Tom's Book Club

Thomas Watters
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Tom’s Book Club is a weekly books podcast featuring in-depth conversations with leading contemporary authors. Each episode features a focused, in-depth conversation with the authors behind the most talked-about new fiction, exploring the ideas, craft, and real-world questions that shape their work. Recent guests include Booker Prize winners George Saunders and Howard Jacobson, alongside bestselling writers and emerging voices from across the literary world. Subscribe for thoughtful author interviews, new book recommendations, and a closer look at the stories everyone’s talking about. Have a guest suggestion or enquiry? I'd love to hear from you: tomsbookclubpod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 4d ago

    Samantha Harvey on Orbital

    Booker Prize-winning author Samantha Harvey joins Tom's Book Club to discuss her acclaimed novel Orbital, a luminous story set aboard the International Space Station that explores time, humanity and our fragile place in the universe. Recorded in 2024, the morning after Samantha Harvey's Booker Prize win, this episode revisits a conversation about the inspiration behind Orbital, writing about space, finding wonder in the everyday, and how one of the year's most celebrated novels came together. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Samantha Harvey on Orbital

  2. Jul 28

    Colson Whitehead on Cool Machine

    Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead joins Tom's Book Club to discuss Cool Machine, the gripping final instalment in his acclaimed Harlem Trilogy. In this episode, Colson Whitehead talks about bringing the Harlem Trilogy to a close, creating one of his most memorable characters in Ray Carney, researching New York's criminal underworld, writing about ageing, art and restitution, and whether he'd ever return to these characters. He also reflects on becoming the only living novelist to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice, and the influence Star Wars has had on his writing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Colson Whitehead on Cool Machine

  3. Jul 21

    Daniel Mason on Country People

    Daniel Mason joins Tom's Book Club to discuss Country People, his witty and richly imagined new novel blending folklore, family life and the strange stories communities choose to believe. In this episode, Daniel talks about the inspiration behind Country People, creating the warm but wonderfully hapless Miles Krzelewski, writing unforgettable eccentric characters, and why humour plays such an important role in his fiction. He also discusses local legends, our desire to believe the unbelievable, and how his work as a psychiatrist informs his writing. Daniel Mason is the author of North Woods, The Piano Tuner and The Winter Soldier, while his story collection A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Daniel Mason on Country People

  4. Jul 14

    Aisling Rawle on The Compound

    Debut novelist Aisling Rawle joins Tom's Book Club to discuss her acclaimed novel The Compound. Set inside a mysterious reality television competition in the desert, The Compound blends literary fiction, satire and suspense to explore consumerism, inequality, entertainment and our fascination with watching others. Aisling discusses the origins of the novel, the reality TV shows that influenced her writing, creating the character of Lily, the novel's links to Animal Farm, writing the first draft in just six weeks, and why the story's mysteries are left deliberately unresolved. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Aisling Rawle on The Compound

  5. Jul 11 ·  Bonus

    Behind the Books: Laura Hackett on Literary Criticism

    What does a literary critic actually do? How are books chosen for review? And do reviews still matter in the age of Goodreads, BookTok and social media? In this special Behind The Books episode of Tom's Book Club, Tom speaks to Laura Hackett, Deputy Literary Editor and Fiction Editor at The Times and The Sunday Times, about life as one of Britain's leading literary critics. Laura discusses the reviewing process, how she approaches a new novel, writing positive and negative reviews, dealing with authors' reactions, and the changing role of criticism in 2026. Behind The Books is our monthly bonus series exploring the wider literary world through conversations with the people who shape it, from booksellers and critics to editors, translators and illustrators. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Behind the Books: Laura Hackett on Literary Criticism

  6. Jul 7

    Dave Eggers on Contrapposto

    Bestselling author Dave Eggers joins Tom's Book Club to discuss his new novel, Contrapposto. Spanning almost seven decades, Contrapposto follows Cricket and Olympia, two friends united by a love of art and a belief that they can change the world. In this wide-ranging conversation, Dave Eggers discusses creativity, the power of art, the parallels between painting and writing, creating one of his favourite ever characters, and why this novel was more than twenty years in the making. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Dave Eggers on Contrapposto

  7. Jun 30

    Bobby Palmer on Main Characters

    Bobby Palmer joins Tom’s Book Club to discuss his new novel Main Characters, an ambitious love story told entirely through the eyes of friends, family, flatmates and strangers. In this episode, Bobby discusses the inspiration behind Main Characters, why he had wanted to write a love story for many years, and how he approached telling a relationship entirely through the perspectives of other people. He talks about creating dozens of narrators, writing humour, family and friendship, and the challenge of building two central characters who never tell their own story. Bobby Palmer is the author of Isaac and the Egg, a Waterstones Paperback of the Year, and Small Hours. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Bobby Palmer on Main Characters

  8. Jun 23

    Elif Shafak on Writing, Memory and the Power of Fiction

    Bestselling novelist and President of the Royal Society of Literature Elif Shafak discusses literature, storytelling and the writing life. In this wide-ranging conversation, Elif reflects on the books that have guided her through difficult times, growing up between cultures, writing in both English and Turkish, and why stories can cross borders more easily than people can. She discusses her acclaimed novel There Are Rivers in the Sky, the experience of being put on trial following The Bastard of Istanbul, and the challenge of inhabiting voices as varied as sex workers, archaeologists and even a fig tree. Elif also opens up about her unusual writing process, why she writes amid a "hullabaloo" of noise, her thoughts on artificial intelligence and literature, and her forthcoming novel, In One Brief Moment All Eternity, which she describes as "the novel I always wanted to write." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Elif Shafak on Writing, Memory and the Power of Fiction
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About

Tom’s Book Club is a weekly books podcast featuring in-depth conversations with leading contemporary authors. Each episode features a focused, in-depth conversation with the authors behind the most talked-about new fiction, exploring the ideas, craft, and real-world questions that shape their work. Recent guests include Booker Prize winners George Saunders and Howard Jacobson, alongside bestselling writers and emerging voices from across the literary world. Subscribe for thoughtful author interviews, new book recommendations, and a closer look at the stories everyone’s talking about. Have a guest suggestion or enquiry? I'd love to hear from you: tomsbookclubpod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Thomas Watters
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Thomas Watters
  • Show Website
    Tom's Book Club

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