Hot Girls Read Podcast

We’re turning the spotlight on Julia and learning more about her new print magazine! Also changing careers (from finance to a variety of creative pursuits), she describes her move from NYC to Paris and rediscovering her creative passions. Julia’s journey spans from writing poetry daily to becoming a magazine editor during her masters program and now building a creative business from the ground up....

S7E4: Some books age better than others…is UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld one of them? With the dystopian genre picking back up in popularity (perhaps due to global politics), we spend this episode with a re-read of Scott Westerfeld’s UGLIES. It’s crazy to think that this book came out almost twenty years ago, and let’s just say that reading it again at 30 was quite the mixed bag experience!  Our deep...

S7E3: With the spotlight on Ayesha in this episode, we finally get to hear the inside scoop of what literary agenting is like! From advice on changing careers (pivoting from consulting to publishing) and how to become an agent, to answering the question of ‘what exactly do book agents do?’ and giving us a behind the scenes look into the London Book Fair, Ayesha spills some secrets of the world beh...

S7E2: Calling all fans (or haters – we don’t discriminate!) of the Bridgerton-verse! We are diving into the latest season of Netflix’s most popular rompy regency romance, and comparing it to the book it’s based off of, ‘An Offer from a Gentleman’, by Julia Quinn. Since watching (our favorite) season 2 together, with the recent release of season 4, we thought it would be even more fun to read the s...

S7E1:And just like that, we have done 6 seasons of the Hot Girls Read podcast! Welcome to our first episode of season 7: the one where we share our 2026 goals. We recorded this episode a couple of days after the start of the lunar near year, and perhaps it’s the action-focused energy of the zodiac (year of the fire horse!) that inspired us to dedicate an episode to our literary hopes and dreams fo...

The big question: are we living in a literary golden age or a post-literate society ???  On this week’s episode we’re doing something a little different to our usual bookish chats, and we’re breaking down a couple of intriguing Substack essays on the combined subject of literature and society. Our primary references include ‘Ignore the pessimists – we are living through a literary golden age’ by H...

S6 E6: Join us in conversation with Gregory Grosvenor, writer, author, teacher and fellow only child. We talk about Greg’s early inspirations in writing, from growing up in Germany, supportive parents, and an early conviction to write. We then delve into a myriad of topics including Greg’s experience as a creative writing teacher, his past as an alcoholic, and of course, his debut novel, Second Po...

In this episode we talk to Laura Goode, author, essayist, poet, screen writer, and educator, about her latest book, Pitch Craft . Pitch Craft is all about the art of presenting yourself as a person and a writer, but our conversation doesn’t just end there. From talking about the quirks and perks of being an only child to the magic of female friendship, this is a conversation that explores the hidd...

S6E4: While the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping lower, being indoors is looking a lot more cozy. In other words, it's the perfect season to get back to reading! Not only is autumn THE season for reading, but there are so many sub-genres that perfectly compliment the moody weather and spooky atmosphere of fall. Tune in to hear our recommendations for witchy and gothic...

S6E3: Settle in for a cozy and long overdue catch up with us! Life has been busy lately and it’s time for the two of us to debrief the start of the fall season, the back-to-school rush, and all the changes that have come with it. From moving countries, starting new jobs, solo trips, and all the little things, we had a lot to chat about. And of course, being us, somehow everything relates back to b...

S6E2: If you love books, like really love books, you’ve probably dreamed of opening your own bookstore – we definitely have! Well, in this episode we’re getting ALL THE TEA on running a bookstore from Jamie Fortin, owner of Friends to Lovers, a romance bookstore in Alexandria, VA. From building a community to overcoming challenges (like a fire that almost shut her down before day 1!) and having fu...

S6E1: Season 6 of the Hot Girls Read podcast has officially begun! We are opening the season by chatting with Kailu Yu: author, travel writer, and former pop star. Kaila’s recently released book, Fetishized, is a collection of essays that explore Kaila’s first hand experience of the fetishization of Asian women in the US during the early ‘00s. Not only do we cover everything from ABGs, import mode...

