Not Too Busy To Write

Lily Dunn is the author of the acclaimed Sins of My Father and her latest book Into Being brings together her experience as a writer and teacher of literary memoir. It's an essential read for anyone embarking on personal narrative form. Lily talks with me about assumptions people get wrong about memoir, the unique relationship between memoirist and reader and the ethics and challenges of writing about other people.LinksInto Being by Lily DunnSins of My Father by Lily DunnLondon Lit Lab Memoir Bootcamp with Lily DunnThe Fold Writers MembershipThis series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxagListeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play. Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account. Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account. After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Claire Lynch is on the podcast this week talking about her incredible debut novel A Family Matter, the story of a family torn apart and the decades of silence that follows. This is Claire's second time on the podcast - we spoke way back in 2021 about her memoir Small: On Motherhoods. Claire talks with me about when she first discovered how lesbian mothers had access to their children forcibly removed by court order well into the 1990s in the UK and her decision to explore this heartbreaking recent history in fiction. Claire talks about the varied reception the book has had across different regions facing differing political climates, as well as her recent decision to leave her job as a professor of literature and creative writing and write full time. LinksA Family Matter by Claire LynchSmall: On Motherhoods by Claire LynchThe Fold Membership for WritersThis series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxagListeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play. Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account. Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account. After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Sunday Times best selling author Alice Slater is with me today talking about her second novel Let The Bad Times Roll, a dark and delicious follow up to her debut Death of a Bookseller. Alice talks with me about the pleasures of writing immoral characters, finding her way into her 'difficult' second novel, the challenges of shift work (and why bookselling is a bad profession to have alongside writing) and why she is no where near ready to give up the day job just yet. LinksLet The Bad Times Roll by Alice SlaterDeath of A Bookseller by Alice SlaterAlice Slater on SubstackThe Fold Membership for WritersThis series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxagListeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play. Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account. Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account. After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Caro Giles is an award winning writer and author of two memoirs. Unschooled is about Caro's experience raising children who don't fit in to the school system. Forced to homeschool out of necessity rather than choice, Caro weaves in her own experiences as a teacher at both mainstream and specialist provisions to uncover what is an inadequate and chronically underfunded system that is failing so many children in this country. It's a truly beautiful book about making the most of a system virtually impossible to navigate if you don't fit into a neat little box. Caro talks about how the book has been received in mainstream media, using your voice to stand up for those whose lives are at the edges and just how on earth she managed to finish the book to such a tight deadline whilst caring and homeschooling full time. LinksUnschooled by Caro GilesTwelve Moons by Caro GilesCaro on Substack and InstagramThe Fold Membership for WritersThis series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxagListeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play. Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account. Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account. After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Lily King is an award winning and best selling author of 6 novels and a short story collection. Her latest novel Heart The Lover is an exquisite and profoundly hopeful book about first love and first heartbreak. Lily shares the most incredible wisdom from her 25 years as an author, from waitressing to pay the bills, to the holding on to herself as a writer during early motherhood, to writing about love and hope in a time of political upheval. LinksHeart The Lover by Lily KingFive Tuesdays in Winter by Lily KingWriters and Lovers by Lily KingPenny on InstagramThe Fold Membership for WritersThis series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxagListeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play. Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account. Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account. After your first purchase, your second title will be free!Huge thanks to xigxag for sponsoring the series

Not Too Busy To Write is back from series 11 from October 15th with some incredible authors. Here's a little preview of what's to come.Linkspennywincerwrites.comThe Fold Writer's membershipThis series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxagListeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play. Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account. Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account. After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

A bonus episode today! It's peak inside the writing coaching audio sessions of my new writers membership The Fold. This audio session is all about finding motivation when we are not excited to sit down and write. In it, I give a number of journaling prompts to get to the heart of your lack of motivation (which we all experience from time to time) and figure out what's causing it, in order to better address the problem.If you enjoy this writing coaching audio session you can join The Fold to receive these weekly, along with co-writing sessions and monthly workshops with guest experts, all designed to help you get your writing done. The Fold is suitable for writers of all kinds fiction/non-fiction/memoir/poetry/substack, for new writers and old hats - any writer working on projects that would love support and accountability to achieve their writing goals.Join by Friday 9th May and you can take part in the 21 day Writing Sprint which includes daily audio sessions, extra co-writing sessions and prizes for those who take part! Join The Fold to take pat in the sprint.Join The Fold here pennywincerwrites.com/the-foldMore about Penny Wincer

Alice Kinsella is a poet based in the west of Ireland. She's the author of the poetry pamphlet Sexy Fruit, the prose poem memoir Milk: On motherhood and madness and the genre blending Wake of the Whale, co-authored with Daniel Wade, which was a Sunday Independent Book of the Year in 2024. This conversation covers so much - from unpaid work in publishing, to blending genres, to the creative energy and frustrations of early motherhood. We also talk about why Alice and Daniel chose their local independent publisher Mayo Books Press to publish their latest book.You can order Wake of the Whale directly from Mayo Books and use the code Whale25 to get free shipping. *Join The Fold writers membership*This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxagListeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play. Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account. Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code NTBTW to your account. After your first purchase, your second title will be free!*LinksWake of the Whale by Alice Kinsella and Daniel WadeMilk by Alice KinsellaSexy Fruit by Alice KinsellaAlice Kinsella on Substack Poet Mark Grist Not Too Busy To Write on Substack

Sarra Manning is the author of 8 adult novels, over 15 YA novels. She began her career on teen magazines and has been writing about love and sex ever since. Sarra talks about being a 'word count slut', writing books fast, how what she learned on magazines helps her pitch novels and the secret to writing about sex successfully. Sarra is also the literary editor of Red magazine and is my go to person for book reccos - this episode is chock full of amazing books!!The Last Days of Summer is out March 27thThis series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxagListeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play. Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account. Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code NTBTW to your account. After your first purchase, your second title will be free!You can listen to The Last Days of Summer on xigxag :)LinksThe Last Days of Summer - Sarra ManningLondon, With Love - Sarra ManningRachel's Holiday - Marian KeyesA Sky Painted Gold - Laura WoodRomantic Comedy - Curtis SittenfeldThe Wedding People - Alison EspachMaeve Kerrigan Series - Jane CaseyDeep Cuts - Holly BrickleyThe Eights - Joanna Miller

Want to know how to get funding to write?Today I'm speaking to Robyn Law, head of Fundraising, Grants and Prizes at The Society of Authors, a UK trade union for writers, illustrators and literary translators. As well as looking at everything the SoA can do for all of us, we do a deep dive into how to apply for grants to help support you while you write, including my own experience as an SoA grant recipient.This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxagListeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play. Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account. Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code NTBTW to your account. After your first purchase, your second title will be free!LinksThe Society of Authors - How to joinThe Society of Authors - GrantsThe Society of Authors - Advice and Resources