Storyshaped

This week, we got to speak to the Queen of Crime herself, Fleur Hitchcock! Fleur shared some of her brilliant tips and tricks to writing her novels, as well as letting us in on a secret or two (hint: you might be surprised by the authors she's never read!) We discuss setting, Scandi noir vs. 'cosy' crime, the vital importance of pony books, and a wonderful connection to the great Nina Bawden. Get your crime-solving hats on, and join in the fun!

Find Fleur online at her agent's website: The Shaw Agency

Stories mentioned this week include some of Fleur's own:

Shrunk!
Dear Scarlett
Murder at Wintertide
Murder at Snowfall
... and many more

And the stories which shaped her include:

The work of Malcolm Saville
The Silver Sword, by Ian Seraillier
Richard Scarry's Storybook Dictionary
Ant and Bee, by Angela Banner, illustrated by Bryan Ward
Andy Pandy - originally a BBC television show; later a comic strip in Robin magazine
The Batman comics/character, created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane
The Superman comics/character, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
The Green Lantern comics/character, created by Bill Finger and Martin Nodell
The Justice League comics/characters, originally conceived by Sheldon Mayer and Gardner Fox
Tintin: Explorers on the Moon, by Hergé
Asterix, created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo
Tammy, and June - comics originally published by Fleetway between 1971 and 1984
Bunty - comic originally published by DC Thompson and Co between 1958 and 2001
James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Michel Simeon (1967)
The Otterbury Incident, by Cecil Day-Lewis, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone
Nightbirds on Nantucket, by Joan Aiken
Black Hearts in Battersea, by Joan Aiken
The work of Josephine, Christine, and Diane Pullein-Thompson
National Velvet, by Enid Bagnold, illustrated by Lauriane Jones
The Manual of Horsemanship, and Keeping a Pony at Grass, published by the British Pony Society
The Ponies of Bunts, by Marjorie Mary Oliver
The work of Dick Francis
Flambards, by KM Peyton
Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell
The work of Henry Treece
Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliffe
Boys' Own books belonging to Fleur's uncles
The work of Nina Bawden
The work of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James Elroy, Louis L'Amour , James Herbert, Stephen King, Rachel Ward, Belinda Bauer
A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula le Guin
The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper
The Kelpie's Pearls, by Mollie Hunter, illustrated by Charles Keeping
Stig of the Dump, by Clive King, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

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

We finally managed to sit down with Sarah Webb, the Queen of Irish Kidlit, on today's episode. Join us for a fun stroll through the ups and downs of her Storyshaped life, from her early days of working in bookselling to the achievements she would go on to claim - a multiply-published, award-winning, best-selling author of fiction and non-fiction for children and adults, as well as an event programmer, an Events Manager, and - full circle! - back to bookselling in the wonderful surrounds of Halfway Up the Stairs specialist children's bookshop in Wicklow.

Find Sarah online at her website: www.sarahwebb.info

Books mentioned in today's episode include Sarah's own:

The Weather Girls
The Little Bee Charmer of Henrietta Street
The Amy Green Series

And the stories which have shaped her include:

When We Were Very Young, by AA Milne
Now We Are Six, by AA Milne
Richard Scarry's Busy Busy World
Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr Seuss
The Elephant and the Bad Baby, by Raymond Briggs and Elfrida Vipont
Looking and Doing, by Leo Hallisey and Donal Byrne
Tiger Flower, by Robert Vavra
ROSC Art Exhibition Catalogues
Bunty, Mandy, and Twinkle - annuals, and weekly comics
Disney Play-Along Records, including Peter Pan, the Jungle Book, Cinderella, and Pinocchio
National Geographic and Readers' Digest magazine
Heidi, by Johanna Spyri
Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by CS Lewis
The work of Eilís Dillon
Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift
Favourite Greek Myths, by LS Hyde
The work of Sinéad de Valera
The Second-Best Children in the World, by Mary Lavin, ill. Edward Ardizzone
The Flight of the Earls, by Walter Macken
The Bookshop on the Quay, by Patricia Lynch
Are You There, God... by Judy Blume
The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald
New Patches for Old, by Christabel Mattingsley
The Lottie Brooks series, by Kate Kirby
The work of Margaret Atwood, Kate Chopin, Marge Piercy, Patricia Scanlan, Marian Keyes
Babies Need Books, by Dorothy Butler, ill. Shirley Hughes
Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson
Alfie, by Shirley Hughes (series)
A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula leGuin
The work of Susan Cooper
The Harry Potter books
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne
Tyger, by SF Said
The work of Frances Hardinge
Catfish Rolling, by Clara Kumagai
Summer Sisters, by Judy Blume
The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett
Writers and Lovers, by Lily King
Heartburn, by Nora Ephron
Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh
Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson
The Far Side, by Gary Larson
Maus, by Art Spiegelman
Love and Rockets, by the Hernandez Brothers
Smile, Guts, and Ghosts, all by Raina Telgemaier
The Drama Club, and the Cartoonists' Club, by Telgemaier and Scott McCloud
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, graphic novel adaptation by Amy de Jongh
Mexi-Kid, by Pedro Martin

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

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

Gráinne O'Brien is no stranger to anyone on the Irish book scene! A bookseller, a creative writing coach, and a published author, she released her debut YA novel in April 2025 to instant acclaim. We were delighted that she made time in a very busy day - with thanks to The Campus Bookshop in UCD, Sinéad's old workplace, for giving her somewhere to set up her computer so she could talk to us! - and we had a brilliant natter about stories, books, and the importance of listening to the voices in your head. (If you know, you know!)

