PODCAST · arts
In the Reading Corner
by Nikki Gamble
In the Reading Corner is created by Just Imagine for anyone interested in children's books and reading. It is hosted by Nikki Gamble, author of Exploring Children's Literature and co-author of Guiding Readers. Listening to this podcast, you will learn about the latest children's books, learn more about the creative processes of writing and illustrating, discover different viewpoints about topical issues and more. Whether you are a teacher, librarian, parent, bookseller, publisher, writer or illustrator, this podcast is made with love for you.
Episodes
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JonArno Lawson: Wise Up!! Wise Down!
Nikki Gamble talks to CLiPPA shortlisted poet JonArno Lawson about his co-authored poetry collection (with John Agard) Wise Up! Wise Down! Jon talks about why writing poetry excites him and his thoughts about performing poetry. About Wise Up! Wise Down! How can laughter be more powerful than a...
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Brian Bilston: Let Sleeping Cats Lie
In the second of our podcasts with CLiPPA shortlisted poets, Nikki Gamble talks to Brian Bilston about his collection of pet poems, Let Sleeping Cats Lie. Brian talks about why he writes, his thoughts about performing and reflects on whether he intentionally writes for children. Support the show...
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Jane Newbery - CLiPPA shortlisted poet
Nikki Gamble talks to Jan Newbery about her CLiPPa shortlisted collection, Big Red Dragon, and writing verse for very young children and their adults. Support the show Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchasing books…
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Jenny Downham and Louis Hill: Let the Light In
Jenny Downham and Louis Hill are the mother and son writing partners of the YA novel Let the Light In. In this interview, they talk with Nikki Gamble about the discoveries made when writing together. They reflect on the complexities of their book's characters, themes and social context. Support…
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The Pinchers with Anders Sparring and Per Gustavsson
Anders Sparring and Per Gustavsson are the creative duo behind The Pinchers. Originally published in Swedish, the books have been translated into English by Julia Marshall and are published by Gecko Press. About The Pinchers The Pinchers is a funny chapter-book crime series about a well-behaved...
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Jeremy Strong: Fox Goes North
Jeremy Strong's final novel, Fox Goes North, is a beautifully written fable about a brave, loyal and quirky group of friends who travel together in a topsy-turvy caravan on a quest to see the Northern Lights. For the old, wise fox, this will be her final journey and resting place. Full of wisdom...
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Elle McNicoll: Keedie
In this episode, Elle McNicoll talks to Nikki Gamble about her novel, Keedie, the prequel to her novel, A Kind of Spark, now a BBC television series. About Keedie Set in Juniper five years before A Kind of Spark comes a powerful coming-of-age story from award-winning author Elle McNicoll. As…
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Clare Pollard: The Untameables
In this episode, Nikki Gamble talks to award-winning poet, novelist, playwright, and literary critic Clare Pollard about her debut children's novel, The Untameables. About the Untameables Under the bloody rule of King Arthur – as the cruel Knights of the Round Table wage wars and hunt magical...
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Jodie Lancet-Grant: The Wild West Twins
Jodie Lancet-Grant is the author of The Pirate Mums and The Marvellous Doctors for Magical Creatures. and The Legend of the Wild West Twins, The Pirate Mums made history as the first book with a two-mum family to be read as a Cbeebies Bedtime Story, when it appeared in 2021, read by Sue Perkins.…
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Lucy Strange: The Island at the Edge of Night
After training as an actor and working as an English teacher, Lucy published her first novel, The Secret of Nightingale Wood, which won the 2014 Montegrappa First Fiction Prize; further novels, Our Castle by the Sea, The Ghost of Gosswater, and Sisters of the Lost Marsh have been published with...
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Maya Wei-Haas: What a Rock Can Reveal
Nikki Gamble talks to science journalist and author Maya Wei-Haas about her recently published book, What A Rock Can Reveal. The discussion ranges from the creation of volcanic rock to stromatolites, the earliest known form of life on Earth. Maya also makes suggestions for engaging young readers...
