The Writing Life

Jarred McGinnis on blending fact and fiction in The Coward

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.

Derek Barretto‘s path to literary translation

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 on poetry and embroidery

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.

Adam Z Robinson on theatre, Patreon and adapting to Covid-19

Writer, performer, theatre maker and workshop leader Adam Z Robinson is on the podcast this week to discuss his work, how he's using Patreon and being forced to adapt to Covid-19 over the last 18 months.

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna.

Find out more about what Adam's up to: https://adamzrobinson.com/

More on the East Anglian Book Awards announcement: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/eaba-category-winners-21/ 

Join our Discord: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/join-our-discord-community/ 

Music by Bennet Maples.