The Penguin Podcast
Penguin Books UK
The Penguin Podcast is back with a brand new series called Ask Penguin. In each episode, we will take you inside Penguin Books to meet some of the incredible authors we publish as well as the people who work here, to get answers to all of your book-related questions. Do you need to find your next page-turning read? Are you curious to find out what a day in the life of an editor is like, or simply why a small, aquatic, flightless bird became the iconic emblem that adorns Penguin books worldwide? Look no further than Ask Penguin, The Penguin Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 28, 2019 • 35min
Jonathan Coe with Nihal Arthanayake
Jonathan Coe, author of political satires ‘What a Carve Up!’ and ‘The Rotters’ Club’ chats to Nihal about his new novel ‘Middle England’. Jonathan brings with him objects that have inspired his work and reveals what it’s like to be an Elvis impersonator warm-up act. #PenguinPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 14, 2019 • 30min
Diana Evans with Katy Brand
Bestselling author Diana Evans (‘26a’, ‘The Wonder’) is the perfect guest for this podcast. She tells Katy how objects are an integral part of her writing process and brings some along including a mini London telephone box and her trusty sketchbook. Diana also chats about her new award-winning novel ‘Ordinary People’ which was one of the New Yorker’s books of the year. #PenguinPodcast #InspirationalObjects Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 31, 2019 • 32min
Kit De Waal with Katy Brand
Kit De Waal, author of the critically acclaimed bestseller ‘My Name is Leon’ joins Katy in the studio. Kit talks about her latest book ‘The Trick to Time’ and brings objects that have inspired her including a track by Scott Matthews and a photo of Forlorn Point in Ireland.#PenguinPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 17, 2019 • 32min
Howard Jacobson with Nihal Arthanayake
Howard Jacobson joins Nihal in the studio to chat about his new book ‘Live a Little’. Howard, who has written sixteen novels including Booker prize-winning ‘The Finkler Question’, brings objects that have inspired him including a playbill and a painting. He also tells the story of the time Kylie Minogue called him ‘a b**tard’ (in a good way). #PenguinPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 3, 2019 • 33min
Mark Haddon with Katy Brand
Mark Haddon tells Katy Brand how art inspires him – choosing objects including an oil painting and a David Hockney print to explain. The award-winning ‘Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ author also talks about his new book ‘The Porpoise’ based partly on the legend of Antiochus, it also features tales of time travel, pirates and semi-naked wrestling. #PenguinPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 19, 2019 • 33min
Nigella Lawson with Katy Brand
Nigella talks about her first cookbook ‘How To Eat’, which is 20 years old and has now been made into an audiobook. She tells Katy why she thought this would the only book about food she would write, why some of her ideas have changed since writing and what her rider is when working abroad. Nigella beings in some objects that inspire her including a tea caddy and a photograph of her kitchen table. #PenguinPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 5, 2019 • 32min
Elif Shafak with Nihal Arthanayake
Bestselling Turkish-British author Elif Shafak, chats to Nihal about the brilliant idea behind her new novel ’10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World’ (10:38 is the period of time a brain can still be active after death). Elif, who has also received standing ovations at Ted Talks and is an academic and journalist, explains how she finds it impossible to write without noise and brings with her objects that inspire her work including a pair of headphones and a wooden statue of Don Quixote. #PenguinPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 22, 2019 • 33min
Philippa Perry with Nihal Arthanayake
'The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read’ by Philippa Perry recently topped the Sunday Times Bestseller List and has been called ‘a parenting book for people who don’t normally buy them’. Philippa, a psychotherapist and broadcaster, talks about not judging parents, how there is no 'good and bad' and what to do about screen time. Philippa’s objects that inspire her writing, include a tiny pair of walking boots and a TV remote control. We also hear an extract from the audiobook. #PenguinPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 8, 2019 • 33min
John Boyne with Nihal Arthanayake
John Boyne, bestselling author of ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ chats to Nihal Arthanayake about harnessing ideas around his new YA book ‘My Brother’s Name is Jessica’. John brings objects into the studio that have inspired him including a football, a locked black box and reveals the reason behind his Kate Bush tattoo. #PenguinPodcast #KateBush #JohnIrving #JohnBoyne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 24, 2019 • 29min
Ian McEwan with Katy Brand
Booker prize-winning author Ian McEwan visits the Penguin studio to talk about his new novel ‘Machines Like Me’ - set in an alternatives 1980’s in which synthetic humans are on sale. Ian and Katy talk about the ethics of AI, why drinking wine on the top of a mountain is good for your health and how being an A list Hollywood screenwriter can be ‘the ruin of many an English novelist’. Ian’s objects of inspiration include steel drinking cups and a drawing of a squirrel’s skull. #PenguinPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
