Bookcited!: A Libraries NI podcast for all things library

Settle in by the fire as Conor, Jillian, and Peter share the immersive reads they’ll be enjoying this holiday season. 

Area Manager Kendra joins Jillian and Conor to revisit the classics they once dreaded — and debate which ones finally won their hearts (and which didn’t).

Join Jillian and Pete as they dive into our Book of the Month for November 2025 — Killing Time by the incomparable Alan Bennett. 

Who will claim the Booker crown? Join Jillian, Pete, and Conor as they dive into this year’s shortlist, share their predictions, and debate the contenders ahead of the big announcement. 

In this Bookcited podcast, Jillian and Conor sit down with Belfast sci-fi author RB Kelly. It’s a deep dive into imagination, genre-bending creativity, and the power of storytelling to connect and inspire.[Music by Shane M.] 

Quiet lives, loud impact - Rónán Hession on kindness, creativity, and 'Leonard and Hungry Paul'.[Music by Shane M.]

Jane Casey talks to Jillian and Peter about the challenge of writing crime series, finding new stories to tell and maintaining the ‘will they, won’t they’ dynamic between Maeve and Josh, the two main characters.[Music by Shane M.]

Comic connoisseur Lucy, teams up with fellow aficionado Conor to guide Jillian through the colourful world of comics, graphic novels, and manga.[Music by Shane M.]

Crime, characters, and killer twists! Jo Spain joins the Bookcited podcast to talk thrillers, screenwriting, and storytelling secrets. Don’t miss it![Music by Shane M.] 

From romance to mysterious ancient remains with the Ruth Galloway series and now time travelling detectives, Elly Griffiths tells Peter and Jillian about her long and varied writing career. [Music by Shane M.]

Join Jillian and Pete as they deep dive into children’s author Piers Torday’s career – from vampires to werewolves and how engaging children in reading has become his life’s work. [Music by Shane M.]

Writer and mapmaker Garrett Carr takes us off the beaten track — from Killybegs to Belfast, from borders to barrels — and into the hidden stories of people and places. Now based in Belfast where he teaches Creative Writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University. Garrett’s debut novel, The Boy from the Sea, was named an Observer Best Debut of 2025.[Music by Shane M.]

Jillian, Conor and Gatsby superfan Susan discuss a century of champagne, chaos and the American Dream - all set against the glittering backdrop of the Jazz Age.[Music by Shane M.]

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods is the Book of the Month for October - let Jillian and Pete whet your appetite for the story as they discuss everything from faeries to magical buildings, via Dublin and Paris.[Music by Shane M.]

Three lives, one magical bookshop, and a story that spans generations — Jillian and Pete explore the charm and mystery of The Lost Bookshop in October’s Book of the Month Bookcited episode.[Music by Shane M.]

Dark humour, family secrets, and fierce storytelling as Elaine lets us go mad in our own way!Jillian and Pete talk to her about her new book set in her home turf of Athenry, Galway. Rich with history and drama, Elaine brings the story to life in her own imitable way.[Photo of Elaine Feeney, credit: Julia Dunin Photography; Music by Shane M.]

How a charity shop book led to Vera and Shetland. Peter and Jillian chat with crime queen Ann Cleeves about the lucky find that launched a TV empire, her love of coastal communities, and the stories behind the stories![Music by Shane M.]

Set primarily in colonial Penang in 1921, The House of Doors is a richly layered historical novel that interweaves personal memory, political upheaval, and literary inspiration. [Music by Shane M.]

Len came to public notice during lockdown with her popular Scots Word of the Day on TikTok which is now into its fifth year! Her passion for the Scots language along with her troubled past have inspired her to write enormously powerful and emotive performance poetry. Her first book of poems ‘Poyums’ recently won her a coveted award as British Discovery Book of the Year. Jillian and Peter chat to Len about her journey so far and her plans for the future.[Music by Shane M.]

Join Jillian and Peter as they talk all things crime with Linda, a retired school teacher who has found her second career as an author. She is onto the 9th book in her popular crime series based around Carrickfergus and Belfast featuring Detective Inspector Gawn Girvin.[Music by Shane M.]

Bringing Contemporary Fiction to Campus: A Conversation on Reading, Rest, and Relevance with University Librarian Jane O’Neill from McClay Library at Queens, Belfast as we welcome a new chapter in Student Wellbeing.[Music by Shane M.]