Robert's choice: The Marvellous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum Ali's choice: Wynd book 1: The Flight of the Prince by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialnyas Robert is 1/4 of wonderful Bona Books! The Wrath Month kickstarter is still open for stretch goals backing. Return to Oz (1985) trainer here: relive your childhood trauma! I still can't find the Arena documentary, but here is a PBS one Robert's favourite Oz retelling is Wicked by Gregory Maguire Mine is Was by Geoff Ryman Pride is a wonderful film about solidarity and intersectional identity Boom! Studios comics For other episodes on "race/ ethnicity" in fantasy, check out this episode with Russell Smith; for queerness in fantasy, this one with Juliet Kemp.  Follow Rob on Bluesky and Instagram Bona Books' Instagram  Follow me on Instagram for gorgeous images from Wynd and more!

Ep 48 Shownotes   Sandra’s book: The Wind on the Moon by Eric Linklater Ali’s book: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. It’s also a film The Politics of Fantasy by Brian Attebury Catherine Crumb on her bicycle Nicolas Bentley’s illustrations Rudyard Kipling’s Just-So Stories Murderbot by Martha Wells. It’s also a TV series The Martian by Andy Weir Tik Tok by John Sladek Peter Brown’s website Sandra is not a dog groomer from the US Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails for production support. Why not go and give his radio show a listen?  

Caroline's choice: Dawn Wind by Rosemary Sutcliff Ali's choice (first read in 2022, not 2002!): The Short Knife by Elen Caldecott. Tir na n'Nog book award  Ken Slater and fan ac Some books where a “commoner” becomes a prince: The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain The Prisoner of Zenda and Rupert of Hentzau by Anthony Hope The Lost Prince by Frances Hodgson Burnett The Horse and his Boy by C. S. Lewis Caroline’s Rosemary Sutcliff books Elen Caldecott’s website and Leaf, the journal of writing for young people Caroline’s fan writing Reflections in the Shards edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails for production support. Why not go and give his radio show a listen?

Jim’s book (with Twilight-style cover); with Alison Moyet cover Ali’s book Stars and Sabers publishing Ferengi “Human female” Murderbot trailer Dave McKean’s website SF Said’s website Alfred Bester: The Stars my Destination There are two sequels to War of the Worlds: the straight to DVD adaptation and Stephen Baxter’s The Massacre of Mankind Material Girls podcast episode discussing Romantasy Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles trailer. This is what the first couple of chapters of Phoenix is like. It doesn’t end up like this. Jim’s website, Worrad Enterprises   Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails, Jack Sadler-Johnson and Danny!

Kylie Ding’s choice: The Rains of Eridan by H.M. Hoover Ali’s choice: The Zombie Project by Alice Nuttall M. Hoover on the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Alice Nuttall’s Linktree The Hugo and Lodestar finalists Other books for children with adult protagonists (off the top of my head!): Professor Branestawm by Norman Hunter Mrs Pepperpot by Alf Prøysen Mr Benn by David McKee Mrs Armitage on Wheels by Quentin Blake George Romero’s The Night of the Living Dead- trailer First Thursday fandom drinks in London

Meg’s choice: The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge Ali’s copy of the book Ali’s choice: The Beginners Guide to Curses by Lari Don More about Elizabeth Goudge More about Lari Don Heliotrope flowers Lari Don on Rhianna Pratchett’s BBC radio show about British mythical creatures talking about kelpies The legend of Gelert and Greyfriars Bobby Kate Crackernuts Whuppity Stoorie Mairi Hedderwick Katie Morag TV series Glasgow Worldcon 2024 Presents on Youtube LACon V: Worldcon 2026 Follow Meg on BlueSky

Recorded live at EasterCon in Belfast at 9:30am on Easter Sunday! Please forgive my wheeziness; I was coming down with a chest infection. Catriona’s choice: The Silver Crown by Robert C. O’ Brien Ali’s choice: Dread Wood by Jennifer Killick We discuss Robert C. O’ Brien’s better-known books, Z for Zachariah and Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. You may like to listen to the episode The Anti- Reepicheep League with Ang Rosin about Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents here. We also mention The Demon Headmaster by Gillian Cross; Russell Smith selected it as his Fantasy Book Swap choice. Jennifer Killick was a guest on the fantastic podcast about children’s books, The Island of Brilliant. I am not a shill for The Phoenix Comic, I promise. Catch up with Catriona via her website, https://catrionasilvey.com/index.html Join us at EasterCon next year in Birmingham!

