Authors Curtis Sittenfeld and Erin White join Joe Haddow for a war of the words...

Curtis and Erin are best mates - which makes for a very competitive Book Off!

Erin talks about her debut novel 'Like Family' which has themes of desire in middle age, queer domestic love and life, navigating the world as a teenager - and much more.

Curtis discusses her latest short story collection 'Show Don't Tell' which is a witty and tender collection of tales, featuring a cast of characters that feel like old friends.

They also give some writing tips and recommend us some brilliant books too!

THE BOOK OFF

'Colored Television' by Danzy Senna

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'Unless' by Carol Shields

Here's a little more on our guests' books!

'Like Family' by Erin White

What if everything you wanted is no longer enough?

Meeting for an autumnal swim in an idyllic pond, Caroline's friend Ruth tells her about a family secret that has recently been exposed. Caroline was looking forward to a celebration they'd been planning together with her sister-in-law, Tobi, but suddenly everything seems complicated.

Tensions that have long been buried are bubbling to the surface. These three couples, who have so much to enjoy in their lives - growing children, affectionate marriages, work they love - must confront the truths they've never shared. More than that, they will have to reconcile the lives they've built with the ones they desire: the old dreams both fulfilled and denied, and the new ones that appeared right when they thought they had all they'd ever hoped for.

'Show Don't Tell' by Curtis Sittenfeld

In this compulsive collection of twelve witty stories, Sittenfeld shows why she’s as beloved for her short fiction as she is for her novels, as she conjures up characters so real that they seem like old friends.

In ‘The Patron Saints of Middle Age,’ a woman visits two friends she hasn’t seen since her divorce. In ‘A for Alone,’ a married artist embarks on a project intended to disprove the so-called Mike Pence Rule, which suggests that women and men can’t spend time alone together without lusting after each other. And in ‘Lost but Not Forgotten,’ Sittenfeld gives readers of her novel Prep a new window into the world of her beloved character Lee Fiora, decades later, when Lee attends an awkward school reunion.

Witty, confronting and full of tenderness, Sittenfeld peels back layer after layer of our inner lives, keeping us riveted to the page with her utterly distinctive voice.

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Alexandra Potter and Madeleine Gray join Joe Haddow for a war of the words!

They chat about their new novels, conmen, queer love, writing women without making them victims - and give us some great book recommendations too.

THE BOOK OFF

'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte

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'How To Be Both' by Ali Smith

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LIbby Page and Ellie Levenson join Joe Haddow for a natter about their new novels - and - go head to head in a War Of The Words!

Libby's new novel - 'This Book Made Me Think Of You' - is a heartwarming, uplifting story about grief and love (and a love letter to books, reading and bookshops!)

Ellie's new novel - 'Room 706' - is a tense page-turner about a woman trapped in a hotel room with her lover

Both authors share their inspirations for their new books, give us some good book recommendations - and of course - take part in The Book Off!

THE BOOK OFF

'Conversations On Love' by Natasha Lunn

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'The Wild Robot' by Peter Brown

And here's a little more on our featured authors' books:

This Book Made Me Think Of You - Libby Page

When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her husband waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly, because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly, because Joe died five months ago…

The gift is simple – twelve carefully chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.

And so begins a reading-inspired journey that takes Tilly around the world; from bustling sidewalks in New York and the tree-lined avenues of Paris to the tranquil Tuscan countryside and the white sands of Bali. With the help of the bookshop owner, Alfie, Tilly starts to discover who she is now, after Joe.

But can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?

Room 706 - Ellie Levenson

Kate stretches her legs and turns on the TV while James washes away the traces of their morning. She watches in horror at the unfolding news: the hotel they are staying in has been taken under siege.

She should be making her way home, working on appearing normal, getting ready to re-enter family life with her loving husband Vic and their two adored children. Instead, she is trapped somewhere she shouldn't be, with a man she definitely doesn't love.

How will she begin to tell Vic what she is doing here? If her body is found, will it give up the secret of what she's been up to? She's been so careful hiding the evidence of her affair: write nothing down, leave no trace. Will he begin to understand why?

For now, Kate can only hide, take a deep breath, and reflect on the series of choices she's made that have brought her to this moment.

What will her marriage and her life look like, if she makes it out?

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