Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Miranda Malins is a writer and historian specialising in the history of Oliver Cromwell, his family and the politics of the Interregnum period following the Civil War. She studied at Cambridge University, leaving with a PhD, and continues to speak at conferences and publish journal articles and book reviews. She also enjoys being a Trustee of the Cromwell Association. Given her love of that period of history, it is no surprise that her debut novel, The Puritan Princess, is a beautifully written historical novel focusing on Cromwell's youngest daughter.We had a really fun and interesting chat with Miranda, talking about the differences in writing about history and historical fiction, and whether authenticity or accuracy is best to strive for in the latter. We also hear about her journey into publishing after a career as a historian and a lawyer, and talk about a shared love of audiobooks!Links:Buy The Puritan Princess nowVisit Miranda's websiteFollow her on TwitterWatch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One 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 Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

D. V. Bishop is the author of the Cesare Aldo mysteries set in Renaissance Florence, and published by Pan Macmillan. Before his debut as an author, David had a varied career, from journalism to editing some of the UK's biggest comics at Judge Dredd The Megazine and 2000AD, before becoming an award-winning screenwriter and TV dramatist. City of Vengeance won the Pitch Perfect competition at the Bloody Scotland crime fiction festival in 2018, and he was awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship by the Scottish Book Trust while writing the novel. We had great fun learning about David's journey, hearing about how he landed the editor job at 2000AD, and talk in detail about why has wanted to write City of Vengeance for twenty years. As David is also the head of Creative Writing at Napier University, we also get some great tips on writing (use all five senses!), talk about plotting vs pantsing, and much more!Links:Buy City of Vengeance now!Visit David's websiteFollow him on TwitterWatch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One 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 Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff VanderMeer’s NYT-bestselling Southern Reach trilogy has been translated into over 35 languages. The first novel, Annihilation, won the Nebula Award and Shirley Jackson Award, and was made into a movie by Paramount in 2018. Recent works include Dead Astronauts, Borne (a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award), The Strange Bird. These novels, set in the Borne universe, are being developed for TV by AMC and continue to explore themes related to the environment, animals, and our future. His latest book, Hummingbird Salamander, is out this week and already getting rave reviews.We had great fund talking with Jeff and learning about how he crafts his unique stories. We talked about how his work defies categorisation, why he likes to experiment with his writing and what themes are important to him in his writing. We also get his thoughts on the adaptation of Annihilation into a movie, and find out about how his unique writing process helps him get into the heads of his characters.Links:Buy Hummingbird Salamander and Jeff's other booksVisit Jeff's websiteFollow Jeff on TwitterWatch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One 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 Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie Jane Anders is an award-winning author and journalist who was a founding member of the popular site io9 and whose latest novel, Victories Greater Than Death, is out next week and kicks off a new YA trilogy. She's also the author of All the Birds in the Sky, which won the Nebula, Crawford and Locus awards, Choir Boy, which won a Lambda Literary Award, and The City in the Middle of the Night. Her short fiction has appeared in Tor.com, Boston Review, Tin House, Conjunctions, the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Wired Magazine, Slate, Asimov's Science Fiction, Lightspeed, ZYZZYVA, Catamaran Literary Review, McSweeney's Internet Tendency and tons of anthologies. Her story "Six Months, Three Days" won a Hugo Award, and her story "Don't Press Charges And I Won't Sue" won a Theodore Sturgeon Award. Charlie Jane also organizes the monthly Writers With Drinks reading series, and co-hosts the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct with last week's guest, Annalee Newitz.We had great fun chatting with Charlie Jane about her writing career, learning how she broke into the industry, and how it felt when All The Birds In the Sky won all those awards. We also hear about her new YA trilogy, and discuss how easy it is (or isn't!) to make changes to a trilogy once the first book is out. Plus we hear what she's been reading and watching, and hear about which Marvel TV show she would love to be writing!Links:Pre-order/buy Victories Greater Than Death and Charlie Jane's other booksVisit Charlie Jane's websiteVisit io9Watch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One 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 Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Annalee Newitz writes science fiction and nonfiction. They are the author of the book Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age, and the novels The Future of Another Timeline, and Autonomous, which won the Lambda Literary Award. As a science journalist, they are a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, and have a monthly column in New Scientist. They have published in The Washington Post, Slate, Popular Science, Ars Technica, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic, among