The Writing Life

Khairani Barokka is an Indonesian writer and artist living in London. She is the co-editor of Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back, the author-illustrator of Indigenous Species, and author of debut poetry collection Rope. She was Modern Poetry in Translation’s Inaugural Poet-In-Residence, National Centre for Writing’s Associate Artist in 2020 and she has been a Researcher-in-Residence at UAL’s Decolonising the Arts Institute. Rishi Dastidar's debut collection Ticker-tape is published by Nine Arches Press, and his work has been published by Financial Times, New Scientist and the BBC amongst many others. Okka and Rishi are poets and stable mates of independent poetry publisher Nine Arches Press. Join them for a deep dive into the unconscious process of writing poetry and what they both call 'the daze' of writing, as well as the environmental elements of Okka's writing. Check out our upcoming creative writing online courses, designed in partnership with the University of East Anglia. On sale now

Mattho Mandersloot is a literary translator working from Korean into English and Dutch. He holds a degree in Classics from King’s College London and one in Translation from the School of Oriental and African Studies. He has won the Korea Times’ 51st Modern Korean Literature Translation Award, the World Literature Today Translation Prize and the Oxford Korean Poetry Translation Prize. In July 2021, we welcomed Mattho to Norwich for a month-long residency with support from the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. During his residency he worked on Choi Jeongrye’s final collection of poetry, Net of Light, alongside award-winning poet and translator George Szirtes. In this conversation between Matthow and George, they discuss the intricacies of language, the power of K-pop, the rise in popularity of Korean studies, and how Mattho's love of taekwondo led him to a career in literary translation. Find out more about what we do: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ Hosted by Steph McKenna. Music by Bennet Maples.

Translator and editor Anam Zafar and poet, novelist and translator Meena Kandasamy discuss translation as activism and helping under-represented communities to tell their own stories. Anam was mentored by Meena on NCW's Emerging Translator Mentorship programme, supported by Visible Communities. We have a discount for Writing Life listeners, courtesy of our friends at Bloomsbury! Until 1 March 2022 anyone in the UK can get 25% off the workbook as long as you buy through the Bloomsbury website. The code is AWJW25 and can be used here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writers-journal-workbook-9781472987365/  Find out more about what we do: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ Hosted by Steph McKenna. Music by Bennet Maples.

Lucy van Smit is an award-winning author, a screenwriter, and artist. She has worked internationally for NBC News, has made documentaries for Canadian TV on writers like John Le Carre and Ian McEwan and in 2018 her debut novel The Hurting won the inaugural Bath Children’s Novel Award. She's now put together A Writer's Journal Workbook, for Writers & Artists, which is jam packed with bite-sized exercises and tips for dismantling writer's block, improving observational skills, developing characters and much more. It's designed to help new writers get started, find their voice and improve their skills. Simon talked to Lucy about her own struggles with writer's block, which she experienced after publishing her first novel, and how creating The Writer's Journal helped her as much as anyone who might read it. We have a discount for Writing Life listeners, courtesy of our friends at Bloomsbury! Until 1 March 2022 anyone in the UK can get 25% off the workbook as long as you buy through the Bloomsbury website. The code is AWJW25 and can be used here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writers-journal-workbook-9781472987365/  Find out more about what we do: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ Hosted by Simon Jones. Music by Bennet Maples.

We have a great translation double-bill today, with a conversation between Archana Madhavan and Sawad Hussain. Sawad was a virtual translator in residence in 2021 during our Visible Communities project, and this interview was arranged as part of that residency.  https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/translation/visible-communities/  Sawad Hussain is an Arabic translator with a focus on bringing narratives from the African continent to wider audiences. She has contributed to journals such as ArabLit and Asymptote, she was co-editor of the Arabic-English portion of the Oxford Arabic Dictionary and recent translations include Passage to the Plaza by Sahar Khalifeh and A Bed for the King’s Daughter by Shahla Ujayli. Archana Madhavan is an Indian-American translator from Korean into English. She started teaching herself Korean ten years ago and has now worked on many projects including The Man Who Became A Flamingo by Oh Han Ki, contract work with Lezhin Entertainment on genre webtoons and Glory Hole by Kim Hyun (co-translated with Suhyun J. Ahn), which is coming from Seagull Books in May 2022. She has contributed to chogwa and is a staff translator for The Hanok Review. chogwa: https://www.chogwa.com/ Find out more: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/  Hosted by Simon Jones. Music by Bennet Maples.

