The Literary Salon

It’s our 250th episode! My how time flies when you’re enjoying phenomenal books. Since it’s a very special episode, we have a very special guest to celebrate with us - the one and only internationally bestselling Jojo Moyes! We couldn't be more thrilled to have Jojo join us with a wonderful reading from her new book, Someone Else’s Shoes.  Sam and Nisha should never have crossed paths. But after a bag mix-up at the gym, their lives become intertwined - even as they spiral out of control. Nisha is a woman who loses everything, including the clothes off her back, while Sam finds new confidence in wearing a pair of Louboutins - a new experience that triggers a change in her otherwise humdrum life. So enjoy this exclusive reading, and then tune in to a special interview with Jojo over on the Literary Salon's Instagram with our guest host, Alex Clark! Someone Else’s Shoes is published by Michael Joseph and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org   Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We welcome national treasure Michael Rosen onto the podcast this week to share some beautiful, witty and thoughtful reflections from his new memoir, Getting Better. Exploring the roles that trauma and grief have played in his own life, Michael investigates the road to recovery, asking how we can find it within ourselves to live well again after - or even during - the darkest times of our lives. Moving and insightful, Getting Better is an essential companion for anyone who has loved and lost, or struggled and survived. Already a Guardian and BBC book of 2023, it’s a perfect read for anyone who loved This Too Shall Pass by Julia Samuel and A Manual for Heartache by Cathy Rentzenbrink.  Published by Ebury and available now in all good bookshops, we recommend grabbing a copy of Getting Better from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with another episode of the podcast featuring the bestselling literary thriller, Mouth to Mouth, selected as a Best Book of the Year many times over by Vogue, Esquire and even Barack Obama.  Alone on the beach, Jeff spots a drowning man in the rough surf. He rescues and resuscitates him, then quietly leaves when the emergency services take over. But Jeff can't let go of the events of that traumatic day. He begins to feel compelled to learn more about the man whose life he has saved but as he does he can’t help but wonder: would it have been better to let him drown? This book will especially appeal to readers of Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li and The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Written by Antoine Wilson and published by Atlantic, the book is available in paperback now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with our first episode of the new season and we’re starting off with a bang! Debut novel River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer is a deeply affecting work of historical fiction that will transport you to the slave plantations of Barbados in 1834. Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. These are the names of Rachel’s children sold to places across the Caribbean. Unable to wait for her freedom, she escapes the plantation and embarks on a mother's journey to find her lost kin.   Described by the Observer as ‘a tender exploration of one woman's courage in the face of unbelievable cruelty. The heart of the novel lies in its celebration of motherhood and female resilience.'  If you loved Andrea Levy’s The Long Song or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, then this book is for you. River Sing Me Home is published by Headline Review and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'Marple: Twelve New Stories' is a brand-new collection of original tales penned by some of the world’s bestselling female writers. Each story takes inspiration from Agatha Christie’s classic originals to feature a new mystery for Miss Marple to solve. As ever, she knows more than she appears to. Acclaimed authors Kate Mosse and Lucy Foley and sought-after bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud joined Damian Barr for a Special Salon at the British Library to celebrate the return of Marple and to discuss her legendary creator Agatha Christie. Enjoy this special episode packed with exclusive readings and expert insights, celebrating the incomparable, enigmatic spirt of Jane Marple and her legendary creator! This event was held at the historic British Library, the national library of the UK, with its unparalleled archive of books, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, sounds and websites. All of Christie’s first editions are held there and their spirit suffused the evening! Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s our final Book of the Week episode of the season before we take a little break and return next year with more undiscovered gems. But before we go, we want to bring your attention to an incredibly powerful memoir by critically acclaimed author Gavin McCrea, entitled Cells: Memories for My Mother, The author of Mrs Engels and The Sisters Mao unspools an intimate story of feeling out of place in the insular suburb in which he grew up, the homophobic bullying he suffered at school, his brother’s mental illness and drug addiction, his father’s sudden death, his own devastating diagnosis, his struggles and triumphs as a writer, and above all, his relationship with his mother.  Published by independent press, Scribe, we cannot wait for you to read Gavin’s accomplished new book (and is especially perfect for fans of Seán Hewitt’s All Down Darkness Wide). We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An eccentric tinkerer for a father and a cross-dressing woman who can read the language of clouds; The Weather Woman is spellbinding historical fiction with a love story at its heart. We’re delighted to welcome award-winning author Sally Gardner to the podcast for this reading from her immersive new novel. Sumptuous descriptions of Regency London meet captivating characters to produce a page-turning book you’ll want to add to your TBR. Published by Apollo, an imprint of Head of Zeus, The Weather Woman is available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have not one but two bestselling authors joining us this week on the podcast, with readings from their new book Mad Honey. Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan have teamed up in a beautiful collaboration to produce a gripping novel that is at once a murder mystery and a court room drama, exploring questions around identity and gender. Some readers are calling it the book of the year and we’re here for it!   