Page One - The Writer's Podcast

C.L. Taylor is the nine times Sunday Times bestselling author of eleven gripping stand-alone psychological thrillers: THE ACCIDENT, THE LIE, THE MISSING, THE ESCAPE, THE FEAR, SLEEP, STRANGERS, HER LAST HOLIDAY, THE GUILTY COUPLE, EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE and her newest book, IT’S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND, published on 5th June 2025.We loved chatting with Cally and hearing perhaps the most unique story ever about how she got her agent, why she moved into writing psychological thrillers, and how she has drawn on some personally traumatic events to inform her stories.Links:Buy Cally's books nowFollow Cally on BlueskyVisit Cally's websiteSupport 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 Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch as a full video episode on our YouTube channel!It's often assumed that writing novels and short stories use the same skill sets, but is that really true? What can writing short stories teach you about writing novels and vice versa? Should you always start out writing short stories? We discuss all this in the latest episode of Drafting Notes!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 Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kate Foster worked as a national newspaper journalist for more than twenty years before becoming an author. Growing up in Edinburgh, she became fascinated by its history and often uses it as inspiration for her stories. Her previous novels include The Maiden, which won the Bloody Scotland Crime Debut of the Year and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and The King’s Witches. The Mourning Necklace is her third novel.We had a great chat with Kate, hearing about how taking a writing course helped her develop her first novel, The Maiden, and how she found an agent in part thanks to success in Bloody Scotland's Pitch Perfect competition. Plus, we learn about her approach to writing historical fiction and why every story starts with a character for her.Links:Buy Kate's books nowFollow Kate on InstagramSupport 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 Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this as a full video episode on our YouTube channel!On this week's Drafting Notes, we are discussing that issue that every writer needs to deal with: Rejection! How do you handle it? Is there ever a point in your career where you don't have to deal with it (spoiler: no). And what are our thoughts on being resilient when you receive those rejections?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 at least three months early 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 Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuart MacBride is the Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae and Ash Henderson novels. He’s also published standalones, novellas, and short stories, as well as a slightly twisted children’s picture book for slightly twisted children. His latest book, This House of Burning Bones, is out now.Despite some technical difficulties (explained at the start!) we enjoyed chatting with Stuart and hearing about how he loves the thrill of the blank page and how every story starts with him writing the cover copy for the novel. We also chat about true crime and the danger of sensationalising it, as well as whether he prefers writing long-running series or standalones.Links:Buy Stuart's books nowVisit Stuart's websiteSupport 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 Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channelAndrew Hunter Murray is a writer, broadcaster and comedian. He co-hosts the award-winning podcast No Such Thing As A Fish, which has received 500 million downloads and toured the world. He also writes jokes and journalism for Private Eye magazine, hosts the Eye's podcast Page 94, presents BBC Radio 4’s Friday night comedy The Naked Week, and spent 14 years writing BBC2’s QI.His first novel, The Last Day, was a Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller, and one of the top 10 fiction debuts of 2020; his second, The Sanctuary, was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month; and his third, A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering, was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic literature.We had a great time speaking with Andrew all about how he got into writing for TV and Private Eye, and how that differs from writing fiction. We also discuss why his first two books were more speculative, with the latest being more humorous. Plus, we strangle a few metaphors along the way...Links:Buy Andrew's books nowFollow Andrew on BlueskySupport 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 Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian Simpson is a London-based writer and director known for his work across film, TV, and audio, including on Spooks, Hustle, Hotel Babylon, New Tricks, and Doctor Who. He’s also the co-founder of Storypunk and the creator of acclaimed audio dramas like The Lovecraft Investigations. He is currently running a Kickstarter for the next chapter of The Lovecraft Investigations, focusing on 20th Century occultist, Aleister Crowley.We had great fun chatting with Julian and hearing about how he first got started in TV and film, as well as hearing about the project he very nearly made with a huge Hollywood star. He tells us why he moved to audio, and how he came up with the idea for the acclaimed Lovecraft Investigations series, and the future plans for that series.Links:Back The Lovecraft Investigations on KickstarterFollow Julian on BlueskyVisit Julian's websiteSupport 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 Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on YouTubeElif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and storyteller, whose 21 books—translated into 58 languages—include The Island of Missing Trees, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World, and The Forty Rules of Love. A fellow and Vice President of the Royal Society of Literature, she holds a PhD in political science, has taught at Oxford University, and is a celebrated voice for women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and freedom of expression. Her latest book, There Are Rivers in the Sky, is out in paperback now.We loved speaking with Elif and hearing about how and why she moved from writing in Turkish to English, and how she found the transition. We also speak about censorship, including the need to not self-censor as you write, and how she uses her writing to explore important and topical themes.Links:Buy Elif's books nowFollow Elif on InstagramVisit Elif's websiteSupport 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 Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert is the author of The Tainted Cup, The Divine Cities trilogy and The Founders Trilogy. A Drop of Corruption, the sequel to The Tainted Cup, is out now. His work has received the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Phillip K. Dick Citation of Excellence, and he has been shortlisted for the World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Locus Awards. He also dug a very good french drain in his backyard back in 2019.We had a great chat with Robert, hearing about why he moved into writing fantasy after early award success with other genres, and why he believes it is a framework for any kind of story you want to tell. We also hear why he now plans his novels rather than pantsing as he did before, and we talk about the importance of finding the heart of the story before you start writing.Links:Buy Robert's books nowFollow Robert on BlueskyVisit Robert's websiteSupport 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 ThreadsBuy Tariq's new book, The Midnight King! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Drafting Notes, we talk about the importance of research: how it can spur ideas, how to go about it with difficult topics, what to include (and not include) in your writing and much more! And once you have all your notes, how do you organise them?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 at least three months early if you join our Patreon - check it out and get this and other great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonehttps://www.patreon.com/ukpageone Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.