In our first episode, our hosts – author and critic Jo Hamya and broadcaster and critic James Walton – get to know each other by discussing their favourite books from the Booker Library – the name we give to all the books that have been nominated for (or won!) the International Booker Prize and Booker Prize over the last 50-odd years.This episode contains significant plot details.In this episode Jo and James talk about: Why No One is Talking About This, a novel that captures our deep entanglement with the internet through its blend of laugh-out-loud humour and beautifully-observed prose, could have won the 2021 Booker Prize. Why Patrick McCabe's The Butcher Boy’ a 1992 Booker shortlistee that follows a young man's descent into madness in small-town Ireland, isn't a virtuous read but it is one that will blow your socks off. Books discussed in this episode: Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe Further reading:A Q&A with Patricia LockwoodA full transcript of the conversation is available on our website here.Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit https://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Only one week to go until the release of The Booker Prize Podcast. We'll be revisiting past longlisted, shortlisted and winning Booker novels to see if they've stood the test of time. Sometimes our hosts will love them and sometimes, well, they might not... Stay tuned until 6 July.Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Launching on 6th July, this is a weekly podcast featuring lively conversations and fascinating insights from The Booker Prizes. Join us as we revisit winning novels from years past, speak to authors and experts from the literary world and peer behind the curtain of this year's prizes.Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices