The Brit Lit Podcast Claire Handscombe

Our guest on episode 78 is poet Blake Auden, who has almost 300,000 Instagram followers and is known for speaking openly about mental health. He also has four collections of poems out in the world, and the most recent is Murmuration, which came out in October.
He and I talked about what therapy and writing have in common, how he approaches social media so that it helps rather than hinders his mental health, and lots more.
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Books Mentioned in this episode:
Murmuration, by Blake Auden
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong
Weather, by Jenny Offill 
Dept of Speculation, by Jenny Offill
Girl, Unstrung, by Claire Handscombe
This Time Next Year, by Sophie Cousens
Just Haven't Met You Yet, by Sophie Cousens
The Twelve Dates of Christmas, by Jenny Bayliss
The Winter of Second Chances (UK)/The Season of Second Chances (US), by Jenny Bayliss
On a Night Like This, by Lindsey Kelk
Gifts, by Laura Barnett
Black British Lives Matter, ed. Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
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Register for Claire's online book launch for Girl, Unstrung on 5th December here.
In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Help fund the podcast through this PayPal link!
Buy Claire’s novels, Unscripted and Girl, Unstrung.
Sign up for Claire’s mailing list.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
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The Brit Lit Podcast
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Blake Auden
Website / Instagram 
Claire
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My guest in this special bonus episode is Robinne Lee, the author of my favourite read of 2021, The Idea Of You. She's not British, but I loved this book so much that I wanted to bring you this interview anyway!
Robinne and I talked about her origin story as a fanfic writer, why she chose to make her main character French, why love stories that don’t end happily can have such a big impact on us both in fiction and in real life, and a whole lot more.  
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Books Mentioned in this episode:
The Idea of You, by Robinne Lee
Bringing Up Bébé (US)/French Children Don't Throw Food (UK),
by Pamela Druckerman
Bonjour Tristesse, by Françoise Sagan (French version)
Bonjour Tristesse, by Françoise Sagan (in English)
My Oxford Year, by Julia Whelan
Girl, Unstrung, by Claire Handscombe
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
*****
In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Help fund the podcast through this PayPal link!
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Pre-order Claire’s YA novel, Girl, Unstrung.
Sign up for Claire’s mailing list.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Website
Robinne Lee
Website / Instagram / Twitter
Claire
Twitter / Facebook / Blog / Novel / TikTok
 
 
 
 

I’m so excited to bring you an interview with none other than Sophie Kinsella, who’s known to many as the queen of British chick lit and the author of the mega-bestselling Shopaholic series. 
We talked about her new book The Party Crasher, how being a musician and being a writer are interconnected, what it’s been like to be a comedy writer over the last year and a half, what her favourite biscuit is, and a whole lot more!
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Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive?
Here are some painless ways.
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Books Mentioned in this episode:
The Party Crasher, by Sophie Kinsella
Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella
The Tennis Party, by Madeline Wickham
An Island Wedding, by Jenny Colgan
The Beloved Girls, by Harriet Evans
Sorrow and Bliss, by Meg Mason
Transcendent Kingdom, by Yaa Gyasi
Murmuration, by Blake Auden
The Christmas Bookshop, by Jenny Colgan
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
Girl, Unstrung, by Claire Handscombe
*****
In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Help fund the podcast through this PayPal link!
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Pre-order Claire’s YA novel, Girl, Unstrung.
Sign up for Claire’s mailing list.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Website
Sophie Kinsella
Website / Instagram / Twitter
Claire
Twitter / Facebook / Blog / Novel / TikTok

