Copeland, Merchant and Jackson to feature on Puffin podcast

Sam Copeland, Tamzin Merchant and Sharna Jackson are among the children’s authors who will be appearing on the second series of Puffin’s Mission Imagination podcast.

Hosted by comedian Babatunde Aléshé, the podcasts seeks to immerse young listeners into a different author’s world every week.

Kicking off the first episode is actor and author Merchant. The episode will be followed by Lee Newbury, author of The Last Firefox, Katie Kirby, Copeland and Jenny Pearson, who co-wrote The Underpants of Chaos, and Jackson, author of The Good Turn and High Rise Mystery. 

"I’m so excited to host another brilliant series of the now award-winning Mission Imagination," said Aléshé. "As a father myself, I truly believe in the ‘power of imagination’ and the impact this can have on the well-being of our young listeners, especially in spending time off screens. The podcast will spread some much needed joy and positivity for children over the summer holidays whilst showcasing the work and voices of incredibly talented authors."

New episodes will be released each Wednesday. Listeners also have the chance to be heard on the airwaves, sharing voice notes about their "would you rather" questions for authors via puffinpodcast@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk.

Mission Imagination will launch on 3rd August, and is available to listen to on Apple, Spotify and all major podcast platforms, and available to view on the Puffin books YouTube channel. A free activity pack will be available to download from the Puffin website.