The Waterstones Podcast

For the first time ever, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize assembles our shortlisted authors and illustrators for a special interview in which we discover more about the joy of picture books, the nature of world building, and how they incorporate important and mature themes as readers get older. Ahead of our winners announcement on 26 March, sit back and enjoy the brilliant creativity of them all.

The legends surrounding the figure of Rasputin are so well-trodden we may think we know the story, but how did a man born as a peasant come to find himself within the Tsar’s inner circle and how instrumental was he in the downfall of the Romanov dynasty. Luckily, we have historian Antony Beevor to answer every one of these questions and more. 

Booker Prize-winner George Saunders takes us back to that space between life and death in his new novel, Vigil, leading to a fruitful conversation about providing comfort at the end of life, why repentance at the end might not make the difference and why he’s always happiest raising questions and providing no answers.

Booker Prize-winner Julian Barnes has a bibliography that would keep a reader happy for many months, even years, but with mention that his latest book, Departure(s), might be his last, we were determined to speak with him about his approach to fiction, the passage of time, and the very special relationship between writer and reader.

Gareth Southgate, former professional footballer and England national team manager, shares insights shaped by his upbringing and experiences in football. He reflects on how his grandfather's military discipline and his parents' integrity influenced his leadership style. Gareth discusses the importance of creativity in fan engagement, team bonding strategies like the Traitors Game, and the often-overlooked roles, like kit men, that shape team culture. He also opens up about his future aspirations in youth mentoring after stepping back from football.

Continuing the seasonal series after Michael Morpurgo’s Spring, Val McDermid turns from crime to Winter, with its festivals, rituals and new year drive to achieve. We sat down with her to talk about the ghosts of Christmas past, holding on to tradition and why the new year is such a creative time for writing.

Salman Rushdie’s return to fiction sees him sharing a collection of stories which look at the questions that await us all at the end of our lives. We spoke with him about mortality, looking back and what the future might hold, together with what drives his creativity.

Join us for what promises to be an unmissable evening with bestselling author R.F. Kuang, as we celebrate the publication of her much-anticipated new novel, Katabasis.The internationally bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface returns with Katabasis: a sublimely dark and unputdownable tale of two rival Cambridge academics who must join forces on a rescue mission in hell itself.R.F. Kuang is now the author of six novels, with her debut novel The Poppy War written on her gap year in China and released in 2018. This was followed by The Dragon Republic (2019), The Burning God (2022), Babel (2022) and most recently Yellowface (2023).

30 years after he introduced the world to Lyra Belacqua, Philip Pullman launched the final volume in his Book of Dust series: The Rose Field. Just ahead of that event we sat down to speak with him about his feelings on finishing this epic writing task, the importance of imagination, and what he might turn to next as a storyteller.

From the moment she began her education at Oxford University, Malala Yousafzai was aware how hard it would be for her to enjoy a normal student experience. But as we discover from her new memoir and from our fascinating conversation with her about it, she was determined, for once, to throw herself fully into life at university. From clubs to dances, missed deadlines to lockdown, heartbreak to happiness - she shares with great honesty the many ways in which she forged her own path in life.