Page One - The Writer's Podcast

David Mamet is a Pulitzer Prize–winning American playwright, screenwriter, director, novelist, and essayist, born November 30, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois. He is renowned for his breakthrough in theater during the 1970s with works like American Buffalo and Sexual Perversity in Chicago, later earning the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross. His distinctive writing style—sharp, staccato dialogue, often referred to as "Mamet‑speak"—redefined modern theatrical and cinematic storytelling. Beyond the stage, Mamet penned acclaimed screenplays for The Verdict, The Untouchables, and Wag the Dog, earning Academy Award nominations, and has directed notable films such as House of Games and Homicide. He also co-founded the Atlantic Theater Company, has taught at prestigious institutions like Yale, NYU, and Goddard College, and authored novels, essays, and memoirs. His new book, Recollections of St Ives, is out now.We had a very interesting discussion with David about how he first started writing, and what keeps him going today. We also talk about the differences in writing for the screen, stage and page, and he tells us why he wanted to write his latest novel, Some Recollections of St Ives.Links:Buy Some Recollections of St IvesWatch Henry JohnsonAdventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video episode on our YouTube channelOn this week's Drafting Notes, inspired by the publication of Tariq's book, The Midnight King, we are talking book launches. How important are they? Do they make a difference to sales? And what happens for the author after the book has been launched?Drafting Notes is a new series of podcast episodes in which one award-winning writer (Tariq) and one hopefully soon-to-be-published writer (Marco) discuss various writing issues as they occur to them!Drafting Notes episodes are available months earlier if you join our Patreon - check it out and get this and other great benefits!Drafting Notes and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on YouTubeMK Hardy is the pen name for two geeky women living and writing together in Scotland. Their debut Sapphic Gothic Horror, The Needfire, comes from Solaris in the UK in July 2025. They were mentees in the Pitch Wars 2020-21 programme, and mentors for Queery Fest 2022. They are organisers and facilitators for Scotland’s Cymera Festival.We had great fun chatting with Morag and Erin, hearing about how they first came to write together, and talk about the (ever evolving) process of how that works. We also hear about what inspired their debut, The Needfire, and why they want to keep exploring a variety of stories.Links:Buy The Needfire nowFollow MK Hardy on BlueskyVisit their websiteAdventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's one of the most common pieces of writing advice: Write what you know. But what does it really mean? Does it mean that if you're from a small village, you shouldn't write about people in big cities? If you're a man, you shouldn't write about women? We think it's a bit more nuanced than that, and that the phrase is often misunderstood. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments!Drafting Notes is a new series of podcast episodes in which one award-winning writer (Tariq) and one hopefully soon-to-be-published writer (Marco) discuss various writing issues as they occur to them!Drafting Notes episodes are available months earlier if you join our Patreon - check it out and get this and other great benefits!Drafting Notes and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

M. H. Ayinde was born in London’s East End. She is a runner, a lapsed martial artist, and a screen time enthusiast. She is the Sunday Times bestselling author of epic fantasy novel A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST (Orbit UK/Saga Press). Her short fiction has appeared in FIYAH Literary Magazine, F&SF, Fantasy Magazine, and elsewhere, and she was the 2021 winner of the Future Worlds Prize. She lives in London with three generations of her family and their Studio Ghibli obsession.We had great fun chatting with Modupe live at the Cymera Festival back in June, and heard all about her amazing journey to winning the Future Worlds Prize and how that kickstarted her career as an author. Plus, we talk about her inspirations including Black Panther and A LOT of Final Fantasy!Links:Buy A Song of Legends Lost nowFollow Modupe on InstagramVisit Modupe's websiteAdventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Intisar Khanani is an award‑nominated American fantasy author and former public‑health consultant. Born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, she spent her childhood moving around—living in five U.S. states and time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia—before settling in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two daughters. Her writing career began with the self‑published YA fantasy Thorn and has since expanded into acclaimed series such as The Dauntless Path and The Sunbolt Chronicles. Her latest work, Debts of Fire, continues the adventures in The Sunbolt Chronicles and is out now.We had great fun chatting with Intisar and hearing about what made her want to start writing, and why she thinks diverse fantasy stories are so important. We also talk about how she moved from self-publishing to traditional and back to indie again, as well as chatting about the perceived "necessary" rate of books for indie authors.Links:Buy Intisar's books nowFollow Intisar on InstagramVisit Intisar's websiteAdventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

J.R. Dawson's debut, The First Bright Thing, is a Golden Crown award winner. Her shorter works are in places such as F&SF, The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018, and Lightspeed. Dawson lives on Dakota land in Minnesota with a loving spouse and three dogs. She is a professor at Drexel University's MFA program. Her second novel, The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World, is a loose sapphic retelling of Orpheus, and releases from Tor in July 2025.We had great fun chatting about how she quickly learned playwriting wasn't for her, and how she found her community writing short stories and novels. We also talk about the retelling of myths and legends, hear about the scary step of changing agents and much more!Links:Buy The Lighthouse at the Edge of the WorldFollow J.R. on BlueskyVisit J.R.'s website Adventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carlo Lucarelli is an acclaimed Italian crime writer, journalist, screenwriter, and television presenter. He is best known for his detective novels, including the De Luca Trilogy and the Inspector Grazia Negro series, which have been widely translated and adapted for screen. Alongside his fiction, Lucarelli has hosted popular true crime TV shows in Italy and remains a prominent voice in Italian cultural life. His latest English-translated novel, The Darkest Winter, is out now.We had a really interesting chat with Carlo, hearing about how he uses his different recurring characters to explore the different time periods he wants to explore in his crime novels. We also talk about where he gets his inspiration, including from some real-life mysteries that he examined when presenting his TV show.Links:Buy The Darkest Winter nowAdventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura Shepherd-Robinson is the award-winning, Sunday Times and USA Today bestselling author of four historical novels. Her books have been featured on BBC 2’s Between the Covers and Radio 4’s Front Row and Open Book. Her fourth novel, The Art of a Lie, is out now.We had great fun chatting with Laura and hearing how she decided to move from working in politics to writing, and learn about the research that goes into her novels. We also talk about planning, the effect of awards and more!Links:Buy The Art of a Lie and Laura's other books now!Follow Laura on BlueskyVisit Laura's websiteAdventures in Publishing-Land RSS FeedSTET Podcasts YouTube channelSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video episode on our YouTube channel!Sarah Pinborough is a New York Times bestselling and Sunday Times Number one and Internationally bestselling author who is published in over 25 territories worldwide. Having published more than 25 novels across various genres, her recent books include Behind Her Eyes and Insomnia, both of which have been adapted for TV. Her latest book, We Live Here Now, is out now.We had a really fun chat with Sarah, hearing about what she has been up to since she was last on the podcast, chatting about the realities of book to TV deals, and hearing about 5 books that influenced her as a writer (and influenced this latest book).Links:Buy Sarah's books nowFollow Sarah on InstagramSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One Extra and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One Extra is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.