London Writers' Salon

Christy Lefteri, the international-best selling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo and Songbirds on finding inspiration from real life, how she brings her characters to life, and what it means to her to tell other people’s stories with compassion. We also chat about Christy’s writing, research, and plotting process.*ABOUT CHRISTY LEFTERIBrought up in London, Christy Lefteri is the child of Cypriot refugees. She is a lecturer in creative writing at Brunel University. Her debut novel A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible is set during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and was which was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Her second novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo was born out of her time working as a volunteer at a Unicef supported refugee centre in Athens and deals with the flight of refugees from Aleppo in Syria to Europe during the Syrian Civil War. It was selected as a Richard and Judy Book Club Choice and has sold over 1 million copies. Her latest novel, Songbirds follows the disappearance of a Sri Lankan nanny from her new life in Nicosia.*RESOURCES:For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show! For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

The award-winning novelist Jean Kwok talks about her writing journey from poverty to becoming a bestselling author, how she drafts and plans her novels, why she uses Writers’ Hour to write her novels, and the importance of conflict in her writing. Also how she has overcome continual rejection throughout her life. *ABOUT JEAN KWOKJean Kwok is the award-winning, New York Times and international bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee, Girl in Translation and Mambo in Chinatown. An instant New York Times bestseller, Searching for Sylvie Lee was selected for the Today Show Book Club and featured in The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, CNN, The New York Post, The Washington Post and more. Jean has been chosen for numerous honors including the American Library Association Alex Award, and the Sunday Times Short Story Award shortlist. *RESOURCES:Writers' HourJean’s websiteJean’s books:Searching for Sylvie LeeGirl in TranslationMambo in ChinatownThe Today ShowJenna Bush Hager’s Book Club*For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show! For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Award-winning writer and the founder of The Good Agency, Nikesh Shukla  (@nikeshshukla), on the journey to becoming a writer, running a Literary Agency, crowdfunding The Good Immigrant  and the process for writing his memoir. ABOUT NIKESH SHUKLANikesh Shukla is a novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of Coconut Unlimited (shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award), Meatspace, and the critically acclaimed The One Who Wrote Destiny. Nikesh is the editor of the bestselling essay collection, The Good Immigrant, which won the reader's choice at the Books Are My Bag Awards. He co-edited The Good Immigrant USA with Chimene Suleyman.He is also the author of two YA novels, Run, Riot (shortlisted for a National Book Award) and The Boxer (longlisted for the Carnegie Medal). Nikesh was one of Time Magazine’s cultural leaders, Foreign Policy magazine's 100 Global Thinkers and The Bookseller's 100 most influential people in publishing in 2016 and in 2017. He is the co-founder of the literary journal, The Good Journal and The Good Literary Agency. Nikesh is a fellow of the Royal Society Of Literature and a member of the Folio Academy. Nikesh’s new book, Brown Baby: A Memoir Of Race, Family And Home was released on Bluebird in February 2021. He is also the host of the Brown Baby Podcast.*RESOURCES:Twitter: Nikesh ShuklaInstagram: Nikesh Shukla WriterWebsite: Nikesh-Shukla.comNikesh’s Books*For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show! For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Entrepreneur, publisher and writer Derek Sivers (@sivers) on giving away $22 million, breaking rules, why “If it’s not a hell yeah, it’s a no.” Plus how to stay focused, why he sells directly to his readers and what it means to live a good life. *ABOUT DEREK SIVERSOriginally a professional musician, Derek created CD Baby in 1998. It became the largest seller of independent music online with $100 million in sales for 150,000-plus musicians. Derek Sivers is the author of four non-fiction books, as well as a musician, entrepreneur, and publisher.  His latest book is How to Live: 27 conflicting answers and one weird conclusion*RESOURCES:Derek's websiteDerek's books: Anything You Want, Your Music and People, Hell Yeah or No, How to LiveDerek's TED talk: Leadership Lessons from Dancing GuyE-Myth Revisited by David GerberRaising the Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business: The Story of Clif Bar by Gary EricksonGrowing a Business by Paul HawkenJoanna Penn interview with DerekSaeah Lee, Derek's book designerConsiderate Book Pricing - how Derek chose his book pricingWrite Useful Books: A modern approach to designing and refining recommendable nonfiction by Rob FitzpatrickOn Writing Well by William ZinsserOn Writing by Stephen KingSum by David EaglemanDerek's musicFor show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show! For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