Find Gráinne online HERE
Find Rontu, Gráinne's creative writing coaching service, HERE
Find Kenny's Bookshop, where Gráinne is Children's Buyer, HERE

Books mentioned in this week's episode include Gráinne's own:

A Limerick Fairytale
Solo

And the stories which shaped her include:

Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert
These Are the Words, by Nikita Gill
The work of Sarah Crossan
The life and work of Mary O'Shea, elementary school librarian in Palo Alto, CA
Ramona Quimby, by Beverly Cleary
The Baby-sitters' Club, by Ann M. Martin
Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, by Louis Sachar
Holes, by Louis Sachar
The Magician of Tiger Castle, by Louis Sachar
The Goosebumps books, by RL Stine
The work of Maeve Binchy
Flowers in the Attic, by Virginia Andrews
The work of Marian Keyes
JAWS, by Peter Benchley
I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
The work of Jessica Townsend
The Murder Most Unladylike series, by Robin Stevens
The Song of the Lioness, by Tamora Pierce
Nina Peanut Is Amazing and Nina Peanut, Mega Mystery Solver, by Sarah Bowie
Pablo and Splash, by Sheena Dempsey
Notes from a Coma, by Mike McCormack
The work of Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
The work of Donal Ryan
The work of Joseph O'Connor
The Book of Secrets, by Alex Dunne
Under the Hawthorn Tree (trilogy), by Marita Conlon-McKenna
Creative Writing for Dummies, by Maggie Hamand
Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

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

Eve Wersocki Morris has been called 'the best-kept secret in children's publishing' by no less than Lemony Snicket himself, so who are we to argue! We were delighted to get a window into her delightfully noirish Storyshaped life. Come with us as we discover the stories - movies, books, the lot! - which have shaped her and her work, right from her first novel (written when she was thirteen!) to the present day.

Find Eve online at her website

Books mentioned in this week's episode include Eve's own:

The Bird Singers
The Wildstorm Curse
Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed

And the stories which have shaped her include:

Movies:
The Maltese Falcon
The 39 Steps
Strangers on a Train
The Big Sleep
Stage Fright
Dial M For Murder
Double Indemnity
Some Like It Hot
Sunset Boulevard
The Ladykillers
The Wrong Arm of the Law
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Night Train to Munich

Castle in the Air and the Chrestomanci books, by Diana Wynne Jones
The Just William Stories, by Richmal Crompton, read by Martin Jarvis
The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis
The Roman Mysteries, by Caroline Lawrence
Lizzie Zipmouth, by Jacqueline Wilson
Fantastic Mr Fox, by Roald Dahl
The Worst Witch, by Jill Murphy
Noughts and Crosses, by Malorie Blackman
Anna Karenina, by Tolstoy
Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen
On Beauty, by Zadie Smith
Heartburn, by Nora Ephron
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld
The Poetry Pharmacy Comfort Poems Collection

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

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

We were thrilled to get the chance to sit down with Peter Donnelly, one of Ireland's foremost illustrators and picturebook makers, to discuss life, work, inspiration, and everything in between! Listen in for a chance to hear about how Peter was inspired by a mountain, and how NOT getting into art college was the best thing that ever happened to him. If you've ever wondered: how did Peter Donnelly come up with the brilliant idea to write a picturebook about the President of Ireland, then you've found your happy place. Come and join us as we winkle out Peter Donnelly's Storyshaped secrets!

Books mentioned in this week's episode include Peter's own:

The President's Glasses
The President's Cat
The President's Dog
The President's Surprise
The Dead Zoo
The Great Discovery
Up on the Mountain
Little Wolf

And the stories that shaped him include:

The Cat in the Hat, by Dr Seuss
The Selfish Giant, by Oscar Wilde, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
The Selfish Giant, by Oscar Wilde, illustrated by PJ Lynch
The work of PJ Lynch
Monty Python, British TV comedy
The Prince of Egypt, animated movie on which Peter worked
Anastasia, animated movie on which Peter worked
Tilly and Friends, by Polly Dunbar
This is Ireland, by Miroslav Sacek
The work of Mac Barnett
The work of Jon Klassen
The Fairy Isle, by Síne Quinn, illustrated by Dermot Flynn
Beanie the Bansheenie, by Eoin Colfer, illustrated by Steve McCarthy

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.