Confessions of a Book Collector

Award-winning journalist and novelist Saima Mir joins David Headley to talk about crime, justice, identity and the experiences that shaped her bestselling Jia Khan series. Drawing on her years reporting from courtrooms and covering the aftermath of the Bradford riots, Saima reflects on what happens when communities lose faith in the institutions meant to protect them, and why she has always been i...

Recorded live at Capital Crime Festival 2026, David Headley is joined on stage by one of Britain's most celebrated crime writers, Clare Mackintosh. With the release of her latest thriller, It's Not What You Think , Clare takes audiences behind the scenes, revealing how she carefully constructs twists, plants misdirection and plans every emotional beat of a reader's journey. Together...

In this deeply personal conversation, 90's pop idol Anthony Kavanagh (known as Kavana) joins David Headley to go beyond the headlines of Pop Scars and explore the writing journey itself. Learning how vulnerability became his greatest strength on the page, Anthony reflects on the unexpected challenges of revisiting his past. They discuss writing through addiction and grief, why humour was esse...

In this episode, David Headley sits down with bestselling thriller writer, former British diplomat and clinical psychologist Chris Merritt to explore the remarkable experiences behind his new spy thriller, Octagon . From living through rocket attacks in Iraq and navigating the tensions of Jerusalem, to treating trauma and PTSD in the NHS, Chris reveals how real-world conflict, psychology and intel...

Lucy Vine has spent years making readers laugh with bestselling rom-coms. But under the pen name Elly Vine, she's now embracing murder and a very different kind of female rage. In this episode of Confessions of a Book Collector , Lucy talks about why so many women are drawn to crime fiction, the surprising link between humour and suspense, and how The Lottery Winners Club was inspired by the...

Crime writer Chris McDonald joins Confessions of a Book Collector to discuss his new private investigator novel, The Wrong Man , and why readers remember how a book made them feel long after they've forgotten the plot. Chris shares how a chance conversation on a Manchester football pitch convinced him that ordinary people could become authors, why he secretly wrote his first novel without tel...

Bestselling author Sarah Vaughan joins David Headley on Confessions of a Book Collector to discuss power, privilege, politics, morally difficult characters and the emotional truths hidden beneath public lives. From her years as a political journalist during the Blair era to the explosive success of Anatomy of a Scandal and its Netflix adaptation, Sarah reflects on the strange timing that turned th...

In this episode, David reflects on one of the greatest pleasures of reading: discovering a remarkable book before the rest of the world catches up. David also shares some of the upcoming and recently published novels he’s most excited about, including literary fiction, crime, fantasy and speculative fiction that readers will soon be pressing into each other’s hands with the words: “You have to rea...

Go behind the scenes of this year’s Capital Crime Festival as David sits down with Festival Director Lizzie Curle to uncover what it really takes to create London’s biggest celebration of crime and thriller fiction. From programming standout events and welcoming bestselling authors to building the unique atmosphere readers return for year after year, Lizzie shares an insider’s look at the festival...

We’re joined by Hallie Rubenhold, bestselling author behind The Five and Story of a Murder, and a writer who has reshaped how we think about some of history’s most infamous crimes. Known for shifting the focus away from sensationalised killers and back onto the lives of overlooked victims, Hallie explores what happens when we start questioning the stories we’ve always accepted as truth. We talk ab...

Tom Rob Smith joins Confessions of a Book Collector to talk about writing a love story that doesn’t start at the beginning. Best known for Child 44 , Tom has spent much of his career writing high-stakes, high-tension stories. But with his new novel, Twenty Years Together , he turns to something different: what happens when a relationship has already been built. This conversation centres on a quest...

David Headley sits down with multi-award-winning crime author David Goodman to talk about A Reluctant Spy , the breakout thriller that launched the Goldsboro Crime Collective , and the years of writing that came before it. From Edinburgh to espionage, David shares how a lifelong love of sci-fi and spy fiction collided to create Jamie Tulloch and the brilliantly inventive “Legends Program.” They di...

