Confessions of a Book Collector

David sits down with bestselling author Lottie Moggach to discuss her fourth novel, Mrs Pearcey, a story rooted in a real Victorian murder that took place in her own grandmother’s kitchen in Camden.Lottie shares how the case captured her imagination for years, from the shocking details of the crime to the way it was reported in the press at the time. Rather than stepping inside the mind of the killer, she chose to explore the world around her, shining a light on the birth of sensationalist journalism and the public’s growing appetite for true crime.Lottie talks about the blurred lines between fact and fiction, the challenges of writing historical crime,  growing up in a family of writers, and how living with a story for years can shape the final novel. 

This week on Confessions of a Book Collector, we’re joined by the brilliant Francis Spufford to talk about his genre-bending new novel set in Blitz-era London.Blending history with fantasy, Francis explores a city under pressure, where bombs fall, angels appear, and time-travelling fascists threaten the fragile course of history. At the heart of it all is Iris, a fiercely ambitious and refreshingly modern heroine navigating a world in flux.We dive into why the Blitz remains such a powerful setting, how small moments can shape the fate of history, and why writing fantasy can sometimes reveal deeper truths than realism. Francis also shares his journey from non-fiction to fiction, his love of story-driven writing, and the literary influences that shaped him, from C. S. Lewis to J. R. R. Tolkien.

Bestselling author and The Traitors icon Harriet Tyce joins us to talk about her latest instant Sunday Times bestseller, Witch Trial, a chilling courtroom thriller she insists is best read with the lights on. Harriet takes us inside the story behind the book, from juries and modern-day witchcraft to the unsettling question at its core: who is really telling the truth?We explore what draws her to themes of power, truth and deception, the unexpected parallels between fiction and real life, and how her own experiences, from law to reality TV, have shaped her writing.It’s also an honest look at the realities of being a bestselling author: the pressure, the self-doubt, and the process of learning to trust your own voice.

In our first episode of series 6, we welcome architect, TV presenter and soon-to-be bookshop owner, George Clarke.George is best known for George Clark's Amazing Spaces and The Restoration Man, but long before the television cameras and the buildings, George was a boy growing up in Sunderland and who discovered the power of books. That love of reading has stayed with him, so much so, that he is now returning to his home city to create a new cultural bookshop.George talks about how the buildings he walks in tell their own stories, the books that stayed with him, and how one experience in a bookshop changed the course of his life.

In our sixth series of Confessions of a Book Collector, David sits down with more remarkable writers and storytellers whose lives have been shaped by books in very different ways.In this short teaser, discover who’ll be joining him for conversations about the stories that changed them.If you love books, stories and the people behind them, join us for the new series every Saturday.

This episode is a pause.A look back at the books and conversations that shaped 2025.A look ahead to a bold, uncomfortable, exciting year in reading.And a reminder that five minutes a day is enough.Without books, the world gets smaller. With them, it stays human.I’ll be back in the spring.Until then — GO ALL IN.

What if the magic of books was literally lethal? In this episode of Confessions of a Book Collector, David Headley sits down with Sunday Times bestselling author Georgia Summers to talk deadly ink magic and magical bookshops. We explore  her latest novel The Bookshop Below, a story where book thievery, secret societies and rival booksellers collide, and where owning the wrong shop can get you killed.Georgia also reflects on her journey through every layer of the book world, bookseller, librarian, editor, publisher, and now bestselling novelist, and why the magic of bookshops has never worn off.

David Headley sits down with Philippa Gregory, the undisputed queen of historical fiction, to discuss The Berlin Traitor and the woman history loves to hate: Jane Boleyn. Drawing on new scholarship and decades of obsession, she reframes Jane not as a salacious villain, but as a brilliant survivor navigating the lethal politics of Henry VIII’s court. Philippa reflects on revisionist history, feminism, and why women in the past have been flattened into stereotypes by male historians. She reveals the extraordinary moment that reshaped her novel and explores how early reading and libraries shaped her own life from childhood.

David Headley is joined by historical fiction titan, Bernard Cornwell OBE. From the enduring presence of Richard Sharpe to the creation of The Last Kingdom, Bernard reflects on how history and curiosity have shaped his writing life.Bernard opens up about why Sharpe still speaks to him after forty years, the challenge of writing around real history, and how a planned ending collapsed. From book collecting to acting on stage, enjoy this rare, personal insight into one of Britain’s most beloved historical novelists. 

After nearly a decade away from writing novels, Joe Hill returned this year with King Sorrow, a bold, ferocious, genre-blurring epic that fuses horror, high fantasy, dark academia, rare books, and a Faustian bargain with devastating consequences.In this conversation, Joe joins David Headley to talk about writing a 900-page novel that never lets up, why big books have to move fast, and how six friends summoning a dragon becomes a story about power, complicity, and the stories we choose to live with. Along the way, they explore books bound in human skin, libraries as battlegrounds, the moral cost of comfort, and why genre labels matter far less than telling a great story. Plus, Joe reveals a major exclusive… only on Confessions of a Book Collector.