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PODCAST

A Pair of Bookends

Hannah MacDonald

A weekly bookish podcast hosted by Hannah MacDonald. Join us for monthly Book Club episodes - read the book at your own pace and then listen to us deep dive with the author! Our Debut Spotlight series is to put the freshest authors and their work firmly on your radar and in our new series we bring you a monthly culture round up of all the recommendations we"ve collected over the previous month of consuming. Follow us @apairofbookendspod on Instagram and @apairofbookends on Twitter and TIk Tok.

arts books

All Episodes

53:31

Books to Screen: The Taming of The Shrew/10 Things I...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2026/02/13

For our third instalment in the Books to Screen series, author/musician Sophie Crawford joins us to discuss a very unique adaptation, Shakespeare's The Taming of The Shrew to Ten Things I Hate About You (1999). In this episode Hannah and Sophie discuss how it's unbelievable that the play is considered a comedy, the sexism and misogyny in the play and the film, the romcom magic the film has, the various castings plus much more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for

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52:28

S7. Debut Spotlight-2. Elspeth Wilson (Journaling,...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2026/02/11

In today's instalment of our Debut Spotlight series Hannah chats to author Elspeth Wilson about her debut novel These Mortal Bodies. In this episode they discuss how beneficial journaling is to the creative process, the messiness of grief, setting the novel at an elite university and the secret societies that can be found there plus some excellent book recs.If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via

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53:34

S7. Debut Spotlight-1. Rebecca Ferrier (Cornish...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2026/02/04

For the first episode in Season 7 of our Debut Spotlight series Hannah spoke to Rebecca Ferrier about her debut novel The Salt Bind. They discuss her writing journey, how a D&D actor inspired one of her characters, Cornish folklore plus lots more.If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. You can follow Rebecca via Instagram & TikTokBooks & other mentions in this

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48:12

Books to Screen: The Secret History with Emily Goulding

A Pair of Bookends ·

2026/01/30

For our second instalment of Books to Screen, Emily Goulding joins us to discuss the adaptation that got away... The Secret History. In this episode Hannah & Emily discuss the failed attempts to adapt this hugely popular novel, what they loved about the book, why Emily thinks The Goldfinch didn't work as an adaptation + lots of recommendations!If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X

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34:11

Roxy Dunn, author of 'Wants and Needs' on Rejection,...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2026/01/28

Joining Hannah for today's episode is returning guest, Roxy Dunn. Roxy appeared on the podcast back in 2024 to dicuss her incredible debut novel As Young As This and she's back now to talk about her second novel Wants and Needs (spoiler free ofc!)They discuss what drew Roxy to exploring modern dating through the lens of ethical non-monogamy (in her writing), what she's learnt from rejection, the mother/daughter relationship + lots more!If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review &

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67:55

Books to Screen: Hamnet with Emma Hinds

A Pair of Bookends ·

2026/01/23

Welcome to our first episode of Books to Screen, to kick us off author and friend of the pod Emma Hinds has joined us to deep dive into one of the most anticipated adaptations, Hamnet. In this episode Hannah and Emma discuss the differences between the book and the film, the scenes they loved, the scenes they missed and Emma puts their historical fiction writer cap on and talks about some historical inaccuracies in the film. Aswell as this, Emma reveals some of their own favourite adaptations and

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45:38

January Book Club with Grace Murray: Campus Novels,...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2026/01/21

Welcome back to our first Book Club episode of 2026, this month Hannah spoke to debut author Grace Murray about her novel Blank Canvas. They discuss how Grace balanced work, studies & writing this novel, writing advice for budding writers & her experience of being on Penguin's WriteNow scheme. They also discuss chat through campus novels, writers that inspire Grace, lies and deception and so much more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can

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71:52

Xmas Special: Top 5 Reads of 2025 Ft Emma Hinds

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/12/23

Merry Christmas Eve Eve! For the final episode of the year, Hannah brought in friend of the pod Emma Hinds, each bringing their 5 favourite reads of 2025. They also discuss what their year has been like in reading, what books they didn't get to, what books they're hoping to read over Christmas, reading goals for 2026 & more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. You can

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68:07

Emma Hinds, author of 'Witchlore' on Manchester,...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/12/19

For today's episode Hannah was joined by friend of the pod, author Emma Hinds to discuss their latest book Witchlore.In this episode they have a discussion about money and how difficult it is as creatives to get to a point of making a liveable income, they then dive into how Emma has found moving between writing historical fiction and YA fantasy, setting the novel in Manchester, growing up Queer, the world of magic & more.If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more

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53:17

December Book Club with Hayley Dunlop: Christmas...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/12/17

