Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Stephen Graham Jones is the author of twenty-five or so novels and collections, and there’s some novellas and comic books in there as well. Stephen’s been an NEA recipient, has won the Texas Institute of Letters Award for Fiction, the Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction, a Bram Stoker Award, four This is Horror Awards, and he’s been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and the World Fantasy Award. He’s also made Bloody Disgusting’s Top Ten Horror Novels, and his latest book, The Only Good Indians is already getting rave reviews.We had an inspiring chat with Stephen about how he manages to write so many great stories, and get his insights on what makes a scary horror story. We also hear his amazing story about how his first novel came about, discuss how he writes so quickly, and of course learn whether he prefers a real book or an ebook...Links:Buy The Only Good Indians and Stephen's other booksVisit Stephen's websiteWatch 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.

Paul Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the author of The Cabin at the End of the World, Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, A Head Full of Ghosts, the crime novels The Little Sleep and No Sleep Till Wonderland, and the short story collection, Growing Things and Other Stories. His latest novel, Survivor Song, is a terrifying thriller about an outbreak of a disease (so rather timely!)We chatted with Paul about how he came late to a love of reading and writing, but has since made up for it in a big way! We also get his hints and tips for crafting a horror story, and learn about his work on the board of the Shirley Jackson award. And we hear why he would pick Paranormal Activity over Midsommar every time...Links:Buy Survivor Song and Paul's other novelsVisit Paul's websiteWatch 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.

David Quantick is the Emmy-award winning writer of Veep, The Thick of It, TV Burp and much more. He has worked with comedy legends such as Harry Hill and Chris Morris, and is currently continuing his longstanding contribution with Armando Iannucci on his latest series, Avenue 5. He is also a journalist, having worked many years for the NME, and more recently began to write novels, the most recent of which is Night Train, a horror mystery set on a train in a post-apocalyptic world. On top of all that, he’s also written some great books on writing, including How to Write Everything and How to Be a Writer.Our chat with David was great fun, hearing about how he developed his creative writing skills writing gossip columns on the NME and where the famous Star Wars rant from Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It came from (see the link to the relevant clip!). He also has some great hints and tips on how to generate ideas, and we even get to hear about what it’s like to win an Emmy, and what you do with it while you are at the after-party…Links:Buy Night Train and David’s other novelsVisit David’s websiteWatch Malcolm Tucker talking about Star Wars on The Thick of ItWatch 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.

Joe Cornish is the writer and director of films such as Attack the Block and The Kid Who Would be King. He began his career working with his comedy partner Adam Buxton on the brilliant The Adam and Joe Show on Channel 4, before co-writing first Ant-man and then The Adventures of Tintin with Edgar Wright. Recently, he, Edgar, Nira Park and Rachael Prior have formed Complete Fiction Production to continue to bring their ideas to life.We had a great fun chat with Joe about his career, how he writes his screenplays and the advantages of writing for your own movies as opposed to work for hire writing. We get updates on what he is working on now, including the adaptation of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash and Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood and Co. We also hear how it feels to be given notes on your screenwriting by Steven Spielberg (together with a great impression) and why making movies spoofs with soft toys on the Adam and Joe Show helped his directing career in more ways than attending film school!Links:Watch Attack the BlockWatch The Kid Who Would Be KingRead Snow Crash by Neal StephensonJoe's Quantum of Solace songAdam and Joe discuss Pierce Brosnan in TaffinThe 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.

Adam Christopher’s debut novel Empire State was SciFiNow’s Book of the Year and a Financial Times Book of the Year.The author of Made To Kill, Standard Hollywood Depravity and Killing Is My Business, Adam’s other novels include Seven Wonders, The Age Atomic and The Burning Dark. A contributor to the New York Times bestselling Star Wars: From A Certain Point Of View 40th anniversary anthology, Adam has also written the official tie-in novels for the hit CBS television show Elementary, and the award-winning Dishonored video game franchise, and with Chuck Wendig, wrote The Shield for Dark Circle/Archie Comics. He is also currently writing a tie-in novel based on the hit Disney+ show, The Mandalorian.We had a fascinating and fun chat with Adam, talking about how he sold his first books direct to a publisher without an agent (his advice: don;t!), and how he took advantage of a chance opportunity to get into writing tie-in novels. We also hear about the differences in writing tie ins and original novels, and discuss how he remains so prolific.Links:Buy Adam's books hereVisit Adam's websiteWatch The Searchers onlineGet Can You Speak Venusian by Patrick MooreWatch Devs on BBC iPlayerThe 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.