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Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent
It's 20 years since the publication of Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men, the first book in the Tiffany Aching arc within the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. To celebrate, Terry's daughter Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent have produced a handsome gift book, Tiffany Aching's Guide to…
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Peter Brown - Running wild with robots
Peter Brown is an American writer and illustrator. He is the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for his illustration of Creepy Carrots (written by Aaron Reynolds) and the author-illustrator of picture books Mr Tiger Goes Wild, My Teacher is a Monster, Fred Gets Dressed and The Curious Garden. His...
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We've Got This! Reflections on empathy with Rashmi Siredeshpande and Miranda McKearney
Rashmi Sirdeshpande is the author of We've Got This! Six Steps to Build Empathy and Miranda McKearney is a founder and director of Empathy Lab. In this episode, they talk about the science behind empathy and ways to develop it with young people. An extended version of video version of this talk…
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Pippa Funnell
Pippa Funnell is well-known for her equestrian achievements. She's an Olympic medalist and Rolex Grand Slam winner 2003. She is also the author of a series of books for children, Pippa's Pony Tales. In this episode, Pippa talks to Nikki Gamble about how her love of horses inspired the books and…
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Roland Chambers - The Adventures of Billy Shaman
Roland Chambers is a writer, illustrator and storyteller. He is the author of a biography about Arthur Ransome and the children's stories, Nelly and the Quest for Captain Peabody and Nelly and the Flight of the Sky Lantern. His new series, features Billy Shaman - a shaman by name and by nature…
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Jo Ellen Bogart and Maja Kastelic
Jo Ellen Bogart and Maya Kastelic are the joint creators of the wordless picture book, Anthony and the Gargoyle. In this episode, they talk about their different roles in producing the book. Jo Ellen Bogart is a US and Canadian writer of children's books living in Ontario. Maja Kastelic was born…
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David Wolstencroft - The Magic Hour
David Wolstencroft is a screenwriter who has notched up a number of BAFTA awards, including one for the TV spy drama Spooks. He has also written two spy thrillers, Good News, Bad News and Contact Zero. In this episode, Nikki Gamble chatted to David about his debut children's book, The Magic Hour…
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Mark Bradley - Bumble and Snug
Mark Bradley is a comics writer and artist who lives in Yorkshire with his family. He grew up reading stories about ghosts and monsters and promptly decided that he preferred them to humans. Having worked for the probation service for many years, he saw first-hand how important emotional literacy...
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Jasmine Richards
Jasmine Richards is an author, editor and entrepreneur. She's the founder of Storymix, a company with a mission to increase the visibility of characters of colour in children's books and to mentor writers of colour in the early stages of their writing careers. Jasmine's books include Oliver…
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Kwame Alexander - The Door of No Return
Kwame Alexander is an American poet and author of books for children, including the verse novel The Crossover, which was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2015 and is the basis for a new series from Disney Plus (2023). It is also available in a graphic novel adaptation illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile....
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Mariajo Illustrajo - Lost
Mariajo Illustrajo is a Spanish designer, printmaker and illustrator living in the UK. After studying at the art school in Madrid, she moved to Bath, where she completed a degree in Graphic Communication. Later she graduated from the Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University with an MA…
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Shirley Marr - All Four Quarters of the Moon
Shirley Marr is a Chinese-Australian author who migrated from Singapore with her family in the 1980s. Her novel, A Glasshouse of Stars, which won the Children's Book Council of Australia Award, is based on this early experience. It was nominated in the UK for Cilip Carnegie Medal. Her latest…
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Deborah Ellis - One More Mountain
Deborah Ellis works as a mental health residential counsellor in Toronto. She is the winner of the Governor General's Award in Canada (equivalent to the Carnegie Medal) for her first novel Looking for X. She was raised in Paris, Ontario, and from the time she was 17, she has been a political...
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Abi Elphinstone - Saving Neverland
Abi Elphinstone is a writer of children's fantasy stories, including The Dream Snatcher, Sky Song and Rumblestar. She has also written picturebooks, The Snow Dragon and the Frost Goblin. Many of Abi's stories are set in magical cold places, inspired by growing up in the North of Scotland. This is...
