Page One - The Writer's Podcast

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.

Alex De Campi is a comics writer and author, who has been nominated for numerous Eisner awards and has recently collaborated with film director Duncan Jones on the graphic novel, Madi, the latest chapter in his Moon series of films. She has also just released her highly anticipated novel debut, The Scottish Boy, a thrilling adventure set in medieval Britain.We had a great chat with Alex talking about how she broke into the comics industry, what her process is when she is creating comics, and talk about her very busy slate of projects, including The Scottish Boy, Madi, Bad Karma and much more!Links:Buy The Scottish Boy nowBack Madi on KickstarterGet Bad Karma nowCheck out all things Alex on her 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.

Laura Lam is a sci fi and fantasy author whose latest book is Goldilocks, a bold, thought-provoking and high concept feminist dystopian thriller, best described as a cross between The Martian and The Handmaid's Tale. We've been lucky enough to read it, and it is a good one!We loved hearing from Laura about all the research she put into Goldilocks to make sure it rang true, and also had a great discussion about her teaching on the creative writing Masters course at Napier University in Edinburgh. We also hear about her upcoming novel, Seven Devils, which she co-wrote with Elizabeth May, as well as hearing why Laura thinks we should all watch Batman & Robin again (EDIT - we shouldn't).Links:Buy Goldilocks nowLearn about the MA in Creative Writing at NapierThe 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.

Struan Murray is a young Scottish author, whose recently released debut novel Orphans of the Tide has received rave reviews, even earning him comparisons to Philip Pullman. A dark gothic kids fantasy, it’s easy to see why people think of stories such as Northern Lights.We had great fun chatting to Struan about his long process to getting published, including the value of writing courses, and also getting to know people in the publishing industry. We also hear how he manages to juggle his day job as a lecturer in Oxford with being a professional author, and hear about how Orphans of the Tide got its name.Links:Buy Orphans of the TideStruan's websiteCurtis Brown Creative 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.

Harriet Tyce is a Sunday Times Bestselling Author whose debut novel, Blood Orange, was a huge hit and featured on Richard & Judy’s Book Club list in 2019. A domestic noir set in the UK legal world, it is a twisty tale of murder and quite a few flawed characters!We had a really interesting chat with Harriet, hearing about how the long path to her debut with Blood Orange, how being selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club was transformational, and how writing courses really can help you be successful in your writing career. We also talk about her upcoming novel, The Lies You Told, the struggle of being creative during the coronavirus epidemic, chat about the benefits of audiobooks and much more!Links:Buy Harriet’s booksHarriet’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.

Neil Forsyth is a Scottish author and screenwriter who has written critically acclaimed TV shows such as Eric, Ernie and Me, as well as the infamous Bob Servant, the Dundee cheeseburger svengali portrayed by Brian Cox on TV, and now a Twitter phenomenon. Most recently, he created and wrote the hit BBC show Guilt, a dark crime comedy about two brothers whose night home from a wedding doesn't quite go to plan.We had great fun chatting with Neil about how he moved from freelance journalism into novel writing and then screenwriting. He had many hints and tips to share, as well as sharing the very amusing background behind his first fiction novel, Let Them Come Through.Links:Buy Neil's booksNeil's websiteRead the scripts for GuiltThe 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.