Virago Books

Rachel Seiffert is one of Virago's most critically acclaimed contemporary novelists. She has published four novels and one collection of short stories. Her novels have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Dublin Impac Award and longlisted three time for the Women's Prize for Fiction. In the finale episode of this season of Ourshelves, Rachel and Lucy discuss the lasting power of individual Jewish women's resistance and endurance during WWII, the added weight of historical fiction inspired by real events, and the pleasures of rewatching TV series. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Annie Hodson is a queer writer and playwright from York, and one of the 40-strong cohort of the London Library's 2022-2023 emerging writers' programme. She has just won the Virago short story competition, with her story ‘Banshee', which will appear in the paperback of Furies in spring 2025. Lucy and Annie dive into Annie's earliest introduction to Virago through her aunt's vast collection of ‘green spines', the joy of bookclubs and the weird and wonderful power of Barbara Loden's film, ‘Wanda'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Audrey Osler is Professor Emerita of Citizenship and Human Rights Education at the University of Leeds. Her latest book, Where Are You From? No, Where Are You Really From? will be published by Virago in November and looks at the British Empire through the history of one family. This week, join us as Audrey and Lucy dive into ‘Britishness' and the conflict between identity and belonging; the varied research methods Audrey uses to uncover the minute details of individual lives in history; and the power of stories to bring us together. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victoria Belim is a writer, journalist, and translator of Persian literature and poetry. She speaks eighteen languages, including Japanese, Turkish, and Indonesian. Her memoir, The Rooster House, was published earlier this year by Virago and explores her search for the truth behind an unmentioned family secret - and the Ukrainian people's complex relationship with their Soviet history. In this episode, Victoria and Lucy Scholes unpick Victoria's fascination with learning languages; the rich tradition of Ukrainian poetry and the frustrations and excitement of translating it; our obsession with the little details of how other people live; and the continued relevance of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma Donoghue is an acclaimed writer whose novels include the international bestsellers Room and The Wonder. She wrote the short story ‘Turmagant' in Virago's recent collection of short stories, Furies, and her upcoming novel, Learned By Heart, publishes on 24th August 2023. On this episode, Emma and Lucy Scholes dive into the varied cultural reach of novels, short stories and films, the genius of Angela Carter, the long overdue recognition of Ann Lister and how the ‘Barbie' film masters trickle-down feminism for young children. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Natasha Walter is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, a journalist and human rights activist. Her books include The New Feminism and Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism, which was reissued as one of Virago's 50thAnniversary Five Gold reads this year. On this episode of Ourshelves, Natasha and Lucy Scholes discuss the continued relevance of Living Dolls in terms of the unfinished revolution of feminism and the ongoing effort to liberate ourselves, as women, from stereotypes.They also dive into Natasha's upcoming book, Before the Light Fades, a moving memoir about losing her mother to suicide as well as honouring the legacy of a family whose members struggled bravely against some of the worst crises of the twentieth century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are families a refuge or a prison? Join Veronica Raimo as she talks with Lucy Scholes about the line between fiction and auto-fiction, drawing the curtain back on the creative process, and the many idiosyncrasies of language that arise during the translation of fiction. Veronica Raimo is the author of four novels, the most recent of which, Lost On Me (Niente di Vero) was a huge bestseller in Italy, that was shortlisted for the Premio Strega Prize and won the Strega Giovani Prize and the Viareggio Rèpaci Prize. The English translation of Lost On Me is being published by Virago on 3rd August 2023. Veronica contributes cultural articles to various Italian publications, and her translations into Italian include works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Octavia E. Butler, Ray Bradbury and Ursula K. Le Guin. She lives in Rome. