Live from Bailey’s HQ, Louise Minchin, former BBC Breakfast Presenter, endurance athlete, writer and podcaster reveals how she coping with her kids flying the nest, finding time to judge the Women’s Prize and she discusses her new book, Fearless: Adventures with Extraordinary Women. Louise is someone whose warmth, empathy and journalistic prowess will be familiar to millions of people across the UK, she presented BBC Breakfast for almost twenty years, lighting up TV screens across the nation...

Ruth Ozeki, winner of the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction discusses the power of meditation, the importance of writing beautiful lists and how novels eventually take on a life of their own.  Not only an award winning writer, Ruth is also a filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest. She is the author of five novels, The Book of Form and Emptiness, My Year of Meats, All Over Creation, A Tale for the Time Being, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize and translated into 28 languages. She...

In this very special bonus episode, Vick sits down with this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlisted authors, Jaqueline Crooks, Louise Kennedy, Barbara Kingsolver, Priscillla Morris, Maggie O’Farrell, and Laline Paull. The locations of their books span the globe, from Renaissance Italy and Northern Ireland during The Troubles, to opioid-infested Virginia and even an underwater world populated with extraordinary creatures, and we’ll be finding out more about these phenomenal books and...

Comedian Josie Long joins Vick to discuss internal monologues, her big move to Scotland and how ADHD is changing the way she sees the world and herself. She may be best known for her standup comedy but she is also a podcaster, playwright, co-founder of the education charity Arts Emergency, and now an author, with her very own debut book , Because I don't know what you mean and what you don't - a brilliant, richly-drawn collection of short stories. Josie started doing stand up at the tender...

Author, journalist and powerlifter Poorna Bell discusses love, loss, the depiction of South India in literature and female representation in the male-dominated world of sports. Poorna Bell is an award-winning journalist, author and powerlifter(!) who writes across mental and physical wellbeing, women and diversity. Poorna has published three works of non-fiction: Chase The Rainbow, In Search of Silence and Stronger, which is part memoir, part manifesto about women's strength and fitness. In...

Author, podcaster and multi-hyphenate Emma Gannon shares her wisdom, her books and explains why we need to reframe our definition of success. Emma Gannon is a Times bestselling author, broadcaster, speaker, novelist and host of the recently retired Ctrl Alt Delete podcast. She has been a columnist for The Times, Telegraph and Courier magazine and can now be found over on her Substack page The Hyphen. In 2018, she was selected in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in media and is an ambassador for...

Join Vick Hope as she sits down with writer Irenosen Okojie to discuss wild imaginations and magical realism in literature and if imposter syndrome comes into play when you're a judge for the Women's Prize for Fiction. Irenosen’s intoxicating debut novel, Butterfly Fish, won the 2016 Betty Trask Award, and her highly acclaimed short story collections, Speak Gigantular and Nudibranch have both been nominated for countless awards and received praise from Bernardine Evaristo and Margaret...

Mary Portas discusses books, poetry, her connection to nature and tells us what we can all do to help protect our planet and build our communities. Mary is one of the UK's most well-known and innovative people in business.She made her name turning Harvey Nichols into a global fashion destination, by the age of just 30 she was on the board of directors. At 37, she left corporate life to launch Portas, her own creative company, with the mission to turn businesses into brands, places and spaces...

Dancer Motsi Mabuse kicks off season six with all the glamour, energy and determination you’d expect from a Strictly judge but she also shares the books that have helped her manifest the life she enjoys today. Mosti Mabuse is a world-class professional dancer and has been bringing fun to the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom as a Judge since 2019. Originally from South Africa, Motsi started dancing at a young age. She studied Law at university, until she decided to dedicate her life to dance...

Actor Ophelia Lovibond shares the moment - aged 10 - when she knew she was going to be an actor, and which book inspired her to make the decision. Ophelia began honing her skills in a youth theatre club at the age of ten. Since then she has been working for over two decades, taking a variety of roles, including Apple’s Trying, BBC’s Roadkill, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, CBS’s Elementary, and recently This England - a series about British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which she plays...

Labour MP Lisa Nandy gives her advice on how we can all stay hopeful and keep progressing even in dark political times. Lisa was first elected as the Labour MP for Wigan in 2010. During her time in Parliament, she has served on the front bench in a number of roles and is currently serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. She is also the co-founder of the think tank Centre for Towns which was set up to ensure priority is given to the viability and...

Author and Women’s Prize founder director Kate Mosse reveals the books that have shaped her and also makes an exciting announcement: the intention to launch a new annual book prize, the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.

