The Writing Life – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode of The Writing Life, novelists and NCW Academy tutors Benjamin Johncock and Megan Bradbury give insight into their writing lives, and offer their advice to emerging novelists and writers of all kinds.

Benjamin Johncock is an award-winning novelist, short story writer and journalist. His debut novel, The Last Pilot, was published in the U.S. and U.K. to widespread critical acclaim. It won the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award, was shortlisted for the East Anglian Book of the Year, selected for Brave New Reads, and was one of The Observer’s Hidden Gems of 2016.

Megan Bradbury is a British writer, tutor, and mentor, and author of the critically acclaimed novel, Everyone is Watching. Described as a ‘beating heart of a novel’ by Ali Smith and ‘kaleidoscopic’ by Eimear McBride, the novel was longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, and was listed as one of the Guardian’s Best Books of 2016.

Benjamin and Megan will be teaching on our beginner and intermediate online tutored fiction courses, which begin on Monday 23 September. This podcast is a great first look into the practical advice and guidance they offer on their courses, and an excellent insight into their writing and teaching styles. If you listen to this podcast and would like the opportunity to learn more from Benjamin or Megan, you can go to nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/academy/tutored-courses/ to find out more.

In this podcast, Benjamin and Megan discuss the writing tools, programmes and learning opportunities available for emerging writers, and the benefits of continued learning. They also touch on the early influences in their writing, how their routines have changed over time, and the challenge of separating your creative life from your domestic life.

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Programme Officer Vicki is joined by novelist and NCW Academy tutor Melissa Fu to discuss the difficult task of writing your second novel.

Melissa’s writing appears in several publications including The Lonely Crowd, International Literature Showcase, Bare Fiction, Wasafiri Online, and The Willowherb Review. In 2019, her debut poetry pamphlet was published by the Hedgehog Poetry Press. Her first novel, Peach Blossom Spring, was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick in the UK and a 2022 Indies Introduce title for the American Booksellers Association. It has also been nominated as 2022 Book of the Year by the Book of the Month Club.

Melissa will be teaching on our 12-week beginners’ online tutored course ‘How to Write Fiction’, which begins on Monday 23 September 2024. This podcast is an excellent sneak peek into the practical advice and guidance Melissa offers on this course, and a great introduction to her writing and teaching style. If you listen to this podcast and would like the opportunity to learn more from Melissa, you can go to nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/academy/tutored-courses/ to find out more.

Together, Vicki and Melissa discuss the writing process for the ‘difficult second novel’, and how writing her debut novel Peach Blossom Spring has differed from her experience working on her second book. They also touch on Melissa’s journey into writing, her daily writing routine, and the challenges she has faced since publication.

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Head of Programmes & Creative Engagement Holly speaks with novelist Michael Donkor about crafting identity in fiction.

Michael Donkor was born in London to Ghanaian parents. He studied English at Wadham College, Oxford, followed by a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. His first novel, Hold, was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas and shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. He is a frequent contributor to outlets including the Guardian, the TLS and the Independent.

Together, they discuss his new novel, Grow Where They Fall, and the different forms of identity represented in the book. Michael talks about writing queer characters of colour, how to show the reader signs that a character may not be as confident in their identity as they claim to be,  and creating links between the past and present when writing different timelines of one character’s life.

They also touch on how Michael will be joining us for an event and workshop at our City of Literature weekend at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2024, where he will expand on crafting identities and writing conflict in fiction further.

BAFTA Award-winning writer and games designer Greg Kasavin joins the pod to talk about his work at Supergiant Games, focusing on the critically acclaimed smash hit HADES. The game won five BAFTA awards last week and we spoke to Greg about how he got into writing for games, his background in journalism and how Supergiant strive to merge narrative and gameplay mechanics. Essential listening for anyone interested in interactive fiction, games and narrative design.

Hosted by Steph McKenna and Simon Jones.

Find out more at https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ 

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW 

Music by Bennet Maples.

Tom Cox is on the pod talking about his TWO new books out this year, Notebook (out now!) and Villager (out later!). Tom talks to Steph about the inspiration behind his books, including having his backpack stolen and finding himself stranded in Bristol, the importance of place in his writing (and life) and why he turned to Unbound to publish his most recent work. It's a funny, informative and honest look back at an unusual career. As Tom says, "I'm a bit hard to sum up."

Hosted by Steph McKenna and Simon Jones, who also introduce the judges for the 2021 UEA New Forms Award and Laura Kinsella Fellowship (you'll never guess), plus the brand new Writer's Toolkit Online courses for poets and fiction writers.

