The latest edition of The Thursday Book Club was broadcast on 16th October 2025 at 2pm on Phonic FM. Joining hosts Jonathan Posnwr and Cathy Dodd were Bob Fairbrother and Jason Mann. Click the names to find out more about them, and use the audio bar below to listen to the full show.
We reviewed Orbital by Samantha Harvey.
Available on Amazon.
Our discussion was What makes an author achieve longevity?
The second hour featured a n interview with author Elizabeth Ducie.
Bob Fairbrother introduced us to the new South Devon Book Festival, coming on 22nd November 2025.
Cathy also played some great music!
Listen to the show in full here:
The next show is at 2pm on the 20th November 2025.
NEWS
A few months ago, Jonathan interviewed Ruth Foster when she launched her book,
A Perfect Year. Ruth has told us that the book has been shortlisted for the national Comedy Women In Print Prize. Naturally, Phonic FM was ahead of the curve, as we scooped the first radio interview on the book! It’s a fun read that makes a perfect seasonal gift.
The book is available on Amazon,
Ruth’s website.
Call of the Sandpiper is Kathryn Haydon’s latest romance, published by Blue Poppy. It’s set in rugged, beautiful North Devon. It’s available on Amazon or can be ordered from the Waterstones online.
Readers say: it is “romantic to the core, emotionally resonant – this romance had me rooting for Sam and Poppy all the way through.” And “A real page turner. I couldn’t put it down!”
F. H. Petford’s new Falmouth-set historical crime thriller is called A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to Solving a Murder. It’s billed as ‘Cozy crime meets historical fiction’, and ‘a brand-new quirky and gripping paranormal murder mystery’. It features Alma Timperley, who can run a hotel, solve a mystery and… talk to ghosts. Inspired by the surge in spiritualism that occurred during WW1, it begins when Alma inherits the Timperley Spiritualist Hotel, where guests are offered an extraordinary service – the chance to speak to the dead….
It was published by Hodder & Stoughton on October 2nd and is available on Amazon.
Ali Simpson’s second novel in her murder mystery series – ‘The Markham Twins Investigate’ – is a deliciously twisted tale set in 1930s Torquay. It’s called Death By Misdirection and is out at the end of October.
Here’s the outline: ‘A mysterious telephone call. A cast iron alibi. A family secret. A brutal murder. Could a meek and mild insurance salesman really be such a heinous killer?’ For more information go to Ali’s website.
Calling all short story writers in Cornwall: there’s a call out for short stories for a new anthology, to be called Cornwall Salt & Stone. It will be published by Hermitage Press, now the home of Cornwall Writers. Cornwall Salt & Stone will be a short story anthology that seeks to capture the raw essence of Cornwall – its weathered coastlines, tight-knit communities, quiet storms, and enduring beauty. The title evokes contrast: the shifting, fluid nature of life (salt), and the hard, unmoving truths we carry (stone). Stories may be contemporary, historical, speculative, or surreal, but all must be rooted in the atmosphere of Cornwall and its emotional terrain. Submissions close on 31st December 2025.
They’re looking for fiction that explores what it means to endure: people shaped by isolation, erosion, tradition, change, or the power of place. Whether set by windswept harbours or within crumbling granite walls, these stories should feel grounded in Cornwall’s spirit, even when the setting isn’t literal – tales of people enduring, transforming, or confronting the forces that shape them. Interpret the theme broadly, but all submissions should feel emotionally or atmospherically grounded in Cornwall.
It’s open to writers over 18 born in Cornwall or currently living/working in Cornwall.
The work must be original and unpublished elsewhere.
For more info and how to submit see here.
Georgia Hill’s next book in her Lullbury Bay series of contemporary romances is now out.
New Beginnings at the Little Christmas Inn tells the story of Livvy’s struggles to launch a gastropub in the Dorset seaside town of Lullbury Bay. It features a cast of eccentric locals who have slightly different ideas about what makes the perfect pub! Full of Christmas tinsly cheer and romance, it’s the perfect book to curl up with. Available on Amazon.
Author Helena Dixon has a new book out. Called Murder Most British, it’s a totally addictive cozy historical English murder mystery (The Secret Detective Agency Book 3).
Here’s the blurb:
Big Ben chiming in the distance, chilly walks along the river Thames, cocktails at the Ritz… and a government secretary dead? Only Jane Treen can solve the case! It’s set in London in 1941. Miss Jane Treen is faced with another mysterious disappearance within her Secret Detective Agency’s team. Tabitha Moore, a government typist, was on her way to meet Jane with vital information about some secret codes. But she didn’t turn up for work and has seemingly vanished without trace. Then Jane and her colleague, handsome codebreaker Arthur Cilento, receive a call: a body has been found, and it matches Tabitha’s description… Available on Amazon.
Lin Treadgold is holding a launch event for her new novel The Trail to Freedom. This is on 27 November at the Exeter Library, from 4pm to about 6pm. Lin says she is hoping to have a singer and some WWII songs to invoke the atmosphere of the book.
There’s more information on Lin’s website – https://lintreadgold.co.uk/.
Annabelle Gregory is launching her new memoir, The Art of Becoming, in Modbury on the 14th November. The Art of Becoming is an extraordinary and memorable journey through a gritty, glamorous and gloriously unpredictable life.
From her beginnings as a model working with legendary directors Cy Endfield and Dick Lester, to navigating the shadowy nightclub scene of Soho where her husband’s path crossed with the notorious Kray twins, Annabelle’s life has been anything but ordinary. Whether she’s crashing a flame-painted hearse into a post box or appearing in five different television adverts during a single commercial break, her stories pulse with the energy of someone who has truly lived.
Hardback copies will be available via the Winter & Drew website after the launch, and the paperback later on Amazon.
Martin Kiszko is fondly known as the ‘UK’s green poet.’ His one man-show, based on his first two books Green Poems for a Blue Planet and Verse for the Earth, illustrated by four-time Oscar winner Nick Park, has been performed from Los Angeles to China, Dubai to India, and from the Edinburgh Fringe to the Royal Albert Hall. In 2024 he launched his debut novel The Great Riverbank Robbery. Booking is now open for the launch of Martin’s seventh book (and fifth collection of poetry) of seventy-two poems – HEARTCHERY.
He will be joined by pianist Colin Smith and will be interviewed by one of Bristol’s ‘Young Heroes’ 2025′ – Aliese Chydzhan. The evening promises to be entertaining and fun, and includes performance, music, readings, interview, Q&A, and signing. It’s on Thursday 6th November at St. Mary’s Church, Stoke Bishop, Bristol. Doors open 7.00 pm – with free drinks on arrival. Tickets are free.
Martin’s website is here.
BOOK FREE TICKETS HERE
