Anne Sebba (19th September 2020)

Robin joins Antonia to talk about his dark, compelling second novel The Guest House, written in lockdown with a new baby. Along the way we talk representation, diversity, becoming the person you want to be and being the person you wish your child-self had been able to see - and musical theatre. Of course.

I Wanna Dance with Somebody - Whitney Houston
Gimme Gimme Gimme - ABBA
Bills Bills Bills - Destiny's Child
Hold On - Adele
So Sorry - Lola Young
We Don't Talk about Bruno from Encanto
Ex Wives - from Six the Musical
Say You'll Be There - Spice Girls
I Try - Macy Gray
I will Follow Him - from the Sister Act soundtrack
I'm Here - Cynthia Erivo, from The Color Purple soundtrack
Good as Hell - Lizzo

Sarra joins Antonia to celebrate her latest novel, the warm, immersive and wonderful London, With Love. The Sarra Manning line takes us on a trip through Sarra’s prolific and enduring writing career, with stops at Just Seventeen, London before Crossrail, Noel Streatfeild, music, dogs, selecting great reads for Red Magazine and so many more. A joy.

Jennifer She Said - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Girl VII - St Etienne
West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys
Wrapped Up In Books - Belle and Sebastian
Moving On Up - Primal Scream
Liza Minelli - Losing My Mind
Bar Italia - Pulp
Perfect Day - Lou Reed
Right Back Where We Started From - Maxine Nightingale
Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks
Lloyd, I’m Ready to be Heartbroken
Tonight the Streets are Ours - Richard Hawley

Julie joins Antonia to talk about her beautiful debut novel, That Green Eyed Girl, about New York in the 1950s, about writing dreams and process and heartbreak - and answers openly and honestly the perennial question, What took you so long? A must-listen.

I’m Coming Home - Tom Jones
Beast of Burden - Rolling Stones
Young Americans - David Bowie
Streets of Fire - Bruce Springsteen
Trouble in Mind - Marianne Faithfull
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted - Jimmy Ruffin
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
My Funny Valentine - Chet Baker
Seventeen - Janis Ian
23rd Street Lullaby - Patti Scialfa
Four Tops - Reach Out
Burce Springsteen - Stolen Car

Fiona ’s writing career, from journalism (Fiona was the last journalist in the UK to interview Michael Jackson before he died), to Faber Academy, to her fifth novel, Into The Dark, provides the framework for a far-reaching and wide-ranging conversation encompassing love, loss, fear, survival and joy. Join us x

Always Something There to Remind Me - Sandie Shaw
I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash
Like a Prayer - Madonna
Carey - Joni Mitchell
Atomic - Blondie
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Shine -Take That
Shallow - Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga
Titanium - David Guetta fest. Sia
The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash
See you Again - Wiz Khalifa/Charlie Puth
Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen

Prolific novelist, OBE, the first female chair of the Royal Society of Literature, Professor of Creative Writing and champion of new writers Maggie Gee joins Antonia to talk about her fourteenth novel, The Red Children. This is a conversation about writing, longevity, disappointment, love, war and hope - but above all, it’s a chance to enjoy the company of a writing icon and beautiful human being. Join us x

Mack the Knife - Lottie Lenta Kurt Weill, sung by Lotte Lenta

Sheep may safely graze - Bach, played by Leon Fleisher

What a fool believes - Aretha Franklin

Jazzman by Carole King, Tapestry

Until You Come back to me - Aretha Franklin

Bess, you is my woman now - Miles Davis

Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, instrumental - Sakimoto

Be thankful for what you’ve got - William Devaughn

Summertime by Rebecca Ferguson.

Do you want to dance? - Bette Midler

Benny and the Jets - Elton John

Saturday in the Park - Chicago

These Foolish Things - Thelonius Monk solo piano

Oh Happy Day: Aretha Franklin, Live at New Bethel

Lewis’ human and superstar novelist Joanna Cannon joins Antonia to talk about her new novel, A Tidy Ending, about the beginning of her writing career, the joys and perils of early success, about resilience and perseverance and moving from writing as joy to writing as career. And, of course, the music. Please join us!

These Boots - Nancy Sinatra
To Sir With Love - Lulu
Space Oddity - David Bowie
Welome Home - Peters, Lee
Don’t Think Twice - Bob Dylan
Tie A Yellow Ribbon - Dawn
Bird on the Wire - Leonard Cohen
I do, I do, I do, I do, I do - ABBA
All Over The World - Françoise Hardy
Tennessee Waltz - Eva Cassidy
Ain’t That A Kick In The Head - Dean Martin
I’m On My Way - The Proclaimers

Stephen joins Antonia to talk about his novel Sell Us The Rope, the novel Hilary Mantel wishes she had written. It’s 1907 and Stalin is in London for the 5th Congress of the Russian Communist Party… Sell Us The Rope is Stephen’s sixth novel - he’s been shortlisted for the Costa Novel Prize with Life! Death! Prizes! the title of which sums up this Book Club chat - except for the death bit, which we took out to make way for the punk rock and iconoclasm. Bring on the Booker.

Dancing Queen- Abba
Cloudbusting - Kate Bush
Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks
Always on my Mind - Elvis Presley
Help - The Beatles
Do Anything You Wanna Do - Eddie and the Hod Rods
Burn the Heather - The Lounge Society
Lost Weekend - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Sigh o’ the Times - Prince
Sale of the Century - Sleeper
I feel love - Donna Summer
Positively 4th Street - Bob Dylan
The Emperor’s New Clothes - Sinéad O'Connor

Bestselling novelist Janice Hallett joins Antonia to talk about her phenomenally successful debut novel The Appeal, about how her life as a journalist and a screenwriter has fed into her work as a novelist, about how she uses music to trick herself into getting the writing done and about What Happens Now (including adapting her own work for the screen).


Brand New Key - Melanie Safe
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
Save a Prayer - Duran Duran
I Can’t Go For That - Hall and Oates
Baby Driver - Simon and Garfunkel
Rather Be - Clean Bandit
Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies
That’s Entertainment - The Jam
Do It Again - Steely Dan
Hotel California - The Eagles
Angie Baby - Helen Reddy
West End Girls - The Pet Shop Boys
The Logical Song - Supertramps

Hannah joins Antonia to talk about The Codes of Love and its genesis as a short story, unlikeable characters, the importance of music, why we write (and why we don’t) and how we might just persuade ourselves to keep going.

Tall Heights - Horse to Water
Angel Olsen - Windows
Ane Brun - Halo
Alvvays - Archie, Marry Me
Laura Marling - Ghosts
First Aid Kit - Emmylou
Daughter - Candles
Emily King - Georgia
Sufjan Stevens - Should Have Known Better
Phoebe Ryan - A Thousand Ways
Alela Diane - Emigré
Lord Huron - The Night We Met

Laura Pearson, novelist and founder of The Motherload Book Club, brings a list of her favourite books to Book Club. We talk about titles, whether there’s a right time to write about disasters, the importance of small presses… We also talk about Laura’s own writing and her novels, Missing Pieces and Nobody’s Wife, and the life-changing turn of events in Laura’s own life that led to her third novel, I Wanted You To Know.


Paperback Writer, The Beatles
Go Your Own Way, Fleetwood Mac
Watermelon Sugar, Harry Styles
Trash, Suede
Wake Up Boo, The Boo Radleys
We Didn’t Start the Fire, Billy Joel
Always Remember Us This Way, Lady Gaga
Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen
Famous Blue Raincoat, Leonard Cohen
Frank Mills, The Lemonheads
No Body No Crime, Taylor Swift
Fast Car, Tracy Chapman