The Radio 2 Book Club

Sara heads to Sheffield, for the Crossed Wires Festival, to speak with international bestselling author Lisa Jewell, in front of a live audience. Lisa chats about her new thriller, 'It Could Have Been Her', as well as her writing inspirations, the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival and how she turned from writing commercial 'women's fiction' to dark psychological thrillers. She also reads us a short...

Fantasy author Sunyi Dean joins Sara for the Book Club, to chat about her new novel and the inspirations behind it. They chat about Hong Kong, myths, legends, ghosts and dim sum! We also hear a clip from the audiobook (*which has references to drowning) and get some great book recommendations from Sunyi too. Here's a little more info on 'The Girl With A Thousand Faces': Mercy Chan is a triad exorc...

Emily Howes returns to the Radio 2 Book Club to discuss her new novel, Mrs Dickens; a fictional story about the life of Kate Hogarth - who was married to the author Charles Dickens for 22 years. Sara chats to Emily about writing women back into history, who were written out in their own lifetime, and the challenges that come with writing real-life figures in fiction. We also hear a clip from the a...

Sara welcomes international bestselling author, Douglas Stuart, to the Book Club. They discuss his beautiful new novel - John Of John - and his inspirations behind the story. Douglas tells Sara about his epic trip to the Scottish Islands, the people he met there - and what he learned about sheep farming and textile making (all of which made it into this new book). He also chats about exploring the...

Superstar librarian, Stella Hine, joins Sara for a chat about this year's Carnegie Awards (the UK's longest-running children's book awards) She also shares her top five reads of the year (so far) which is a mixture of non-fiction, fiction - and children's books (as you might expect) Her choices are: Everyday Nature by Andy Beer The Examiner by Janice Hallett The Crossing by Manjeet Mann Ming The P...

Debut novelist Jo Murray joins Sara for a natter about her crime thriller 'Dissection Of A Murder' Jo was a criminal barrister for many years before leaving the profession to spend more time with family and to write. Sara talks to Jo about bringing her real-life experiences from the courtroom to the page, making her readers work hard and how she came up with a very important element of the story (...

Jeremy Vine goes backstage at The British Book Awards ('The Nibbies') to speak with the great and the good of the book industry, including: Sir Tony Robinson, Michael Rosen, MC Grammar, Steph McGovern, Matt Cain, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and Abir Mukherjee... He brings us all the glitz and glam from the 36th Nibbies, which took place in London's Mayfair in May 2026, as well as an interview with the...

Author and illustrator, Lizzy Stewart, joins Sara in the Book Club to chat about her new illustrated novel, 'The Wreck'. They talk about her writing (and drawing) routine, Eric Ravilious as an inspiration, 90s hairdos - and how drastically friendships can change over decades. Lizzy also recommends us a couple of books she has enjoyed reading recently. Here's a little more info on 'The Wreck': Two...

Sara presents a special edition of the Radio 2 Book, celebrating all things comics, with a trip to Phoenix Fest in Oxford. This two-day festival showcases some of the biggest names in the world of comic books - and encourages children and adults to draw and read for pleasure. As well as hearing from some of the children who are attended the festival, we also chat to Jamie Smart (creator of Bunny V...

Dr Sharon Blackie joins Sara to chat about the origins of Fairytales and why she believes they are still so important and relevant today. Sharon is a former neuroscientist and psychologist, turned bestselling author and speaker who has a background in mythology and folklore. As part of the BBC's 'Once Upon A Time' season - Sara an Sharon explore the origins of Fairytales, how she used them in her...

Caro Claire Burke joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to chat about her debut novel, 'Yesteryear'. They discuss the #tradwife movement, influencers, influences, and why satire is needed right now. We also hear a clip from the audiobook - and - try to get Caro to spill the beans on the film adaptation, which is already in the works (with Anne Hathaway attached) Here's the blurb for 'Yesteryear': My...

Sara welcomes bestselling novelist Patrick Gale back to the Radio 2 Book Club. They chat about his new novel, 'Love Lane', a sequel (sort of) to one of his earlier books 'A Place Called Winter'. Patrick explains what made him want to return to this story and the characters and talks about the incredible treasure trove of family trinkets and secrets that he inherited, which allowed him to write a s...

