Book Off!

Bestselling spy novelists, David McCloskey and Paul Vidich, join Joe Haddow for a good ole fashioned booking off! As well as discussing their new novels ('The Seventh Floor' and 'The Poets Game'), they also share some great book recommendations and talk us through their writing processes. Spy novels are such a great way to learn about world history - and have arguably never been more popular - so...

Wendy Holden and Jane Thynne are both former journalists turned authors. In fact, they both worked in newsrooms together back in the 1980s. In this episode, they bring their journalistic competitiveness to the Book Off, but who will triumph? They also discuss their new novels, their fascination with WW2, why we need to keep telling historic stories and how fun research can be. They also give us so...

Bestselling authors Linwood Barclay and CJ Tudor join Joe Haddow for a chat about their latest books. They discuss genre bending, horror tropes, Stephen King, rocking horses, muffins and building tension. Quite the eclectic mix! They also give us some brilliant book recommendations too. THE BOOK OFF 'Long Island' by Colm Toibin VS 'Altered Carbon' by Richard K Morgan And here's more on their lates...

This week, Joe welcomes Milly Johnson and Samuel Burr to the studio to chat about their new novels. They talk about their writing habits, author mates, female friendships and the menopause amongst man other things. They also give us some great book recommendations too! THE BOOK OFF 'We All Want Impossible Things' by Catherine Newman VS 'Persuasion' by Jane Austen And here's more on our guests book...

Emilia Hart and Bridget Collins join Joe Haddow for a pretty fun and chaotic Book Off! They chat about their brilliant new novels and give us some great book recommendations too. They also talk about the importance of author mates, accidental deleted manuscripts and some scary scary creepy scenes too. Joe had a glass of wine at lunch before the recording - and then had a negroni thrust in his hand...

Debut novelists, Roisin O'Donnell and Chris McQueer, go head to head in a war of the words. They discuss their latest books ("Nesting" and "Hermit"), their writing inspirations, the power of short stories and the rise of toxic masculinity. Whilst Andrew Tate doesn't in any way dominate this conversation (nor should he dominate any conversation), the authors discuss how young boys and men are being...

Sir Ben Okri and Colum McCann join Joe Haddow for a war of the words... This is Ben's second appearance on Book Off! (The first author to ever appear on the pod twice) Let's see if he's learnt anything from the last time! He chats about his woozy new novella - "Madame Sosostris And The Festival For The Broken-Hearted' - and the poem that inspired it. We also learn he has read 'War & Peace' FOU...

Bestselling thriller writer(s) Nicci French go head to head in a war of the words, expertly refereed by Joe Haddow. Nicci French is the pen name for husband and wife writing team, Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, and this is our first official Book Off couple! Sean and Nicci discuss their latest novel, The Last Days Of Kira Mullan, and dig into some of the themes which inspired this story. Here's th...

On the first episode of Series 14, we welcome bestselling authors Emma Healey and Fiona Scarlett to the studio. They chat about their new novels, give us some great book recommendations - and go head to head in a war of the words! (aka The Book Off) Emma Healey's new novel - Sweat - is a maze-like game of revenge. It blends wellness culture with a slow-burn feminist thriller - and is eery and unse...

Two great music writers - James Kaplan and Paul Alexander - join Joe for a War of the Words. Joe gets excited and takes a deep dive into both of their brilliant books, which are both about America in the 40s and 50s, both about the jazz music scene, but follow very different subjects. 'Three Shades Of Blue' by James Kaplan is biography of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Bill Evans - and how those t...

Two top crime and thriller writers, Ragnar Jonasson and Simon Kernick, go head to head in a war of the words! They share their love of Agatha Christie, why scary crime fiction doesn't have to be gory and tell us about their latest novels. ("Death At The Sanitorium" and "You All Die Tonight") We also get some cracking book recommendations from them too. THE BOOK OFF! 'The Murder On The Links' by Ag...

We're so excited to bring you this episode of Book Off, featuring two of our favourite poets and humans - Salena Godden and Hollie McNish. We've been wanting to bring these two together for a long time, and now it's finally happened! They talk about their latest poetry collections ('With Love Grief and Fury' and 'Lobster'), the freedom of performance, why they love the form so much and why you can...