Ida’s choice: The Man whose Mother was a Pirate by Margaret Mahy Ali’s choice: The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall. The sequel has just been published: The Siren, the Song and the Spy Ida had a different edition from mine Other books we mention in this episode: Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen Sarah Baartman, the Khoekhoe woman whose birth name may have been Ssehura, displayed in Europe as the Hottentot Venus Ida’s award-winning short story Infinite Tea in the Demerara Café is in the NewCon Press anthology London Centric Her novella Fish!  Ida has a story in the anthology Laughs in Space. Follow Ida on Bluesky Facebook and @ida_Keogh on Instagram

Katie’s choice: C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Ali’s choice: David A. Robertson’s The Barren Grounds Katie is just back from FantasyCon! Next year Brighton hosts World FantasyCon 2025; come and join us! Neil Gaiman’s short story is called ‘The Problem of Susan’ and is in the collection Fragile Things (it is of course entirely up to you whether or not you wish to support Gaiman’s work by buying it new or second hand.) Katie couldn’t continue with Robin Hobb’s Soldiers Sons trilogy because the food descriptions brought on morning sickness Fiona Moore’s blog, where she cooks from SFF cook books so we don’t have to! Lovely Gili Bar-Hillel introduced me to this brilliant piece of fan fic where Anthony Bourdain reviews Narnian hospitality. Read it, it’s perfect! https://archiveofourown.org/works/137185 The BBC 1988 adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Leeds Playhouse’s adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe runs from 18th November 2024- 25th January 2025 Trailer for Greta Gerwig’s adaptation Tilda Swinton’s White Witch tempts Edmund I delivered a paper on orientalism in the Chronicles of Narnia at a Historical Fictions Network conference. You can read it here David A. Robertson’s website Scottish bannock recipe. Canadian First Nations Bannocks were adapted from Scottish recipes. I have not found a bison chili recipe; I assume that you first catch your bison. The Little Bookshop, Leeds City Books, Brighton Find Katie online AuthorAssist.co.uk @Katiebruce.bsky.social on BlueSky @Katiebrucecake on Instagram I was a guest on Steve Vapour Trail’s radio show many moons ago with a selection of fantasy and science fiction-themed music. Enjoy the playlist here. Thank you to Danny for the idents, and to Jack Sadler-Johnson for the use of his beautiful track Bliss.      

In today's episode I'm joined by Una McCormack, New York Times best-selling author and member of Gold SF editorial board. Una’s choice: Lucy M Boston’s The Children of Green Knowe . This is the Puffin edition Una has. The 70th anniversary edition is available from Hemingford Grey shop. The TV adaptation Ali’s choice: Pádraig Kenny’s The Monsters of Rookhaven Illustrations here and here Una mentions Tom’s Midnight Garden. You can listen to Episode 25 with Tony Keen, where we discuss the book here. Books mentioned in this episode: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Mansfield Park by Jane Austen The Spire by William Golding Red Shift by Alan Garner The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll, illus Jan Pienkowski Thornhill by Pam Smy Isadora Moon by Helen Muncaster Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke Earthsea and Annals of the Western Shore by Ursula Le Guin Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander Authors mentioned in this episode: Catherine Cookson, who is still in print Helen Forrester Una’s most recent book: Doctor Who: Caged Follow Una on Bluesky @unamccormack.bsky.social Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails. Check out his radio show on Radio Lewes here! Thank you to Danny for the fresh new idents, and to Jack Sadler-Johnson for the use of his beautiful track Bliss.

Ep 39- Writeopolis v Fantasy Book Swap, but no dance-off In today’s episode, I am joined by Scott K.  Andrews and Kit Power from the Writeopolis podcast. We have a lovely chat, and then Fantasy Book Swap proper starts at 12 minutes in. Scott’s choice: The Devil on the Road by Robert Westall Ali’s choice: Unraveller by Frances Hardinge The Lodestar award finalists- scroll to the bottom of the page. My copy of The Devil in the Road. Note the cat’s eye, and the gibbet with the executed witch’s body. Children of the Stones on YouTube, and the trailer for the adaptation of Red Shift   Robert Westall’s official website Frances Hardinge’s official website Frances Hardinge conference, Saturday 11th July 2026, Aston University, Birmingham. As Kit mentions, he was on Fantasy Book Swap before! We discussed The Tripods by John Christopher and Wildspark by Vashti Hardy. A Wikipedia summary of Hans Christian Andersen’s story The Wild Swans A list of Joan Aiken’s Wolves books Leon Garfield   Find out more about Scott here, Kit here and join the Writeopolis patreon here. Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails. Check out his radio show on Radio Lewes here! Thank you to Danny for the fresh new idents, and to Jack Sadler-Johnson for the use of his beautiful track Bliss.  Until next time, bye!  

