Join the Backlisted crew as we navigate the swells and surges of Moby-Dick; or the Whale by Herman Melville. That's... more

We are joined by the poet Katrina Porteous and the writer and editor Patrick Galbraith to discuss Norman Lewis’s account... more

Rupert Everett joins us to discuss David Niven's memoir The Moon’s a Balloon. This show represents the fulfilment of a long cherished... more

Sam Leith, author of The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading, returns to Backlisted to discuss two novels by Nicholas... more

Happy Hallowe'en 2024! Join John, Andy and Nicky, plus guests Andrew Male and Dr Laura Varnam - AKA the Backlisted... more

Author Will Hodgkinson and actress and director Caroline Catz join Andy and John to discuss James Young's Nico: Songs They Never... more

This episode features a live recording made at Foyles in London, where John was joined on stage by Una McCormack,... more

This episode explores the third novel by the nonagenarian American writer Lore Segal which was originally published in 1985 by Knopf... more

The waiting is nearly over! Ahead of Backlisted Season 3 - and our tenth anniversary year - John, Andy and... more

A classic episode from 2018 with a new introduction. This week John and Andy are joined by actor and director Sam... more

Slang lexicographer extraordinaire Jonathon Green joins John and Andy in this episode originally recorded in 2016 to discuss Absolute Beginners,... more

Despite the team's somewhat complex relationship with the idea of ‘summer’, this episode is full of seasonal recommendations. Andy previews Intermezzo,... more

At long last, it's our Agatha Christie show! We are joined by Caroline Crampton, writer and host of the Shedunnit... more

Children's writer Rachael King and novelist Richard Blandford join John and Andy for a discussion of Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr, the... more

Author Rose Ruane (This Is Yesterday, Birding) picks Gaining Ground AKA Abra (1978) by Canadian feminist writer Joan Barfoot. One day, seemingly on a whim,... more

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the subject of this episode of Backlisted. Dr Martin Shaw and Dr Laura Varnam... more

The work of Douglas Adams - comic genius, futurologist and erstwhile hitchhiker - is the subject of this episode of... more

Novelist Alex Michaelides (The Silent Patient, The Fury) joins Andy and John to discuss Ford Madox Ford's classic novel The Good Soldier (1915),... more

John Grindrod, author of Concretopia, joins John Mitchinson and Andy Miller to discuss Memento Mori, the third novel by Muriel... more

This episode is a free sample of our subscriber only show, Locklisted, because the next episode of Backlisted has been... more

For this episode we are joined by the writer, Noreen Masud, author of the acclaimed memoir, A Flat Place (currently shortlisted for... more

Novelist Andrew Hunter Murray and biographer Laura Thompson join us to discuss The Children of Men (1992), a dystopian thriller by the... more

Award-winning poet Emily Berry joins us to consider the work and troubled life of Anne Sexton. We focus on her... more

This fully illustrated, lavishly produced episode of Backlisted represents the last word in coffee table books. Join John, Andy and... more

This episode of Backlisted is devoted to A Life in Movies (1986), the first volume of memoirs of the filmmaker Michael Powell... more

This episode was recorded in the great city of Liverpool and celebrates the life and work of a great Liverpudlian:... more

We are joined by the writer Andrew Hankinson to discuss Walter Greenwood’s classic novel of Northern working-class life. First published... more

For this first episode of 2024 we are joined by the chair of Virago Press, Lennie Goodings to discuss a... more

For this year’s Backlisted Christmas Special we are joined by the poet and novelist Clare Pollard and our producer Nicky... more

Today’s episode focusses on a single long poem – Briggflatts by the Northumbrian poet Basil Bunting. It was recorded live... more

For our 200th episode, we are joined by Richard Osman: television presenter, longtime Backlisted listener, and one of the bestselling... more

In this episode, we feature the life and work of Samuel Beckett, one of the most important and influential voices... more

Pour yourself a glass of sherry and light a candle, as we dedicate this year's Halloween special to Ghost Stories... more

This is a new books special episode to fill the gap before we release the Hallowe’en episode next weekend and... more

Episode #197 is dedicated to our late friend Carmen Callil, the founder of Virago, an author in her own right... more

In this episode we discuss the controversial and ground-breaking novel, Esther Waters by the Irish novelist George Moore.  We are joined by Tom... more

In this episode we are delighted to welcome 2023 Booker Prize Winner Shehan Karunatilaka to discuss Kurt Vonnegut’s eleventh novel, Galapágos.... more

Author and illustrator Rose Blake and writer and musician Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne) joined Andy and John at the Greenman... more

This week, to mix things up a little, it’s our annual round-up of books, old and new, you might enjoy... more