Here's some useful links:

• UEA New Forms Award: http://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/uea-award/ 
• Laura Kinsella Fellowship: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/laura-kinsella-fellowship/ 
• All of our Writer's Toolkit Online courses (including the free ones!): https://courses.nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/ 
• Some places are still available on our premium Creative Writing Online courses: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/creative-writing-online/ 
• Tom's website: https://tom-cox.com/ 
• The Unbound crowdfunding page for Villager: https://unbound.com/books/villager/ 
• Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW 

Music by Bennet Maples.

Writer and actor Anni Domingo is on the pod to talk about her debut novel Breaking the Maafa Chain, the remarkable true story of Sara Forbes Bonetta. Anni discusses adapting historical research into a fictionalised retelling, how Covid-19 has disrupted her acting work and how being on our Escalator talent development scheme in 2019 helped develop her writing.

Meanwhile, Simon and Steph talk about our exciting online writing courses and get distracted by the presence of a millionaire shortbread from nearby cafe Smokey Barn. If you're ever in the vicinity of Dragon Hall in Norwich, do pay them a visit!

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna.

Useful links:

Creative Writing Online courses: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/creative-writing-online/

Donate to Escalator: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/escalator-donations-2020/

Join our free Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW

Music by Bennet Maples.

Author and journalist Sonia Faleiro joins us to discuss The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing, her new narrative non-fiction book which examines the killing of two teenage girls in India in 2014. Sonia talks to Steph about her route into journalism and how she researches complex topics and then translates them into engaging narratives. It's a conversation packed full of practical advice for non-fiction writers and is also a fascinating discussion of the core themes of The Good Girls.

Content warning: Please do note that this podcast includes discussion of sexual violence throughout which listeners may find distressing.

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna.

Some useful links

Join our free Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW 

Dragon Hall Debates events: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/dragon-hall-debates/ 

Our mentoring programme: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/mentoring/ 

Podcast episode featuring mentor Katri Scala: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/how-mentoring-can-help-your-writing/ 

Browse the Creative Writing Online catalogue: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/creative-writing-online/ 

Music by Bennet Maples.

Photo by Jonathan Ring.

Writer and broadcaster Horatio Clare is on the pod this week to talk to Peggy about his latest book, Heavy Light: A Journey Through Madness, Mania and Healing. It is the story of Horatio's own breakdown: a journey through mania, psychosis and treatment in a psychiatric hospital, and onwards to release, recovery and healing. On the podcast he discusses the writing of the book and how he approached translating his real experiences into book form.

Content note: This podcast discusses mental health and attitudes towards treatments. If you are affected by anything discussed on the podcast or want to know more we recommend seeking professional advice. These websites include good resources:

Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/

Rethink: https://www.rethink.org/

And for lots of international links: https://checkpointorg.com/global/ 

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna. Peggy Hughes asking the questions.

Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW

Book for our Editor Insights event: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/whats-on/editor-insights-with-ella-micheler/ 

Music by Bennet Maples

Photo (c) Caroline Flinders

Translator William Gregory joins us on the pod to discuss translating for the stage, how he started his professional career and the challenges of working on translated material in the UK. William was a (virtual) translator in residence at BCLT from October 2020 to January 2021, and ran the theatre translation workshop during 2020’s BCLT Summer School. On the other side of the conversation is special guest interviewer Sue Healy, Literary Manager at the Finborough Theatre in London. It's a wide-ranging conversation full of practical tips for early career translators and fascinating insights for anyone who enjoys a diverse mix of entertainment.

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna, who tease upcoming episodes, talk about their current reads and reminisce about people bringing cakes into the office.

Find out more: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/

BCLT: http://www.bclt.org.uk/ 

Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW 

Music by Bennet Maples.

Thumbnail photo by Felix Mooneeram on Unsplash

We talk to author Stephen Michael Shearer and director John Hay about To Olivia, the film adaptation of Stephen's book An Unquiet Life. Focusing on the lives of Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl, the film stars Hugh Bonneville and Keeley Hawes and is available on Sky Cinema and Now TV from 19 February 2021. Stephen and John talk about the process of adapting the book and how the collaborative nature of filmmaking influences and changes the source material. Peggy Hughes is asking the questions.

Meanwhile Steph and Simon take another look at the new Early Career Writer's Resource Pack, 'Dialogue' and, inevitably, complain about the weather.

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/3G39dRW

Find out more about what we do: http://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/

Check out the free Dialogue pack: http://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/pack-6-dialogue/

Hosted by Simon Jones and Steph McKenna.

Produced and edited by Simon Jones.

Music by Bennet Maples.

To Olivia, a Sky Original film, available on Sky Cinema and Now TV from 19th February.