This month’s guest is Kirsty Capes, author of the novel Careless. We talked about why she wanted to write about female friendship, what it was like to study with Bernadine Evaristo, why it's especially important for kids in the foster care system to see themselves reflected in books, and a whole lot more.
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Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive?
Here are some painless ways.
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Books Mentioned in this episode:
Careless, by Kirsty Capes
The Tracey Beaker series, by Jacqueline Wilson
No One Is Talking About This, by Patricia Lockwood
All the Fun of the Fair, by Caroline Hulse
The Adults, by Caroline Hulse
Complicit, by Winnie M Li
Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke
The Bookshop of Second Chances, by Jackie Fraser
The Hidden Child, by Louise Fein
Endgame, by Malorie Blackman
The Literary Almanac, by Francesca Beauman
Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe
Girl, Unstrung, by Claire Handscombe
*****
In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Help fund the podcast through this PayPal link!
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
Pre-order Claire’s YA novel, Girl, Unstrung.
Sign up for Claire’s mailing list.
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Website
Kirsty Capes
Instagram / Twitter
Claire
Twitter / Facebook / Blog / Novel / TikTok
 
 

This month’s guest is Mary Pauline Lowry, who wrote The Roxy Letters. Mary is married to a Brit, and she had lots of fascinating insights about the cultural differences between the countries, and I loved talking to her back about Bridget Jones and Jane Austen too. The Roxy Letters was one of my favourite reads of 2020. It was really fun and just what I needed. It’s out now in paperback.  

Mary and I talked about why we love epistolary novels, took a bit of an accidental deep dive into books about Hollywood, chatted about the difference between British humour and American humour, and lots more! 

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Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive? 

Here are some painless ways. 

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Books Mentioned on the Podcast: 

The Roxy Letters, by Mary Pauline Lowry 

Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding 

Where D'you Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple 

Dear Committee Members, by Julie Schumacher 

A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy O'Toole 

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker 

Emma, by Jane Austen 

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen 

Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen 

Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen 

Persuasion, by Jane Austen 

The Jane Austen Book Club, by Karen Joy Fowler 

Eligible, by Curtis Sittenfeld 

Men Are From Mars, Woman Are From Venus, by John Gray 

Unscripted, by Claire Handscombe 

Girl, Unstrung, by Claire Handscombe 

Damnation Spring, by Ash Davidson 

Grown Ups, by Emma Jane Unsworth 

Breast and Eggs, by Mieko Kawakami, transl. Sam Bett and David Boyd  

He Will Be Mine, by Kristy Greenwood 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

The Idea of You, by Robinne Lee 

Mona at Sea, by Elizabeth Gonzalez James 

Rosaline Palmer Take the Cake, by Alexis Hall 

Boyfriend Material, by Alexis Hall 

Perfect Timing, by Owen Nicholls 

Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins 

A Slow Fire Burning (signed edition!), by Paula Hawkins 

They: What Muslims and Non-Muslims Get Wrong About Each Other, by Sarfraz Manzoo 

***** 

In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops! 

In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates. 

Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm. 

Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted. 

Pre-order Claire's YA novel, Girl, Unstrung. 

Sign up for Claire's mailing list. 

Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com 

***** 

The Brit Lit Podcast 

Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Website 

Mary Pauline Lowry 

Instagram / Twitter / Website 

Claire 

Twitter / Facebook / Blog / Novel / TikTok 

  

Our guest on episode 74 of the Brit Lit Podcast, is Lizzy Dent, who wrote The Summer Job, and who’s also a YA author -- as Rebecca Denton, she wrote This Beats Perfect, among other books.
She and I talked about her favourite food writing, what it’s like to have a novel come out during a pandemic, why we love the book Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, and more.
*****
Want to help the Brit Lit Podcast survive and thrive?  
Here are some painless ways.
*****
Books Mentioned on the Podcast:
Buy all the books available in the UK from Bookshop UK here 
Buy all the books available in the US from Bookshop US here
*****
In the US and now the UK, buy your hardbacks and paperbacks from Bookshop.org to support the podcast, as well as independent bookshops!
In other countries, you can support the podcast by using this link to buy from Blackwells.com, which ships internationally at inexpensive rates.
Get your first two audiobooks for just $14.99 with the code BRITLIT on Libro.fm.
Buy Claire’s novel, Unscripted.
The Brit Lit Podct has recently been named as one of the top 10 British literature podcasts!
Questions? Comments? Need a book recommendation? Email Claire at britlitpodcast@gmail.com
*****
The Brit Lit Podcast
Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Website
Lizzy Dent
Instagram / Twitter / Website
Claire
Twitter / Facebook / Blog / Novel / TikTok