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Novelist Linda Grant and critic and editor Lucy Scholes return to Backlisted for a discussion of Margaret Drabble's third novel The... more

We are joined on this episode by authors Jennifer Egan (A Visit from the Goon Squad) and Nell Stevens (Briefly,... more

We are joined by the crime novelist Mark Billingham to discuss his favourite book, The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett.... more

For this episode we are joined by the critic and former literary editor of the Independent on Sunday, Suzi Feay... more

The whole of the next hour and a bit is dedicated to the work of Graham Greene – a writer... more

Rachel Cooke, Observer writer, New Statesman TV critic and author joined John, Andy and former host Mathew way back in... more

Welcome to the fourth Backlisted Special. While Andy and Nicky are both ‘gathering’ for the new season which will resume... more

John introduces a rerun of an episode from November 2016, where Costa First Book nominee for My Name Is Leon,... more

Welcome to the third Backlisted Special. John and Nicky are joined by literary agents Becky Brown and Norah Perkins returning... more

This is the third in our re-released episodes – and only the second one we ever recorded. Has Jean Rhys’s... more

Welcome to our second Backlisted special of 2023. Today we’re joined by the best-selling writer Una McCormack, returning for a record-breaking... more

In memory of Raymond Briggs we are replaying the episode where John and Andy were joined by author-illustrator Nadia Shireen... more

Welcome to our first Backlisted special of 2023. Today we’re joined by the award-winning novelist and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce, an... more

In memory of the great Carmen Callil, we are replaying the first of her two appearances on Backlisted. Joining Andy... more

Merry Christmas Everyone! This year’s Backlisted Christmas special celebrates Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, a classic of children’s literature and... more

The Awakening is an American classic, first published in 1899. The novel’s focus is the inner life of Edna Pontellier,... more

The Ice Palace or Is-slottet by Tarjei Vesaas is a 20th century classic by one of Norway’s greatest modern writers.... more

There can be few writers more deserving of Backlisted’s attention than the Irish writer, Maeve Brennan. An adopted New Yorker,... more

This Hallowe’en episode of Backlisted focusses on the collection of ‘uncanny’ stories by Henry James, first gathered together under the... more

Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by the Irish travel writer Dervla Murphy was first published in 1965... more

Roadside Picnic, first published in 1972, is the best-known work of Russia’s most famous modern science fiction writers, Arkady &... more

North and South is Elizabeth Gaskell’s fourth novel and considered by many to be her best. It tells the story... more

Authors Jay Griffiths and Geoff Dyer are our guests for a discussion of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Annie Dillard was... more

The second novel by by literary wunderkind, Helen DeWitt, Lightning Rods is probably the most challenging book we’ve yet featured... more

It's sixty-five years since John Wyndham published The Midwich Cuckoos, the fourth in his hugely successful series of science fiction... more

Forty years ago the writer Paul Theroux hoisted his knapsack on his back and set off on a journey on... more

Novelist Joanne Harris (Chocolat, A Narrow Door) is our guest for a celebration of Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950) and... more

Tessa Hadley (Free Love, Late in the Day) joins us for a discussion of The Death of the Heart (1938),... more

Our guest is Stephen Fry, writer, actor and polymath, who last week joined John and Andy in person to discuss... more

Publisher Marigold Atkey and journalist Emily Rhodes join us for a discussion of Lessico famigliare, Natalia Ginzburg's novelistic memoir or... more

Our guests are both new to Backlisted: the legendary publisher, editor, writer Margaret Busby and the award-winning poet, Raymond Antrobus.... more

Our guests are both Backlisted old hands: Professor Sarah Churchwell, Professor in American Literature and Chair of Public Understanding of... more

We are joined by author-illustrator Nadia Shireen and writer Andrew Male for a smellybration of Fungus the Bogeyman (1977) by... more

Our guests are Tanya Kirk, Lead Curator of Printed Heritage Collections 1601-1900 at The British Library, and Backlisted's old friend... more

This episode of Backlisted features Andy, John and Nicky chatting about short stories and the perennial appeal of the form... more

Authors Harriet Evans (The Beloved Girls) and Francesca Wade (Square Haunting) join us to celebrate Dorothy L. Sayers's 'novel not... more

Stephen Sondheim's biographer David Benedict and writer and musician Jason Hazeley join us for a special episode devoted to Finishing... more

Happy New Year! We begin 2022 with a stack of books to see us through the winter: poetry, history, fiction... more

Merry Xmas everybody! Our friends Katherine Rundell and Frank Cottrell-Boyce, two wonderful guest authors, join us to celebrate the life... more

Authors Shawn Levy (A Year in the Life of Death, Rat Pack Confidential) and Erica Wagner (Chief Engineer, Gravity) join... more