I had a great chat this week with Craig Brown, parody writer and columnist for Private Eye and the Daily Mail, and author of offbeat biographies including A Voyage Around the Queen; One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time; and Ma'am Darling (about Princess Margaret). Craig takes iconic cultural figures and writes around them, exploring how they were seen by their friends, fans and critics, and the strange, humorous and poignant ways that they affected other lives. It's an art form that Craig has made his own, mixing imagination with fact, and it was so interesting to visit him at his flat in Bloomsbury, London, and hear about how he puts these portraits together.

Read Craig's very funny Daily Mail column here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/profile-2082/criag-brown.html

Buy A Voyage Around the Queen or browse more of Craig's books: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing

Order my book In Writing: Conversations on Inspiration, Perspiration and Creative Desperation: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5954/9781803510637

This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative – the renowned writing school run by the literary and talent agency. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off your first online writing course – eligible courses can be found here. Visit https://curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.