London Writers' Salon

Polina Marinova Pompliano, author of 'Hidden Genius', discusses writing newsletters and non-fiction, studying geniuses, making difficult decisions, taking risks, and growing her Substack to make a full-time income.

Bestselling fantasy writer Samantha Shannon on dealing with early success, plotting a seven-book series and keeping anxiety at bay.*ABOUT SAMANTHA SHANNONSamantha Shannon is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Season and The Priory of the Orange Tree. *LINKS FROM THE SHOWAsk Shannon questions on her TumblrShannon on Instagram @say_shannonThe Bone Season seriesThe Priory of the Orange TreeFor 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 and debut thriller writer Megan Davis on her book The Messenger, which was influenced by her experience as a whistleblower. We explore her use of dual timelines, conflict and essential elements of a psychological thriller.ABOUT MEGAN DAVISMegan Davis has worked in the film industry, and her credits include Atonement, In Bruges, Pride and Prejudice, and the Bourne films. Megan is also a lawyer at Spotlight on Corruption. Her debut, The Messenger, won the Bridport and Lucy Cavendish prizes. *FOLLOW MEGAN DAVIS:Megan’s TwitterMegan’s WebsiteOTHER LINKS MENTIONED:The 90-Day Novel: Unlock the Story Within by Alan Watts Life & Work by Tim ParksCormac McCarthy’s The Road*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!

Marketer and Reedsy Co-founder Ricardo Fayet on the essential elements of marketing your book, the importance of knowing your target audience and how to utilise different platforms to find your readers.  This interview was recorded in 2021.*ABOUT RICARDO FAYETRicardo Fayet is one of the co-founders of Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors to the world's top publishing talent--from editors to cover designers, book marketers, or literary translators. He oversees the marketing for all Reedsy products--Marketplace, Book Editor, Learning, Discovery--and is a big SEO and Facebook advertising enthusiast. He is the author of How to Market Your Book where he has distilled lessons learned from helping thousands of writersHis weekly book marketing newsletter is read by over 150k writers.*RESOURCESFollow Ricardo Fayet:Twitter: @RicardoFayetOther links mentioned:LJ RossJoanna PennPublisher RocketFree BooksyBookbub*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 Maggie O’Farrell on the role that Arvon played in her early writing career how she crafts her novels today and the mindset that has led her to persist as a writer over the years and why she doesn’t worry about how she is perceived. She also reads from her latest book The Marriage Portrait. This interview was hosted virtually at Arvon.*ABOUT MAGGIE O’FARRELLMaggie O'Farrell is the author of Hamnet (winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award) and the memoir I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death, both Sunday Times number 1 bestsellers. Her other books include The Marriage Portrait, After You'd Gone, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, The Hand That First Held Mine (winner of the Costa Novel Award), and Instructions for a Heatwave. An adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel will premiere at Swan theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in April and at the Garrick theatre in September. *RESOURCES & LINKSUpcoming Arvon CoursesThe Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'FarrellHamnet by Maggie O'FarrellI Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell“My Last Duchess” by Robert BrowningAlessandro Allori's portrait of Lucrezia D’ MediciRead Zoe's notes from the interviewFollow Arvon:WebsiteUpcoming Arvon CoursesTwitter*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 award-winning literary agent Madeleine Milburn (founder of the Madeleine Milburn Film, TV, & Literary Agency. In this conversation with Madeleine, we take a peek behind the scenes into the queries Madeline receives at the agency; she reveals the common mistakes she sees in submissions and what she think sets a writer apart in the query process. *ABOUT MADELEINE MILBURNMadeleine Milburn is on the committee of the Association of Authors' Agents (AAA). She has appeared on The Bookseller's list of the 150 most influential people in the book trade every year since 2017. Since founding the agency in 2012, Madeleine was awarded Literary Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2018 and was shortlisted again in 2020.She has been responsible for discovering some of the highest-selling and award-winning contemporary authors who consistently hit the bestseller lists in the New York Times, including author Nita Prose (The Maid), Costa Book Award winner and multi-million copy bestseller Gail Honeyman (Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine), Ashley Audrain (The Push), Elizabeth Macneal (The Doll Factory), Fiona Barton (The Widow), Beth Morrey (Saving Missy) and Holly Bourne (Am I Normal Yet?) She represents multiple bestselling crime and thriller brands, too, including C.L. Taylor, C.J Tudor, Mark Edwards and Teresa Driscoll.*RESOURCES:Follow Madeleine Milburn:WebsiteAgency Instagram Other links mentioned:Submitting your work to the Madeleine Milburn AgencyThe Maid by Nita Prose (UK, US)Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (UK, US)*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!