Olivia fled her abusive marriage to return to her hometown and take over the family beekeeping business when her son was six. Now Asher is over 6 feet tall and in his last year of high school, a kind, good-looking, popular ice hockey star with a tiny sprite of a new girlfriend who Olivia loves. Then Lily is found with a catastrophic head injury at the bottom of the stairs - and Asher is arrested on a charge of murder... what was the truth of their relationship? Mad Honey is published by Hodder and Stoughton and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. And if you’d like to see Jodi and Jenny in person, check out their tour schedule here.      Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week is a whip smart and thoughtful memoir by Carrie Marshall. Carrie Kills A Man is about growing up in a world that doesn’t want you, and about how it feels to throw a hand grenade into what appears to everyone else to be a perfect middle-class life. It’s the story of how a tattooed transgender rock singer stopped being a depressed suburban dad and started being her authentic self. When more people think they’ve seen a ghost than met a trans person, it’s easy to believe misconceptions about someone you’ve never met. A great start is to read about the life of Carrie Marshall. Carrie Kills a Man is published by 404Ink and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org    Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our book of the week is a fantastic memoir packed full of wit, warmth and candour. The Marmalade Diaries follows 30-something Ben Aitken as he rents a room from formidable 85-year old Winnie at the start of the very first UK coronavirus lockdown. Their lives interweave, forming an unlikely friendship, where lessons were learnt (heat the red wine in the oven with the plates; preserve or pickle whatever you can; never throw anything away) and grief, both personal and that of a nation, was explored. This is the true story of intergenerational friendship that will have you charmed and chuckling at their shared domestic life. The Marmalade Diaries is published by Icon Books and available now in paperback. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s episode is a meditation on sexuality, mental health and abusive relationships. In this probing and intimate book that combines memoir with social history, Michael Handrick unpicks the narratives and societal expectations of what it means to be a man, working class and gay. Beautifully written and unflinchingly honest, Difference is Born on the Lips is published by Flint Books and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast hosted by Damian Barr Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A psychologically dark and graphic novel haunted by the spectre of Francis Bacon. This week’s episode could not be any spookier. We’re welcoming Tade Thompson onto the show to read from his new novel Jackdaw.  In the book, a psychiatrist hired to write a short piece on Francis Bacon becomes obsessed with the artist, his life, and the characters who surrounded him.  ‘This metafictional memoir-cum-horror… [is a] darkly comic nightmare set on the borderlines of creativity, imagination and madness.’ Guardian, best recent sci-fi and fantasy  Published by independent press Cheerio and available now in all good bookshops! We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org . Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Relive this very special night of stories and poetry at our special Salon celebrating three of Scotland’s most exciting voices: Len Pennie, Courtney Stoddart and Alan Cumming! Len is a champion for Scots and isnae feart! Her poems have been enjoyed by millions online and she appeared with Damian in the BBC documentary In Search of Sir Walter Scott. Courtney is an acclaimed Scottish-Caribbean poet and performer. Her work focuses on racism, imperialism, womanhood and growing up in Scotland. Alan is…Alan and memoir , 'Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life', sees him unpack the lot. It is an honest, poignant and joyful insight into his extraordinary life. He covers career highlights - from winning a Tony and an Olivier to filming with Stanley Kubrick and the Spice Girls. Alan also offers an honest account of the less glamorous, often painful, moments which underpin the values he fights for as a committed social justice and LGBTQI+ activist. And yes, there are Liza Minnelli stories. So settle down and enjoy this honest and joyous recording from late 2021. This Salon raised funds for the Scottish Book Trust - a national charity bringing the benefits of reading and writing to everyone in Scotland since 1998. Find out more about their brilliant work here. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s nothing we like more than to highlight the exceptional talents of our queer literary community, so it’s our pleasure to bring you Am Not Raymond Wallace by debut author Sam Kenyon. Manhattan, 1963: Raymond lands in the New York Times newsroom on a three-month bursary from Cambridge University. To his surprise, he’s tasked with a journalistic investigation into the ‘explosion of overt homosexuality’ in the city. On an undercover assignment, a secret world is revealed to Raymond, one which will awaken repressed desires; a world in which he meets Joey. This is the story of a generation of queer men seeking a community, kinship, love, acceptance, and ultimately redemption. We can’t wait for you to fall in love with it. ‘A beautiful story… elegantly told and utterly heartbreaking. You’ll need tissues.’ - Julie Owen Moylan, author of That Green Eyed Girl The novel is available now, published by independent press Inkandescent. Discover this and many of their brilliant titles including Address Book by Costa shortlisted author Neil Bartlett, as well as Mainstream, an anthology of stories with contributions from writers that we love including Kit de Waal and Kerry Hudson, among others. We recommend buying their books from your local indie bookshop or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week is a dazzling debut novel you need to add to your TBRs. Brimming with compassion, One for Sorrow, Two for Joy by Marie-Claire Amuah is a sensitive portrayal of the consequences of domestic violence and a defiant story of friendship, resilience and hope. 'Intense and beautiful and heartbreaking' - Buki Papillon, author of An Ordinary Wonder One for Sorrow, Two for Joy is published by two-time Booker-winning indie press Oneworld and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org to support the Salon podcast. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices