Brought to you by Penguin.

The eagerly anticipated new YA Greek myth re-imagining from Bea Fitzgerald, TikTok superstar and Sunday Times bestselling author of Girl, Goddess, Queen.

Pandora is the first human woman – made by the gods on Olympus for one simple purpose: to love and be loved by her new husband, the titan Epimatheos.

The only problem? He wants nothing to do with her.

Hurt and confused, Pandora struggles to find meaning in her new life. What's the point of being given all these gifts by the gods, if she can't get this infuriating, awful, frankly very rude man (with an admittedly quite nice face) to love her? Maybe she's failing at her life’s purpose. Or maybe she's destined for an entirely different one . . . ?

As Pandora and Matheos work to uncover why she was created, that fated connection between them feels increasingly difficult to ignore. And with that comes terrible risk. Because Matheos’s traitorous brother, Prometheus, is a seer – and before the gods captured him he issued a final warning: that Pandora and Matheos’s love will be humanity’s doom.

So . . . what do you do when faced with an all-powerful love . . . that just happens to threaten the end of the world?

Pandora’s about to find out.

A glorious sunshine/grumpy romantic re-imagining of the Pandora myth, from the bestselling author of Girl, Goddess, Queen and The End Crowns All

© Bea Fitzgerald 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

A Beautiful Evil, written by Bea Fitzgerald and read by Perdita Weeks

Brought to you by Penguin.

AN EPIC NOVEL SET AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE 1980S SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM ABOUT THE EXTRAORDINARY LENGTHS WE GO TO LIVE AND LOVE BEYOND OUR LIMITS.

In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins training to be an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond; mission specialists John Griffin and Lydia Danes; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer. As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting listeners to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love – this time among the stars.

'Tipped to be this summer's big read' Sunday Times

'Quite possibly our favourite TJR novel yet...Even if you're not a big space fan, you can't help but fall for this cosmic tale.' Cosmopolitan

'An ambitious novel that explores human limitation, sacrifice and the essence of love itself.' Woman & Home

©2025 Taylor Jenkins Reid (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Atmosphere, written by Taylor Jenkins Reid and read by Kristen Dimercurio, Julia Whelan and Taylor Jenkins Reid

Brought to you by Penguin.

A new collection of literary criticism and brilliant insights from one of the giants of contemporary thinking

Who owns language? In Decolonizing Language and Other Revolutionary Ideas, Ngugi wa Thiong'o presents a series of essays that build on his vast wealth of work on language and its constructive role in national culture, history, and identity. Intricate, nuanced and accessible, it reaffirms the revolutionary power of African languages to fight back against both the psychic and material impacts of colonialism, past and present.

With immense relevance to our present moment, Decolonizing Language and Other Revolutionary Ideas is a brilliant distillation of the enduring themes of Ngugi's work and a vital addition to the library of one of the world's greatest and most provocative writers.

© Ngugi wa Thiong'o 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Decolonizing Language and Other Revolutionary Ideas, written by Ngugi wa Thiong'o and read by Benjamin A. Onyango

Brought to you by Penguin.

A quirky, joyful queer love story about a lonely museum worker who falls in love with a statue of Venus

Rika Horauchi’s new part-time job is to converse with a statue of Venus – in Latin – every Monday, when the museum is closed.

Initially reluctant, Rika starts to enjoy her strange new job. Recommended by her old university professor for her exemplary language skills, Rika leads an otherwise unassuming life, working the rest of the week in a frozen-food warehouse.

As Venus comes to life in the quiet of the museum, they talk about everything. Venus opens up new worlds for Rika, both intellectually and emotionally. They soon fall in love. But when the museum’s curator, Hashibami, makes it clear he wants to keep Venus for himself, what will Rika do?

When the Museum is Closed is by turns charming, funny and surprising, a surreal take on our most real emotions and concerns: love, loneliness, freedom, perceptions of beauty and how women are seen in society. A joyful queer love story, this fresh and original new novel confirms Emi Yagi as one of the most exciting Japanese writers published in English today.

Translated by Yuki Tejima

'Filled with movement and passion - a luminous story that reveals a whole world of desire and possibility, right at the heart of loneliness' Rosie Price, author of THE ORANGE ROOM

© Emi Yagi 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

When the Museum is Closed, written by Emi Yagi, Yuki Tejima (translation) and read by Kae Alexander

Brought to you by Penguin.

The compulsive new thriller from multimillion-copy bestselling author Jennifer Niven.

Eight students walk into an exclusive writers’ retreat, but only one will walk out with a life-changing opportunity to realize their creative dreams.

Effy is piecing together a story about the tragic betrayal that led to her mother’s death. Arlo hopes to publish a novel – but he’s also trying to start a new chapter with Effy after he broke her heart and ghosted her three years earlier.

Their mentor is Meredith Graffam, enigmatic writer, director and actress, whose compelling accounts of her own near-death experience on the same retreat decades before continue to spark controversy.

But this celebrated teacher is not all she seems, and her students gradually realize they are fighting for something much more primal than academic advantage. As Graffam’s unorthodox teaching methods push them past breaking point, they reveal their darkest secrets, take unthinkable risks and slowly start to turn on one another. But Graffam never expected they would turn on her . . .

The Secret History meets One of Us is Lying in the most gripping thriller of the year.

