Episodi

  • Fidan Meikle talks about her award winning middle grade book, My Name is Samim

    Fidan Meikle talks about her award winning middle grade book, My Name is Samim
    Aug 2 2026

    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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    45 min
  • A feast of middle grade books! Interviews with Kristina Rahim and Cath Howe

    A feast of middle grade books! Interviews with Kristina Rahim and Cath Howe
    Jul 26 2026

    In this episode we have a feast of middle grade books! We talk first to Kristina Rahim author of the very popular The Doughnut Club, about her second book Max and Ella Stuck Together.

    Max has had a tough year starting secondary school. He has been bullied about having two mums and has lost his confidence. He is even finding it hard to enjoy the music that he used to love. He knows he risks letting his friends down if he has stage fright again at their planned performance and the idea that meeting his sperm donor dad might help him find himself again takes hold.

    Ella's dad, Hari, was a sperm donor before she was born and she is fine with it. Or at least thought she was before a kid she has never met before turns up and gatecrashes a family weekend. Things haven't been easy for Ella to with friendship changes and her mum working away a lot.

    With Max and Ella very much stuck together, will they find a way to be their true selves?

    We also catch up with Cath Howe who we have interviewed before about her younger readers series Call the Puffins. She has another middle grade book out - Two is a Crowd.

    In this latest book, Hattie’s life is already complicated enough… She’s about to start secondary school, her best friend is going off with someone else and her dad seems to have completely forgotten his promise to give her his office for her own bedroom.

    So when her mum’s goddaughter, Seren, arrives and gets special treatment, Hattie feels pushed out.

    Could it be that Hattie’s family prefer Seren?

    Both are great middle grade/early teen reads and grapple realistically with issues that many teenagers will face, through strong story lines and without being 'issue' books.

    We also celebrate John Agard winning the CLiPPA Poetry Prize for an unprecedented third time for his collection The Poetry World of John Agard, illustrated by Shirley Hottier, and point listeners to the recording of the ceremony which is well worth watching.

    With thanks to Miah Herford for editing the interviews.

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    41 min
  • The Othernauts with Clare Pollard

    The Othernauts with Clare Pollard
    Jul 21 2026

    We talk with author Clare Pollard about her new middle grade book The Othernauts. Based on the story of Jason and the Argonauts, we follow Phoebe who is bored of life on the island where she lives and is desperate to escape. When a ship with Jason and the Argonauts comes into the harbour she acts quickly and joins their quest to find the Golden Fleece. Full of humour and with illustrations by Macha Yao this is a fun and entertaining take on a classic tale.

    You can find out more about Clare here. And find her children's books below:

    The Othernauts, illustrated Macha Yao

    The Untameables, illustrated by Reena Makwana

    And her book about picture books can be found here:

    Fierce Bad Rabbits - The Tales Behind Children's Picture Books


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    39 min
  • The Klaus Flugge Prize 2026 - the year's most exciting newcomers to children's book illustration

