Front Row

The shortlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2018 has been announced today, critics Alex Clark and Toby Lichtig comment on the six novels that made it through from the longlist of 16. Country band The Shires perform live and discuss their new album, Accidentally on Purpose, working with Ed Sheeran and why country music is having a resurgence in popularity in the UK.Sean O'Brien is a man of letters, writing essays, plays and novels; as well as his celebrated poetry. He talks about and reads from Europa, his latest collection - and his ninth. The tenet is that Europe is not a place we can choose to leave and the poems explore how our culture, language, history and identity are inextricably entwined with mainland Europe. Presenter : Samira Ahmed Producer : Dymphna Flynn.