In this episode we talk with Abiola Bello - author, publisher and co-founder of the Diverse Book Awards. The third book in her Wild Magic series for younger readers is out and we talk about the success of the series - the first book just won the Sparks School Book Award prize and how kids love facts mixed in with their fiction.

Abiola is as ever very busy and we talk about her third book in the Marcus Rashford series and also a 'new adult' book coming out next year that she is on a deadline to finish.

The independent publisher Hashtag Press which Abiola co-founded with Helen Lewis is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. As one of the first independent publishers focussing on diverse authors and books they have been on quite a journey. They are currently Crowdfunding to safeguard their next ten years and you can find details of that here.

Abiola's books can be found here:

Younger Readers

Wild Magic - Legend of the Black Lion (illustrated by Emma McCann)

Wild Magic - Journey of the Lost Elephant (illustrated by Emma McCann)

Wild Magic - Escape of the Sea Turtles (illustrated by Emma McCann)

Middle Grade

Emily Knight - I am

Emily Knight - I am... Power

Emily Knight - I am... Becoming

Emily Knight - I am... Awakened

Marcus Rashford The Breakfast Club Adventures - The Movie Monster

Marcus Rashford The Breakfast Club Adventures - The Sleepover Sabotage

Marcus Rashford The Breakfast Club Adventures - The Haunted Disco (Oct 2026)

YA

Love in Winter Wonderland

Only for the Holidays

The Love Dare

New Adult

Pretty Little Pledges (Aug 2027)

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Welcome back to the new school year - we hope you had a great summer. September always feels the time for fresh starts and we are back after a bit of summer break. We have an interview with Dean Atta about his picture book, Auntie's Bangles (illustrated by Alea Marley)- a joyous take on loss and remembering. We also talk about his YA books and the middle grade project he is working on. All very exciting! Congratulations to him too on the publication of his adult debut, Big Man, which is out and available now (and you will have worked hard to miss the buzz about it on social media!).

Dean's website can be found here.

And links to all his books are below.

Auntie's Bangles, illustrated by Alea Marley

Confetti, illustrated by Alea Marley

The Black Flamingo, illustrated by Anshika Khullar

Only on the Weekends

I Can't Even Think Straight

Big Man

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Fidan Meikle is a multi-award-winning Azerbaijani-British writer, linguist and translator.

We talk with her about her debut middle-grade novel, My Name Is Samim, which is a powerful novel that follows Samim, a thirteen-year-old boy, as he flees war-torn Afghanistan for a new life in the UK. It highlights the experiences of young refugees and asylum-seekers, and has been a word of mouth success, winning the 2026 Jhalak Children's & YA Prize, the Federation of Children's Book Groups Award, several regional awards and included in the 2026 Read for Empathy Collection.

My Name Is Samim and its companion novel, My Name Is Zayn, are inspired by the real-life stories of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK.

We also celebrate Patrice Lawrence becoming the new Children's Laureate (Yay!) and the 10th anniversary of her YA book Orangeboy.

We talk about what we are reading over the summer and highlight both the Summer Reading Challenge and the Teacher's Reading Challenge.

And finally we invite you to share your recommendations - tag us in on social media or email us at info@mostlybooktalk.com.

Books we mentioned include:

Always Angel, by Kimberly Whittam

Soul Feeder, by Jennifer Killick, illustrated by Marina Vidal

Big Words by Luke Palmer

Gloam, by Jack McKay, illustrated by Ben Joel Price

Dangerous Influence, Sally Nichols (published Sept 2026)

The Sign of the Raven, by Pippa Dunn

The Shadows of Kensington Gore, by Ross Montgomery - adult (published Oct 2026)

All The Men We've Never Slept With, by Simon James Green and Sarah Counsell - adult (published July 2027)

Faith's First Case, by Jeffrey Boakye - adult (out Feb 2027)

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