The Writing Life

How Mentoring Can Help Your Writing

Special guest Katri Skala joins us on the pod to talk about her work mentoring writers, and how mentoring can help writers identify their goals. Hosted by Steph McKenna and Simon Jones. Find out about our work at https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk About our mentoring services: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/mentoring/ Katri's website: https://katherineskala.co.uk/ Music by Bennet Maples.

Structuring non-fiction with Ed Parnell

Ed Parnell is on the pod to talk about his first non-fiction book, Ghostland. He discusses his obsession with structure, how to pitch a non-fiction book and how he switched from fiction to non-fiction. Simon and Steph also dive into the pod archive to pick out their favourite episodes of the year: Outer Wilds with Kelsey Beachum: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/the-writing-challenges-of-outer-wilds/ Jon Ingold from Inkle Studios: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/how-to-write-interactive-narratives-for-games/ Elif Shafak & Bidisha: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/elif-shafak-talks-metoo-identity-politics-libraries-and-inequality/ Life of Bookseller with Joe Hedinger: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/life-of-a-bookseller/ Val McDermid & Sian Cain: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/val-mcdermid-sian-cain-on-the-publishing-landscape-for-lgbtqi-writers/ Hosted by Steph McKenna and Simon Jones. Find out about our work: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ Music by Bennet Maples.

Making a living as a literary translator with Ekaterina Petrova

On the pod today we have literary translator and non-fiction writer Ekaterina Petrova. Ekaterina is from Bulgaria, and was our visiting resident for 10 days thanks to support from the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation. A big part of the conversation is about the challenge of making a living from being a literary translator - which, as you can imagine, is even harder than making a living from being a writer. Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna. Find out more about our work: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk Read a translated extract by Ekaterina: http://www.eurolitnetwork.com/from-traveling-in-the-direction-of-the-shadow-by-iana-boukova-translated-by-ekaterina-petrova/ Don't miss Ekaterina's contribution to the Walking Norwich collection: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/walking-norwich/stranger-on-a-walk/ Music by Bennet Maples.

How to get children excited about writing with Ruthie Collins

Ruthie Collins joins us on the pod to talk about her efforts to excite young children about writing, most recently during a writing residency in Great Yarmouth. We also talk to teacher at St Georges Primary and Nursery School and Clare Parker, Education Officer at the Time & Tide Museum. There are several instances of highly adorable children in this episode. Hosted by Steph McKenna and Simon Jones, with special guest Hannah Garrard. Find out more about Ruthie's work: https://www.ruthiecollins.co.uk/ Mystery Lunch event: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mystery-lunch-tickets-78956826995 More info about our own residencies: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/residencies/ Music by Bennet Maples. Additional music courtesy of the YouTube audio library.

How to self-publish children's picture books with Mandy Stanley

Today we have an interview with Mandy Stanley, a children's author and illustrator who has created a huge number of books over her career. Although she was traditionally published by the likes of HarperCollins, for her latest book in the Lettice series she decided to self-publish. We talked to her about why she took that route, and her top tips for anybody looking to self-publish their own children's picture books. Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna from Dragon Hall in Norwich. Find out more about our work at https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk Mandy's website: http://mandystanley.com Music by Bennet Maples.

How to pitch for travel writing with Agustinus Wibowo & Suzanne Joinson

Travel writers Agustinus Wibowo and Suzanne Joinson join us on the pod this week to discuss pitching and funding projects, leaving family behind, the perils of getting in taxis, near-kidnappings - and the joys of meeting new people around the world. Agustinus Wibowo was writer in residence at the National Centre for Writing in August 2019 and ran two travel writing workshops with Suzanne Joinson. His residency was generously supported by BEKRAF, the National Organising Committee for the Indonesia Market Focus at London Book Fair 2019, Virtuago and the British Council. Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna. Interview by Kate Griffin. Blog by Agustinus: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/to-travel-is-to-share/ Blog by Suzanne: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/suzy-joinson-valletta-to-tromso/ More on our Dragon Hall residencies: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/residencies/ Music by Bennet Maples.

Progressive politics in crime fiction with Denise Mina

Denise Mina, the award-winning Scottish crime writer, playwright and comic book author, joins us on the pod for a fascinating discussion exploring genre, the notion of high and low art and the power of crime fiction to explore progressive politics. Steph McKenna is asking the questions. Hosted by Simon Jones, who is getting excited about NaNoWriMo. Noirwich is produced by the National Centre for Writing and the University of East Anglia. https://noirwich.co.uk https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk Music by Bennet Maples.

Balancing a job & writing with Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

'Iceland's crime queen', Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, joins Kate Griffin on the pod to discuss her writing, how she balances being a bestselling author with having a day job - and why she wants to keep the day job - and shifting between crime, horror and children's literature. Yrsa was the inaugural UNESCO City of Literature Writer in Residence here at Dragon Hall in September, during the Noirwich Crime Writing Festival. Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna. Find out more about Noirwich: noirwich.co.uk Join our newsletter: nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk Music by Bennet Maples.

10 BAED Writers Chosen By Jackie Kay

Jackie Kay revealed her list of 10 black, Asian and ethnically diverse writers for the International Literature Showacse at the Cheltenham Literature Festival earlier this month. This recording of the event has Jackie in conversation with three of her selected writers: Eric Ngalle Charles, Zaffar Kunial and Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. The International Literature Showcase is a partnership project presented by us and British Council, with support from Arts Council England and Creative Scotland. Apologies for the audio quality of this episode - hopefully the quality of the discussion more than makes up for it! Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna. Music by Bennet Maples.

Representation in fiction With Sara Collins

"I had no examples of people like me in the page." Writer Sara Collins joins us on the pod to talk about representation in literature - both behind-the-scenes and within stories. Sara was in town to discuss her debut novel The Confessions of Frannie Langton at the Noirwich Crime Writing Festival. Hosted by Steph McKenna and Simon Jones. Find out more at https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ More about Noirwich: https://noirwich.co.uk Music by Bennet Maples.