their first year alone. They chat with us about how and why they gave up meat and what it means to live life on the veg.

07 Feb 2020: Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock overcame a challenging childhood to pursue a career as a space scientist. She discusses the role that 'The Clangers' played in inspiring her to look to the skies as a very young child and everywhere that’s taken her since, including writing ‘Dr Maggie’s Grand Tour of the Solar System’.

07 Feb 2020: Roma Agrawal is an award-winning structural engineer who builds really big things. She chats about why she promotes engineering careers to kids and about her first book, ‘Built'.

08 Feb 2020: UAE astronauts Hazzaa al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi chat about life on a space station and training with world-record breaking female NASA astronaut Christina Koch.

07 Feb 2020: Harry Baker and Chris Read are 'Harry and Chris’ the UK’s favourite (if only?) Comedy-Rap-Jazz duo. Hear them chatting about pandas, robot wars, bullying and mathematics with Sonal Rupani.

25 Jan 2020: It's a popularity contest this week as Shadi Moazami director and founder of MAIA Luxury Communications, and Tamreez Inam, bookstagrammer and LitFest Team member, discuss, compare and contrast two books connected by popularity and celebrity culture: The Kim Kardashian Principle by Jeetendr Sehdev and New Kings of the World: Dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi and K-Pop by Fatima Bhutto.

25 Jan 2020: Dubai-based journalist, bookworm and former editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, Louise Nichol, tells us how she gets her reading fix as a busy mother of three, and what books she’s enjoyed recently, from Nadiya Hussain's raw and honest memoir Finding My Voice to Oliver Jeffers’ dazzling work as a children's author and illustrator, to an enigmatic, dangerous and fashion forward assassin in Luke Jennings’ pacey and racy Codename Villanelle series.

25 Jan 2020: The controversial and - some might say ‘murderous’ - act that’s got the whole book world talking – it really divided our listeners on the show! And a big question about the value of historical artefacts and the stories objects from the past can tell us.

18 Jan 2020: The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature announced a ground-breaking venture with Dubai Police and the Penal and Correctional Institutions to publish Tomorrow, I Will Fly, a book of essays written by men and women inmates in Dubai jails.  

18 Jan 2020: Elham Al Qasimi, first Arab woman and UAE national to reach the North Pole, joined us to talk about her journey to the Arctic and what she’s looking forward to asking wildlife cameraman Gavin Thurston at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

18 Jan 2020: Would you leave the comfort of home behind for a life in the wilderness, hunting your food and living in a tent? Miriam Lancewood has, and Ehsan Al Awadhi gave us the highlights from her memoir Woman in the Wilderness.

18 Jan 2020: Journalist Georgia Tolley joined us in the studio to review Thinking on My Feet by Kate Humble, a narrative on the simple act of walking, why it’s beneficial and how it has helped her.

11 Jan 2020: Author Rehan Khan tells us about the history and research running through his own Tudor Turk novels and what he’s looking forward to asking Alwyn Hamilton about her books. Rehan will be moderating Jonathan Phillips and Bettany Hughes on the legendary characters from myth and history that feature in their own historical work, from Aphrodite to the Sultan Salahuddin.

04 Jan 2020: Finding Chika by Mitch Albom is a touching rumination on the magic of children and the extraordinary lengths parents will go to for them. Festival Director, Ahlam Bolooki, talks about Finding Chika as well as Tuesdays with Morrie, two heartwarming books that Mitch will be talking about at the EmiratesLitFest.

04 Jan 2020: How do you stay calm in such a busy world? Misha’al Eskander joined us in the studio to tell us all about A Monk’s Guide to Happiness by Gelong Thubten and why we all need mindfulness in our lives.

04 Jan 2020: How do you decide which idea to run with and which action should become your top priority? Eithne Treanor told us all about Do It or Ditch It by Bev James, who will be attending the EmiratesLitFest in February - a down-to-earth self-development book that teaches you how to make clear decisions.

21/12/2019: What’s a yuleshard, what story competition has just launched for children ages 8-12, and who has just been added to the Emirates LitFest lineup? Allison K Williams and Annabelle Corton wish you a happy festive season and give the gift of news and outdated Christmas vocabulary.

21/12/2019: The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion weaves a great playlist of songs throughout its story of what happens when you reconnect with your long lost love. And After the End by Clare Mackintosh is the story of a couple who disagree on an impossible choice they have to make as parents. Sara Hamdan - journalist, editor at Think With Google MENA, blogger at holidaysinheels and more, weighs in on these very different reads and recommends some more of her favourites from this past year.

21/12/2019: Journalist, editor and broadcaster Mark Lomas' review of the incredible memoir Ascent by mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington took us to colder climes and new heights of appreciation for mountaineering, climbing, and a ‘life lived on the edge’.

21/12/2019: A tenuous connection to Mariah Carey, Hugh Grant and literature. Just because.  

14/12/2019: The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature have announced two exciting additions to the 2020 line-up in February: author of bestselling author Markus Zusack and creator of Geronimo Stilton, Elisabetta Dami. Plus a heartwarming story to restore your faith in kindness. ‘Mind the Gap!’

14/12/2019: What will cities look like in the future? And is the future Asian? International journalist Riz Khan moves from the advances in radio broadcasting to the advances of modern life, touching on various nonfiction books that help us answer these questions (Built by Roma Agrawal, What Has Nature Ever Done For Us? by Tony Juniper and The Future is Asian by Parag Khanna).

