This week, we're sitting down (on a gorgeously tropical beach, no less) with debut YA author Sharada Keats. Sharada's book These Stolen Lives is a gripping, powerfully resonant story of colonisation, resistance, and whacking power across the head with truth - as well as humour, drama, family and found family, and a swoonsome romance. We had a hugely fun and illuminating chat with Sharada about her life, her career, her creative work (and where her writing is going next), and - if you're ready - you can settle back and listen to it all, right now. Sweet!

Books mentioned this week include Sharada's own:

The Poetical Institute's Particular Powers of Vegetables and Fruit

These Stolen Lives

This Shattered Promise (forthcoming)

And the books that shaped her include:

Arabella and Mortimer, by Joan Aiken

The work of Enid Blyton

The work of Roald Dahl

The work of Dick King-Smith

The work of Diana Wynne Jones, in particular Archer's Goon

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien

The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

Blitzcat, by Robert Westall

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine l'Engle

The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien

The Halfmen of O, by Maurice Gee

I Like This Poem, published by Puffin

The Rattlebag, by Seamus Heaney

The Crone, by James Herbert Brennan

Dune, by Frank Herbert

The work of Iain M. Banks

The work of Andre Norton

The work of Orson Scott Card

The work of Jane Yolen

The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham

Hamlet, by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare

The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams

The work of John Steinbeck

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

The work of Jane Austen

Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery

Shitty First Draft, by Anne Lamott

Talks by Malorie Blackman and Patrice Lawrence

Towards Asmara, by Thomas Kenneally

The work of Langston Hughes

The work of Wole Soyinka

The work of Rabinadrath Tagore

The work of Maya Angelou

The work of John Agard

The work of Imtiaz Dharker

The work of Tracy Chapman

The work of Ted Hughes

The work of Seamus Heaney

The work of Michael Rosen

The work of Spike Milligan

The work of Roger McGough

The work of Wislawa Szymborska

The work of Andrei Voznesensky

The work of Miroslav Holub

The work of CP Cavafy

Sword of the Sun, by Sinéad O'Hart

The World Between the Rain, by Susan Cahill

People Like Stars, by Patrice Lawrence

Tidemagic, by Claire Harlow

Mission: Microraptor, by Philip Kavvadias

The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

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We had the immense privilege of speaking with prolific author Ian Eagleton this week on Storyshaped, and it was a heartfelt, moving, and very fun conversation about finding your own voice, fighting against prejudice, and (not) fitting in. Described as 'an inspiration' by Mariah Carey, no less, Ian is not only an author, but also Creative Director of The Reading Realm, which aims to be a resource centre for anyone who loves children's books; a former teacher; a learning resources provider, as well as a husband and a dad. Join us for a gorgeous trip down the winding road of Ian's Storyshaped life.

Books mentioned on this week's episode include Ian's own:

Nen and the Lonely Fisherman (ill. James Mayhew)

The Woodcutter and the Snow Prince (ill. Davide Ortu)

Violet's Tempest (ill. Clara Anganuzzi)

Rory's Room of Rectangles (ill. Jessica Knight)

Millie's Big Decision (ill. Max Rambaldi)

Glitter Boy

The Boy Who Cried Ghost

And the stories which shaped him include:

The Goosebumps series, by RL Stine

The Alfie and Annie Rose books, by Shirley Hughes

Roger's Red Hat, Jennifer's Yellow Hat, Billy's Blue Hat (Reading scheme school readers)

The Little Mermaid, in all its forms, from the original fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen to the recent Disney live-action remake of its own animated classic

Super Gran, by Forrest Wilson

The work of Simon James Green

Hideous Beauty, by William Hussey

The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman

A Fairly Honourable Defeat, by Irish Murdoch

Pirate Mums, by Jodie Lancet-Grant and Lydia Corrie

My Daddies!, by Gareth Peter and Garry Parsons

Grandad's Camper, by Harry Woodgate

The work of John Grisham

This Place Has No Atmosphere, by Paula Danziger

The work of Paula Danziger

The work of Judy Blume

Dodos Are Not Extinct!, by Paddy Donnelly

And... the Life, Work, and Art of the one and only Mariah Carey.

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if time started to go a bit wibbly-wobbly? How it might affect the planet, the seasons, wildlife, populations - all the way down to the individual? Well, time getting a bit wibbly-wobbly is one of the themes in Clara Kumagai's amazing debut novel Catfish Rolling, which we discuss on today's podcast, along with LOADS of books that make Clara her Storyshaped self. From Japan to Canada to Ireland to... somewhere in space and time, come with us as we wander through Clara's Storyshaped life.

Books mentioned on this week's episode include Clara's own:

A Girl Named Indigo (published in Japan as Indigo wo sagashite), illustrated by Yokosuka Kaori

Catfish Rolling

Songs for Ghosts (forthcoming)

And the stories which have shaped her include:

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (an example of bad representation!)

The Private Life of Plants by David Attenborough

The Narnia books, particularly Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by CS Lewis

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

The Babysitters' Club, created by Ann M. Martin

American Born Chinese (graphic novel series), by Gene Luen Yang

The work of Joy Kogawa

The work of Paul Yee

The story of Madama Butterfly

Annihilation, by Jeff Vander Meer

His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman

The Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula Le Guin

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

The Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett

Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett

Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett

Snuff, by Terry Pratchett

The Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett

Fun and Games, by John Patrick McHugh

The work of Ann Sei Lin

The work of Adiba Jaigirdar

Hyo the Hellmaker, by Mina Ikemoto Ghosh

Interior Chinatown, by Charles Yu

An Illustrated Guide to Time

Our podcast bookshop (for children's books) in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. If you're in Ireland, you might also like to check out kennys.ie for free shipping, island-wide.

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.