Bookshelfie: Women’s Prize Podcast

Engineer, author and broadcaster Roma Agrawal talks to Vick about reclaiming her body after childbirth, centring the knowledge of non-western cultures and why engineering is more creative than you think. 
Roma is best known for working on the design of The Shard, Western Europe’s tallest tower, and is a judge for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, sponsored by Findmypast. She has given talks to tens of thousands at universities, schools and organisations around the world, including TEDx, and presented numerous TV, radio and podcast shows for the BBC, Channel 4 and Discovery. Her first book, Built, won multiple awards, and was published for children as How Was That Built? in 2021. Her third book, Nuts & Bolts was shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society Trivedi  Science Book Prize, and was also adapted for children, as Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World. Her new book, How to Build a Chocolate Bridge: Extraordinary Builds Using Everyday Things, is a hands-on exploration of science and the world around us, featuring seven fun interactive building projects for kids. 
Roma’s book choices are:
** Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
** Uncivilised: Ten Lies that Made the West by Subhadra Das
** The Girl and The Goddess by Nikita Gill
** The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
** Yellowface by Rebecca Kuang
You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org – every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops. 
Every week on Bookshelfie, Vick Hope is joined by inspirational women to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction, the greatest celebration of female creativity in the world, is run by the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing. 
Don’t want to miss the rest of season nine? Follow or subscribe now!
This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Fresh from her recent Traitors appearance, author and former barrister Harriet Tyce talks to Vick about the brilliance of female crime writers, her biggest literary crush and THAT moment with Rachel in the confessional at the Traitors castle.
Harriet left behind a career in criminal law to complete a Masters in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. In 2019, she published her debut novel Blood Orange, which follows attorney Alison as she defends a woman accused of murder and jeopardises her own picture-perfect life in the process. Harriet followed this with three other standalone crime thrillers: The Lies You Told, It Ends At Midnight and A Lesson in Cruelty. Earlier this year, she joined Series 4 of The Traitors, becoming a firm fan favourite for her authenticity and audacious approach to the game. Her fifth novel Witch Trial – a courtroom drama centred on the murder of a teenager in an Edinburgh park and the two friends who stand accused – is out now.
Harriet’s book choices are:
**Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty
**The Lymond Chronicles: The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
**The Last of Earth by Deepa Anappara
**Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
**Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan
You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org – every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops. 
Every week on Bookshelfie, Vick Hope is joined by inspirational women to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction, the greatest celebration of female creativity in the world, is run by the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing. 
Don’t want to miss the rest of season nine? Follow or subscribe now!
This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

To kick off a new season of Bookshelfie, author, model, entrepreneur and women’s rights activist Charli Howard talks to Vick about finding confidence in your 30s, dating disasters and the therapeutic process of writing her latest book.
Charli’s coming-of-age memoir, Misfit, was published in 2019, which followed her rise in the modelling industry, her battle against body shaming and the normalisation of size zero. She’s also the author of children’s novel, Splash, which Jacqueline Wilson called a ‘much needed book that will strike a chord with so many girls – and help them dare to be different.’  Charli is an ambassador for Refuge and has successfully lobbied the UK government to criminalise the creation of non-consensual deepfake pornography. Her new book, Flesh, is an urgent and powerful series of essays on how society has dissected and sexualised the female body throughout time, and what it means to be a woman in the twenty-first century.
Charli’s book choices are:
** Sleepovers by Jacqueline Wilson
** Hunger by Roxane Gay
** The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim
** Women Who Love Too Much by Robin Norwood
** I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy
You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org – every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops. 
Every week on Bookshelfie, Vick Hope is joined by inspirational women to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction, the greatest celebration of female creativity in the world, is run by the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing. 
Don’t want to miss the rest of season nine? Follow or subscribe now!
This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem talks to Vick about pushing back against the male gaze, the healing power of her art and how to carry on as a female music artist in your 40s. 

Rebecca is one of the UK’s most exciting breakout musical stars of the past decade. Performing as Self Esteem, she rose from cult favourite to mainstream hero following the huge success of her empowering, truth-telling 2021 single, I Do This All The Time. Her trademark lyricism and razor-sharp wit led to a Mercury Prize nomination for her second solo album, Prioritise Pleasure, and was crowned the Guardian and Sunday Times Culture’s Album of the Year. Her latest album, A Complicated Woman, received the Visionary Award at the 2025 Ivor Novello Awards, praised for its ‘fearless, genre-defying songwriting that is reshaping the sound and substance of modern pop’. 

Her first book, also titled A Complicated Woman, is a Sunday Times bestseller, taking readers on a poignant, witty journey using notes, lyrics, and observational prose that gets to the heart of being a woman in the world today. 

Rebecca’s book choices are:

**The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
**Women Who Run with The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estès
**All Fours by Miranda July
**Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa
**Milk Fed by Melissa Broder

Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season eight of the Women’s Prize’s Bookshelfie Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction is the biggest celebration of women's creativity in the world and has been running for over 30 years. 

Listen back to all previous seasons of the podcast for even more book recommendations, and subscribe now to be the first to hear when we return for season nine. 

You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org - every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops. 

This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Comedian, actor and improviser Rachel Parris discusses why people can be so wrong about Jane Austen, the knotty complexities of female friendship and her love for crime fiction. 

Rachel is officially a member of the British comedy elite – she has appeared on Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News For You, and Mock the Week, and was BAFTA-nominated for her satirical sketches on BBC's The Mash Report, which have garnered over 100 million views online. She’s a regular on BBC Radio 4 where she can be heard on Just A Minute, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and, formerly, The Now Show. Rachel hosts the comedy podcast How Was It For You?, with her husband, Marcus Brigstocke; and another podcast for the Children’s Book Project called The Power of a Book, where guests share the children’s stories that mean the most to them. On the stage, she is a co-founder of Austentatious – a Jane Austen themed improv comedy show in the West End. 

Her debut novel, Introducing Mrs Collins, is a tale of love, loss, and second chances, for anyone who’s wondered if there’s more to the sensible character we met in Pride and Prejudice.

Rachel’s book choices are: 
**Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
**Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
**The Names by Florence Knapp
**My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
**The Lost by Claire McGowan

Vick Hope, multi-award winning TV and BBC Radio 1 presenter, author and journalist, is the host of season eight of the Women’s Prize’s Bookshelfie Podcast. Every week, Vick will be joined by another inspirational woman to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction is the biggest celebration of women's creativity in the world and has been running for over 30 years. 

Don’t want to miss the rest of season eight? Listen and subscribe now!

You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org – every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops. 

This podcast is sponsored by Baileys and produced by Bird Lime Media.