What better way to celebrate our 400th episode than by speaking to some of our longtime listeners and members of the Bestseller Academy who have faced their greatest writing challenges and come through the other side.

Elissa Soave is the winner of the inaugural Primadonna Prize, an accolade awarded to unpublished and unrepresented writers. Ginger and Me is her debut novel, a part-coming of age and part-mystery novel featuring vivid characters. Elissa reveals how her writing career started with just 500 words and the realisation that her story was worth telling.

Christopher Abbott is the award-winning author of the Watson Chronicles, a continuation of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Christopher tells us how he's worked to retain the authenticity of Conan Doyle's style, and what he’s learned about crafting a mystery.

Mark Ellis is the bestselling author of the DCI Frank Merlin series set in the Second World War. Mark celebrates the publication of the fifth book in the series, Dead in the Water, and reveals his research methods and how he uses real history to develop his stories. He also tells us what he learned from his entrepreneurial life that he carried over with him to his writing.

Lisa Regan is the USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series, and this year sees the publication of books 14 & 15: Watch Her Disappear and Local Girl Missing. But it all started when she wrote her first mystery when she was 11-years-old. Lisa tells us how her father’s words have kept her going through years of rejection, and Lisa shares what she wishes she had known when she started out writing such a successful series. And the two Marks announce a live show to celebrate 400 episodes of the podcast!

Scott Kershaw's debut The Game is a cracking high concept thriller, and Scott’s route to publication is an extraordinary tale of second chances, self-publishing, co-writing, a first-class honours degree, an expensive train journey, weird business cards, and explaining publishing’s system of advances and royalties to friends and family. This is a wonderfully honest interview and full of surprises. And the Two Marks discuss imposter syndrome and why you should celebrate it.

Mike Shackle returns to the podcast to celebrate Until The Last, the final part of his epic fantasy series The Last War. We’ve been following Mike’s journey since he was inspired by our first Joe Abercrombie episode to pick up the pen and start writing again, through to his deal with Gollancz, and now to conclude the series. Mike tells us how he’s only just getting started. And the Two Marks discuss Mr Stay’s launch party and how it all nearly went horribly wrong...

Author Sarai Walker discusses writing subversive fiction like 'The Cherry Robbers' inspired by real events and history. The Two Marks talk about book launches and negotiating with publishers for better deals. Sarai shares insights into her creative process and the themes of her dark Gothic novel set in 1950s Connecticut.

Between 1998 and 2016 David Lee Stone wrote fantasy and YA books for some of the biggest publishers in the world. David discovered the hard way that a big author advance is not always a good thing. David tells us about the dark side of the dream in an incredibly honest and eye-opening interview. But he’s back and on his own terms with his own publisher and The Vanquish Trilogy, and he proves that persistence pays off and that there is always hope.

Lizzy Barber’s critically acclaimed debut novel My Name is Anna won the Daily Mail First Novel competition, and her latest thriller Out of Her Depth is a Richard and Judy book club selection. Lizzy's journey has taken her from winning a Disney writing competition when she was ten, to the Royal Shakespeare Company, to one of the must-read books of the summer. And Mr Stay takes delivery of his new book and gives it a sniff.