The Island of Brilliant!

Nadia's been at the papaya juice again, only this time she SWALLOWED THE WORM! 🪱Thus ensues a fever dream in which she imagines her and Frank interviewing JULIA flippin' DONALDSON at @brightfest (never gonna happen obvs).. Frank's efforts to bring Nadia down from her brain-worm trip fail as he gets cross about not being Adam Kay - the only remedy is a blast of the St Trinians Battle Cry. Thank go...

Who's your favourite character from children's books? Just the question Frank and Nadia have been asking themselves, and to help prompt them they're going to be asking some friendly folk to name theirs. First up is one of the funniest, warmest and most talented women you could hope to meet, that legend of stage and screen, the Accrington Thunderbolt herself, Julie Hesmondhalgh!!!!

Well we've had some talented coves wash up in our coves but never a world record holder, not until now that is. Rob 'Draw With Rob' Biddulph is a triple-threat cubed: a Youtube sensation, a writer, illustrator and not least a snack-mongering champion-of-champions. He tells Nadia and Frank all about his life before children's books, working  for the NME and The Observer among others, and how happy...

GET OUT OF THE WATER!! Sharks spell trouble, unless of course they're in the employ of the one and only Elle McNicoll, who's heading to the island on the back of one with snacks aplenty and aplenty to say about her writing life. Since making a huge splash with  'A Kind of Spark' Elle has established herself as one of the most exciting writers back in Blighty, and a brilliant advocate for better re...

I hear that whistle blowing - the beautiful sound of a train emerging from beneath the waves with the fabulous M.G. Leonard aboard, ready to scatter joy with her fabulous snack choices and fascinating insights into her seemingly endless list of endlessly brilliant books - including Beetle Boy, the Adventures on Trains series and The Twitchers books.  She's been translated into over forty languages...

Nadia has made the most of her extended Christmas break, but Frank’s been sleeping it off. For a month. He needs to get his act together sharpish, though, because there is a rip in the space time continuum just above one of the palm trees, and Christopher Edge, author of bestseller ‘The Escape Room’ and the forthcoming ‘Black Hole Cinema Club’, is hurtling towards the island at the speed of light,...

It's not easy turning a tropical island into a festive grotto but yule surely agree we've done our level best, with recommendations for books of the year from some of the most exciting names in children's books, including previous visitors to these shores Katherine Rundell and Maisie Chan. We also have a silver-lamé-bedecked Alex T Smith talking Nutcrackers and all things festive. We kick things o...

J.T. Williams is the author of the incredible Lizzie and Belle Mysteries, featuring two girls who spend their time solving mysteries in 19th Century London - who better to come along to the island to try and solve the great mystery of the ages: why can't Frank get the name of the Ukelele Uff trio right? Though she's going to need more time to crack that particular conundrum, J.T.  is more than up...

She may have sold over 11 million copies in 44 languages of her Tom Gates series but that doesn't mean Liz 'The Toaster' Pichon doesn't have time to swing by the island to chat with two of her biggest fans - Frank and Nadia. Being a publishing phenomenon, it seems, doesn't stop you being a wonderful human being and a brilliant guest...  BookTrust's Emily Drabble recommends   World of Dogs by Carli...

Last time, in a terrifying cliff-hanger, our Nadine flew off on Katherine Rundell's bi-plane - there's only one thing that could prompt such foolhardy behaviour in one os fearful - and that's the chance to fetch Jon Klassen (THE Jon Klassen) back to island. And not a minute too soon, the poor man was drifting out in the ocean with minutes left before the game was up. Fortified by Frank's crisps, h...

Imagine having a new book coming out, one more hotly anticipated than a change of government - and still taking the time and trouble to visit the Island of Brilliant for a natter with Nadia and Frank. That's the kind of class that is exhibited as standard by the inestimably talented Katherine Rundell, who even manages to keep her composure when her kindly snack gift is met with (very) thinly veile...

Frank's had his turn bigging up his new book and now Nadia's waking up to find he's jumped ship, leaving the coast clear for her to answer listeners' questions abode there new book Geoffrey Gets The Jitters as well as her fabulous Grimwood series. 

The ground rules were clear before they arrived on the island - no talking about their own books... but Frank and Nadia are too clever by half, and have sailed out to a lagoon in a home-made canoe so they can answer listeners' questions about their new titles without getting into trouble with the island's fearsome fairness umpires. Trouble is Nadia's fallen asleep so Frank's having to talk over th...

There's bad blood on the island this month, as Frank's nemesis Danny Wallace turns up (uninvited, according to FCB) to stoke the flames of the pair's long-standing rivalry. Nadia, fortunately, is able to find higher ground and steers a sometimes begrudging but always illuminating, often hilarious conversation to the matter at hand, children's books. Danny discusses his own books, including 'The Da...

Another month, another pile of books to get excited about..  Nadia and Frank welcome the brilliant, goose-fat-slathered Ed Vere onto the island to talk about his terrific range of picture books, including most recently 'The Artist', and are surprised and moved to discover his long-standing connection with Jan Pieńkowski. What a shame such a lovely visit ends so tragically!  Emily Drabble from Book...

Nadia (of the 'lovely audio presence') and Frank welcome the fabulous writer Maisie Chan to the island to talk about some of her brilliant books - including 'Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths' and 'Keep Dancing Lizzie Chu'. They also chat about the books they've been reading to pass their days in the sunshine - and head to the sea shell shelf to listen to Emily Drabble from BookTrust reviewing these h...

Frank and Nadia are shipwrecked on an island and have to finish a pile of children's books before they can even think about leaving. Along the way they chat about the books they are currently reading in their their hammocks, hear a review of some of the best new children's books (via seashell) from Emily Drabble, and are visited by recent Children's Literature Laureate Cressida Cowell, who natural...

Nadia Shireen and Frank Cottrell Boyce are shipwrecked on the Island of Brilliant, with just a pile of books and the world's greatest Ukelele band (the Ukulele Uff Trio) for company. The first full episode will be available in May 2024 and will see recent Children's Literature Laureate Cressida Cowell fly across to the island on the back of a dragon. Producer: Geoff Bird In Episode 1 Nadia and Fra...