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kirsty Logan is a novelist and short story writer. She's the author of Now She is Witch, Things We Say In The Dark, The Gloaming, The Gracekeepers, A Portable Shelter, and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales. To mark the publication of her new book, The Unfamiliar: A Queer Motherhood Memoir, she talks with Lucy Scholes about writing like no one is reading, pregnancy journeys, disobedient bodies, the gift of sperm donation, and breaking the rules of memoir writing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Lucy Scholes as she talks with American author Mecca Jamilah Sullivan about her debut novel, Big Girl – reviewed by the New York Times as ‘achingly beautiful' – about a young black girl growing up in 1990s Harlem. On the table for discussion is coming-of-age fiction, beauty standards, women's bodies and matrilineal traditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the premiere episode of this special series of Ourshelves, commemorating Virago's 50th anniversary, join Caroline O'Donoghue, New York Times best-selling author and the host of the award-winning podcast Sentimental Garbage, as she talks about her new novel, The Rachel Incident. Listen as Caroline and Lucy Scholes discuss the intersection of Irish women's fiction with the history of reproductive rights in Ireland, actively reading people you don't agree with, the emptiness of the phrase ‘girl power' and misogyny in cultural spaces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shahrukh Husain, editor of The Virago Book of Witches, who says it represents ` womanhood in all its complexity' is not at all surprised to see a resurgence of interest in `all things witchy'. The witch knows her strength, defies authority and embodies our current fears of injustice. Shah tells Lucy how the witch can be playful but also terrifying, particularly to men, and about a childhood fascination for the witch. The writer she admires is Attia Hussain, author of Sunlight on a Broken Column, who she remembers was` so joyful' to know Shah was writing. She, alongside Shah's mother taught her that her cosmopolitan background – Pakistani, Indian, English – was her strength and made her ` a citizen of the world'. They are Shah's heroines. Shahrukh's recommendations: On the nightstand: Dame Joan of Pevensey by Rev. E E CrakeOn my mind: the TV-series The Split with Nicola WalkerOn the shelf: Sunlight on a Broken Column and Phoenix Fled by Attia HosseinOn the pedestal: My mother, who worked hard for women's rights and the reform of family laws pertaining to women's rights in Pakistan soon after its inception in 1947 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special bonus summer episode Sharma Taylor, author of What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You, takes us to the heated demi-monde of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1980s, a turbulent time in politics and gangland crime. She tells Lucy Scholes about writing in patois; the Caribbean authors right now who are representing the strength of women in society; and what her mother sacrificed to buy her books as a child.On the nightstand: The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-AgostiniOn my mind: The podcasts Unstoppable Yes You and Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival Cocoa Pod On the shelf: This One Sky Day by Leone RossOn the pedestal: My mother. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clare Chambers is the author of nine novels including Small Pleasures, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize. She joins Lucy Scholes to rave about the inimitable Barbara Pym, a Virago Modern Classic author whose love affairs shocked sixties society and who wrote about vicars' tea parties with waspish humour and moving brilliance. (Tea: ‘a drink she did not much like because of the comfort it was said to bring to those whom she normally despised.') Together they compare notes on adapting book to screen with Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends, how to evoke the inner voice and the recent, genre-defying book that made Clare think about feminism in a new way.On the nightstand: The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson and Iron Curtain by Vesna Goldsworthy.On my mind: The TV adaptation of Conversations with Friends.On the shelf: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado.On the pedestal: Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, director of the DSM Foundation, which educates young people to make safer choices around drugs. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How does writing about your life change the way you see it? Cathy Thomas talks to Lucy Scholes about her first book, Islanders, interlocking short stories set on her childhood home, Guernsey – the pleasure of joining the dots and how playwriting informed her structure. Discovering a shared love of Annie Ernaux's essays, they dive deeply into whether difficult experiences – from publisher rejections to trauma – may be reframed through the power of writing.On the nightstand: We Were Young by Niamh CampbellOn my mind: Olivia Fitzsimons' recent essay, Notes on Resilience, for The Stinging FlyOn the shelf: Annie Ernaux's A Girl's Story. On the pedestal: playwright Caryl Churchill See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How can men approach their role as feminist allies? Lucy Scholes meets Stuart Evers, award-winning author of four books including Your Father Sends His Love and The Blind Light as