The Writers' Cafe

About The Writers' Cafe

From award-winning indie, Sevenoaks Bookshop presents The Writers' Cafe: a brand-new podcast featuring the best writers and most interesting voices in fascinating conversation Inspired by our own in-shop cafe of the same name and the discussions about life, literature, and everything in-between that take place every single day - as well as the literary salons of old where gossip thrived - this new podcast seeks to highlight and celebrate the best writers and voices every episode with a warm, detailed conversation about their work and craft. Sevenoaks Bookshop is an award-winning, independent, black-owned bookshop run by a team of enthusiastic booksellers. All books and writers featured, and many more beside that, can be purchased in-shop or online with us at: https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/ (https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/) To keep up to date with the bookshop—our wide and exciting events calendar, staff recommendations, and more—sign up to our mailing list here: https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/join-our-mailing-list/ (https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/join-our-mailing-list/) Credits: Produced by Harry Edmundson Cover Artwork - Imogen Mott (an original based off our real-life cafe interior!) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Sevenoaks Bookshop

Category

arts · arts · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Jun 2024

Latest episode

25 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

23 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 Aug 2026

   Alex Bell - The White Octopus Hotel

   Welcome to Season 3 of The Writers' Cafe! Brought to you from the award-winning indie, Sevenoaks Bookshop! This week, we’re joined by the wonderfully imaginative Alex Bell to chat about her latest novel, The White Octopus Hotel — a gripping and atmospheric story that blends mystery, adventure and the wonderfully strange. Alex is the bestselling author of The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club and The Train to Impossible Places, and in this episode we dive into the world of The White Octopus Hotel, exploring its intriguing characters, mysterious setting and the ideas that inspired Alex to create such a wonderfully unusual story. Join us as we discuss creating fantastical worlds, the strange and wonderful possibilities of magical realism, navigating grief, the enduring fascination of octopuses, and what happens when you throw a little time travel into the mix. If you are new to The Writer's Cafe pod: Inspired by our own in-shop cafe of the same name and the conversations about books, life, literature, and so much more every single day - as well as the literary salons of old where gossip thrived - this podcast seeks to highlight and celebrate the best writers and voices every episode with a warm, detailed conversation about their work and craft. Alex's work can be purchased with us here: White Octopus Hotel: https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/shop/the-white-octopus-hotel-by-alexandra-bell/ (https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/shop/the-white-octopus-hotel-by-alexandra-bell/) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   25 Aug 2026

   Stephanie Yeboah - Doing it For the Plot

   Welcome to Season 3 of The Writers' Cafe! Brought to you from the award-winning indie, Sevenoaks Bookshop! This week, we’re joined by the brilliant, hilarious and empowering Stephanie Yeboah to chat about her second (fictional) novel, Doing It for the Plot — a laugh-out-loud romcom about Cassie, who’s sworn off men with podcasts, men with more followers than her, and men who are ‘in between jobs,’ only to sign up to an app for hiring escorts… as a laugh – only to find herself falling for the man on the other side of the arrangement. Stephanie is a multi-award-winning content creator, and one of the UK’s most influential body-positivity voices! Join us as we get into the realities of London’s abysmal dating scene, being plus-size in a world that doesn’t always make space for you, parentified eldest daughters, friendship, catfish tales, dating icks, green flags and so much more. Expect plenty of laughs, honest conversations and a few dating horror stories along the way! If you are new to The Writer's Cafe pod: Inspired by our own in-shop cafe of the same name and the conversations about books, life, literature, and so much more every single day - as well as the literary salons of old where gossip thrived - this podcast seeks to highlight and celebrate the best writers and voices every episode with a warm, detailed conversation about their work and craft. Steph's work can be purchased with us here: Doing It For The Plot: Chaotic Energy: https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/shop/chaotic-energy-by-stephanie-yeboah/ (https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/shop/chaotic-energy-by-stephanie-yeboah/) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   8 Aug 2026

   Shannon Sanders - The Great Wherever

   Welcome to Season 3 of The Writers' Cafe! Brought to you from the award-winning indie, Sevenoaks Bookshop! This week's visitor to the cafe is the wondeful Shannon Sanders! Shannon is an award-winning American author and an attorney, whose debut novel, The Great Wherever, follows a woman who inherits her late father's share of a haunted Tennessee farm. It is a multigenerational family saga narrated in part by the family's own ghosts. Shannon is also the author of the linked story collection Company, which won the 2024 LA Times Book Prizes' Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and was shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize. Join us as we discuss all things family legacy, gentrification, storytelling, and the ghosts--literal and otherwise--that never quite let go. Denise's Bookseller review: “Wow! I was completely invested in every character from start to finish! This is a wonderful, wry family saga about Aubrey Lamb, a directionless 30-something-year-old who's just lost her father and her relationship in the same breath - and then inherits his stake in a Tennessee farm tangled up in old secrets. The twist is that the story is narrated in part by the family's ancestors, who linger on the land watching, gossiping, and correcting the record. Sanders grounds the novel with genuinely complex, funny and flawed characters, and it makes readers think about just how true it is that storytelling is a form of immortality. Moving between generations and time periods, it's ultimately a book about grief, inheritance, and how we come to understand ourselves through family we didn't choose. I laughed, I cried, and devoured this book in a single sitting!!" If you are new to The Writer's Cafe pod: Inspired by our own in-shop cafe of the same name and the conversations about books, life, literature, and so much more every single day - as well as the literary salons of old where gossip thrived - this podcast seeks to highlight and celebrate the best writers and voices every episode with a warm, detailed conversation about their work and craft. Shannon's work can be purchased with us here: The Great Wherever: https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/shop/the-great-wherever-by-shannon-sanders/ (https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/shop/the-great-wherever-by-shannon-sanders/) Company: https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/shop/company-by-shannon-sanders/ (https://sevenoaksbookshop.co.uk/shop/company-by-shannon-sanders/) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

4.9 / 5

17 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 20 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

20

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

Contact The Writers' Cafe

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  Elena Meets the Author

• 

  The Waterstones Podcast

• 

  Bookreporter Talks To

• 

  The Book Case

• 

  Writers on Writing

• 

  Read with Jenna