Tendai Huchu is a Zimbabwean author who now lives in Edinburgh, and whose first novel, The Hairdresser of Harare, was a huge hit, being nominated for The Guardian's Not the Booker Prize. He followed that up with The Maestro, The Magistrate and The Magician, and is soon to release the first book in The Library of the Dead series, about a young girl who delivers messages for ghosts in a post-apocalyptic Edinburgh.We have great fun talking with Tendai and hearing how he The Hairdresser of Harare lead to his breakthrough into the industry, and also why he would recommend new writers start with short stories rather than novels. We also talk about African representation in the literary scene, and how the lack of opportunities can hold great writing back purely on the basis of where they come from. On top of that, we talk about how invaluable editors can be in improving your stories, and also hear what he's been watching during lockdown.Links:Buy Tendai's books hereVisit Tendai's websiteBuy Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's The First WomanWatch Kingdom on NetflixWatch Cook Off on NetflixThe 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.

Sheila O'Flanagan is an international bestselling author of books such as The Hideaway, What Happened That Night and Suddenly Single. All of her books center around strong female protagonists who find themselves in difficult situations that mean they have to find their inner strength. Her latest book, The Women Who Ran Away, is out in July.We had a great chat with Sheila, hearing about how she swapped a life working in finance for that of a bestselling author, and got great insights from her on the writing process, including how she approaches revising her drafts, and also talked about her work with Fighting Words, the literary centre set up by Roddy Doyle.Links:Buy Sheila's books hereVisit Sheila's websiteLearn about Fighting WordsThe 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.

Chris Brookmyre was a journalist before becoming a full-time novelist with the publication of his award-winning debut Quite Ugly One Morning, which established him as one of Britain’s leading crime novelists. His 2016 novel Black Widow won both the McIlvanney Prize and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. Writing under the name Ambrose Parry, he has also co-written (along with his wife, Dr Marisa Haetzman) thrilling mystery books set in 19th Century Edinburgh. Chris' novels have sold more than two million copies in the UK alone.We had a great chat with Chris, learning about his route to the publication of Quite Ugly One Morning when he was only 26, and chat about his sci-fi stories such as Places in the Darkness and Bedlam. We also hear about how he and Marisa craft the Ambrose Parry novels, and how that process of co-writing has informed his solo novels.Links:Buy Chris's books hereBuy the Ambrose Parry books hereVisit Chris's websiteThe 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.

Thomas Welsh is an award winning urban fantasy and short story author based in Scotland. He was the winner of the Elbow Room fiction prize for And Then I was Floating and has also been published in The 404 Ink F Word Collection, Pseudopod and Leicester Writes. More recently, he has released Anna Undreaming and its sequel, Anna and the Midnight Road, the first two parts of his urban fantasy Metiks Fade Trilogy. A man of many talents, he also writes for video games, and was lead writer on the recently released and acclaimed Cloudpunk.We had a great chat with Thomas about the unusual route he took to breaking into both the world of novels and video game writing, and he gave us lots of practical hints and tips for getting started in those industries. We also chatted about publishing contracts, as well as hearing his thoughts on why the original Blade Runner doesn't work for him.Links:Buy Thomas' books hereBuy Cloudpunk on SteamThe 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.

Alexandra Sokoloff is the bestselling, Thriller Award-winning and Bram Stoker and Anthony Award-nominated author of thirteen supernatural, paranormal and crime thrillers. The New York Times has called her “a daughter of Mary Shelley” and her books “Some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre.” As a screenwriter she has sold original suspense and horror scripts and written novel adaptations for numerous Hollywood studios (Sony, Fox, Disney, Miramax), for producers such as Michael Bay, David Heyman, Laura Ziskin and Neal Moritz. She is also the workshop leader of the internationally acclaimed Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshops, based on her Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workbooks and blog.Her bestselling, Thriller Award-nominated Huntress/FBI books follow a haunted FBI agent on his hunt for that most rare of criminals: a female serial killer. The series smashes genre conventions and combats violence against women on the page, screen, and real life. The series is being developed for television with Alex as writer/producer.We had a great chat with Alexandra, hearing how she started out as a screenplay reader in LA, and why she made the jump from screenwriting to novels. We also hear about how screenwriting structure can help you write a better novel, and get lots of tips on structuring a great story.Links:Buy The Huntress books and Stealing HollywoodAccess Alexandra's screenwriting tips for authors on YouTubeLearn more about AlexandraThe 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.