Andy Hamilton is a comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor and you have probably seen and/or heard him on Have I Got News For You, The News Quiz, QI or I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. He's written for television shows including Drop the Dead Donkey and Outnumbered and is currently working on Kate & Koji for ITV with regular writing partner Guy Jenkin. Simon talks to Andy about his novels, specifically his latest Longhand, which is an especially unique book in that the entire thing is handwritten, perfectly reproducing Andy's original longhand manuscript. The story is of Malcolm George Galbraith, a Scotsman who is writing a letter to his wife - hence the longhand - to explain why he has to leave and never return. The explanation involves a vast, surprising, moving and funny dive into mythology. Simon chats with Andy about finding a publisher who was willing to reproduce his handwriting, how the unusual form supports and enhances the story being told and why it's probably a one-off. Find out more about everything we do on our website: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ Join our Discord: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/join-our-discord-community/  Music by Bennet Maples.  

Today's episode mixes self-publishing and traditional publishing as we're talking with Nicola May, author of the Cockleberry Bay novels and the Ferry Lane Market series. After many years of highly successful self-publishing, in 2021 Nicola chose to sign with Hodder & Stoughton for her new trilogy. We find out why, and explore how she found success with her self-publishing business. Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna. Find out more: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ Music by Bennet Maples.

On the show today we have Jarred McGinnis, talking about his debut 2021 novel ‘The Coward’. It's a fictional story with a protagonist also called Jarred, and in talking with Peggy Hughes on this podcast they unpick the curious boundary between fact and fiction in the book. Jarred is the co-founder of The Special Relationship, which was chosen for the International Literature Showcase in 2016. He was the creative director for ‘Moby-Dick Unabridged‘, a four-day immersive multimedia reading of Herman Melville’s ‘Moby-Dick’ at the Southbank Centre, involving hundreds of participants. His short fiction has been commissioned for BBC Radio 4 and appeared in respected journals in the UK, Canada, USA and Ireland. He is or has been an Associate Writer for Spread the Word, a mentor for the Word Factory, a fellow of the London Library’s T S Eliot Emerging Writer Programme and a Writer-in-Residence for First Story. Hosted by Simon Jones. Watch the East Anglian Book Awards 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpzaScW1Ad4 Creative Writing Online courses: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/creative-writing-online/  Join our Discord community: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/join-our-discord-community/ Make a donation: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/support-us/ Title music by Bennet Maples.

In June 2021 we were joined by Derek Barretto, who was the translator in residence at Dragon Hall. Encouraged by a succession of brilliant language teachers, Derek thrives on a literary reading diet of English, Lusophone and occasionally Francophone fiction and non-fiction. He is an aficionado of classical and contemporary literature and a voracious reader of ancient and modern poetry and practising poet. A would-be literary translator looking to specialize in translation of Lusophone fiction and poetry, he has a keen interest in conveying the richness and variety of Portuguese literature to Anglophone readers. During his residency, Derek worked on a translation of ‘Madrugada Fria’ by Laura DaSilva, a contemporary Portuguese poet. On the podcast today he is talking with Rebecca DeWald. Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna. The Visible Communities residency programme was supported by Arts Council England. Check out our online courses: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/creative-writing-online/ Put a reminder in for the East Anglian Book Awards: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/east-anglian-book-awards/  Music by Bennet Maples.

Jennifer Anne Champion is on the podcast this week talking to Rosy Carrick about her mix of poetry and embroidery. Jennifer is a poet, writer and educator and is cat-positive and was one of our Singapore writers in residence earlier in the year. Find out more: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/residencies/former-residents/ Nuraliah's pod: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/writing-fantasy-nuraliah-norasid/ Nazry's pod: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/nazry-bahrawi-in-conversation-with-vineet-lal/ Watch the Stitching Stories event: https://youtu.be/Tv6V1RcD8f4 Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna. Music by Bennet Maples.