Explore every episode of the podcast Not Too Busy To Write
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ilona Bannister on the humanity and pleasure of thrillers | 29 Apr 2026 | 00:40:18 | |
Ilona Bannister, long time friend of Not Too Busy To Write is on the podcast talking about her new novel and her move from literary fiction to thriller. FIVE is set on a train platform, 5 minutes before a train will arrive and one of the five characters will die. The reader is asked who they think deserves to die. Ilona talks with me about breaking the forth wall, unlikeabe characters and how readers are reacting to confronting their own prejudices, why law school is great training for a writer and the pleasures and humanity of the thriller genre. FIVE is out May 5th Links Little Prisons - Ilona Bannister When I Ran Away - Ilona Bannister THE FOLD membership for writers - join the 21 Day Writing Challenge! Penny on Instagram @pennywincer | |||
| Jane Harper on beginning at the end | 22 Apr 2026 | 00:45:40 | |
Jane Harper is the Gold Dagger award winning, bestselling author who defined a new sub genre - Australian Noir - with her breakout debut The Dry in 2016. Today we're talking about her 6th novel Last One Out, a brilliantly dark and twisty novel about a missing son and a dying rural town. Jane talks with me about her extensive outlining process (which begins at the end), what motivated her through the writing of her first novel when she was a full time journalist and why isolated communities make such fantastic settings. Links Aaron Falk Series Forces of Nature - Jane Harper Darling Girls - Sally Hepworth The Mother Fault - Kate Mildenhall THE FOLD membership for writers - 21 Day Writing Challenge begins May 1st! | |||
| Catherine Newman on the tragicomedy of midlife | 15 Apr 2026 | 00:51:32 | |
New York Times bestselling author Catherine Newman is back on the podcast talking about her hilarious new novel about midlife anxiety Wreck. Catherine talks with me about writing superstitions, hilariously terrible reviews, what success as a novelist has really meant to her and the joy she has found in owning her own publication on Substack after a lifetime writing for other people. Links We All Want Impossibly Things by Catherine Newman | |||
| Helen Thorn on total honesty on the page | 01 Apr 2026 | 01:05:59 | |
6 years ago comedian Helen Thorn's life was turned upside down when she discovered her then husband was having a years long affair. Within two years she had written a Sunday Times Best Seller about the experience and it's immediate aftermath - fags, dating and all - but especially about the women who hold us up when life gets us down. Now, she's written a new book reflecting on the strength gained from facing unexpected loss. Helen and I talk about just what there is to be gained from total honesty on the page, some of the women that inspired her to write this book and the calm that has descended after the chaos. Links How To Face Change and Come Back Stronger by Helen Thorn | |||
| Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett on exploring how women are seen through fiction | 25 Mar 2026 | 00:48:56 | |
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is an author and journalist, and today we talking about her new novel Female, Nude, a sexy sultry book about seeing and being seen, which weaves visual art into a story of womanhood, motherhood and disability. We also talk about The Republic of Parenthood, a book made up of the collected columns Rhiannon wrote for the Guardian, weaving in the personal, the political and cultural as she became a mother herself. Links Female, Nude by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett | |||
| James Hunt on writing what can't be said out loud | 18 Mar 2026 | 00:58:04 | |
James Hunt's debut memoir Love Needs No Words is the story of a unique fatherhood, caring for his two sons, both of whom are non-speaking and autistic. James talks with me about the decision to write the things he didn't feel he could say out loud to friends and family, and how those words began to reach families all over the world with a shared reality. He talks about needing that connection so much early in his journey, how he came to be able to speak about his own mental health so much more openly and how he hopes this book will reach the many Dads who struggle to be open about their experiences. Links | |||
| Lauren Currie on the new rules of confidence | 11 Mar 2026 | 01:00:59 | |
Lauren Currie OBE is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Upfront, an organisation on a mission to change the confidence of 1 million women. In her new book Be Upfront: 24 Rules of life changing confidence, Lauren picks apart the old rules of confidence that don't serve women and introduces the reader to new rules to live by. We talk about how Lauren's confidence as a writer has grown, why she thinks self doubt is no bad thing (and some men could use a little more of it) and her different experiences of self publishing and traditional publishing. We are giving away copies of Be Upfront on Instagram! To be grab one - follow @_laurencurrie_ and @pennywincer and comment on the competition post to enter. Links | |||
