Bookshelfie: Women’s Prize Podcast
The podcast that asks women with lives as inspiring as any fiction, to share the five books by women that have shaped them. Join Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, and her inspirational guests as they celebrate the best books written by women, sharing their creativity, voices, and perspectives. The Women’s Prize for Fiction is the biggest celebration of women's creativity in the world and has been running for over 30 years. Sit back and enjoy.
Episodes
In this deeply personal conversation, comedian and writer Meera Syal discusses how seeing herself in books helped her make sense of her own experience, the weight of intergenerational trauma and how humour saved her life.
Meera is one Britain’s best-loved comedy legends. She grew up in the small mining village of Essington in Staffordshire, where her Indian Punjabi parents settled after moving from New Delhi. Her e...
Artist and performer anaiis explains how books influence her songwriting, the impact motherhood has had on her creative practice and why bell hooks has reframed her understanding of love.
Born in Toulouse, France, anaiis grew up on the move. She was raised between Dakar, Dublin, and California, eventually settling in London where she lives now. Influenced by the work of Black thinkers and artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Ja...
Yellowface author Rebecca F. Kuang joins Vick in the Bookshelfie studio to discuss her five favourite books by women, why Sylvia Plath’s diaries made her rethink female jealousy, and how losing her grandfather served as inspiration for her latest novel, Taipei Story.
A trailblazing talent whose literary career has unfolded at an extraordinary pace, Rebecca is the #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling autho...
A double bill for Toni Morrison in bestselling author Tayari Jones’ book picks – she explains why she’s her favourite author; the need for deep, ferocious crying when reading; and her unexpected guilty pleasure – a good old murder mystery.
Tayari is the internationally bestselling author of five novels, including An American Marriage, which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2019. It was a...
In this funny and uplifting conversation, novelist and screenwriter Maria Semple discusses her desire to re-write women in fiction, why she feels “naked” when writing books and her fascination with stoicism.
Maria used to work in television, producing and writing for sitcoms and comedy specials such as Arrested Development, The George Carlin Show and Mad About You, which earned her a Primetime Emmy nomination. Mari...
Bestselling author Lousie O’Neill explains why she decided to set up daily dates around the world, how it inspired her new memoir and her journey to acceptance around addiction.
*Listener/viewer note - this episode contains reference to eating disorders and disordered eating*
Louise grew up in Clonakilty in the heart of the rugged coastline of West Cork in Ireland. After stepping away from a career in the fash...
Diana Reid, the writer behind the new Sense and Sensibility adaption, explains to Vick how re-reading Austen taught her something unexpected and why she still cringes at the thought of herself as a writer.
Diana is a screenwriter and the bestselling author of the novels Love & Virtue, Seeing Other People, and Signs of Damage. Her debut Love & Virtue won several prizes including the ABIA Book of the Year Award. Sh...
In a first for Bookshelfie, Vick is brought to tears by bestselling author Katherine Rundell’s rousing speech on the importance of teaching children courage and not breaking faith with the beauty and love of the world.
Katherine’s novels for children have won the Waterstones Book of the Year, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Costa Children’s Book Award, among many others. In 2024, she was named the British B...
Recorded Live at Women’s Prize Live, global bestselling writer Kathryn Stockett talks to Vick about the enduring allure of Mississippi, the book that gave her “electricity in my ass” and her long awaited second novel, 17 years in the making, The Calamity Club.
Kathryn was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama, she moved to New York City, where she...
Live from Baileys HQ, Ashley James joins Vick Hope to discuss how motherhood transformed her perspective, the realities of class in modern Britain, and the rise of the “trad-wife” movement.
Ashley is a broadcaster, author, DJ and advocate who first appeared on our screens in the early days of Made in Chelsea back in 2012, and has since gone on to be a feminist campaigner and social commentator. Her debut book BIMBO...
The UK’s bestselling poet, Donna Ashworth, joins Vick to discuss why ‘Instapoetry’ should not be dismissed, finding herself in the words of Sylvia Plath and the power of a midlife muse.
Donna started her social media accounts in 2018 in a bid to create a 'safe' space for women to come together and connect, but her love of all things wordy quickly became the focus, and a past love for poetry was reignite...
Award-winning poet, playwright, and novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave makes a confession about her book “borrowing”, and explains why a 50 year old book about photography should be mandatory reading for young people before they join social media.
Kiran’s first novel for adults, The Mercies, became an instant Sunday Times bestseller. It won a Betty Trask Award, was longlisted for the Jhalak Prize and was ...
Skins and Game of Thrones star Hannah Murray talks about the journey to writing her new memoir, early acting fame and why a love story with a merman had her spellbound to the end.
Hannah worked as an actor for over a decade, cast as Cassie in E4’s Skins at the tender age of 16, and later as Gilly in HBO’s Game of Thrones, alongside numerous other roles for theatre, TV and film. During her early acting career, Hanna...
Pioneering businesswoman Emma Grede defends the work-life balance honesty which has ignited recent online debates, and shares her passion for getting more women talking about money and power.
Emma is the Co-Founder and CEO of Good American, a B-Corp certified brand setting new standards for inclusivity in fashion, and a Founding Partner of SKIMS, now valued at $4 billion and recognised as one of the world’s most in...
Holly Jackson – aka the “Taylor Swift of books” – tells Vick about how she laughs at her bad reviews, her love of funny books about murder and what fans can expect from the second series of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
Holly is a superstar of crime fiction. She has sold over 10 million copies of her books worldwide, with translations in 45 different languages, a loyal following and a highly enga...
Chef, broadcaster, and food and travel writer, Romy Gill, tells Vick about her experience as a first generation immigrant to the UK, the food that punctuated the 24 hour train journeys of her childhood, and how Nigella Lawson’s cookbooks inspired her own writing.
Born in West Bengal, India, Romy first learned to cook from her mother – famous for her aloo parathas and using every unloved scrap of plants and vegetabl...
South African broadcaster, author, world-champion dancer and star of Strictly, Oti Mabuse tells Vick about her love of spicy romance novels, her rejection of tokenism and why she loves audiobooks.
Oti captured the hearts of the British public on Strictly Come Dancing, and is the only dancer to have won the show twice in a row - in 2019 and 2020. She’s presented and judged on a whole host of prime-time TV shows, inc...
Award-winning football presenter and broadcaster Kelly Cates talks about finding new opportunities in midlife, her love for the way Marian Keyes captures female conversation and why deep down she is a terrible gossip.
Kelly has been a familiar and much-loved face in sports broadcasting for over 27 years, covering everything from the Premier League to the World Cup and the Olympics. Known for her warmth, wit and sharp ins...
Bestselling crime writer Karin Slaughter reveals the gruesome storytelling culture she grew up in and why she thinks Wuthering Heights’ Cathy is “kind of a whiny bitch”.
Karin is one of the world’s most well-known and popular crime writers. Since publishing her debut novel, Blindsighted, in 2001, she has gone on to sell more than 40 million copies of her books internationally, including the hugely...
Engineer, author and broadcaster Roma Agrawal talks to Vick about reclaiming her body after childbirth, centring the knowledge of non-western cultures and why engineering is more creative than you think.
Roma is best known for working on the design of The Shard, Western Europe’s tallest tower, and is a judge for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, sponsored by Findmypast. She has given talks to tens of th...
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