Bookshelfie: Women’s Prize Podcast

2020 Women’s Prize winner Maggie O’Farrell joins Vick Hope and reveals what it was like to win the prize over a zoom call and what level of research is really required to write a masterpiece like Hamnet . Maggie O’Farrell won the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel Hamnet - a moving exploration of death and grief in Elizabethan England told through the story of William Shakespeare’s real life...

In a special episode in front of a live audience at Latitude Festival, Vick Hope talks to the hilarious, multi-award winning comedian, writer and actor Aisling Bea about her early career, writing and starring in her much loved Channel 4 show This Way Up , and becoming the face of loneliness. Armed with the stage name ‘Bea’, a tribute to her late father, Aisling broke away from the family tradition...

For this very special episode, Minnie Driver talks to Vick in front of a live audience in Bedford Square Gardens, London. The actor, author and singer opens up about her yearning for freedom and the pieces of herself that were sacrificed for fame. Minnie became known for her lead roles in Good Will Hunting and Circle of Friends . She broke into Hollywood where she performed in some incredible film...

Writer, academic and broadcaster Emma Dabiri talks about identity, ghost stories and why she could make a whole podcast about Toni Morrison's books.  Emma’s first book, an essay collection called Don’t Touch My Hair , explores the way that colonisation, oppression and, ultimately, liberation are all expressed in Black women’s hair – and it gained critical acclaim from just about everyone. Emma’s s...

Vick Hope speaks to the six brilliant authors who have been shortlisted for the 2022 Prize - Elif Shafak, Lisa Allen-Agostini, Louise Erdrich, Maggie Shipstead, Meg Mason and Ruth Ozeki. The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on June 15th.    The 2022 shortlist:  The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini The Sentence by Louise Erdrich Gr...

Presenter, broadcaster and author Laura Whitmore chats with Vick about their early MTV days, Love Island and why women should take up more space in a room. Best known for presenting shows like I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! NOW!, Survival of the Fittest and of course, Love Island , she has become a familiar face on our screens. But she’s also a regular voice on her own BBC Radio 5 Live serie...

Actor, producer and director Adjoa Andoh covers everything from Bridgerton to reincarnation and tells us why she doesn’t care about fame.  Coined ‘the undisputed queen of audio and radio drama’ by Penguin Random House, Adjoa is now better known for her leading role as Lady Danbury in Bridgerton . For 30 years she was a BBC Radio actor, and was a welcome addition to popular TV shows like Doctor Who...

Singer and songwriter Joy Crookes talks about rude awakenings and the feeling of being ‘slapped in the face’ by books. Joy was initially recognised in 2013 for her cover of Hit the Road Jack which she posted on YouTube, gaining over 600,000 views (one of whom was to be her manager). Three years later, she released her debut single, New Manhattan, at just age 17. She went on to release her debut EP...

Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE shares her life of relentless campaigning for justice for her son, Stephen Lawrence. She’s a multi-award winning campaigner and an author, but most importantly she’s a fighter. Her tireless campaigning led to the MacPherson inquiry, which described the Metropolitan Police as “institutionally racist”. In 2003, she was given an OBE for services to community relations and...

Activist and author Scarlett Curtis celebrates Virginia Woolf and her brave and trailblazing attitude to mental health. Former Women’s Prize for Fiction judge, Scarlett, is co-founder of The Pink Protest which has helped change two laws: a bill to help end period poverty and another to include FGM in the Children’s Act. She’s curated two books, Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (and Other Lies) and It’s N...

Campaigner, Gina Miller tells Vick Hope how she has taken adversity and turned it into power. Gina is a businesswoman and dedicated philanthropist who strongly believes in standing up for what she thinks is right, no matter the cost. She has shown this through her social justice work, her True and Fair Campaign, and through the legal challenges she launched against the government during Brexit. He...

Join this season’s new host Vick Hope as she talks to Gabby Logan MBE, sports presenter and former gymnast, about the three M’s – midlife, motherhood and her MBE.  Gabby is a broadcaster, prolific writer, podcaster and former gymnast. She became a familiar face on our TV screens in the 1990s, and since then has presented every major sporting event in the UK. In 2020 she received an MBE for service...