Firstly, huge apologies for the delay in this episode, which was recorded live at EasterCon, Levitation 2024. Life got in the way. Tade Thompson’s Bluesky: @tadethompson.bsky.social Tade’s award-winning novel Rosewater is the New Scientist’s July book club pick. Tade’s pick: The Masters of Solitude by Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin. It’s out of print, but widely available second hand with absolutely dreadful covers like this and this, the Conan in Space one. Ali’s pick: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails. Check out his radio show on Radio Lewes here! Thank you to Danny for the fresh new idents, and to Jack Sadler-Johnson for the use of his beautiful track Bliss.  Until next time, bye!

Ali’s choice: The Boggart by Susan Cooper. Ali’s edition with cat tax. Esther’s choice: Like a Charm by Elle McNicoll Elle’s novel A Kind of Spark was adapted by CBBC. Several members of the cast are neurodiverse. Information about dyspraxia here Elle McNicholl’s website Esther and Ali mention a lot of books and other media! Hilary McKay’s Casson family books, Terry Pratchett’s Only You Can Save Mankind, the spinning room in Poltergeist, You’re Wrong About… podcast on the Amityville horror and  the CBC podcast on the satanic panic. The history of Castle Stalker with photos Greyfriars Bobby monument and the story Candlemakers Row. I think the red shop is the bookshop. Glasgow Necropolis Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh which features in Lari Don’s book First Aid for Fairies. It’s an injured centaur that Helen looks after first. Andy The Highlander Romance book recommendations Olivia Dade Talia Hibbert Helen Hoang Thanks so much to Esther! Find out more about Glasgow 2024 Worldcon here. Thanks for listening! Thanks to Steve for the production assistance. Steve’s band, The Late Returns, are playing a gig supporting Bone Records at The Brunswick, Hove on Friday! Unfortunately, it’s sold out. Thanks to Danny for the idents and to Jack Sadler-Johnson for the use of his beautiful track Bliss. Follow me on Instagram and Bluesky @alisonbaker01.

Kit’s choice: The Tripods by John Christopher Ali’s choice: Wildspark by Vashti Hardy Kit’s Patreon Kit’s page on Amazon  Kit reads his essay on The Tripods on his podcast feed The British Fantasy Society award shortlist Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails. Check out his radio show on Radio Lewes here! Thank you to Danny for the fresh new idents, and to Jack Sadler-Johnson for the use of his beautiful track Bliss. I have signed up for Ko-Fi. For the month of September I have pledged to walk for 30 minutes a day in aid of the Trussell Trust, who both provide food banks and campaign for the end of food poverty. If you’d like to support me, please donate at https://ko-fi.com/alibb. I will post a screenshot daily from my Active 10 app onto my Instagram, and on 30th September will share how much I am donating!

Juliet’s choice: We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea by Arthur Ransome. There is a small display related to the Swallows and Amazons at the Ruskin Museum in Coniston, in the Lake District. It’s not far from Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s house near Ambleside. Ali’s choice: The Strangeworlds Travel Agency: The Edge of the Ocean by L. D. Lapinski. I talked to Phil Dyson about the first book in the series, way back in episode 2! Find links to Juliet’s social media and information about their books from their website. Check out their short fiction via the link, and also their non-fiction writing: I love this essay on capitalism in worldbuilding. I talk about the amazing South Riding by Winifred Holtby. Read it; it’s an amazing piece of writing with an strong sense of place. Please do like, review and recommend! It does satisfy my vanity- but it’s also great to know that people enjoy what I do. And it helps to bring in new listeners. Thanks as always to Steve Vapour-Trails for production assistance and to Jack Sadler-Johnson for the use of his track Bliss. Why not check out Steve’s radio show, Vapour Trails on Radio Lewes?

