John Murray reveals forthcoming books podcast with Stig Abell

Journalist Stig Abell is launching a literary podcast with John Murray—"Stig Abell’s Guide to Reading"—designed to tie in with the publication of his forthcoming book Things I Learned on the 6.28: A Guide to Daily Reading.

The "lively and opinionated" new podcast will see Abell speaking to authors about their favourite books and trying to get to the bottom of what makes them so good. Each episode focusses on a different genre.

Season One guests include James O’Brien (non-fiction), Kit De Waal (literary fiction), David Baddiel (American Classics), Sam Leith (English Classics), Lucy Foley (Crime), Hollie McNish (Poetry), and Susannah Lipscomb (Historical Fiction).

The first episode will be released on 29th October, and the second season of the podcast is already in production.

Abell said: "Two of the best things in life are recommending a book you love to someone who has not yet had the joy of reading it; and having someone do the same to you. That’s the basis of each podcast: two people sharing great books. And because books are always a guide to life, we talk quite a bit about our own experiences too. It’s a lovely warm conversation, at a time when that is welcome more than ever."

The podcast comes ahead of the publication of Abell's forthcoming book, out 12th November, chronicling the books Abell read across genres and time periods on his commute for a year and looking at the impact of these books on our culture and his own life.

He was a panellist behind the BBC’s "100 Novels That Changed the World" and is now a presenter on Times Radio and columnist in the Sunday Times. His first book, How Britain Really Works, was published with John Murray in 2018.