NYT bestselling author Krystal Sutherland on writing young adult novels and bringing characters to life. We also talk about her experience of having her debut novel Chemical Hearts adapted into a film by Amazon Studios. We also talk about she's honed her craft. how she’s learned to plot visualise her stories. *ABOUT KRYSTAL SUTHERLAND Krystal Sutherland’s debut novel, Chemical Hearts, was published in over 20 countries and was named by the American Booksellers Association as one of the best debuts of 2016. The film adaptation, produced by Amazon Studios, stars Lili Reinhart and Austin Abrams. Her other books include A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares and the New York Times bestseller House of Hollow. *RESOURCES:Follow Krystal:Instagram: @km_sutherlandTwitter: @km_sutherlandWebsite: krystalsutherland.com*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!

Emilie Marneur shares her experience of being at the forefront of innovations in the publishing industry. We talk to her about her early days as a Literary Scout to being one of the first two employees at Amazon Publishing’s UK arm, working at Audible in its startup days and her experience of launching Bonnier’s digital-first imprint, Embla Books. Plus, we talk about how Embla (digital-first publisher) approaches digital marketing and lessons learned from years of marketing books. This episode was recorded in 2021.*ABOUT EMILIE MARNEUREmilie began her publishing career as a Literary Scout at Ann Louise Fisher Associates (now Eccles Fisher) where she helped publishers abroad navigate and acquire books in the UK market. In 2005 she left ALF to join Amazon where she spent 7 years at Audible and 7+ years at Amazon Publishing where she rose from Senior Editor to Editor-in Chief, and later Head of Film Acquisition at Prime. As the editor in chief, she oversaw Amazon Publishing’s fiction imprints and editorial strategy, managed the editorial team in the UK and worked closely with the editorial teams in the US, Germany, France, Italy and Spain and was responsible for publishing many of the company’s bestselling authors, including Mark Edwards, Nick Spalding, John Marrs, and Amanda Prowse.A few years ago, she decided she wanted to build a digital-first imprint, and wrote the business plan at her dining table. This led to the launch of Bonnier’s Embla Books where Emilie works today.*RESOURCESFollow Emilie Marneur: LinkedInEmilie's digital-first imprint: Embla.Other links mentioned: Embla Books that we mentioned:One Small Mistake by Dandy SmithRachel Ryan's Resolutions by Laura StarkeyThe Midnight Man by Caroline MitchellEmbla's WebsiteSome of the resources discussed:Writers' and Artists' Yearbook - book to find agentsQuery Tracker - online database to find agentsQuery Shark - a resource of 300+ query letters 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 author of 90 books, Joanna Nadin, talks about writing engaging stories for and about kids, and the writing practices and tools that have helped her write so many books and how she plots her stories.  *ABOUT JOANNA NADINJoanna has written more than 90 books for children and adults. She has a doctorate in adolescent identity and YA literature and is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Bristol. Her books have garnered a number of prizes including the Fantastic Book Award and the Surrey Book Award. She's also been shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, the Booktrust Best Book award, the Telegraph Sports Book of the Year, the Hearst Big Book Awards, and Queen of Teen. She was twice nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal: for Everybody Hurts, and forJoe All Alone, which was made into a BAFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated BBC drama series.*RESOURCESFollow JoannaTwitter @joannanadinWebsite: joannanadin.comInstagram: @jonadinJoanna’s booksHer latest book: The Talk of Pram Town.Books for adults:Books for childrenFor 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!

Natalie Lue (@natlue) and Hattie Crisell (@hattiehattie) are writers who have forged successful portfolio careers. We explore their adventures in journalism, blogging, podcasting and publishing. We dive into the reality of forging a portfolio career and they give us advice for how they might start today.*ABOUT NATALIE LUE Natalie Lue is behind the incredibly popular Baggage Reclaim Blog. Nat’s self-published books, including Mr Unavailable and the Fallback Girl, The No Contact Rule and Love, Care, Trust & Respect, have sold 150K+ copies, and her podcast, The Baggage Reclaim Sessions, has over 3 million downloads. Earlier in 2023, her book The Joy of Saying No was published by Harper Horizon.*RESOURCESFollow Natalie Lue:Instagram:@natlueTwitter: @NataliemlueSubstack: On Knowing YourselfWebsite: Natalielue.comPodcast: The Baggage Reclaim SessionsLatest Book: The Joy Of Saying NoNatalie’s Book Store: here*ABOUT HATTIE CRISELL Hattie Crisell is a freelance writer and journalist. In her popular podcast In Writing with Hattie Crisell, Hattie interviews writers of all kinds in their studies, and she's a contributing editor of Grazia magazine. She has written for publications including The New York Times, Style Magazine, The Cut, The Telegraph and Vogue. In 2022 she launched her Substack newsletter,  In Writing and in March 2023, she announced her book deal with Granta, to be based on her podcast.*Follow Hattie Crisell:Instagram:@hattiecrisellTwitter: @hattiehattieSubstack: In WritingWebsite: hattiecrisell.comPodcast: In Writing with Hattie CrisellFor 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!