Gillian Anderson is an award-winning film, television and theatre actor, producer, activist and author who rose to international fame playing FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in The X-Files. She has had countless notable roles - from Lady Dedlock in Bleak House, Margaret Thatcher in The Crown to DSU Stella Gibson in the BBC crime series The Fall,  sex therapist Jean Milburn in Sex Education and most recently Mrs Marquis in Netflix’s gothic-horror film The Pale Blue Eye with Christian Bale. Her...

Broadcaster Cherry Healey brings in books that spark discussions on the perimenopause, divorce, sibling bonds, feminism and the art of manifesting.

Green MP Caroline Lucas and Vick Hope discuss feminism and green party principles and reveal which book from the list would benefit the Prime Minister.

Historian Lucy Worsley sits down with Vick to talk about forgotten women, fan fiction from the 1930s and the misunderstandings around beloved crime writer Agatha Christie. Lucy Worsley OBE is a British historian, author, television presenter and chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces. Lucy has written numerous history books including: Queen Victoria: Daughter, Wife, Mother, Widow; Jane Austen at Home: A Biography; and The Courtiers: Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court. She has...

Sunday Times bestselling author Candice Brathwaite reveals how she found her voice, why the UK was long overdue an inclusive book on motherhood and how - if you let it - social media can stifle your best work.  Candice’s debut book I’m Not Your Baby Mother was described by the Observer as ‘an essential exploration of the realities of black motherhood in the UK’. She is also the founder of Make Motherhood Diverse - an online initiative that lets more mothers see themselves reflected online....

Author and journalist, Dawn O’Porter joins Vick Hope to discuss everything from old Hollywood to Spice Girl Mania and reveals why she’s no longer hungry for fame. Dawn is a renowned broadcaster, novelist and journalist. She has made documentaries about everything from free love to childbirth, is the co-founder and director of refugee charity Choose Love and designs dresses for Joanie Clothing. Dawn is the bestselling author of eight books, including The Cows, So Lucky and her newest novel...

2012 Women’s Prize winner Madeline Miller joins Vick Hope and explains why as a writer, you have to be your own biggest cheerleader. Madeline is a New York Times bestselling author and Women’s Prize for Fiction winner. Her debut novel The Song of Achilles came out in 2011 after a whopping 10 years of blood, sweat and tears, which all became worth it with its phenomenal success. Her next novel, Circe, came out in 2018 and is currently being adapted for television. Her latest book Galatea is a...

Activist, broadcaster, author and founder of Mother Pukka, Anna Whitehouse delves into the underbelly of the internet and the fight for flexible working. Anna’s campaign, Flex Appeal has been quoted in parliament, featured on national TV and seen her lead lycra-clad flash mobs around UK town centres. Anna is also a columnist for Grazia, is co-presenter of the Dirty Mother Pukka Podcast, hosts her own Sunday night radio show on Heart FM and - with her husband - has co-authored two Sunday...

For another very special bookshelfie episode, Noor Murad chats to Vick live from Wilderness Festival. The unbelievably talented Bahraini-British chef discusses the contradictions between private and public life in a Muslim country. After gaining work experience in Germany and New York, plus studying at the Culinary Institute of America for three years, Noor Murad eventually met Israeli chef Yottam Ottolenghi while working at the Spitalfields deli. She’s now the Head of the Ottolenghi Test...

2020 Women’s Prize winner Maggie O’Farrell joins Vick Hope and reveals what it was like to win the prize over a zoom call and what level of research is really required to write a masterpiece like Hamnet. Maggie O’Farrell won the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel Hamnet - a moving exploration of death and grief in Elizabethan England told through the story of William Shakespeare’s real life son Hamnet. Maggie is the author of nine novels, the memoir I Am I Am I Am, and two children’s...

In a special episode in front of a live audience at Latitude Festival, Vick Hope talks to the hilarious, multi-award winning comedian, writer and actor Aisling Bea about her early career, writing and starring in her much loved Channel 4 show This Way Up, and becoming the face of loneliness. Armed with the stage name ‘Bea’, a tribute to her late father, Aisling broke away from the family tradition of working with horses to pursue a career in performing. After winning awards at the Edinburgh...

For this very special episode, Minnie Driver talks to Vick in front of a live audience in Bedford Square Gardens, London. The actor, author and singer opens up about her yearning for freedom and the pieces of herself that were sacrificed for fame. Minnie became known for her lead roles in Good Will Hunting and Circle of Friends. She broke into Hollywood where she performed in some incredible films, like The Governess and Hard Rain, alongside some equally incredible actors. She now has three...

Writer, academic and broadcaster Emma Dabiri talks about identity, ghost stories and why she could make a whole podcast about Toni Morrison's books.  Emma’s first book, an essay collection called Don’t Touch My Hair, explores the way that colonisation, oppression and, ultimately, liberation are all expressed in Black women’s hair – and it gained critical acclaim from just about everyone. Emma’s second book - a Sunday Times bestseller - What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to...