others. They are also the co-host of the Hugo Award-winning podcast Our Opinions Are Correct. Previously, they were the founder of io9, and served as the editor-in-chief of Gizmodo. We had great fun chatting with Annalee about how they managed to juggle their interests in both science and writing to form a unique and successful career. We hear about how the opportunity to found the successful website io9 came about, and how to select which stories to write as fiction and which as non-fiction. We also veer wildly off-topic on several occasions (in a good way!) and discuss how despite appearances, technological advancements over time aren't always the leaps forward we sometimes think they are.Links:Buy Four Lost Cities and Annalee's other books nowVisit Annalee's websiteVisit io9Watch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One 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 Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Margaux DeRoux comes from a family of painters, and writes historical fiction that centers on art and artists. Before turning to fiction, she was a teacher, a waitress, and a marketer in Silicon Valley. Her debut novel, The Lost Diary of Venice, features two impossible love stories which are fatefully connected by one artistic legacy that leaps between the mysteries of late-Renaissance Venice and the dramas of present-day America.We had a great chat with Margaux about how her discovery of a real Venetian treatise inspired her novel, and hear about her path to publishing. She tells us about her 5am starts to get the book written, and the importance of research when writing historical fiction. Plus we chat about The Crown and The Great British Bake Off (no spoilers!)Links:Buy The Lost Diary of VeniceVisit Margaux's websiteFollow Margaux on TwitterCheck out what agents have on their wishlists right now!Watch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One 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 Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Moffat is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who has written shows such as Silk, Criminal Justice (which was adapted into The Night Of for HBO) and most recently, Your Honor, which stars Bryan Cranston.We had great fun chatting with Peter, learning about how his previous career as a criminal barrister has helped with his writing, and hear how he moved into TV work after writing plays. He tells us all about what it's like to be a showrunner on a US TV show, and how that differs from writing for UK TV, and why you can never do enough research for your stories.Links:Watch Your HonorSee the trailer for Your HonorWatch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One 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 Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Dinsdale is the author of novels including The Harrowing, Little Exiles, The Toymakers and most recently, Paris By Starlight. The magic-infused worlds he had created with his last two books have led to comparisons with Erin Morgenstern and Neil Gaiman.We enjoyed chatting to Robert about his writing journey and hearing about his time as a literary agent, before he flipped sides and became an author himself. We also learn about why getting that first novel published isn't always the breakthrough you thought it would be, but also why focusing on writing the stories you want to tell can be the way to really engage with readers. In Robert's case, that was deciding to tell story with a magical side, and led to The Toymakers becoming his breakthrough novel. And as he tells us, that magical storytelling combines with contemporary issues in Paris By Starlight.Links:Buy Paris By Starlight and Robert's other booksVisit Robert's websiteFollow Robert on TwitterWatch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One 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 Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen Whitaker is author of the acclaimed comedy, The School Run, and most recently, I Give It A Year. She is also an accomplished journalist, writing for publications such as Glamour, Marie Claire, Women's Fitness and more, and is currently deputy editor of British Airways' in-flight magazine, High Life.We had a fun chat with Helen, learning about how she moved into journalism, and how writing features has helped her as a novelist. We also hear about why she wanted to write I Give It A Year (and the dangers of planning a book around a year which turned out to be hit by a pandemic!) Plus, at the very end, Tariq dishes out some Christmas shopping advice (only two months too late...)Links:Buy I Give It A Year now!Visit Helen's websiteFollow Helen on TwitterWatch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One 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 Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Hornby is the bestselling author of eight novels, including High Fidelity and About a Boy, and his latest, Just Like You, along with several works of non-fiction including his ground-breaking debut, Fever Pitch. He has written numerous award-winning screenplays for film and television including Brooklyn, Wild and, most recently, State of the Union.We had a great chat with Nick hearing about how he broke into writing and pitched Fever Pitch to an agent. We also learn about the difference between writing memoir and fiction, and hear about his love of writing screenplays - including hearing about his latest screenwriting project involving one of the biggest bands in history!Links:Buy Just Like You and Nick's other booksVisit Nick's websiteFollow Nick on TwitterWatch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One 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 Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.