they discuss his introduction to the new Virago Modern Classic edition of Anna Seghers' brilliant novel Transit, and how its depiction of people caught in the Second World War reminded him of Ukrainians caught in the complex British visa system. He argues about whether Transit is a love story or not, challenges himself to read books he thinks he'll hate (and falls for them completely) and remembers as a young man how reading feminist novels taught him to listen.Stuart's recommendations:On the nightstand: Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh and Sleepless Nights by Elizabeth HardwickOn my mind: Post War Modern art exhibition at the BarbicanOn the shelf: Gorilla My Love, Toni Cade BabaraOn the pedestal: Marguerite Duras See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does it take for a woman to migrate thousands of miles across prairies and mountains? Join Katie Hickman, author of Brave Hearted and She-Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentlewomen as she talks with Lucy Scholes about the unique voices of the women who made the Wild West, the strength of oral storytelling and the damage that was done to abortion rights in the USA by religious organisations. From the Americas to Indonesia, the discovery of precious materials has meant a death sentence for indigenous tribes and they discuss the impact of mining on people's lives and the women who fought to make them better. Katie's recommendations:On the nightstand: Dear Life by Alice Munro and One Thousand and One Nights retold by Hanan Al-Shaykh. On your mind: Things Fell Apart: strange tales from the culture wars by Jon Ronson (BBC) On the shelf: Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver On the pedestal: Mama Yosepha Alonmang. Now in her eighties, this remarkable woman is an Amungme (West Papua) Tribal Leader who has been fighting all her life against environmental destruction of her Tribal lands from mining. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What happens if you don't fall in love with your baby at first sight? Join Kate Maxwell and Lucy Scholes as they challenge silent taboos about motherhood, from Elena Ferrante's The Lost Daughter to Kate's first novel Hush, about a woman who struggles with her decision to have a child on her own.Kate's recommendations:On the nightstand: What I Loved, Siri Hustvedt and The Bread the Devil Knead, Lisa Allen-AgostiniOn your mind: WeCrashed, Apple TV seriesOn the shelf: Matrix, Lauren GroffOn the pedestal: Josie Naughton, Choose Love co-founder and CEO See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you spend 288 pages deep in the life of a disabled person, can that experience shift your concept of disability? Join Chloé Cooper Jones, journalist, Pulitzer nominee and author of the new memoir Easy Beauty, as she talks with Lucy Scholes about how beauty can create a powerful mental shift. They discuss the social and political act of making the disabled body visible, the meaning of staring and ask Lewis Hamilton to teach Chloé Formula 1 Racing.Chloé's recommendations: On the nightstand – The Coward by Jarred McGinnis and Staring by Rosemarie Garland-ThomsonOn your mind – Drive to Survive, the Formula One racing documentary. On the shelf – Gretel Ehrlich's The Solace of Open SpacesOn the pedestal – Harriet McBryde Johnson, a writer and disability activist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How does food connect us to our cultural identity? Get hungry listening to Claire Kohda talk to Lucy Scholes about her debut novel Woman, Eating, which follows a mixed-race vampire in contemporary London. Claire admits she avoided reading Dracula, explores the yōkai of traditional Japanese mythology and explains how listening to Asian recipes reminds her of her mother.Claire's recommendations:On the nightstand: Where The Wild Ladies Are, by Matsuda Aoko, translated by Polly Barton, published by Tilted Axis Press and The Korean VeganOn my mind: Turn Away by Laura Moody (song)On the shelf: Barbara Hepworth: Writings and ConversationsOn the pedestal: Susanne Valadon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Doreen Cunningham, author of Soundings, followed the grey whales to the Arctic and she brings what she learnt on her journey into conversation with Lucy Scholes. Listen to Doreen explain how the very grammar of the Inupiat language gives the speaker a more respectful relationship with animals, how the trauma of poverty lingers and how her heroine is a grey whale named Earheart. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Discovery with CN LesterHow do we keep fighting when there seems to be no hope? CN Lester is a musician, academic, activist and author of Trans Like Me and they tell Lucy Scholes the best advice they've been given for continuing to work in the face of backlash. Join their fascinating conversation on their discovery of women composers of the Italian Baroque (who should never have been forgotten!), their newfound love for Ursula K Le Guin (who should have won a Nobel Prize!), and their deeply personal joy in the poetry of Joelle Taylor (who has won the TS Eliot Prize!). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George Saunders calls Dana Spiotta a ‘great American writer'. It's true - but why does it feel so surprising to hear a woman given that accolade. Join Lucy Scholes as she meets the award-winning author of Wayward and four other novels, celebrating the rare joy and complexity of midlife characters, from the accused widow in Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen to Olivia Colman's haunting performance in ‘The Lost Daughter'. Together they ask: Why is this moment in life so disturbing and so powerful, and what can we learn from confronting it? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