In a special episode to mark International Women’s Day 2022, multi-award winning author, screenwriter and playwright Malorie Blackman OBE joins host Zawe Ashton to tell her why writing about black joy is so important to her.   After being discouraged from being a teacher because of the colour of her skin, Malorie went on to write over 70 children’s, YA and picture books (some of which have been ad...

We are closing the season with a bang as multi award-winning singer songwriter Emeli Sandé joins host Zawe Ashton to tell her how women’s writing supported her through her journey from quiet medical student to chart-topping megastar.    Emeli doesn’t really need an introduction, as you’ve undoubtedly heard of her, or her incredible music. She’s got an MBE, she performed at the London Olympics open...

Journalist and writer Bim Adewunmi talks about why female desire needs to be brought out of the shadows and explains why women’s fiction is about more than pastel coloured covers and 3 for 2 tables at bookshops.   Bim is a producer at the infamous storytelling podcast This American Life but was thrust in to the spotlight through her own show, Thirst Aid Kit  - a musing on female desire and lust -...

Actor, presenter and advocate Jameela Jamil tells Zawe why we need to own the narrative around women’s bodies.   Jameela started out on T4 in 2009, before becoming the first solo female presenter of the Radio 1 Chart show. But it was her move to the States in 2016 which really propelled her into the international spotlight. Taking on acting for the first time, she landed a role in the NBC series T...

Activist, playwright, novelist, critic, broadcaster and ‘searcher’ Bonnie Greer tells Zawe about the power of being on the outside looking in.    Bonnie is one of the UK’s most influential black cultural figures - having played a part in running numerous major institutions including the British Museum, the Royal Opera House, London Film School, RADA, Serpentine Gallery and Theatre Royal Stratford...

Film director Nia DaCosta chats to Zawe Ashton about directing the new Marvel film -  The Marvels and why she’s proud of the label ‘black, female director’.    Nia is an American Director and Screenwriter. Her debut feature film Little Woods , which she wrote and directed, won her the Nora Ephron Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival and her ambitious update of the classic 1990s horror film Candyman...

TV presenter, executive and author June Sarpong tells Zawe Ashton how storytelling has played a central role in her life.    June must be one of the most well known faces on TV - but more recently she’s become known as an opinion maker and author who’s not afraid to engage in politics, and speak her mind. Alongside being a key voice in the Remain campaign, an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust and...

Radio DJ and TV presenter Edith Bowman talks to Zawe Ashton about their shared teenage obsession with Marilyn Monroe, being part of the early days of MTV UK, and how Alice Walker’s The Colour Purple changed her life.  Over her long and impressive career in broadcasting, Edith has acted as a touchstone and a guide into music, cinema and the media world for so many people. From her early days on Hit...

Iconic actor Claire Danes talks to our new host Zawe Ashton about the messy female protagonists that have had a positive impact on her life.   Claire Danes is one of the most celebrated actors working today - and the winner of multiple Golden Globes, Emmys and an Oscar. From her portrayal of a totally fresh and cool Juliet in Baz Luhrmann’s legendary adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, to her Emmy-win...

Candice Carty-Williams, bestselling author of Queenie , talks to our new host Zawe Ashton about how groundbreaking fiction can help decolonize British literature.  Candice and her debut novel Queenie made history smashing every glass ceiling going when it was published back in 2019. The novel was conceived when Candice was just twenty-six. It went on to win Blackwell’s Debut Book of the Year 2019,...

Recorded in front of a live audience at Latitude festival, comedian and writer Katherine Ryan tells Yomi why no-one should be scared to be disliked.    Katherine is a stalwart of all the big TV comedy panel shows, she’s presented numerous other programmes, and last year she wrote, starred in and executive produced her own sitcom, The Duchess, about a single mum living in London, which leapt to the...

Recorded in front of a live audience with guest presenter Pandora Sykes, 2021 Women's Prize Chair of Judges Bernardine Evaristo shares the five books that have shaped her as a person and as a writer.   Bernardine Evaristo is an award-winning, number one bestselling writer, a Professor of Creative Writing and also an activist who endlessly campaigns for inclusivity within the publishing industry.  ...

Yomi speaks to the six incredible authors who have been shortlisted for the 2021 Prize - Brit Bennett, Patricia Lockwood, Claire Fuller, Cherie Jones, Susanna Clarke and Yaa Gyasi. The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on September 8th.    The 2021 shortlist:  ** The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett ** Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller ** No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood...