Bookies' Favourite

Hannah, Lucy & Aaron dive into the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2026 winner May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry, published by Granta. This historical novel is split across two timelines filed with art, conspiracy and royal politics. The trio try to figure out what was real and decipher the rumours, stories and gossip spread throughout the castle. What are your thoughts of this novel? We&#...

Hannah, Lucy & Aaron discuss the comical monologue that is Black Bag by Luke Kennard, published by John Murray. This novel follows a struggling actor as he takes on the role of Black Bag in a psychology class. We also hear some thoughts from listeners in the bookclub. We’re reading the Booker Prize 2026 shortlist ahead of the winner announcement. *Sorry about the audio quality, this episode wa...

Lucy & Aaron are joined by bookie guest Eleni ( @books.andcaffeine.matter ) to discuss the divisive literary read The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout, published by Viking. Many listeners from the bookclub also share their thoughts... opinions are very split! What are your thoughts on this shortlistee? We're reading the Booker Prize 2026 shortlist ahead of the winner announcement....

The crew discuss the Scottish Island queer fiction novel which is one of the most popular books of the year, John of John by Douglas Stuart, published by Picador. Some listeners from the bookclub share their thoughts on the book too, everyone seems to love it! Were expectations too high for this book? We're reading the Booker Prize 2026 shortlist ahead of the winner announcement. 💬 Share your...

Lucy, Colin & Aaron discuss otherworldly sci-fi novel The End of Everything by M. John Harrison, published by Serpent's Tail.. And we hear the thoughts of some members of the bookclub. The crew is pretty divided over this one, what did you think of the book? We’re reading the Booker Prize 2026 shortlist ahead of the winner announcement. 💬 Share your thoughts with the book club ⁠Instagram...

The Booker prize 2026 Shortlist has been announced! Aaron, Lucy & Colin share their reactions to the books & decide on a reading schedule. The End of Everything by M. John Harrison John of John by Douglas Stuart The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout Black Bag by Luke Kennard May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry The Disapperers by Marlon James We aim to upload a new episode every Fri...

Bookies' Favourite are co-judging the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize 2027, alongside writers Saraid de Silva & Ben Pester. Acting as one judge on the literary prize's panel of three judges we'll work together to longlist, shortlist and find a winner from all nominated books from small presses across the UK &Ireland. We previously covered some of the books selected for the 2026 prize,...

We've share our thoughts on this year's long listed books. Aaron keeps his streaky having predicted a book which made it onto the list - everyone else has failed yet again to live up to his standard, but the group choice of John of John did make it onto the list. The bookies describe each of the novels to each other and end with a Covergirl segment in which they judge the book covers. We'll be cov...

Welcome back to our 5th series, we're jumping into the Booker Prize 2026. In this episode we predict the Bookers dozen ahead of the announcement. Aaron, Hannah, Lucy & Colin pick 3 books eligible for the award, and combine them with the most popular choice, John of John by Douglas Stewart. They also share what other eligible books they've read. The bookies catch up with each other following th...

The book club looks back on all 6 books from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist, share their rankings, predict a winner & discuss the bookies' odds. 💬 Share your thoughts with the book club Instagram @bookiesfavouritebookclub Goodreads @The Bookies' Favourite Bookclub Email bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com Aaron @AaronRiceMedia Lucy @bookz2026 Hannah @certifiedbookyapperh...

The book club dives into their final read from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist. The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from the German by Ross Benjamin and published by Riverrun. 💬 Share your thoughts with the book club Instagram @bookiesfavouritebookclub Goodreads @The Bookies' Favourite Bookclub Email bookiesfavouritebookclub@gmail.com Aaron @AaronRiceMedia Lucy @bookz202...

The book club dives into their fifth read from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist. The Nights are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar, translated from the German by Ruth Martin, published by Scribe. 🍰 Read it & Eat it Aaron rustles up some Persian saffron & raisin cookies severed to the characters when they visit Iran. If you enjoyed this book you might also enjoy our many discussi...

The book club dives into their fourth read from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist. The Witch by Marie NDiaye, translated from the French by Jordan Stump, published by MacLehose Press. 🍰 Read it & Eat it Check out the club’s socials to see journalist & home baker Aaron’s baked cookies from this book. If you’d like to see Aaron bake some of his recipes inspired by the books get...

The book club dives into their third read from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist. Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from the Mandarin Chinese by Lin King, published by And Other Stories. This novel was previously awarded: The National Book Award for Translated Literature (2024) The Golden Tripod Award (2021) Baifang Schell Book Prize (2025) ALTA First Translation Prize (2...

Aaron & Lucy dive into the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist ahead of the shortlist announcement later today. We were gifted a copy of Gloria Don't Speak by Lucy Apps, published by Weatherglass Books, for review. Lucy shares her thoughts on the book & speaks with the writer about the novel. We've covered 3 other books on the longlist, check out our previous episodes: - The Ben...

The book club dives into their second read from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist. She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated from the Bulgarian by Izidora Angel, published by Peirene Press. This novel was previously awarded the Bulgarian Elias Canetti Prize in 2019 and the English version won the Gulf Coast Translation Prize 2023. It was awarded the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant i...

The book club dives into their first read from the International Booker Prize 2026 shortlist. On Earth as it is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated from the Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan, published by Charco Press. This book was also longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize US & Canada 2026. The original Brazilian Portuguese novel, titled Assim na Terra como embaixo da Terra, won...

Lucy & Aaron star their thoughts n what did & didn't make it to the shortlist. We'll be reading one book a week until the winner is announced. Our current reading schedule: On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated from the Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan, published by Charco Press She Who Remains  by Rene Karabash, translated from the Bulgarian by Izidora Angel, publ...

Lucy & Aaron discuss this year's International Booker Prize long-list and share their picks for the shortlist. After tomorrow's announcement we'll be sharing our reactions to the books that have made it onto the shortlist and we'll be setting out our reading schedule for the next 6 weeks before the winner is announced. The book club has covered this award in 2025, the Booker Pr...

Ahead of the winner announcement Aaron & Lucy spoke with the director of the award and one of this year's judges. The insight helps us understand the prize and what is considered when deciding between the books. We'll be jumping into another shortlist next week; the International Booker Prize 2026. Before then we've got our interviews with the team who brought you Eden's Shore....

In this episode, Aaron & Lucy discuss Ghost Driver by Nell Osborne, published by Moist Books. This is the final book we’re covering from the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize 2026 shortlist  before the winner is announced — and we break down its themes, style, and where it sits among this year’s contenders. 🏆 The Winner Is Next 📅 The winner is announced tomorrow (Wednesday) 🎧 We’ll be ba...

In this episode, Colin, Lucy & Aaron discuss Figures Crossing the Field Towards the Group by Rebecca Gransden, published by Tangerine Press. This is the first book we’re covering from the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize 2026 shortlist, and we unpack the novel’s structure, atmosphere, themes, and how it stands out within this year’s field. 📖 What’s Coming Next We’ll be continuing our shor...

All four of us are back together for this episode as we discuss  On the Greenwich Line  by  Shady Lewis , translated by  Katharine Halls , and published by  Peirene Press . This is our third longlist pick from the  Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize 2026 , and we talk through its structure, themes, translation, and how it’s stacking up against the other contenders we’ve read so far. 📖 What’s Ne...

In this episode, Lucy, Hannah & Colin discuss  The Weasel and the Whore  by  Martha Luisa Hernández Cadenas , translated by  Julia Sanches  and  Jennifer Shyue , published by  Héloïse Press . This is the second book we’ve selected from the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize 2026 longlist , and we dig into its themes, structure, voice, and why it feels like such a bold and challenging contend...

In this bonus episode , Aaron, Colin & Hannah revisit  There’s a Monster Behind the Door  by  Gaëlle Bélem , translated by  Karen Fleetwood  and  Laëtitia Saint-Loubert , published by  Bullaun Press . The novel was the  2025 winner of the Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Press  (now the  Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize ), and we take this opportunity to examine why it won. We dis...