Ep. 124: Candice Carty-Williams (Author of People Person) + Book Recommendations

Sarah's Bookshelves Live

Sarah Dickinson

Bookrecommendations, Bookpodcasts, Sarahsbookshelvespodcast, Sarahsbookshelveslivepodcast, Sarahsbookshelveslive, Bookpodcast, Literarypodcast, Whatshouldiread, Arts, Bookreviewpodcast, Reading, Readingpodcast, Books, Sarahsbookshelves

4.9 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 5 October 2022

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Candice Carty-Williams joins me for a spoiler-free discussion of her sophomore novel, People Person. In People Person, Candice writes about serious issues in a light-hearted way that’s full of dry humor. She explores questions of obligation to family — especially family to whom you were not previously close. Plus, Candice shares her book recommendations!

This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Highlights

Candice’s inspiration behind this story and what it was like writing during a lockdown.
The big differences between Candice’s first version of People Person and the final book.
How Candice’s own experiences impacted writing the character of Cyril and his 5 children.
Her decision to portray Cyril as a likable guy, despite him being an absent parent.
Candice talks about whether she’d consider a follow-up book to People Person.
What being a ‘people person’ means to Candice, and how she decided on the title.
How Candice and her publisher decided on the marketing synopsis for People Person.
Why she said in the Acknowledgments section of People Person that this was a novel she didn’t think she’d be able to finish.

Candice’s Book Recommendations [21:26]

Two OLD Books She Loves

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:47]
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:43]

Two NEW Books She Loves

Big Girl by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:24]
Hope and Glory by Jendella Benson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:01]

One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest (February 28, 2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:32]

Last 5-Star Book Candice Read

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:05]

Other Books Mentioned

Jaws by Peter Benchley [30:00]
White Teeth by Zadie Smith [34:52]

About Candice Carty-Williams

Website | Twitter | Instagram

Candice Carty-Williams is a writer and the author of the Sunday Times (London) bestselling Queenie, which was been shortlisted by Goodreads for book of the year in 2019. In 2016, Candice created and launched the Guardian and 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize, the first inclusive initiative of its kind in book publishing. Candice has written for The Guardian, i-D, Vogue, every iteration of The Sunday Times (London), Beat magazine, Black Ballad, and more. She will probably always live in South London.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live.
0:13.1	I'm Sarah of Sarah's Bookshelves.
0:15.3	Each week I talk with a bookish guest about two old books they love, two new books they
0:20.0	love, one book they do not
0:21.5	love, and one new release they're excited about. We're going to get real and sometimes a bit
0:26.7	snarky about all things books. If you like the show, I'd love it if you follow the show in your
0:31.9	podcast player, spread the word to your reader friends, post about it on your social media, or support the show on
0:39.0	Patreon at patreon.com slash Sarah's bookshelves. Supporting the show on Patreon gets you access to
0:46.5	bonus podcast episodes and lots of other goodies. There's also a link in the show notes and in my
0:52.1	Instagram bio. Let's get rolling.
1:00.9	Y'all heard me talk about people person, Candice Cardi Williams' sophomore novel in the double-booked episode at the beginning of September.
1:06.4	But for those of you who missed that episode, the writing in this book made the story for me.
1:12.0	Candice writes about serious issues in a lighthearted way that's full of dry humor. The crux of this story is five half siblings who have only met once years ago, but are thrust into a
1:17.2	situation that immediately bonds them, for better or for worse. The story explores questions of
1:22.5	obligation to family, and especially family you were not previously close to. Candice is the author of the best-selling novel Queenie, which was her debut.
1:31.3	She started working and publishing at age 23 and has worked on marketing, literary fiction,
1:36.1	nonfiction, and graphic novels ever since.
1:38.8	In 2016, she created and launched the Guardian and Fourth Estate BAME Short Story Prize, a prize that aims to
1:45.7	find, champion, and celebrate black, Asian, and minority ethnic writers. And she also contributes
1:51.0	regularly to Refinery 29 and ID. Welcome, Candace. Thank you so much for having me, Sarah.
1:57.2	And for those who have not yet read people person, can you give us a brief overview without
2:01.4	spoiling anything?
	...

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