Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2025 Shortlist Interview

Ian McEwan's masterful new novel is a piece of speculative fiction that shows a radically altered UK on the other side of climate catastrophe and global warfare. But it centres on two academics reaching back into the past to uncover the secrets behind a poem performed only once and lost to history. We spoke with him about the novel's big themes, its human focus and how to bring past and future together in the present moment.

With the arrival of Among the Burning Flowers, the majestic prequel to her classic fantasy, The Priory of the Orange Tree, we sat down with ⁠Samantha Shannon⁠ to talk about prequels, sequels, reading order, star signs, big themes, tiny books and so much more.

Back in 2017, we made Slow Horses by Mick Herron our Thriller of the Month in August and a whole host of readers found their new obsession. Now, 15 years on from its first publication, we sat down with the author of 9 novels and 5 novellas in the series to discover how it all began, what he thinks are the most important elements of his writing and where his cast of sidelined spooks find themselves in the new novel, Clown Town.

We sat down with the phenomenal A. F. Steadman to discuss all things Skandar, including emergency sandwiches, superfan events and reading for pleasure as we celebrate the heart-pounding conclusion to the iconic children's fantasy series, as Skandar and his unicorn rider friends face their deadliest ever challenge and most dangerous foe...

Join us for what promises to be an unmissable evening with bestselling author R.F. Kuang, as we celebrate the publication of her much-anticipated new novel, Katabasis.The internationally bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface returns with Katabasis: a sublimely dark and unputdownable tale of two rival Cambridge academics who must join forces on a rescue mission in hell itself.R.F. Kuang is now the author of six novels, with her debut novel The Poppy War written on her gap year in China and released in 2018. This was followed by The Dragon Republic (2019), The Burning God (2022), Babel (2022) and most recently Yellowface (2023).

Already the best selling YA thriller writer, thanks to series like A Good Girl's Guide To Murder, Holly Jackson is back with Not Quite Dead Yet, her first novel for adult readers. We sat down with her to find out about how she approaches each project, finding humour in the face of death, and how she was able to write this book in just 6 weeks!

The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2025 shortlisted authors are here! Meet Catherine Airey (Confessions), Gurnaik Johal (Saraswati), Niamh Ní Mhaolieoin (Ordinary Saints), William Rayfet Hunter (Sunstruck) Lisa Ridzén (When The Cranes Fly South) and Lucy Steeds (The Artist). Join us for a free-flowing conversation about the themes and strengths highlighted by our booksellers and some winning tips for any writers out there working on their own debut.

What do you do when you've already sold over 36 million copies of your Horrible Histories books? You write the kind of book that you, as a reader, would kill to read. And Terry Deary's first love was always murder mysteries, so this year he brings us his first: Actually, I'm Murderer. We sat down with him to discover more about the incident in 1974 that inspired it, how he found his way to writing and what keeps him inspired.

Known for her pioneering work as an intimacy co-ordinator on shows such as Normal People and I May Destroy You, Ita O'Brien has distilled her practice into a book that has something to say to anyone about the role of intimacy in their lives. In a frank and honest conversation that covers why guidance was desperately needed in the entertainment industry through to her passionate advocacy for sex education that is fit for purpose, we also find out more about the path that has led her to such a unique role.

We sat down with our beloved Waterstones Children's Laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce to discuss the magic of movie sets, the power of Shakespeare, the importance of reading for children and much more as we celebrate his brand new middle grade adventure The Blockbusters! A hilarious, globetrotting adventure, in which a boy bearing a striking resemblance to a huge movie star joins a film crew on location in hope of tracking down his runaway brother....