    The Klaus Flugge Prize 2026 - the year's most exciting newcomers to children's book illustration
    Jul 14 2026
    We talk to the chair of judges and the 2025 winner of The Klaus Flugge Prize for Illustration, Emma Farrarons. Emma won the prize in 2025 which is for the year’s most exciting newcomers to children’s picture book illustration. This year she is back as the chair of judges alongside illustrator Rob Biddulph, illustrator and course director for the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University, Shelley Jackson and co-owner of the The Book Nook in Hove, Vanessa Lewis.Emma won the prize in 2025 with her illustration of My Hair is as Long as a River by Charlie Castle.This year's shortlisted illustrators are:Becky Colvin who studied illustration at The University of West England in Bristol and went on to win the prestigious Macmillan Prize for illustration in 2023. Becky loves telling stories, capturing both the quiet and the exceptional moments in life. The Great Green Island her debut picture book was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Books Prize. Her next book, Princes Don't Practise, written by Kathryn Simmonds, is out in August 2026. Becky lives in Bristol. London-based author-illustrator Laila Ekboir who worked as a freelance illustrator for many years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before completing an MA in children's book illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. Drawing inspiration from everyday moments and childhood memories of living in California, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires, Laila’s art is colourful, warm and rich in texture. She works by hand, exploring a variety of materials and using digital tools to make her work pop, but her favourite medium is printmaking. Laila enjoys telling whimsical stories with quirky characters, as well as exploring the themes of home, memory, identity and belonging delicately and thoughtfully. Her debut picture book, We Are Like Birds, is published by Kumusha Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books.Born in Weimar in 1990, Thekla Priebst studied visual communication at Bauhaus University Weimar and Berlin Weissensee School of Art. Since 2017, she has been living with her small family on the west coast of Portugal, where she works as a freelance art director and illustrator. With her flair for composition and colour, as well as a typographic sensibility, Thekla designs books from the first to the last page. The glorious The Voyage That Changed the World is her debut as author-illustrator. She has the ability to hold her breath for a long time because she likes to surf big waves. Thekla is currently based in Portugal. Justin Worsley who has been a toy designer for over 25 years, and has now turned his hand to picture book making. He has a BA Hons in Industrial Design at Northumbria University, and in 2022 he graduated with a distinction from the Cambridge School of Art with an MA in Children's Book Illustration. He has since won the Batsford Prize, the CA award of excellence and the Sebastian Walker Prize. Henry: the Artistic Dog is Justin's first picture book. Justin is originally from Windermere, now living in Lewes.Forest Xiao who is an image maker, storyteller, treasure finder and mother to two girls. She has lived in China, Germany, USA, the UK and Malaysia. Forest obtained a BA in Graphic Design from Camberwell College of Art which led her to the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. Forest was a runner-up for the Sebastian Walker Prize 2023, highly commended by the 2022 Macmillan Prize for Children’s Picture Book Illustration, and winner of the Batsford Prize 2023. Forest was also one of the 2023 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition Winners. Forest loves connecting with people and hearing stories. She is shortlisted for her book Seven Babies.Circle Yuen who is an award-winning author and illustrator born in Hong Kong and now based in the UK. Her work transforms personal experiences of family restructuring and co-parenting into emotionally rich, healing narratives for children. A graduate of the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, she champions social justice and empathy through art. Her debut picture book Our Dance: Living Apart, Time Together is the first UK picture book to address child contact centres, created with the National Association of Child Contact Centres. Her work has previously been chosen for the dPictus Unpublished Picturebooks Showcase and was longlisted for the Illustrators Exhibition at Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2024.Send us a message
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    27 min
  • National Year of Reading - Canterbury Children's Literature Festival

    National Year of Reading - Canterbury Children's Literature Festival
    Jul 6 2026

    We talk to Bex Hughes about the upcoming Canterbury Children's Literature Festival which is on the 9th - 12th of July and also about Book Shop Crawl UK which hosts book shop crawls in cities around the UK.

    You can find out more about all the exciting events on at the Canterbury Children's Literature Festival here.

    And check out up coming book shop crawls here.

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    15 min
  • National Year of Reading - What on Earth! - Scientists Making a Difference

    National Year of Reading - What on Earth! - Scientists Making a Difference
    Jul 1 2026

    In September 2026 all UK Secondary Schools will receive two copies of the book Scientists Making a Difference by Dr Shini Somara together with a pack of resources. This is a collaboration between publishers What on Earth!, the Gatsby Foundation and Imperial. We talk to teacher Jennifer Marchant who created the school resources to discuss the book, what schools will find in their pack and how they can be used within the science curriculum as well as in careers lessons.

    There are linked resources online supporting the resources in the box and also CPD for teachers (starting in September and available to book now) to support them in using the materials.

    For more information check out the dedicated website here.

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    18 min
  • Fairy Tales at the British Library - a Family Adventure through Enchanted Stories

    Fairy Tales at the British Library - a Family Adventure through Enchanted Stories
    Jun 26 2026

    Join us as we talk to lead curators Alison Bailey and Laura Walker, of the British Library's Fairy Tales Exhibition. This interactive and child friendly exhibit is on until 23 August 2026 and covers many familiar tales as well as lesser known stories.

    They have brought together interactive displays, theatrical design, story sharing spaces, costumes and activities, as well as some great examples of early drafts and drawing ideas. There are beautiful books and artwork to see and plenty of hands on activities to keep children engaged.

    Sensory packs can be picked up from reception and large print and Braille resources are available.

    We discuss how they put the exhibition together, why they chose to focus on fairy tales, and how the items in the exhibit were selected. Ali and Katy have been to see and we all talk about our favourite items.

    More information about the exhibit and how to buy tickets can be found here.











    Cover art includes dragon illustration © Chris Riddell and British Library 2026

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    20 min
  • Kid Rex to the Rescue with Mayo Agard-Olubo

    Kid Rex to the Rescue with Mayo Agard-Olubo
    Jun 16 2026

    Join us talking to Mayo Agard-Olubo about his debut picture book, Kid Rex to the Rescue, illustrated by Diane Ewen. Max's imagination transforms him into the superhero Kid Rex, and he's ready to use his dinosaur powers to battle robots, dragons and even the evil king dust bunny. A fun bedtime story and definitely one for dinosaur fans.

    Mayo's website can be found here.

    His BBC Sounds appearance on Margins to the Mainstream can be found here.

    The books we reviewed were:

    Auntie's Bangles, by Dean Atta, illustrated by Alea Marley

    Fred the Very Demanding Deer by Pepé Smit



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    40 min