| Jodi Wilson on breathing space for creativity | 04 Mar 2026 | 01:01:40 | |
Jodi Wilson is a health journalist and author of A Brain That Breathes: Essential habits for an overwhelming world. Jodi talks with me today about how after her third book was published and she was feeling depleted, she became curious about what our brains need to be creative and productive. This book is the result. In the conversation we talk about the uncertainty, magic and hard work of writing books and how tiny pockets of breathing space can transform our creativity and lives. It's lovely to be back for series 12! Links A Brain That Breathes by Jodi Wilson Jodi Wilson on Substack - Practicing Simplicity | |||
| Francesca Segal on creating hope in fictional worlds | 10 Dec 2025 | 00:42:27 | |
Francesca Segal is the author of Welcome to Glorious Tuga and Island Calling, the first two novels in a trilogy about the delightful fictional island of Tuga De Oro in the South Atlantic. Francesca talks with me about fictional world building, the deliberate choice to create a refuge and a community, not without challenges but incredibly hopeful as well as the influence of 19th century literature on the novels, and the joys and challenges of writing interconnected books. We also talk about Francesca's 2019 memoir Mothership, still one of the most incredible accounts of early motherhood I have ever read. links Welcome to Glorious Tuga - Francesca Segal Island Calling - Francesca Segal The Fold membership for writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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! | |||
| Literary agent Ciara Finan, Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin and Alice Trew on the Women's Prize Discoveries | 03 Dec 2025 | 00:41:45 | |
Today I am in conversation with not one but three guests! We're talking about the incredible impact of the Women's Prize Discoveries from three perspectives - 2026 Judge and Curtis Brown literary agent Ciara Finan, 2022 shortlistee and author of the extraordinary debut novel Ordinary Saints, Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin and Alice Trew, 2024 shortlistee who has just secured a 2 book deal, the first of which The Hungry Dark, will be out in 2027. Ciara talks us through her work as a literary agent and what she'll be looking for amongst entries in the 2026 prize, and Niamh and Alice talk about their experiences as shortlistees and the incredible impact it has had on their careers and their community as writers. The Women's Prize Discoveries is open to all women aged over 18 who are unagented and unpublished, resident in the UK and Ireland, and writing in English, in any adult fiction genre. The deadline for the 2026 prize is January 12th. Submission is free and requires 10k words and a synopsis. See the link below for more details. Links Ordinary Saints - Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin
This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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! | |||
| Suzy Reading on the art of being selfish | 26 Nov 2025 | 00:41:38 | |
Chartered psychologist, coach and author Suzy Reading believes women need to learn to be a bit selfish. After many books on the subject of self care and self nourishment, Suzy focuses her new book How To Be Selfish, instead, on the importance of receiving care. Suzy and I talk about why women struggle with self advocacy so much and why it's a vital skill to live a full life, especially one in which we contribute so much to our families and communities. We also talk about why writers specifically need to be a little bit selfish and why it's worth learning how to be. Links How To Be Selfish by Suzy Reading The Fold membership for writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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 Dunn on the transformative craft of memoir | 12 Nov 2025 | 00:52:43 | |
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. Links Sins of My Father by Lily Dunn Memoir Bootcamp with Lily Dunn This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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 on hidden histories | 05 Nov 2025 | 00:45:16 | |
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. Links A Family Matter by Claire Lynch Small: On Motherhoods by Claire Lynch The Fold Membership for Writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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! | |||
| Alice Slater on writing dark and immoral characters | 29 Oct 2025 | 00:40:09 | |
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. Links Let The Bad Times Roll by Alice Slater Death of A Bookseller by Alice Slater The Fold Membership for Writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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!