On today's very Christmassy December Book Club episode Hannah was joined by author Hayley Dunlop to discuss her debut novel It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas which you can buy here.Also available for 99p on Kindle until 23/12/25 here.In this episode they discuss the Christmas film watchalong Hayley hosts each year, how Covid/lockdown changed Hayley's writing journey, complicated families and lots more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you

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57:28

Iman Hariri-Kia, author of 'Female Fantasy' on...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/12/10

For today's episode Hannah was joined by author Iman Hariri-Kia to discuss her latest novel Female Fantasy. They discuss how this book became a love letter to the romance community, why romance is an important genre, her excitement for upcoming adaptations + all of the book recs your heart could desire!If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. You can follow Iman via Instagram,

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48:55

S6. Debut Spotlight-12. Uttama Kirit Patel...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/12/03

In today's episode Hannah spoke to Uttama Kirit Patel about her debut novel Shape of an Apostrophe.They discuss the choice to be a mother, Indian family culture, claustrophobic settings & the books Uttama has been enjoying + lots more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. You can follow Uttama via Instagram & uttamapatel.comBuy Shape of an Apostrophe here.Books

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60:21

November Book Club with Chloe Michelle Howarth (Live...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/11/27

This episode was recorded live at the brilliant Queer Lit/ Social Refuge. For more of their upcoming events click here. The sound in this episode isn't perfect throughout, apologies for this! For today's episode Hannah interviewed Chloe Michelle Howarth for the launch event of her new novel Heap Earth Upon It. They discuss Chloe's creative process from ideas on a hangover to creating colour palettes for her novels, sibling dynamics, yearning, the lack of firsthand accounts of Queer people from 60's

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31:01

October Book Club with Author & The Witcher Actor...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/11/24

Sorry for the delay on this one but it's worth the wait we promise! For our October Book Club episode Hannah chats to author, actor & musician Joey Batey about his debut novel It's Not A Cult which you can buy here. They discuss how Joey 'meets' his characters before writing about them, how he stays motivated to write throughout his other projects, his experience of his first book tour, new music & the show that made him tear up a book he was working on. If you enjoy this episode please do

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39:34

S6. Debut Spotlight-11. Lucas Oakeley (Men Reading...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/11/19

(PSA: Sound on this ep improves 5/10 mins in, apologies!) For today's episode Hannah was joined by author Lucas Oakeley to discuss his debut novel Nearly Departed which you can buy here.They discuss Lucas's social media campaign to get men reading fiction, love stories, food and lots more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. You can follow Lucas via Instagram, Twitter/X

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36:54

S6. Debut Spotlight-10. Viola van de Sandt (Dinner...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/11/12

For today's Debut Spotlight episode Hannah chats to author Viola van de Sandt about her debut novel The Dinner Party, they discuss their favourite dinner party scenes, writing about trauma, how Viola's debut was actually her 4th novel & much more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. You can buy The Dinner Party here (UK) & here (US)You can follow Viola via

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55:42

S6. Debut Spotlight-9. B.A. Pepper (Smut, Welsh...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/11/05

On today's episode Hannah chats to writer & co-host of the A Pod of Smut and Wingspan podcast B.A Pepper about her debut novel Daughter of Stone. They discuss what drew B into the world of Romantasy, how her friend and co-host Sam encouraged her to pursue writing, Welsh mythology & language and of course all of the Romantasy book recs. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X &

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49:39

S6. Debut Spotlight- 8. Chloe de Lullington (Student...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/10/29

On today's episode in our Debut Spotlight series, Hannah was joined by writer Chloe de Lullington to discuss her debut novel Cacoethes. They discuss the 11 year writing process of this book, celebrity deaths, being an 'old soul', Class & lots more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. You can follow Chloe via Instagram & Bluesky. Books & other mentions in this

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59:46

S6. Debut Spotlight- 7. Hattie Williams (Publishing,...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/10/22

On today's episode Hannah was joined by author Hattie Williams to discuss her debut novel Bitter Sweet. They discuss grief, power dynamics in relationships, those friends that get you through the worst of times and the writers we seek solace in + lots more!If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. You can follow Hattie via Instagram, Substack &

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44:34

Lily King, author of 'Heart the Lover' on Love, Grief...

A Pair of Bookends ·

2025/10/15

On today's episode Hannah was joined by the inimitable Lily King to talk about her latest novel Heart the Lover. Aswell as a spoiler free book chat, they discuss love as a form of hope, navigating a creative career whilst working in hospitality, grief & Lily gives you her ultimate list of writers to read! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. You can follow us via Instagram, X & Tik Tok. You can follow Lily via

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182 results

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