Bookshelfie: Women’s Prize Podcast

Barbara Kingsolver, winner of the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction discusses her winning novel, Demon Copperhead and also shares the books that have inspired her impressive career. Barbara Kingsolver is an American novelist, essayist, poet, and activist. She has published over a dozen critically acclaimed books, including the bestselling novels The Poisonwood Bible,The Lacuna, and Flight Behavior, and is the first author to win the Women’s Prize for Fiction twice - first in 2010 for The Lacuna and the 2023 Prize was awarded for Demon Copperhead, a reimagining of Dickens' David Copperfield set in poverty-stricken Virginia at the height of the opioid crisis.  She has received numerous other literary awards over the course of her career, including the National Humanities Medal and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In addition to her writing, Barbara is a prominent activist and advocate for issues related to the environment, animal rights, and social justice. She has been involved in numerous campaigns and nonprofit organisations, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Center for Biological Diversity, and is the founder of the Bellwether Prize for fiction that addresses issues of social justice. Barbara’s book choices are: **Little Women by Louisa May Alcott **Children Of Violence Series, “Martha Quest” By Doris Lessing **Shiloh And Other Stories by Bobbie Ann Mason **Orlando by Virginia Woolf ** Middlemarch by George Eliot Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season six of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, and they continue to champion the very best books written by women. Don’t want to miss the rest of Season Six? Listen and subscribe now! This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Alex Scott MBE joins Vick at The Women’s Prize Live Festival  to talk about her journey to self-acceptance, dealing with online trolls and THAT World Cup moment in Qatar. Alex is a former professional footballer, presenter, and broadcaster. The former Arsenal Captain and England Centurion is also one of the nation’s most beloved presenters. In 2021, Alex began her new role as host of BBC’s Football Focus, the first permanent female host in its 47-year history. Earlier this week, she was the co-host of UNICEF’s Soccer Aid and also lends her support to the domestic abuse charity, Refuge. In 2022, Alex published her Sunday Times Bestselling memoir, How (Not) To Be Strong,  in which she candidly shares the lessons and challenges that have shaped her.  Alex’s book choices are:  **Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton  **Becoming by Michelle Obama **A History of the World in 21 Women by Jenny Murray **Manifest by Roxi Nafousi **Untamed by Glennon Doyle Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season six of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, and they continue to champion the very best books written by women. Don’t want to miss the rest of Season Six? Listen and subscribe now! This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Bestselling author Isabel Allende on her experiences of love, loss, gratitude and why we need to stay optimistic in uncertain times.  Isabel Allende is an author, philanthropist and activist. She is one of the most widely-read authors in the world, having sold more than 77 million books internationally. Born in Peru to Chilean parents, Isabel won worldwide acclaim in 1982 with the publication of her first novel, The House of the Spirits, which began as a letter to her dying grandfather.  Since then, she has authored more than twenty six bestsellers including Daughter of Fortune, Paula, and City of the Beasts. And her latest book The Wind Knows My Name is out now. Her writing blends magical realism with political and social commentary, exploring themes of family, love, loss, and social justice. She has been recognized with numerous awards and honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Foundation. Isabel’s book choices are: **The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer **Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar **Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario **Broken Open by Elizabeth Lesser **Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season six of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, and they continue to champion the very best books written by women. Don’t want to miss the rest of Season Six? Listen and subscribe now! This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

From home cook to food journalist and eventually chef and restaurateur, Ravinder Bhogal  reflects on her  own experiences as an immigrant in London and how it influenced  a ‘no borders’ kitchen in her own restaurant. Ravinder is a journalist, cook and owner of the incredible Jikoni restaurant in Marylebone, in west London. She started her career as a beauty writer for More magazine in the early noughties before a TV cooking competition completely changed her life. Ravinder beat off nine thousand other budding chefs to be crowned “The New Fanny Craddock” on Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word in 2007. It catapulted her to fame, including an award-winning cookbook and a number of TV appearances alongside the likes of Ramsay and Jay Rainer, as well as her own series. Her new book Comfort and Joy is out now.    Ravinder’s book choices are: The Awakening by Kate Chopin Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys How to Eat by Nigella Lawson Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in her Head by Warsan Shire The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season six of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, and they continue to champion the very best books written by women. Don’t want to miss the rest of Season Six? Listen and subscribe now! This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Live from Bailey’s HQ, Louise Minchin, former BBC Breakfast Presenter, endurance athlete, writer and podcaster reveals how she coping with her kids flying the nest, finding time to judge the Women’s Prize and she discusses her new book, Fearless: Adventures with Extraordinary Women. Louise is someone whose warmth, empathy and journalistic prowess will be familiar to millions of people across the UK, she presented BBC Breakfast for almost twenty years, lighting up TV screens across the nation and negotiating the delicate balance of being both someone who can ask difficult questions to those in power and someone you'd actually like to have breakfast with. In 2021 she decided to finally give herself a lie-in, though hasn’t exactly slowed down. She’s a keen - and incredibly successful triathlete and fitness ambassador, presenter of the Push Your Peak endurance podcast and is the chair of this year’s Women’s Prize judging panel. Plus she’s written two books - Dare to Tri followed her journey from the BBC Breakfast sofa to team GB triathlete and her new book, Fearless: Adventures with Extraordinary Women, is published at the end of May.  Louise’s book choices are:  **Island of Adventure by Enid Blyton ** The House of the Spirits Isabel Allende ** Room by Emma Donohue ** The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson ** The Salt Path by Raynor Winn Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season six of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, and they continue to champion the very best books written by women. Don’t want to miss the rest of Season Six? Listen and subscribe now! This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Ruth Ozeki, winner of the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction discusses the power of meditation, the importance of writing beautiful lists and how novels eventually take on a life of their own.  Not only an award winning writer, Ruth is also a filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest. She is the author of five novels, The Book of Form and Emptiness, My Year of Meats, All Over Creation, A Tale for the Time Being, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize and translated into 28 languages. She has also written a short memoir, Timecode of a Face. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she teaches creative writing at Smith College and is the Grace Jarcho Ross 1933 Professor of Humanities. Ruth’s books: ** The Pillowbook of Sei Shonagon  ** A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara  ** Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh ** Piranesi by Susannah Clarke ** A Writer's Diary by Virginia Woolf  Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season six of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, and they continue to champion the very best books written by women. Don’t want to miss the rest of Season Six? Listen and subscribe now! This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

