The Writing Life

Join Dan Richards and Edward Parnell as they discuss writing narrative non-fiction, exploring wilderness, night journeys, and haunted landscapes. From the allure of far-flung shelters to the challenges of editing and financial realities in writing, this episode delves into the intricate process of creating captivating non-fiction narratives.

Sarah P Corbett, founder of Craftivist Collective, discusses gentle protest activism with Peggy Hughes. They explore craft as a tool for social change, the link between craftivism and wellbeing, and building a community of craftivists through social media.

In this episode of The Writing Life, Holly is joined by Colchester-based playwright and HighTide/Peggy Ramsay Foundation writer in residence Nicola Werenowska and Norwich-based folk musician Georgia Shackleton to discuss writing for performance. Nicola and Georgia were central to the development of Suffolk-based theatre company HighTide’s touring show Ghost Stories by Candlelight, which we were lucky enough to host at Dragon Hall last autumn. Ghost Stories by Candlelight was a brand new commission that brought together stories, music and song to tell a set of chilling, contemporary ghost stories that celebrate the people, landscape and fragile natural world of East Anglia… And we are very excited to announce that HighTide will return to Dragon Hall as part of a new tour in autumn 2024. Together, Holly, Nicola and Georgia discuss the process of writing collectively, and the particular characteristics of ghost stories. They also touch on the representation of different voices and identities in the performance world, and the importance of place in their writing.

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Chief Executive Peggy Hughes is joined by award-winning poet Martin Figura to discuss the process of writing poetry, and how things make their way into his poetic imagination. Martin Figura was born in Liverpool and lives in Norwich. His collections include The Little Book of Harm (Firewater Press, 2000), Ahem (Eggbox, 2005) and Whistle (Arrowhead, 2010), which deals with the murder in 1966 of his mother, June, by his father Frank. His collection and show Whistle were shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award and won the 2013 Saboteur Award for Best Spoken Word Show. The Remaining Men is his latest full collection.  Together, they discuss Martin’s latest poetry collection The Remaining Men, why he chose to write about those whose lives are too easily dismissed by society and government, and what inspired him to order the collection in the way he did. They also touch on the ethics around writing about your personal relationships and the lives of others, and what makes poetry such a powerful vehicle for exploring and articulating trauma and difficult topics. Martin has also written a poem for the new addition of Wandering Words, a literary walking tour of Norwich UNESCO City of Literature. With a new look, two new locations, and two new poems, the new addition of Wandering Words map will be available to download from our website, or to pick up from the Norfolk & Norwich Box Office. To find out more, click here.

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Chief Executive Peggy Hughes is joined by writers and members of The Martineau Society Stuart Hobday and Gaby Weiner to discuss their new book Reintroducing Harriet Martineau: Pioneering Sociologist and Activist, which explores the innovative, sociological approach adopted by Harriet Martineau in her efforts to develop a ‘scientific’ approach to understanding social and societal change. Stuart Hobday is the founder of the annual Harriet Martineau Lecture and the author of Encounters with Harriet Martineau. He is a former Director of Norwich Arts Centre and in 2016 produced the first Norwich Science Festival. Gaby Weiner has been researching the life and achievements of Harriet Martineau since the 1980s and completed a PhD in 1991 entitled Controversies and Contradictions: Approaches to the Study of Harriet Martineau (1802-76). In 2017, she co-edited with Valerie Sanders a collection entitled Harriet Martineau and the Birth of the Disciplines, and has recently completed a book for Routledge with Stuart Hobday on Harriet Martineau as a foundational sociologist. Together, they discuss the life and legacy of Harriet Martineau, the things that formed her desire for social progress, and how and why her reputation changed over time. They also touch on their experience co-authoring the book, their journeys finding and researching Harriet Martineau, and how the annual Harriet Martineau Lecture, hosted by NCW as part of Norfolk & Norwich Festival, honours her legacy.

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Head of Programmes & Creative Engagement Holly speaks with novelist Michael Donkor about crafting identity in fiction. Michael Donkor was born in London to Ghanaian parents. He studied English at Wadham College, Oxford, followed by a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. His first novel, Hold, was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas and shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. He is a frequent contributor to outlets including the Guardian, the TLS and the Independent. Together, they discuss his new novel, Grow Where They Fall, and the different forms of identity represented in the book. Michael talks about writing queer characters of colour, how to show the reader signs that a character may not be as confident in their identity as they claim to be,  and creating links between the past and present when writing different timelines of one character’s life. They also touch on how Michael will be joining us for an event and workshop at our City of Literature weekend at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2024, where he will expand on crafting identities and writing conflict in fiction further.

Award-winning author Naomi Wood discusses writing subversive, malicious women in her short story collection. Topics include motherhood, family connections, perceptions of pregnant women, crafting diverse voices in short story writing.

In this episode of The Writing Life, writer and translator Daniel Hahn speaks with three former virtual residents Nur-El-Hudaa Jaffar, Sim Wai-chew and Tse Hao Guang about the quirks of virtual residencies, and how their expectations compared to reality. We were delighted to host them from June to December 2023, in a virtual residency generously supported by the National Arts Council of Singapore. In this episode, they discuss the projects they were working on during their residencies with us, how they found inspiration when writing as though they were in Norwich UNESCO City of Literature, and their lives and careers as translators. They also touch on the blogs they wrote for our Writing Hub, which you can read here. 

Author Heather Parry discusses writing the grotesque body, reimagining gothic tropes, voice in narrative, and the impact of writing residencies. She explores themes of obsession, love, grief, power, and women's agency in her debut novel.

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Emerging Translator Mentorships Programme Manager Annie speaks with author Polly Atkin about writing with a chronic illness. Polly Atkin is a multi-award-winning writer, essayist and poet. She is the author of the poetry collections Basic Nest Architecture, which won a Northern Writers' Award, and Much With Body, which was longlisted for the Laurel Prize, as well as Recovering Dorothy, the first biography to focus on Dorothy Wordsworth's later life and illness. In this episode, Polly and Annie discuss writing and navigating the publishing industry as a chronically ill person. The pair discuss Polly’s memoir Some of Us Just Fall, released in summer 2023, and explore how Polly imagined time as a chronically ill person, how to advocate for yourself as a disabled writer, and hopes for embedded accessibility in the future of the publishing industry. They also look ahead to their exciting joint writing project on Dorothy Wordsworth and Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, investigating their common identities and experiences.