Tune in for our interview with software engineer and author, Liz Shipton. With her upcoming release Dot Slash Magic , we cover a multitude of topics: the consequences of AI and its effect on the publishing industry, Liz’s writing inspiration, her journey as an author and viral presence on Booktok, and much more! We end with a debate about the enemies to lovers trope: is it simply a marketing ploy...

Temperatures are rising on the Hot Girls Read podcast! It’s the middle of summer making it the perfect time to serve up some hot girl summer reading recommendations. Whether you’re on a beachside holiday or trying to stay cool at home, this is a must-listen episode showcasing a variety of reads to keep you company during the heat. Organized by fiction, non-fiction, and fantasy, tune in for everyth...

We have another exciting author interview, this time with debut sci-fi/fantasy writer Mina Brower! Mina is an author, mother, and lawyer, and not only do we talk about the inspiration behind her book, A God of Moonlight and Stardust , but we also find out how Mina got started as a writer and balances her creative practices with being a partner at her law firm and a new mother. At the end of the co...

This week’s short story is a bit of a longer story that we have broken down into a couple of parts for you guys! In Part I, we talk about our journey starting the very famous creativity course, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. We discuss where we are in the course, how we’re faring, what we’re liking, what we’re struggling with, and more! If you have ever thought about starting The Artist’s Way...

This week’s short story is a bit of a longer story that we have broken down into a couple of parts for you guys! In Part I, we talk about our journey starting the very famous creativity course, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. We discuss where we are in the course, how we’re faring, what we’re liking, what we’re struggling with, and more! If you have ever thought about starting The Artist’s Way...

Is romantasy dead? That’s the question we try to answer on our latest Short Stories episode. Ayesha gets the ball rolling by giving her thoughts on recent romantasy read, QuickSilver, and what booktok’s take is on Silver Elite . This leads us to question what exactly romantasy means these days and why all of the sudden it seems like newly published romantasy books are giving us…well, nothing. No p...

Let’s welcome our featured guest poet Aimee Donnell! Originally from Northern Ireland, Aimee is a York-based poet who recently released her debut poetry collection We Are All Creatures of Struggle . We chat with Aimee about her inspirations, her journey as a writer, her writing process, and more! At the end of the episode, Aimee leaves us with a beautiful reading of one of her favorite poems in th...

For this latest episode, we spend time interviewing guest author Nehemiah Russell! Local to the DMV (or DC area for you non-locals), Nehemiah is the author and illustrator of Codename , a manga style comic book set in a dystopian world where a teenager’s future is determined by their assigned codename. We talk to Nehemiah about his journey as an artist and writer, his storyboarding process, the im...

Our latest short stories episode is a pot-pourri of bookish updates in our lives, from attending bookstore launches and book club meetings to a live book haul and reading anecdotes. We’ve been lost in the bookish sauce recently and we wanted to share with you!

In this episode of Short Stories we are joined by special guest Miles Spencer, adventurer, tech investor, and co-author of ‘A Line in the Sand.’ We talk with Miles about the inspirations behind his story, the underlying message he hopes to share, the writing process, and best of all, his escapades across the Middle East! Having grown up in Saudi Arabia, we particularly enjoyed talking to Miles abo...

In this Short Stories episode, we are delving into the behind-the-scenes of our podcast journey! We discuss the birth of our podcast idea, managing everything from editing to marketing, and balancing it with our personal and professional lives. To end, we reflect on the podcast’s challenges, growth, and our hopes for future episodes.  00:54 Full Moon Reflections and Tarot Readings 04:42 Podcast Jo...

From “It Girl” celebrity book clubs to sneaky senators and questionable government bills, this episode of Short Stories is all about who gets to influence the books that we read. With the new wave of celebrity book clubs popping up, it looks like reading itself, and particularly the types of books we read, is becoming a status symbol. On the other hand, representatives in Oklahoma are trying to cl...

For our third short stories episode, we have something a little different (and super exciting) to share with you guys: our first guest interview with poet Caitlin Kent-Halliday! We talk with Caitlin about her writing process, inspirations, our favourite poems in her collection, and much more. We hope you enjoy this heartfelt conversation with Caitlin about her debut poetry collection 'Peace of Min...