Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Owen Nicholls is a screenwriter with a Masters in Scriptwriting from the University of East Anglia. His first screenplay -- a biopic of the filmmakers Powell and Pressburger -- was optioned to Bedlam Productions, the BAFTA and Academy Award-winning producers of The King's Speech. His work has appeared in Empire and NME, and in 2018 he was selected for the Escalator Scheme run by the National Centre For Writing. Love, Unscripted is his first novel.We had a great time talking with Owen about the differences between screenwriting and novel writing, and hear why he decided to make Love, Unscripted his first novel. He also gives some great advice about writing in both formats, and we hear why he think Fight Club is really a rom com...Links:Buy Love, Unscripted now!Follow Owen 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.

Dirk Maggs is the genius behind the audio adaptations of stories such as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy, The X Files, the William Gibson Alien 3 adaptation - and of course, Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, which has been a huge (and well deserved) hit on Audible.We talk to Dirk to find out how he forged this career, and learn that he in effect created the idea of these “audio movies” (as he calls them) from scratch. From starting out at the BBC to working with Douglas Adams on the Hitchhiker’s Guide adaptation, right up to hearing about how he adapted the supposedly “impossible to adapt” The Sandman into such a brilliant production. Along the way, he gives us great hints and tips on writing for audio, and also drops in some great anecdotes about the likes of Adam West and James McAvoy!(We highly recommend listening to the whole episode, but The Sandman stuff starts at about 66 minutes!)Links:Listen to The Sandman on AudibleAnd all his other amazing Audio Movies!Visit Dirk’s websiteFollow Dirk 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.

Ian Dunt is a political commentator and journalist. He is editor of politics.co.uk, an energetic presence on Twitter, and appears as a pundit on BBC TV, Sky News and Al-Jazeera. He is also the author of two books - Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now? and the just released How To Be A Liberal, which is an important, interesting and entertaining guide to the principles and practices of liberalism and shows why it remains our most powerful weapon to shatter the shiny lies of populists.We had great fun chatting with Ian as he told us about how he got started in journalism and hear about how he manages to distill complicated issues into easy-to-understand and entertaining pieces (clue - it's all thanks to Batman!). We also found out about the hell he went through writing How To Be a Liberal (it was worth it, Ian!) and learn about his unique but definitely soon-to-be popular "drunken drafting" technique.Oh, and of course we find out whether he prefers real books or e-books...(Warning - this episode is quite sweary!)Links:Buy How to Be a Liberal and Brexit: What the Hell HappenedVisit politics.co.ukFollow Ian 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.

Lauren Beukes is the award-winning author of novels such as Zoo City, Broken Monsters, and, of course, the international bestseller, The Shining Girls. Her latest novel, Afterland, is a noir road-trip set in a post-pandemic America where 99.9% of the men have all been wiped out.We had a lot of fun chatting to Lauren about her writing career, hearing about how she managed to get her first publishing deal, and also how The Shining Girls catapulted her to international fame. We also talked about her love of collaboration, and what it is like to release a post-pandemic novel during a pandemic…Links:Buy Afterland and Lauren’s other booksVisit Lauren’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.

Alastair Campbell is best known for his role as Tony Blair’s chief spokesman and strategist. He has written several bestselling non-fiction and fiction books, including The Blair Years and Winners. A former 'Mind Champion of the Year', he is an ambassador for several mental health charities. His latest book, Living Better, is his honest, moving and life affirming account of his lifelong struggle with depression. We had a fascinating and fun chat with Alastair about how he moved from journalism into politics, and how important writing has been to him throughout his life. We chat about why he felt it was important to write Living Better now, and also get to hear whether he would rather have Burnley win the Premier League or Scotland win the World Cup…Links:Buy Living Better and Alastair’s other booksVisit Alastair’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.

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.