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Peter Lantos: The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die
Neuroscientishttps://justimagine.co.uk/review/the-boy-who-didnt-want-to-die/t and Holocaust survivor, Peter Lantos, has written a children's book about his childhood experience of being sent, aged 5 years old, with his family from Hungary to Bergen Belsen. In this episode, he talks to Nikki…
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Berlie Doherty: The Haunted Hills
Berlie Doherty is one of our foremost fiction writers for children and young adults. She is a double recipient of the Carnegie Medal with her novels Granny was a Buffer Girl (1986) and Dear Nobody (1991). She is also the author of the popular middle-grade novel Street Child and its sequel, Far…
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Emily Gravett - on picture books
Emily Gravett achieved instant success with the publication of her debut picture book, Wolves - a university project that was awarded the Macmillan Prize and was published by Macmillan Children's Books. It won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2005. Since then, Emily has produced many well-loved…
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Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott - All the Pieces of Me
Neurodivergent teenager, Libby Scott tells us how she came to be a published author and her partnership with author Rebecca Westcott. Libby and Rebecca talk about co-authoring, the importance of own voices literature and their latest book All the Pieces of Me. About All the Pieces of Me Year 9…
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Kelly Yang - a Chinese American Experience
Kelly Yang is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Front desk series, two YA novels and a non-fiction book about the Chinese American experience. in 2019, she was awarded the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature and the Parents; Choice Gold Medal, along with several other...
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David Atherton - Baking with Children
David Atherton is a food writer and presenter. In 2019, he won The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 and has since been featured on Steph’s Packed Lunch, ITV’s Good Morning Britain, and the BBC’s Blue Peter. In 2022, David partnered with the North York Moors National Park for four short...
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Peter Kalu - One Drop
Peter Kalu is a poet, fiction writer and playwright. He was a member of Manchester, UK’s Moss Side Write black writers workshop and has had nine novels, two film scripts and three theatre plays produced to date. With writers Melvin Burgess and Tariq Mahmood, Peter has written one story in what…
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Kandace Chimbiri - The Story of Britain's Black Airmen
Kandace Chimbiri (writing as K.N. Chimbiri) started as a self-published author. She didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer. However, she was greatly disturbed by the lack of diversity in children’s books, particularly in Black history. In 2009, Kandace set up her own one-woman publishing house to...
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Malcolm Duffy - Read Between the Lies
Newcastle-born author, Malcolm Duffy, has a background in advertising. And has won numerous awards for copy, press, TV and radio. He worked for Comic Relief as Creative Director, creating campaigns for Red Nose Day and Sport Relief. He has written three novels for young people. His debut novel Me...
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Greg Jenner - You Are History
Greg Jenner is a public historian specialising in public engagement. He's an author and award-winning podcaster. His smash hit podcast 'You're Dead to Me' pairs up top comedians with top historians to deliver funny, fascinating summaries of the most interesting subjects from global history. He…
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Sarah Roberts - When Somebody Woke Wilson
Naturalist, eco-journalist and activist Sarah Roberts is the author of three children's picture books about environmental concerns. Somebody Swallowed Stanley addressed the problem of plastic waste in the oceans and Somebody Crunched Colin looked at the issues of the careless disposal of crips...
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Nyanda Foday and Joelle Avalino
Nyanda Foday was Birmingham's Young Poet Laureate 2016-2018, and is inspired by the impact that words can have to create, unite, explain and enjoy. She strives to connect with others where she can by sharing and listening to others’ work. Joelle Avelino is a Congolese and Angolan illustrator and...
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Juliette Forrest - The Mountain Rescue Dog
Scottish author Juliette Forrest is the award-winning author of Twister, The True Colours of Coral Glen, and The Night My Dream Came Alive. Twister was a Sunday Times Book of the Week and chosen by The Guardian as the one must-read kid’s book of the summer. It was longlisted for the Branford…
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The Wainwright Prize
Named after nature writer Alfred Wainwright, the Wainwright prizes are awarded to the work which best reflects Wainwright’s core values and include a celebration of nature and our natural environment or a warning of the dangers to it across the globe. In 2022 for the first time, a children's…
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Philip Ardagh and Ben Mantle
Philip Ardagh is one of the funniest children's writers, and Ben Mantle is a well-loved illustrator. The combination of talents produced the explosively hilarious Bunnies on the Bus, which provided a much-needed laugh for children and families during lockdown. Now they have produced another…
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Sophie McKenzie - Truth or Dare
Sophie McKenzie is the undisputed queen of the teen thriller. After being made redundant from her job in 2003, she started a year-long 'Writing for Children course' at the CityLit Institute in London. She finished her first novel, Girl Missing, at the beginning of 2005; it was then published by...