Debut novelist Tara Menon joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to discuss her new novel, 'Under Water'. They talk about what inspired the novel, her research and why it took so long (8 years) to write. Tara also gives us a couple of great book recommendations too. Here's a little more about 'Under Water': When six-year-old Marissa loses her mother, she is taken by her father to live on a small Thai...

Sara welcomes one of our superstar librarians to the podcast. Maggie Ross works for the Royal Borough Of Windsor & Maidenhead libraries - and has been part of our Radio 2 Book Club panel for many years. She chats with Sara about her job, the brilliance of libraries - and some of the books she's looking forward to coming out later this year Her Top Five Reads of this year are: A Family Matter b...

A thriller, a romance, a hugely successful podcast; those are the ingredients for Tiffany Crum's debut novel, 'This Story Might Save Your Life'. Sara chats to Tiffany about her former career in Hollywood, writing romantically about Los Angeles, following your dreams, how to choose the best character names - and what she loves so much about podcasts. We also hear a clip from the audiobook - and - g...

Former lawyer turned novelist, Ela Lee, joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club for a chat about her new novel, 'Minbak'. They chat about the inspirations behind the story (including a dinner table convo where Ela's mum just casually mentioned that she had been a journalist during the 1985 uprising) and why it took an agent being very honest to get the best out of this book. We also get a cheeky littl...

Comic book artist Jamie Smart joins Sara in the Book Club for a World Book Day special! The Bunny Vs Monkey creator chats to Sara about his award-winning series, his inspirations, encouraging kids to draw - and - recommends us a couple of great books. We also sent some copies of 'Total Chaos' to a school in Manchester, to see what our Junior Book Club thought of his new book! Happy World Book Day...

Come with Sara Cox on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Royal Library in Windsor Castle. Housing over 45,000 items, this library is a treasure trove for book lovers, with texts dating back hundreds of years. Our guide is one of the curators, Elizabeth Clark Ashby, who tells us the history of the library, what her job entails day-to-day, and picks out four amazing artifacts to show us. These are: A h...

Author Charleen Hurtubise joins Sara in the Radio 2 Book Club to chat about her new novel, 'Saoirse' They talk about her inspirations for the story, the fine line between dishonesty and reinvention, beekeeping and giving her son's cat a cameo in the book. We also hear a snippet of the audiobook - and - get a great book recommendation too! Here's a little bit more about the novel: In the wilds of D...

Barrister turned author, and recent 'Traitors' star - Harriet Tyce - joins Sara for a chat about her new novel. She talks about stepping out of her comfort zone and writing a male protagonist, her inspirations for the book and if her time in the Traitors castle has inspired a new story. Harriet also gives a great book recommendation too.

Bestselling author, Sadeqa Johnson, joins Sara for a natter about her new novel. 'The Keeper Of Lost Children' is a powerful and beautifully told novel about hidden secrets and the hunger to belong. Sadeqa talks about her inspirations for the book, the real-life characters that inspired the story - and why it's so important to write people of colour back into the history books. We also hear a clip...

Cressida Cowell (bestselling children's author of the 'How To Train Your Dragon' series) joins Sara for a natter about the joy of reading. As an ambassador for The National Year Of Reading, Cressida is passionate about getting people reading for pleasure - especially children - and chats to Sara about the various plans in place this year to encourage more people to pick up a book, comic, graphic n...

Libby Page joins Sara in the Book Club to chat about her new novel, "This Book Made Me Think Of You" They discuss their love of bookshops, the genre they write in and why sometimes we just need a bit to make us smile (and cry a bit maybe?) Libby talks about her trips to New York and Paris for some of the scenes in this new novel, and her obsession with books about bookshops. She also gives us a br...

Phoenix Cooper - of Kent Libraries fame - shares their Top Five Reads Of The Year so far (but mainly, of 2025) They chat to Sara about their love of libraries, their role, being part of the Radio 2 Book Club panel - and give a shout out to their mum's book group too. Phoenix's Top Five Reads: Raven scholar by Antonia Hodgson Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo The Goblin Emperor by Katherine...

Our first Book Club pick of 2026 is 'The Poet Empress' by debut novelist, Shen Tao. The book is an epic tale of female empowerment, love and the power of words. It might also win the award for best cover of the year! Shen talks to Sara about world building, her inspirations for the protagonist and why she loves the Fantasy genre so much. She also mentions the eight unpublished novels which went be...