In this very special bonus episode, Vick sits down with this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlisted authors, Jaqueline Crooks, Louise Kennedy, Barbara Kingsolver, Priscillla Morris, Maggie O’Farrell, and Laline Paull. The locations of their books span the globe, from Renaissance Italy and Northern Ireland during The Troubles, to opioid-infested Virginia and even an underwater world populated with extraordinary creatures, and we’ll be finding out more about these phenomenal books and why they deserve a spot on your bookshelf during the episode. The 2023 winner will be announced on Wednesday 14th June. The shortlist: **Fire Rush by Jaqueline Crooks **Trespasses by Louise Kennedy **Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver **Black Butterflies by Priscillla Morris **The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell **Pod by Laline Paull Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season six of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, and they continue to champion the very best books written by women. Don’t want to miss the rest of Season Six? Listen and subscribe now! This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Comedian Josie Long joins Vick to discuss internal monologues, her big move to Scotland and how ADHD is changing the way she sees the world and herself. She may be best known for her standup comedy but she is also a podcaster, playwright, co-founder of the education charity Arts Emergency, and now an author, with her very own debut book , Because I don't know what you mean and what you don't - a brilliant, richly-drawn collection of short stories. Josie started doing stand up at the tender age of  just 14 years old and by the time she was 17 - shortly before heading to Oxford University to study English - she won the BBC New Comedy Award. After graduating, she returned to the standup circuit and was named best newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2006. She’s since become the first woman to be a triple nominee for the Edinburgh comedy award. Josie’s book choices are: ** Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys ** Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit ** Experiments in Imagining Otherwise by Lola Olufemi ** New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver ** Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season six of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, and they continue to champion the very best books written by women. Don’t want to miss the rest of Season Six? Listen and subscribe now! This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Author, journalist and powerlifter Poorna Bell discusses love, loss, the depiction of South India in literature and female representation in the male-dominated world of sports. Poorna Bell is an award-winning journalist, author and powerlifter(!) who writes across mental and physical wellbeing, women and diversity. Poorna has published three works of non-fiction: Chase The Rainbow, In Search of Silence and Stronger, which is part memoir, part manifesto about women's strength and fitness. In 2019 she won Stylist's Rising Star award, Red magazine's Big Book Award and secured a Sunday Times Sports Book Accolade in 2022. Her debut novel In Case of Emergency is out now. Poorna’s book choices: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy Beloved by Toni Morrison My Fight, Your Fight by Ronda Rousey Luster by Raven Leilani Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season six of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, and they continue to champion the very best books written by women. Don’t want to miss the rest of Season Six? Listen and subscribe now! This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Author, podcaster and multi-hyphenate Emma Gannon shares her wisdom, her books and explains why we need to reframe our definition of success. Emma Gannon is a Times bestselling author, broadcaster, speaker, novelist and host of the recently retired Ctrl Alt Delete podcast. She has been a columnist for The Times, Telegraph and Courier magazine and can now be found over on her Substack page The Hyphen. In 2018, she was selected in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in media and is an ambassador for The Princes Trust and World Literacy Foundation. Emma has published five bestselling books to date, including The Multi-Hyphen Method; Sabotage and Disconnected, and her newest book The Success Myth, which unpicks society’s often problematic definitions of success, is out next month. Emma’s book choices are:  ** The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson  ** Floor Sample by Julia Cameron ** The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan  ** Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby  ** The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck  Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season six of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world, and they continue to champion the very best books written by women. Don’t want to miss the rest of Season Six? Listen and subscribe now! This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.