© Jennifer Niven 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

When We Were Monsters, written by Jennifer Niven and read by Elena Rey, Saskia Maarleveld, Briggon Snow

Recorded live at Latitude Festival, Irvine Welsh sits down with host Rhianna Dhillon to delve into his new novel Men in Love, the eagerly awaited sequel to Trainspotting, which explores the vibrant landscape of youth culture through the decades and the nuances of defining a generation through the arts. Plus, award-winning author and Penguin colleague Derek Owusu joins the panel, providing personalised book recommendations to audience members. We also speak to readers at the festival and ask them: what is the book that defined your youth? 

The Penguin Podcast Live at Latitude: Irvine Welsh and Derek Owusu

**GET THE AUDIOBOOK NOW**
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Brought to you by Penguin.

A brilliantly warm-hearted celebration of the lost art of having fun

When Greg James was ten years old, his nylon shell suit-clad idols the Chuckle Brothers ('to me, to you') signed an autograph (from them, to him) with the message 'All the best for the future.’ It was a weirdly formal message for a kid. Ten-year-old Greg had no idea what the future held, no clue what was in store for him as he carried on through life. How could he? No one really knows what's coming. We all have big dreams and small ones, ideas about how we want our lives to pan out: when you'll get married, where you'll live, how many children you want, what you want to be when you grow up. We race through the milestones, desperate to unlock life's next level and before you know it, you’re a 'grown up'. That’s all well and good but have you remembered to have fun along the way?

Whether it's entertaining the nation with his hugely popular BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, writing big funny adventures for kids with his bestselling children's books, finding the joy in cricket and F1 in his podcasts Tailenders and The Fast and the Curious, or posting stupid videos of his adorable but quite thick dog Barney, Greg’s focus is to put a smile on people's faces because, let's face it, having fun is something we all forget to prioritise sometimes.

In All the Best for the Future, Greg looks at how he thought his life would go and shares the things that wind him up, make him sad, make him laugh and the little passions and interests that he relies on to get him through the day - whether it was a good one or a bad one. He tells us who he is, who he thought he'd be and who he still thinks he could be. Most of all though, his message for everyone is not to let go of that inner child as he navigates how to grow up without growing old. It’s possible to be fully functioning adults, with bills to pay and a dog to look after, and still find time to play with a train set...

© Greg James 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Longboi from All The Best For The Future, written and read by Greg James

Outrageous, iconic and unforgettable - these are some of the books Penguin have been publishing over its 90-year history. As part of a special content series called 'The books that shaped us' on Penguin.co.uk, we invited readers from the world of publishing, comedy, and music to explore must-read titles across the decades. The Internet's resident librarian Jack Edwards and Penguin editor Simon Prosser discuss their curated reading lists, and explore the impact of the books that shocked society and became pop culture phenomena in this special episode, recorded live at Waterstones Picadilly



Find all the books mentioned in this episode and more by clicking this link: The Penguin Podcast Waterstones Special

Follow our dedicated Broadcast channel on Instagram for exclusive content and giveaways: @PenguinUKBooks 



Send us a question: penguinpodcast@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

Website: www.penguin.co.uk/podcast

Which Penguin books shocked society and became cultural icons? With Jack Edwards and Penguin Editor, Simon Prosser

I'm looking for a novel that reads like poetry - where should I start? Can you recommend a queer love story with a happy conclusion? What are the best books that explore small-town life? We put your book dilemmas to bestselling author Ocean Vuong and Penguin Editor and award-winning poet Sarah Howe.



Joining Rhianna this week is Ocean Vuong, whose latest book The Emperor of Gladness has been dubbed the first 'millennial Great American Novel' – but what does that really mean, and which classic American novels have inspired him? The author and poet also reflects on the themes and inspirations behind the book, from small-town Connecticut to intergenerational friendships. 



Discover all the books mentioned in this episode here

To ask a question and for exclusive content and giveaways join our Broadcast channel on Instagram: @PenguinUKBooks 

 

Ocean Vuong is an award-winning poet, essayist and novelist. He is the winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize for his poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds, and his debut novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous was a literary sensation, going on to sell more than a million copies. Amongst many other accolades, he was a recipient of the MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ in 2019 and The Whiting Award in 2016. 



The Emperor of Gladness, Vuong’s latest novel, explores themes of chosen family and the ways in which our lives can be changed by the most unexpected people. 



Sarah Howe is Poetry Editor for Chatto & Windus an imprint of Penguin as well as an award-winning author. Sarah’s first collection, Loop of Jade won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2015, and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award the same year. Her follow-up collection, Foretokens, continues to explore ideas and complications of belonging, identity and inheritance.  

Why do we still laugh when times are hard? With Ocean Vuong

History Hit podcast presenter Dr Anthony Delaney reveals the real people that inspired Gentleman Jack and the gay romances in Bridgerton, long written out of the nation's story and now lovingly restored.

Mother Clap's Holborn coffee house is open to all comers, a place of companionship and community, until a tip-off leads to a midnight raid.

Two women, exiled from their families, set up a utopian homestead in a remote Welsh cottage, inspiring a generation of Romantic poets.

The celebrated Chevalier d'Éon, soldier, diplomat and spy, challenges a rival to a fencing match. The sweepstake is not over who will win, but whether the Chevalier is a man or a woman.

In this dazzling work of restorative history, Dr Anthony Delaney has traced the stories of people daring to challenge society's expectations, unearthing archives and court records to reveal the tragedies and the joys of queer life three centuries ago. Breathing new life into the forgotten and offering radical new interpretations of celebrated figures such as Anne Lister, Queer Georgians is an invitation to view our shared history in a whole new light.

20180510 - 배철수의음악캠프 - 김은덕 백종민의 <사랑한다면 왜> 소개

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