OurShelves celebrates the end of Season 4 with the beloved Monica Ali, a fellow of Royal Society of Literature, Patron of the Hopscotch Women's Centre, and bestselling author of Brick Lane and the upcoming Love Marriage, her wonderful, complex and optimistic book about the entangled lives of two very different families – which kept Lucy Scholes up late at night turning the pages. She asks Monica how she gestated this book for ten years, how she made her less likeable characters empathic and how listening to Esther Perel's sex and relationship therapy inspired her to change their narratives. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kaitlyn Greenidge, acclaimed author of Libertie and We Love You, Charlie Freeman, has written the new introduction to Ann Petry's landmark Virago Modern Classics novel The Narrows. She takes a deep dive into Black American history, where Petry's writing depicts an interior life under the unrelenting gaze of whiteness. Join her conversation with Lucy Scholes to find out why a single mother and Beat poet put speed in her coffee, more realistic alternatives to Emily in Paris and the concept of gender in Yoruba culture in Nigeria. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Megan Abbott, Edgar-award winning author of eight novels including the HBO series-adapted Dare Me and her latest ballet school-set The Turnout is celebrated for her dark, precise depictions of young women in hothouse environments. She tells Lucy Scholes how thrillers honour women's instincts of fear, why she's too shy to write true crime and her admiration for a female film director flipping the script on nudity. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do we see being a carer as a feminist failure? Claire Oshetsky's new novel Chouette is about raising a non-conforming child, represented by a wild but lovable owl-baby. In this episode of Ourshelves she talks with Lucy Scholes about how wrapping what started out as a memoir in a fantastical world made it possible to be honest, especially about the violence of motherhood. They compare their favourite books about feral children, discuss the role of white feminism in the Afghanistan war, and celebrate the trans women she admires. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Backstage with Eileen AtkinsHow does the writing we love create the roles we perform?Join Dame Eileen Atkins, stage and TV star, three-time Olivier Award winner and screenwriter of ‘Upstairs, Downstairs' and ‘Mrs Dalloway' talk about her autobiography, Will She Do? She tells Lucy Scholes how she created the first entertainment about servants inspired by her parents' lives, how a casting director got her addicted to the books of Virginia Woolf and how women in repertory theatre felt in charge. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donna Coonan is Editorial Director of the Virago Modern Classics list, which was set up 1978 to demonstrate the existence of a necessary canon of women's writing and to challenge the sometimes narrow definition of what a ‘classic' is. Since 2005, she has brought over 200 new books including those by Muriel Spark, Barbara Pym and Patricia Highsmith to this beloved list with its iconic green spines.Join Lucy Scholes as she fangirls with Donna about the VMCs and find out how she does the detective work of a classics editor; how Virago reassessed the legacy of Daphne du Maurier, championing her as a vital 20th century author when she'd been dismissed as a writer of romances; how Valley of the Dolls challenges the definition of a classic; and how she's bringing prescient, ground-breaking Black American authors like Gayl Jones, Ann Petry and Gloria Naylor back into print. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do you say ‘Me Too' in Chinese – when it's banned on social media?吕频 Lü Pin, Chinese feminist activist featured in Awakening by Rachel Vogelstein and Meighan Stone, talks to Lucy Scholes about her work challenging gender-based violence in a state without freedom of speech or protest. Through ingenuity, humour and sheer determination, she says, because ‘nobody' – not even the Chinese government – ‘can control everything'. She remembers the first time she read something which taught her to be proud of being a woman; champions the pop star singing about domestic violence in China; and argues for the importance of anger in fighting her cause. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do we get through the difficult days?Susie Boyt, author and theatre director, got through the pandemic by walking for miles listening to poetry podcasts to replace the conversations she'd have with friends about books. Here, she tells Lucy Scholes how she had a feminist awakening watching a play where women honoured the horror their friend went through; the sheer joy between grandmother and granddaughter in her latest novel Loved and Missed; and why Judy Garland is her ultimate heroine. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How can we find light in the dark?Oceanographer, marine biologist and author of Below the Edge of Darkness, Edie Widder's life has been as fascinating as the animals she studies, and she speaks with irresistible wonderment about watching them communicate with bioluminescence in the depths of the sea. Join her conversation with Lucy Scholes on squirting squids, being the only woman on the ship and overcoming sexism in science with the example of her extraordinary mother. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is writing a muscle? Kamila Shamsie, prize winning novelist, fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Granta Best of Young British author, talks to Lucy Scholes about her great-aunt, Attia Hosain, whose books are newly reissued with her introductions on the Virago Modern Classics list, and how she once took her aside to say, ‘Never stop writing'. In their conversation, they traverse the psychological journey of refugees, remember how reading Woolf for the first time felt like coming up for air and ask how much courage it takes to write. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can solitude be a source of inspiration?In this bonus episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson talks to Lucy Scholes about her latest novel, Jack and its place in the Gilead quartet. Exploring the idea of solitude, Marilynne speaks with characteristic insight about living with her characters as she writes and the absence they leave behind. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Who is your feminism for?Austin Channing Brown was named by parents who deliberately wanted people to presume their daughter was a white man when applying for jobs. Now a speaker and writer working for Racial Justice in the US and the author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, she explains how her hopefulness is not rooted in white people but in the work. With candour, insight and a lot of laughter, she tells Lucy why her recent bestseller’s royalty check only reinforced her resolution that economic success should not determine her feminist principles, reveals that ‘a woman becoming herself’ is her favourite fiction genre and raves about the beauty of textile art that recalls our foremothers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What can we learn from African women’s movements?If you knew about the women who fought a freedom war in 1914 Nigeria, would it alter your view of feminist history? Chibundu Onuzo, award-winning author and performer, talks to Lucy Scholes about her new novel Sankofa. Join a conversation of riotous laughs and deep thinking as Chibundu tells Lucy about the economics of cheating, Ugandan Mwenkanokano and why the Nigerian Elena Ferrante is her favourite book. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Would you become a surrogate mother?Publishing her first novel over the age of fifty, Susan Spindler writes brilliantly about post-menopausal life in her thriller Surrogate. Join her and Lucy Scholes as they discuss why older women are forced to emulate fertility or risk being called a ‘hag’ and to hear them talk about mothers in recent literature – from joyful physical intimacy to inherited trauma and the curious cases of women addicted to pregnancy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How can you create your own world when this one doesn’t serve you?Join as we radically restructure myths, stories and genres – from the American West to fairy tales and nineties pop icons. C. Pam Zhang is author of How Much of These Hills is Gold, longlisted for the Man Booker and Rathbones Folio Prizes and one of Barack Obama’s books of the year. She talks to Lucy Scholes about defiantly imagining herself into erased histories of Asian Americans, sexy feminists and how eavesdropping inspires her writing. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join Lucy Scholes as she has a frank, funny and fascinating talk with Amanda Coe, author of three novels, and BAFTA award winning scriptwriter of Black Narcissus – for which she also wrote the introduction to the new Virago Modern Classics edition. Amanda talks about adapting novels for screen (like fancying someone on the first date) and explores the feminist texts that changed her life, from the profundity of The Golden Notebook (like making you wear a sanitary pad for 600 pages) to the levity of Heartburn (proving middle aged women do laugh). