Episodes

  • Jessi Jezewska Stevens on Geneva, Gettysburg, Krakow, Tuscany, Siberia, Indiana; on writing for two days and editing for a year; on honeymoons; on precise descriptions and hope; on landing in JFK; and on dwelling in the past — with TWBC
    Jun 27 2024

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.


    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Jessi Jezewska Stevens, to discuss her book, Ghost Pains.

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.


    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening!


    For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.


    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani to Daljit Nagra to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ to Nastassja Martin to Ginanne Brownell to Hilary Bradt.


    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    44 mins
  • Hilary Bradt on getting lost; on the Galapagos and Inca Trail in the 1970s; on aerograms v social media; on hitch-hiking at 82; on her guidebooks to Burma, Iraq, Iran and N Korea; on public footpaths and bluebells; and on feeling homesick — with TWBC
    Apr 24 2024


    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.


    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Hilary Bradt to discuss Taking the Risk: My Adventures in Travel & Publishing.

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.


    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening! For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.


    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani to Daljit Nagra to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ to Nastassja Martin to Ginanne Brownell.


    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
  • Ginanne Brownell on hearing clarinets and trombones by a Nairobi city dump; on a fairytale morphing; on big skies; on searching for a cemetery by Lake Michigan; on her next book: a global surrogacy journey — with TWBC
    Mar 28 2024

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.


    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Ginanne Brownell, to discuss her book, GHETTO CLASSICS: How a youth orchestra changed a Nairobi slum

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.


    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening! For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.


    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani to Daljit Nagra to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ to Nastassja Martin.


    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • Nastassja Martin on her near-death encounter with a Kamchatka bear; on the boundaries between humankind and nature; on linear v spiral storytelling; on being in between worlds; on dreams, and on waking from them — with TWBC
    Jan 18 2024

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.


    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Nastassja Martin to discuss her book, IN THE EYE OF THE WILD


    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.


    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening!


    For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.


    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani to Daljit Nagra to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀. 


    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
  • Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ on life in Lagos and Norwich; on how family pressure shapes you; on hope as something active; on walking to get out of one’s head; on random news items; and on writing a story, leaving out all the politics — with TWBC
    Nov 17 2023

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.


    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ to discuss her new book, A Spell of Good Things. 

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.


    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening!


    For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.


    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani to Daljit Nagra. 


    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • Daljit Nagra on his sense of mischief; on abandoning 30 line poems; on his first language Punjabi; on listening to Miles Davis; on fully expecting to fail; on the nine-metre man and snake gods; and on straight bananas — with TWBC
    Aug 30 2023

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Daljit Nagra to discuss his latest collection of poetry, Indiom.

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.

    The Wandering Book Collector would like to thank the supporter of this podcast:

    Abercrombie & Kent — Creating unique, meticulously planned journeys into hard-to-reach wildernesses and cultures.

    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice.

    Thank you for listening!

    For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.

    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik to Khashayar J Khabushani.

    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
  • Khashayar J Khabushani on hyphenated identity; on Dodgers jerseys and drinking beer; on memoir v fiction; on belonging where we are born; on hopefulness and youthfulness; on the myth of LA; and on missing hearing Farsi — with TWBC
    Aug 2 2023

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.

    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Khashayar J Khabushani to discuss his debut, I Will Greet the Sun Again.

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.

    The Wandering Book Collector would like to thank the supporter of this podcast:

    Cox & Kings — Arranging captivating travel experiences for over 260 years.

    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening!

    For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.

    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas to Hanne Ørstavik.

    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    45 mins
  • Hanne Ørstavik on love, love and more love; on travelling with her books; on openness and vulnerability as two sides of the same thing; on 16 books written as one big novel; on the power of silence in Mexico; and on embarrassing notebooks — with TWBC
    Jul 17 2023

    Welcome to the travel/literary podcast The Wandering Book Collector with host Michelle Jana Chan. This is a series of conversations with writers exploring what's informed their books and their lives around themes of movement, memory, sense of place, borders, identity, belonging and home.

    In this edition, I’m joined by the writer Hanne Ørstavik to discuss her book, Ti Amo. It is her 16th novel.

    Please consider supporting your local bookshop.

    The Wandering Book Collector would like to thank the supporter of this podcast: Abercrombie & Kent — Creating unique, meticulously planned journeys into hard-to-reach wildernesses and cultures.

    If you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love you to leave a rating or a review. To learn about future editions, please subscribe or hit “follow” on your podcast app of choice. Thank you for listening! For more on the podcast, book recs, what books to pack for where’s next, and who’s up next, I’m across socials @michellejchan. I’d love to hear from you.

    And if you’ve missed any, do catch up. From Janine di Giovanni to Bernardine Evaristo to Afua Hirsch to Carla Power to Maaza Mengiste to Kapka Kassabova to Sara Wheeler to Brigid Delaney to Horatio Clare to Rebecca Mead to Preti Taneja to Kathryn D. Sullivan to Emmanuel Jal to Jennifer Steil to Winnie M Li to Mona Arshi to Tim Mackintosh-Smith to Karen Joy Fowler and Shannon Leone Fowler to Ariana Neumann to Anthony Sattin to Roger Robinson to Justin Marozzi to Frances Stonor Saunders to Osman Yousefzada to Kylie Moore-Gilbert to Doreen Cunningham to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o to Sophie Ward to Damian Le Bas.

    All credit for sound effects goes to the artists and founders of Freesound.org and Zapsplat.com. All credit for music goes to the artists and founders of Soundstripe.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    47 mins