Mythmakers

We are going on an adventure! Love The Lord of the Rings? Why not read along with us as we consider the books from the writer's point of view! Taking it chapter by chapter, novelist Julia Golding will reveal new details that you might not have noticed and techniques that will only go to increase your pleasure in future re-readings of our favourite novel. Julia also brings her expert knowledge of l...

We are going on an adventure! Love The Lord of the Rings? Why not read along with us as we consider the books from the writer's point of view! Taking it chapter by chapter, novelist Julia Golding will reveal new details that you might not have noticed and techniques that will only go to increase your pleasure in future re-readings of our favourite novel. Julia also brings her expert knowledge of l...

If you love Rohan and want to delve into Tolkien’s influences, you’ll enjoy reading William Morris’s 1889 fantasy novel The House of the Wolfings. Join Dr Ingrid Hanson of the University of Manchester as she takes Julia Golding deep into the heart of Mirkwood in today’s episode of Mythmakers. Discover the fabulous female characters, Hall Sun and Wood Sun, along with the lan...

We are going on an adventure! Love The Lord of the Rings? Why not read along with us as we consider the books from the writer's point of view! Taking it chapter by chapter, novelist Julia Golding will reveal new details that you might not have noticed and techniques that will only go to increase your pleasure in future re-readings of our favourite novel. Julia also brings her expert knowledge of l...

A fabulous new addition to the world of Tolkien literature is the recently published collection of his poetry. Today on Mythmakers, join Julia Golding and Jacob Rennaker as they guide you through the highlights and must-read pieces, delving into Tolkien’s remarkable range and versatility. They explore what the collection reveals about his creative processes—did you know that, at one po...

We are going on an adventure! Love The Lord of the Rings? Why not read along with us as we consider the books from the writer's point of view! Taking it chapter by chapter, novelist Julia Golding will reveal new details that you might not have noticed and techniques that will only go to increase your pleasure in future re-readings of our favourite novel. Julia also brings her expert knowledge of l...

It’s truly delightful when a world imagined by a dreamy child eventually blossoms into a novel for the adult writer.   In this episode of Mythmakers, Julia Golding meets with Georgia Channon, who first conceived the idea for her book many moons ago during a school trip to a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Georgia shares her journey from stage to page, along with insights into w...

We are going on an adventure! Love The Lord of the Rings? Why not read along with us as we consider the books from the writer's point of view! Taking it chapter by chapter, novelist Julia Golding will reveal new details that you might not have noticed and techniques that will only go to increase your pleasure in future re-readings of our favourite novel. Julia also brings her expert knowledge of l...

What a breath of fresh air it is to find an academic as passionate about discussing the adaptations of Tolkien works, as he is about Tolkien’s books!   Today, on Mythmakers, in this wide-ranging interview, Julia Golding meets with Professor Nick Groom to discuss his book Twenty-First Century Tolkien. In the first part of their discussion, Nick provided a serious literary critical attent...

What a breath of fresh air it is to find an academic as passionate about discussing the adaptations of Tolkien works, as he is about Tolkien’s books!   Today, on Mythmakers, in this wide-ranging interview, Julia Golding meets with Professor Nick Groom to discuss his book Twenty-First Century Tolkien. In the first part of their discussion, Nick provides a serious literary critical attent...

Words have the power to bless and to curse. In a fascinating discussion with Dr Eleanor Baker of Oxford University, Julia Golding takes Mythmakers on an exploration of the world of book curses in Eleanor’s Bodleian Library little book called—inevitably enough—Book Curses! From there, we’ll go on to look at the Medieval culture of the book, and the role of magic books and cu...

We are going on an adventure! Love The Lord of the Rings? Why not read along with us as we consider the books from the writer's point of view! Taking it chapter by chapter, novelist Julia Golding will reveal new details that you might not have noticed and techniques that will only go to increase your pleasure in future re-readings of our favourite novel. Julia also brings her expert knowledge of l...

Do you want to know the key to the Narnian universe? Today, on Mythmakers, Julia Golding and Jacob Rennaker take a quick tour around the seven heavens as they discuss C.S. Lewis's book The Discarded Image, as well as the Medieval model, Michael Ward's groundbreaking study, Planet Narnia, and so much more. What other scientific model inspirations have writers found, and where would it be best to li...