M.L. Rio and Kate Weinberg arrive as friends, but will they still be so chummy with each other after the Book Off? They chat to Joe Haddow about their latest books, Trump, the importance of publishing at a time when books are being banned and why Scooby Doo is a great influence. They also give us some briiiilliant book recommendations too - so apologies to your TBR pile in advance. Here's more on...

Authors Rachel Abbott and Hannah Lynn go head to head in a war of the words. They talk to Joe Haddow about their self-publishing journeys, the pros and cons and how things have changed on that side of the industry over the last 10 years. They also discuss their new novels, how the weather can influence a chapter and why sometimes you just have to go away in the name of research! THE BOOK OFF 'Good...

Bestselling crime author, Attica Locke, goes head to head with John Le Carre's son - Nick Harkaway - in a war of the words. Nick has written a new George Smiley novel, continuing his father's legacy, called Karla's Choice. He chats to Joe Haddow about the pressure he felt to get the character right and how he got himself in the right frame of mind to write the novel. Attica discusses 'Guide Me Hom...

Two brilliant authors and humans, Rumaan Alam and Tessa Hadley, go head to head in a war of the words. They talk about the joy of writing about clothes, how money can drive you mad and how some cities are easier to fictionalise than others. As well as discussing their new novels, their writing styles and processes and the difference between writing short stories, novels and novellas, they also giv...

Global bestselling author Liane Moriarty goes head to head with author and content creator Bea Fitzgerald. They discuss their new novels, their writing practices and seasonal reading! Bea shares her love of reality TV, which has inspired her new novel, and Liane tells us about her characterisation and plot structures. They both get pretty nervous about the Book Off, and decide to have an arm wrest...

Booker Prize winner, Alan Hollinghurst, and Booker Prize shortlistee, Rachel Kushner, join Joe Haddow for a Book Off! Alan talks about his new novel 'Our Evenings' and the writing processes to create the tempo he wanted. The book follows the life of the actor Dave Win, from 1962 to 2020. Rachel discusses her new novel 'Creation Lake' (her second novel to be shortlisted for the Booker) and the auth...

On this episode of Book Off, Joe welcomes Elif Shafak and Evie Wyld to the studio. These two fabulous writers talk about their latest novels ("There Are Rivers In The Sky" and "The Echoes") as well as giving us some brilliant reading recommendations. Evie lived in a haunted house, so we explore that and her fascination with ghosts - which are a central theme in her new book. She also discusses the...

TV and Radio presenter, and former record company executive, Nicki Chapman goes head to head in a war of the words with producer, musician and label owner, Simon Raymonde. On this episode of Book Off we delve into two music memoirs, covering two very sides of the music industry and history, but that both have a lot in common. Simon was one third of the band Cocteau Twins between 1983 and 1997, and...

Susie Dent and Louise Minchin join Joe Haddow this week for a war of the words. Both guests have had incredible careers in TV (Susie recently celebrated 30 years of being on Countdown and Louise spent 20 years on BBC Breakfast's red sofa) and both have written non-fiction before, but have now turned their hand to novels. Susie say's her book, Guilty By Definition, is more of a linguistic mystery t...

Book Off is back! And for the first episode of Series 13, we welcome bestselling authors Mark Haddon and Clare Chambers to the pod. They chat to Joe Haddow about their new books and what they have been reading and enjoying recently. 'Dogs and Monsters' is Mark's latest collection of short stories, where he weaves together Ancient Greek fables with more dystopian narratives. In each of the eight st...

Journalists and authors Sophie Elmhirst and Susan Smillie go head to head in a war of the words. In this nautical themed episode, they discuss their new books (Maurice & Marylin and The Half Bird), the joy (and dangers) of the sea, sailing and leaving work behind and exploring the world. They also share with us some brilliant book recommendations. Warning - this episode might make you want to...

Bestselling authors Freya North and Matt Cain go head to head in a War of the Words! They chat to Joe Haddow about their new novels ('The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne' and 'One Love') which are possibly each author's most personal book to date. Both writers share a love of Manchester, a city they both lived in and that means a lot to them - it also features in both of these novels, as does...

What do you get when you put three children's authors on a podcast? (well, it turns out you get a lovely conversation!) Join Justin Somper and Cat Doyle as they discuss their new pirate books for kids and go head to head in a War of the Words. They also share some great book recommendations with us and tell us about their writing processes. THE BOOK OFF 'Impossible Creatures' by Katherine Rundell...