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A M Dassu - Fight Back
A. M. Dassu is an English writer of fiction and non-fiction. In 2017, Dassu won the international. We Need Diverse Books mentorship award. Her bestselling debut novel, Boy Everywhere, was published in October 2020 and was shortlisted for the 2021 Waterstone's Children's Books Prize. Az talks…
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Naomi Walmsley - Live Like a Hunter Gatherer
Naomi Walmsley runs Outback2Basics with her husband, Dan. She has a passion for teaching young people Stone Age education and Bushcraft, and she also runs some workshops for adults. Naomi says, 'I like to think my writing reflects my own experiences, linking nature with education and…
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Frances Hardinge - Unraveller
Frances Hardinge is a British novelist whose debut novel, Fly by Night, won the Branford Boase Award in 2006 ( awarded to the writer and editor of the best debut children's novel). In 2015 she won the 2015 Costa Book Award for her novel The Lie Tree, the first time a children's book was awarded…
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Petr Horacek - A Best Friend for Bear
Petr Horacek is a children's picturebook creator with a background in fine art. He was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia and at the age of 15 attended the High School of Art in Prague, where he developed skills in printing, photography, sculpture and painting. After working for a design agency, he...
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SF Said - Tyger
SF Said is a British children's writer with a Middle Eastern background. He was born in Beirut and spent his early childhood in Jordan. His first novel, Varjak Paw, illustrated by Dave McKean, was published in 2003. It was the winner of the Nestle Smarties Book Prize. The sequel, The Outlaw…
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Angela Sangma - Mountains and Rivers
Angela Sangma Francis, writing as Sangma Francis, worked as an in-house editor and writer for publisher Flying Eye before branching out as a full-time author. Her two books, Everest and Amazon River provide a fresh approach to physical geography. She joined Nikki Gamble In The Reading Corner to...
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Manon Steffan Ros - The Blue Book of Nebo
Manon Steffan Ros is a Welsh novelist, playwright, games author, scriptwriter and musician (being one half of the acoustic duo 'Blodau Gwylltion'). She is the author of over twenty children's books. Llyfr Glas Nebo, won the 2018 Prose Medal at the National Eisteddfod and the 2019 Welsh Book of…
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Ian Livingstone - Fighting Fantasy
Ian Livingstone is the co-founder with Steve Jackson of the phenomenally successful Fighting Fantasy Series. Fighting Fantasy, which employs role play and board game strategies in the printed book, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Two new titles, Secrets of Salamonis and Shadow of…
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Rashmi Sirdeshpande - Dadaji's Paintbrush
Rashmi Sirdeshpande is a lawyer turned children's author who loves taking big ideas and making them accessible and exciting for young readers. Rashmi writes non-fiction picture books that ignite children's curiosity and fictional stories that crackle with imagination. When she's not playing with...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
In the Reading Corner is created by Just Imagine for anyone interested in children's books and reading. It is hosted by Nikki Gamble, author of Exploring Children's Literature and co-author of Guiding Readers. Listening to this podcast, you will learn about the latest children's books, learn more about the creative processes of writing and illustrating, discover different viewpoints about topical issues and more. Whether you are a teacher, librarian, parent, bookseller, publisher, writer or illustrator, this podcast is made with love for you.
HOSTED BY
Nikki Gamble
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does In the Reading Corner have?
In the Reading Corner currently has 309 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is In the Reading Corner about?
In the Reading Corner is created by Just Imagine for anyone interested in children's books and reading. It is hosted by Nikki Gamble, author of Exploring Children's Literature and co-author of Guiding Readers. Listening to this podcast, you will learn about the latest children's books, learn more...
How often does In the Reading Corner release new episodes?
In the Reading Corner publishes regularly with 309 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to In the Reading Corner?
You can listen to In the Reading Corner on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts In the Reading Corner?
In the Reading Corner is created and hosted by Nikki Gamble.
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