Trip’s choice: Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville Ali’s choice: How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell The full list of Magic Shop books here Cressida Cowell’s Wizard of Once books and new book, Which Way to Anywhere have more diverse casts. My now 14-year-old as Hiccup when he was 5. He cosplayed Hiccup at his first Eastercon. The note that Mr Elives gives Jeremy and the magical librarian Hyacinth Priest from the US edition of Jeremy Thatcher.  Illustrator: Gary A. Lippincott. How To Train Your Dragon, the book within the book. For more information about research into boys and reading, I recommend Boys Don’t Try? by Matt Pinkett and Mark Roberts. It’s available as an e-book as well as a paperback. I recommend the audiobook of How To Train Your Dragon, read by David Tennent. Try using your local library app to borrow it! Trip’s social media links here and Bona Books here As always, thanks to Steve Vapour-Trails for production assistance. Check out his latest show on Radio Lewes!

Episode 33- A refreshing lack of Wizard Dads with S.J. Groenewegen   SJ’s choice: Andra by Louise Lawrence, with the ABC TV cover   Ali’s choice: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao   SJ’s website: https://www.sjgroenewegen.co.uk Pre-order The Disinformation War here     @nyssa1968 – twitter Reachingforthevoid - tumblr https://mitpress.mit.edu/9781913380809/ - links to pre-orders/orders for the Disinformation War, out on 13 June.   SJ will be at Super Relaxed Fantasy Club on 13 June at Star of Kings, London, for readings and Q&A. https://www.facebook.com/groups/srfclondon/about   1990 was the dystopian TV series SJ couldn’t remember the title of, not 1991. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075469/   Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985 Edited by Andrew Nette and lain McIntyre © 2021 PM Press ISBN: 9781629638836 Mentions Andra on a few pages, including the TV series. It quotes Kari Sperring about Louise Lawrence.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Wu_(TV_series) the TV show on SBS in the late 1980s in Australia.   The Untamed was my first Chinese drama show, and Ali kept thinking of it when reading Iron Widow.  

Kari’s choice: The Silver Brumby by Elyne Mitchell This is the edition that Kari has We talk about the illustrations, by Ralph Thompson: Kookaburra and Wombat Ali’s choice: Abyssinia by Ursula Dubosarsky A doll’s dress at Rouse Hill Farm Estate, New South Wales Other books mentioned in the episode Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague The Pullein-Thompson sisters Ruby Ferguson’s Jill books and sequels by Jane Badger, righting the wrongs of Jill being exiled from the world of ponies The Follyfoot books by Monica Dickens. Please enjoy the brilliant TV show theme tune! K.M. Peyton’s Flambards, which was also televised Walter Farley’s Black Stallion books Mary O’Hara’s My Friend Flicka Rumer Godden’s Miss Happiness and Miss Flower Helen Clare’s Five Dolls series Enid Blyton’s Amelia Jane Kari on Facebook and website. Buy her new book!

Kate’s choice: The House of Arden by E. Nesbit Ali’s choice: Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi The Mahabharat has been dramatized twice for TV. This is the one I watched in the 1980s. If you want to read the other great Sanskrit epic, the Ramayana, I recommend this graphic novel version told from Sita’s perspective. A new biography of Edith Nesbit was published in 2019. The House of Arden was dramatized for BBC radio in 1989. You can buy an audiobook collection of Nesbit adaptations here. Follow Kate on Twitter at @katepreach and @fantasybookclu3, and on Instagram, where she posts pictures of her artwork and cats @kate.towner. Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails and Jack Sadler-Johnson.

A bumper episode of 1 hr 20! Matt and Nina from Even the Trunchbull come to mine, after I guested on their podcast discussing Joan Aiken's Nightbirds on Nantucket and the lovely picture book Peggoty Po. Matt and Nina’s book: Slaves of the Mastery by William Nicholson Ali’s book: City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda Book covers- compare Slaves of the Mastery with The Hunger Games The cover that would have put Matt off, which reminded me of Stephen Pearson’s classic posters Follow Even the Trunchbull podcast on Twitter @Trunchbullpod, on Instagram @eventhetrunchbull and follow at your favourite podcast emporium, and look out for Nina's new podcast with Dave Pickering, The Podgoblin's Hat! Thanks as always to Steve Vapour Trails for production assistance and to Jack Sadler-Johnson for the use of his beautiful track Bliss.