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How can reading rewire your brain?After a childhood spent calling Henry James her ‘dude’ and Evelyn Waugh her ‘friend’ R. O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries, talks to Lucy Scholes about how determinedly reading more people of colour and queer voices helps reconfigure her internal world to match her external world – where straight is not the default. Join her conversation with Lucy Scholes as they break down the myth of the selfish male artist and figure out how to talk about her latest book Kink, a collection of erotic short stories, with religious Asian parents. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How can you be a strong woman in a world that’s not built for you?Justine Cowan is an attorney used to fighting environmental cases against huge corporations but writing about her mother’s childhood in her first book, The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames led her to uncover a very different injustice. She joins Lucy Scholes to talk about finding mother figures in chosen families, rewriting history from new perspectives and how, as a female lawyer in the American South, she overcame barriers by taking courage from her heroes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How can we write a life unexpected?Author of seventeen novels, fourteen plays, theatre-maker, co-director of Fun Palaces and Stonewall writer of the year Stella Duffy OBE is an inspiration of hard-won wisdom and appetite for learning new things. She joins Lucy Scholes for a conversation about living without children in a pro-natalist society, how existentialism and yoga inform her writing and the time she met Patricia Highsmith - as well as why Bridgerton is brilliant. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What do monsters do for us? Join Lucy Scholes for a powerful conversation with Riva Lehrer, artist, activist and author of Golem Girl, her beautifully illustrated memoir about living with disability. From the history of freak shows to the power – and limits - of politicisation, they confront the way monsters violate boundaries and give us permission to live differently. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this special bonus episode of OurShelves Virago Publisher Sarah Savitt, turns the tables on our host, Lucy Scholes, for a chat about her personal highlights from season one and her most anticipated up-coming Virago publications. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do you balance motherhood and creativity?In this episode of OurShelves Lucy Scholes interviews Daisy Johnson, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Fen, Everything Under and Sisters, on rewriting the haunted house, why women are expected to use personal lives in fiction, and how books on motherhood are creating a feminist conversation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do you overcome criticism?In this episode of OurShelves Lucy Scholes interviews Sigrid Nunez, author of The Friend and What Are You Going Through. Lucy and Sigrid discuss the music of Odetta, the comfort of creatures, and Sigrid's friendship with Elizabeth Hardwick. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Whose narrative do you believe?In this episode of OurShelves Lucy Scholes interviews Melatu Uche Okorie, author of This Hostel Life. Lucy and Melatu discuss Milkman by Anna Burns, Rosa Parks and the importance of challenging the narrative. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do you have the courage to try again?In this episode of OurShelves Lucy Scholes chats to Irenosen Okojie, author of Butterfly Fish; Speak Gigantular, Nudibranch and contributor to the short story collection Hag, about the wonder and power of short stories, finding joy in activism and literary legend Toni Morrison. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What is the first book you saw yourself reflected in?In this episode Lucy and Liv discuss short storytelling, bingeing I May Destroy You and creating spaces where people can hold truth to power. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How can we reconsider failure?In this episode of OurShelves Lucy Scholes interviews Linda Grant, a multi-award-winning author whose latest novel, A Stranger City, is out now in paperback. In this episode Lucy and Linda discuss Barbara Pym, Mrs. America and the importance of recalling our failures as well as our successes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Does nostalgia change the way you feel about the past?In this episode of OurShelves Lucy Scholes interviews Margaret Atwood, two-time winner of the Man Booker Prize and author of more than forty works, including fiction, poetry and critical essays. From the medieval inspiration for Game of Thrones to editing out mosquitos from your memories, this episode is a goldmine of facts, guilty pleasures and a little bit on the joy of Hercule Poirot. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does friendship mean to you?In this episode of OurShelves Lucy Scholes interviews Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, creators of the hit podcast; Call Your Girlfriend. In this episode Lucy, Ann and Aminatou talk about fighting for a radically different future, the comfort of being read to and the sex scenes in Normal People. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.