About this episode

Melissa Harrison discusses her new novel The Given World and her love for the natural world during a walk in Suffolk.

This week we welcome award-winning novelist and nature diarist Melissa Harrison to the Plodcast for the first time. Melissa's new novel, The Given World, is a dark and beautiful insight into the complexities of rural life in a rapidly changing world. Plodcast host Fergus Collins meets Melissa in deepest Suffolk to walk and talk about her love of the natural world and provide a glimpse into how she goes about creating her stories.The Given World by Melissa Harrison is published by Cornerstone. Get in touch on Facebook! Search "BBC Countryfile Magazine - Plodcast Community" or join the discussion here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/countryfilemagazineplodcast/?ref=shareThe BBC Countryfile Magazine Plodcast is the Publishers Podcast Awards Special Interest Podcast of the Year 2024 & 2025 and the PPA Podcast of the Year 2022. If you've enjoyed the plodcast, don't forget to leave likes and positive reviews. Contact the Plodcast team and send your sound recordings of the countryside to: theplodcast@countryfile.com. If your letter, email or message is read out on the show, you could WIN a Plodcast Postbag prize of a wildlife- or countryside-themed book chosen by the team. The Plodcast…

People in this episode

Host: Fergus Collins

Guest: Melissa Harrison

Topics covered

• nature
• rural life
• literature
• interview
• writing
• environment

Keywords

• Melissa Harrison
• The Given World
• rural life
• nature writing
• interview
• Suffolk
• novelist

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cornerstone, BBC Countryfile Magazine, Plodcast, PPA

Books & works: The Given World

More episodes of The Plodcast

• 367. A quest to find King Arthur with historian Amy Jeffs · September 7, 2026 · 1h 1m
• Sound Escape 289. Enjoy the song of the sea on the island of Sark · September 3, 2026 · 16 min
• 366. Harvesting walnuts with the Bishop of Bath and Wells in the Somerset Levels · August 31, 2026 · 58 min
• Sound Escape 288. Join the crowds in Bristol witnessing 2026's the solar eclipse · August 27, 2026 · 17 min
• 365. A quest to explore the wildlife of the River Thames with writer and naturalist Stephen Rutt · August 24, 2026 · 57 min
• Sound Escape 287. A blissful few moments beside a Welsh lake in high summer · August 20, 2026 · 18 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Plodcast podcast page.