14/12/2019: Mai Jia is 'China's answer to John Le Carre' according to the Financial Times. Polyglot, writer and Chinese book club founder Antonina Grunska-Gokdeniz reviews Decoded, a story of a mathematical genius recruited as a codebreaker by the secret services who begins to unravel, ahead of her interview with Mai Jia at the Emirates LitFest.

14/12/2019: We dedicated this week’s literary soundtrack to the late Malcolm Taylor as we unearthed some old recordings of Malcolm sharing his thoughts on Ian Fleming’s famous creation: James Bond. Have a listen to one legend weigh in on another, and remember him with this epic Bond tune.

23/11/2019: In honour of the Faith in the Modern World panel at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature next year, we just had to play Faith by George Michael.

23/11/2019: How good are you at keeping secrets? Author Karen Osman discusses her book The Perfect Lie, a thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. She also reviews the ideal holiday read: The Secret Hours by Santa Montefiore who both of the authors will be coming to the Festival in February 2020.

23/11/2019: If your spouse were convicted of a crime and sent to prison, would you stand by them? How long would you wait? An Emirati marriage reviews an American Marriage. Bookworm couple Ahlam Bolooki and Peyman Parham Al Awadhi were in the studio to review the Tayari Jones novel that has been an Oprah Book Club selection and winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

23/11/2019: Today’s Talking of Books co-host Allison K Williams has edited and coached many authors throughout her career. She gives us the lowdown of her own workshops happening at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in February 2020 and even spills some tips and tricks on how to improve your draft.

16/11/2019: At the next Emirates Litfest in Feb 2020, the dazzling yet sinister actions of the assassin Villanelle in Killing Eve, the serial killer in Linwood Barclay’s Elevator Pitch and the more insidious crimes in Christina Dalcher’s bestselling Vox, are offset by the inspiring and uplifting memoirs of the ‘Muslim Mother Theresa’ Edna Adan Ismail and champion for girls’ education and gender equality, Ziauddin Yousafzai. Alex Broun, Tamreez Inam and Flora Rees give their top recommendations about who they can’t wait to see next year.

09/11/2019: What does a spy thriller and an insect in pajamas have in common? The Cockroach by Ian McEwan and Agent Running in the Field by John Le Carré are both works of fiction that are inspired in different ways by Brexit. How can novels make sense of complex and divisive politics in a way that non-fiction can’t? Poet and voracious reader Mark Fiddes and Yvette Judge from the Emirates Literature Foundation review and discuss the merit of these books in isolation and in the wider context of a divided world.

09/11/2019: How can books help us cope in trying times, particularly if you are a child? My Monster and Me by Nadiya Hussain is a beautiful picture book that tackles worry and anxiety, Jemima Small Vs. The Universe by Tamsin Winter explores body image and online bullying, and finally The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Rauf navigates subject matter that even adults struggle to articulate. Reviewer Tamara Clarke, author of The Super Surfer which tackles the tricky subject of internet safety, and former school librarian and current Children’s Programme Advisor at the Emirates Literature Foundation Yvette Judge, share how books can help or hinder in difficult circumstances.  

26/10/2019: What book would you save in a fire? Who is coming to Sharjah International Book Fair? and which writer has come up with a novel way of… well…deciding what to include in their novel? Ft. Allison K Williams and Annabelle Corton.

26/10/2019: A Gillian Flynn novel inspired Tove Lo’s ‘Cool Girl’ – that’s our feature on Soundtrack this week.

26/10/2019: We said goodbye to Lyra Silvertongue at the end of The Amber Spyglass nearly a decade ago. She returned as a baby in prequel La Belle Sauvage, but now she’s all grown up at university and caught up in another deadly adventure in the highly anticipated Book of Dust Vol 2: The Secret Commonwealth. Anthony J Permal (AKA Tony Khan) and Maán Jalal weigh in. Ft. Annabelle Corton and Allison K Williams co hosting.

26/10/2019: Our book of the week explores the secrets and lies of Pakistani high society as they navigate love and loss against the backdrop of terror plots. Awais Khan shares the inspiration for his debut novel and advice from his experiences of finding an agent and getting published. Ft. Annabelle Corton and Allison K Williams co hosting.

19/10/2019: Since The Phantom of the Opera just graced the stage at Dubai Opera, we thought we’d look at the literary inspiration for this beloved musical and how much of the story was based on history?

19/10/2019: The Giver of Stars is a breathtaking story of five extraordinary ‘packhorse’ librarians and their journey through the mountains of a Kentucky mining town during the Depression in spite of a hostile landscape and community. Author Karen Osman joined us in the studio to review this latest standalone novel from the author best known for the heartbreaking Me Before You series.

19/10/2019: To be vegan or not to be vegan? That is the question! How To Live Vegan by YouTube sensations at BOSH! is hot off the press and we delve into the pages with food blogger at My Custard Pie, Sally Prosser, Emirati entrepreneur and travel film maker, Mohammed Parham Al Awadhi, and real life vegan Ariel Robinson.

12/10/2019: Isobel Abulhoul and James Mullan dived deep in to the Man Booker shortlist, talking about which are their favourites, not-so-favourites and which book they think could be the 2019 winner.

05/10/2019: When Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home is taken away and unsure of where to go in life, they literally decide to put one foot in front of the other and walk over 630 miles along the South West Coastal Path of the UK, camping in the wild, creating a new understanding of the word ‘Home’ along the way. Author and bookworm Daisy Line reviews The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, and Flora Rees recommends Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist as the perfect fictional complement to our non-fiction reviews so far.