Jennie Godfrey returns as a champion of new voices, discussing Goldsboro’s Fresh Ink subscription and this month’s standout pick Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, a novel she knew would be “huge” from the very first pages,  Following the remarkable success of The List of Suspicious Things , Jennie reflects on the reality of becoming a Sunday Times bestseller, the pressure of writing a second novel,...

David sits down with bestselling author Lottie Moggach to discuss her fourth novel, Mrs Pearcey, a story rooted in a real Victorian murder that took place in her own grandmother’s kitchen in Camden. Lottie shares how the case captured her imagination for years, from the shocking details of the crime to the way it was reported in the press at the time. Rather than stepping inside the mind of the ki...

This week on Confessions of a Book Collector , we’re joined by the brilliant Francis Spufford to talk about his genre-bending new novel set in Blitz-era London. Blending history with fantasy, Francis explores a city under pressure, where bombs fall, angels appear, and time-travelling fascists threaten the fragile course of history. At the heart of it all is Iris, a fiercely ambitious and refreshin...

Bestselling author and The Traitors icon Harriet Tyce joins us to talk about her latest instant Sunday Times bestseller, Witch Trial , a chilling courtroom thriller she insists is best read with the lights on . Harriet takes us inside the story behind the book, from juries and modern-day witchcraft to the unsettling question at its core: who is really telling the truth? We explore what draws her t...

In our first episode of series 6, we welcome architect, TV presenter and soon-to-be bookshop owner, George Clarke. George is best known for George Clark's Amazing Spaces and The Restoration Man, but long before the television cameras and the buildings, George was a boy growing up in Sunderland and who discovered the power of books. That love of reading has stayed with him, so much so, that he...

In our sixth series of Confessions of a Book Collector, David sits down with more remarkable writers and storytellers whose lives have been shaped by books in very different ways. In this short teaser, discover who’ll be joining him for conversations about the stories that changed them. If you love books, stories and the people behind them, join us for the new series every Saturday.

This episode is a pause. A look back at the books and conversations that shaped 2025. A look ahead to a bold, uncomfortable, exciting year in reading. And a reminder that five minutes a day is enough. Without books, the world gets smaller. With them, it stays human. I’ll be back in the spring. Until then — GO ALL IN.

What if the magic of books was literally lethal? In this episode of Confessions of a Book Collector , David Headley sits down with Sunday Times bestselling author Georgia Summers to talk deadly ink magic and magical bookshops. We explore  her latest novel  The Bookshop Below,  a story where book thievery, secret societies and rival booksellers collide, and where owning the wrong shop can get you k...

David Headley sits down with Philippa Gregory, the undisputed queen of historical fiction, to discuss The Berlin Traitor and the woman history loves to hate: Jane Boleyn.  Drawing on new scholarship and decades of obsession, she reframes Jane not as a salacious villain, but as a brilliant survivor navigating the lethal politics of Henry VIII’s court.  Philippa reflects on revisionist history, femi...

David Headley is joined by historical fiction titan, Bernard Cornwell OBE. From the enduring presence of Richard Sharpe to the creation of The Last Kingdom , Bernard reflects on how history and curiosity have shaped his writing life. Bernard opens up about why Sharpe still speaks to him after forty years, the challenge of writing around real history, and how a planned ending collapsed. From book c...

After nearly a decade away from writing novels, Joe Hill returned this year with King Sorrow , a bold, ferocious, genre-blurring epic that fuses horror, high fantasy, dark academia, rare books, and a Faustian bargain with devastating consequences. In this conversation, Joe joins David Headley to talk about writing a 900-page novel that never lets up, why big books have to move fast, and how six fr...

David Headley sits down with bestselling author Pierce Brown for a conversation that spans rejection, resilience, world-building, and rare books. Pierce reflects on the years before Red Rising (when more than 130 agents turned him down) and how a moment of creative risk helped change everything. He also shares the unexpected moment of inspiration that sparked the tone of Red Rising and what’s next...

BBC Presenter and Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet,   shares the remarkable inspiration and writing process for her new book The Finest Hotel in Kabul , a vivid, human history of Afghanistan told through the people who worked inside its most iconic hotel. They explore how a single building became a witness to decades of hope, heartbreak and resilience, and why the everyday lives of w...