You certainly won't want to miss today’s episode of Mythmakers where Julia Golding is meeting with Professor John Holmes from Birmingham University. John has made a name for himself by giving performances of Tolkien's 1938 lecture on dragons, complete with the magic lantern slides discovered in the archives of Oxford's Natural History Museum. Today, John and Julia will go on to discuss the f...

Is this film a hit or miss? Did the New Zealand team, led by Phillippa Boyens, Japanese director Kenji Kamiyama and Executive Producer Peter Jackson, deliver? That's the question that preoccupies Julia Golding and Jacob Rennaker today as they dissect their response to The War of the Rohirrim, in the Season 7 debut episode of Mythmakers. Listen in to their nuanced account of the good and less than...

Season 6 of Mythmakers has been a whirlwind of captivating stories, thought-provoking discussions, and fascinating insights into the world of fantasy and beyond. As we reach the end of this season, we're taking a moment to reflect on some of the standout moments with a collection of clips from five fan-favourite episodes. Join Julia Golding as we journey to revisit a daring Young Adult heist set i...

How does one come up with an original idea for a fantasy story? Hannah Kingsley in her debut novel Soul Hate (due to come out in February 2025) has taken the trope of the ‘soul mate’ and asked the question: 'what if...you had a soul hate?' Join us on today’s episode of Mythmakers as she discusses with Julia Golding the origins of her story and the importance of giving her heroine...

Today, the Mythmakers podcast is setting sail with author Rose Black on a new fantasy pirate adventure for an adult audience: Fated Winds and Promising Seas (available on Hodderscape). Julia Golding discusses with Rose where the idea came from – and it’s not the usual place in this case! In a book about freedom and predestination, they go on to discuss representation in fantasy books a...

What would it be like to be the only human in a family of vampires? This is the dilemma that Helen Glynn Jones' character faces in the first part of her Ravens series: The Last Raven. Helen joins Julia Golding in today’s episode of Mythmakers to discuss the tradition of vampire myths around the world in the places she's lived, and in her own version as she imagines that being human is what m...

Author Tad Williams is well-known for his epic fantasy series, such as The Dragonbone Chair, as well as his sci-fi and urban fantasy works. He joins us today on the Mythmaker's podcast to talk to Julia Golding about The Navigator's Children, his conclusion to a vast epic, this part called The Last King of Osten Ard. This achievement has been compared to Tolkien's legendarium in its ambitious scope...

We are going on an adventure! Love The Lord of the Rings? Why not read along with us as we consider the books from the writer's point of view! Taking it chapter by chapter, novelist Julia Golding will reveal new details that you might not have noticed and techniques that will only go to increase your pleasure in future re-readings of our favourite novel. Julia also brings her expert knowledge of l...

In a perfect fit for the Mythmakers podcast, join us for today’s episode where Julia Golding meets illustrator and author John Hendrix to talk about his entertaining graphic novel: The Mythmakers. This is the story of the friendship between J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and not only is it a biography of their fellowship, but it also explores in the company of our guides, a lion and a wizard...

We are going on an adventure! Love The Lord of the Rings? Why not read along with us as we consider the books from the writer's point of view! Taking it chapter by chapter, novelist Julia Golding will reveal new details that you might not have noticed and techniques that will only go to increase your pleasure in future re-readings of our favourite novel. Julia also brings her expert knowledge of l...

Mermaids come with some watery baggage, which raises the question: just how does one do a fresh take on this iconic mythical creature? This was the challenge facing Berlie Doherty and Tamsin Rosewell - a writer and illustrator team. Find out their answers to this question in today’s episode of Mythmakers where they’ll be diving into the reinvention of mermaids in their fascinating conv...

We are going on an adventure! Love The Lord of the Rings? Why not read along with us as we consider the books from the writer's point of view! Taking it chapter by chapter, novelist Julia Golding will reveal new details that you might not have noticed and techniques that will only go to increase your pleasure in future re-readings of our favourite novel. Julia also brings her expert knowledge of l...