New York Times Bestselling author and ghostwriter Daniel Paisner on how he landed his first ghostwriting job, how the ghostwriting process works, working with celebrities like Serena Williams and Whoopi Goldberg and what it takes to unearth the real story of a person’s life. Also, how his ghostwriting work helps him with his own creative work including his latest book Balloon Dog. *ABOUT DANIEL PAISNERDaniel Paisner is a journalist, author, and podcaster. He is the winner of two NAACP Image Awards for his work with Shark Tank panellist and serial entrepreneur Daymond John. His novel A Single Happened Thing was named an Indies Finalist for Best Book of the Year by the editors of Foreword Reviews. Paisner hosts As Told To, a podcast that features interviews with fellow authors about their ghostwriting experiences. His most recent novel is Balloon Dog, published by Koehler Books.*LINKS:Twitter: @DanielPasiner.Website: danielpaisner.com*For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free silent writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show! For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

In this episode we talk with Professor Prayga Agarwal about her writing journey from academia to commercial non-fiction, how to tackle difficult and complex subjects, and what it takes to research, write and publish 'big idea' non-fiction books. We also discuss overcoming procrastination, writing within small pockets of time, her writing and research process and how she brings together the hard research alongside the personal narrative.*ABOUT PRAGYA AGARWALPragya Agarwal is a behaviour and data scientist and Visiting Professor of Social Inequities and Injustice at Loughborough University in the UK.  She is the founder of  a research think-tank The 50 Percent Project investigating women’s status and rights around the world. Pragya is the award-winning author of (M)otherhood: On the choices of being a woman, SWAY: Unravelling Unconscious Bias and Wish we knew what to say: Talking with children about race, and a book for children Standing up to Racism.RESOURCES:(M)otherhood: On the choices of being a womanSway: Unravelling Unconscious BiasWish we knew what to say: Talking with children about race*For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show! For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

In this episode we speak to bestselling children’s author Soman Chainani about working in the film industry, overcoming failure and rejection, working as a tutor to make ends meet and how he wrote and pitched his first book series 'The School For Good And Evil' that sold 3 million copies and is now a Netflix film. Plus how he balances deep creative work with life and the power of myth and fairytale. Plus why you should never believe anything anyone tells you in Hollywood.*ABOUT SOMAN CHAINANISoman Chainani’s debut series, The School for Good and Evil, has sold more than 3 million copies, been translated into 30 languages across 6 continents, and is a Netflix film starring Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington. He has made films that have played all over the world, and his writing awards include honors from Big Bear Lake, the CAPE Foundation, and the Sun Valley Writers’ Fellowship. His latest book, Beasts & Beauty: Dangerous Tales, Soman reimagines old stories into fresh fairy tales for a new era.*RESOURCES:The School for Good and EvilBeasts & Beauty: Dangerous Tales*For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show! For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

In this interview we speak with Bonnie MacBird, a screenwriter and author (@macbird), about writing Sherlock Holmes mystery novels, lessons from Hollywood and screenwriting, how Bonnie’s Sherlock Holmes novels came from a personal NaNoWriMo, and why Sherlock Holmes has stood test of time.*ABOUT BONNIE MACBIRDBonnie MacBird is an American writer, actress, and producer. She is the writer of the original screenplay for the film Tron. Her Sherlock Holmes series (HarperCollins) written in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle and featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, has been released in 17 languages worldwide to critical acclaim. Her latest Holmes Adventure is a Christmas novella, What Child is This? with illustrations by Marvel Artist FRANK CHO.*RESOURCES:NaNoWriMoBonnie's blog post on NaNoWriMoLWS NaNoWriMo resources on genreNo Plot, No Problem by Chris BatyTron filmArt In The BloodWhat Child is This?Marvel graphic artist Frank Cho*For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show! For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Join bestselling author Joanna Penn, renowned for her thriller novels and expertise in indie publishing. In this lively discussion, she reveals the essential mindset for indie writers and dives into the transformative potential of Web 3.0 and AI. Joanna shares her journey towards independence, emphasizing creativity, community, and the careful navigation of digital rights. The conversation also explores how AI tools can enhance artistic expression and the blend of personal creativity with audience engagement in a tech-driven world.

Internationally renowned poet David Whyte (@whytedw) on his life and craft as a poet, writer, and speaker. We explore poetic imagination, how we might use poetry as a tool to engage more deeply with the world and balancing soul vs survival work. David reads his poems: Blessing of the Morning Light, Song for the Salmon, Your Prayer and Start Close in.*ABOUT DAVID WHYTEDavid Whyte is an internationally renowned poet, author, and speaker. His books include The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America, Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words, and The Bell and the Blackbird. His latest collections are David Whyte: Essentials and Still Possible.*RESOURCES:David on Instagram: @davidjwhyteDavid on Twitter: @whytedwAll of David's books including Consolations, Three Marriages and Still PossibleDavid's Online Sunday SeriesDavid's Walking Tours*QUOTES:“One of the reasons poetry is so difficult is because we’re under the delusion that we’re going to find the part of us that’s going to know what to say. But actually, you’re going to find the part of you that doesn’t know what to say. That’s the part of you that will write the poetry, because you’re paying attention in a deeper way through not speaking and not knowing.”"We write because we want to be deeper friends with the world."*For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show! For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!