The Booker Prize Foundation has announced the launch of The Booker Prize Podcast on July 6. Hosted by literary critics Jo Hamya and James Walton, the weekly podcast will explore the history of the Booker Prizes, featuring discussions, interviews with authors, and insights into the nominated novels.
Each 45-minute episode will delve into a specific topic, including in-depth analyses of individual books from the Booker Library and conversations about popular book genres and current events. The podcast will also include a recurring segment called Booker Clinic, where listeners can submit their personal dilemmas and receive book recommendations as remedies.
The first two episodes will focus on the best Booker books of all time and July’s Book of the Month, The Vegetarian by Han Kang. The podcast will be released every Thursday morning and will be available on various platforms, including Apple and Spotify.
The Booker Prize Podcast is part of the Booker Prizes’ digital expansion, offering engaging content for book lovers year-round. It complements the foundation’s editorial activities on their website, social media channels, newsletters, and YouTube videos, encouraging listeners to join the conversation and share their perspectives.
Hamya said, “The Booker Prizes have given us wonderful scope to approach their history and library: my hope is that our podcast is a nuanced, candid, and an easy place to spend time. I can’t wait for listeners to think and gossip with us.”
“There’s no denying that Jo and I were thrown together by Booker in a strange kind of blind date. But even after the first recording it felt surprisingly clear that they must have known what they were doing,” added Walton. “Working together is proving a joy: informative, stimulating and, most of all, fun.”