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| Caro Giles on radical memoir | 22 Oct 2025 | 00:50:12 | |
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. Links Caro on Substack and Instagram The Fold Membership for Writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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 on writing about love in challenging times | 15 Oct 2025 | 00:53:42 | |
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. Links Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King Writers and Lovers by Lily King The Fold Membership for Writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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 | |||
| Series 11 Trailer | 08 Oct 2025 | 00:03:26 | |
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. Links This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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! | |||
| Bonus Episode - Finding Motivation | 07 May 2025 | 00:26:10 | |
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-fold | |||
| Alice Kinsella on blending genre | 02 Apr 2025 | 01:10:17 | |
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 xigxag Listeners 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! * Links | |||
| Sarra Manning on writing romantic fiction | 26 Mar 2025 | 01:05:35 | |
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 27th This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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 :) Links The Last Days of Summer - Sarra Manning London, With Love - Sarra Manning Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes A Sky Painted Gold - Laura Wood Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfeld The Wedding People - Alison Espach Maeve Kerrigan Series - Jane Casey | |||
| Grants for Writers with The Society of Authors | 19 Mar 2025 | 00:46:06 | |
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 xigxag Listeners 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! Links The Society of Authors - How to join | |||
| Aime McNee on why we need your art | 12 Mar 2025 | 00:50:25 | |
Aime McNee is a writer and creativity coach and author of We Need Your Art - a look at the power and essential nature of creativity and how to kick start and maintain your own creative habits. From perfectionism to permission and the difficulty in finishing work, Aime talks about some of the big challenges and joys we experience as artists, and why it's worth spending our precious time on the process of creating. We Need Your Art is out 13th March This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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! Links The Rules Upheld By No One - Aime McNee | |||
| Alice Wilkinson on writing personal non-fiction | 05 Mar 2025 | 00:59:33 | |
Alice Wilkinson is an award winning journalist and the author of How To Stay Sane in A House Share, her debut book about the joys and challenges of cohabiting. In this conversation we discuss some of the challenges of writing personal non-fiction, finding a gap in the current discourse and some of the differences she found in book writing and publishing, from her day to day life as a journalist and editor. We also talk a bit about her experience working with a book coach on the proposal - me! How To Stay Sane in A House Share is out March 6th This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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! Links How to Stay Sane in a House Share by Alice Wilkinson | |||
| Grace Timothy on writing and ADHD | 26 Feb 2025 | 00:56:56 | |
Grace Timothy is a journalist and author of Is It My ADHD? On the podcast today Grace talks about getting a late diagnosis of ADHD and how wading through the misinformation online drove her to write a book in order to understand her own brain better. Is It My ADHD? is out 27th February This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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 purchase Is It My ADHD? on xigxag here Links Is It My ADHD? by Grace Timothy | |||
| Tessa Hadley on the pleasures of fiction | 19 Feb 2025 | 00:53:04 | |
Tessa Hadley is an award winning author of eight novels, many short story collections and one of my personal favourite writers. In this conversation Tessa talks with me about the pleasures and irresponsibility of the short story, her first novella The Party, writing as a performance and the benefits of publishing for the first time in mid life. This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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 purchase The Party on xigxag here. Links The Best Intentions - Ingmar Bergman Parades End - Ford Maddox Ford Writing Literary Fiction with Tessa Hadley - Curtis Brown Creative | |||
| Daisy Buchanan on reading yourself happy | 12 Feb 2025 | 01:01:15 | |
Daisy Buchanan is a bestselling author, journalist and broadcaster. Today we're talking about her latest book Read Yourself Happy and the unique power of books to make us feel better, as well as how reading makes us better writers. Read Yourself Happy is out now This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners 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 purchase Read Yourself Happy on xigxag here Links You're Booked with Daisy Buchanan Creative Confidence Clinic with Daisy Buchanan Brigit Jones Diary - Helen Fielding Exit Interview - Kristi Coulter Can You Ever Forgive Her? - Anthony Trollope So Thrilled For You - Holly Bourne This Is Not A Pity Memoir - Abi Morgan The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets - Eva Rice Happy All The Time - Laurie Colwin A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara The Great Believers - Rebecca Makkai Don't Look At Me Like That - Diana Athill Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes I Capture the Castle - Dodi Smith Probably Nothing - Lauren Bravo When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - Judith Kerr | |||
| What's to come in series 10 | 29 Jan 2025 | 00:02:32 | |
A little taster of what's to come in series 10 featuring Tessa Hadley, Daisy Buchanan and Grace Timothy. The new series begins 5th February You can subscribe to Not Too Busy To Write on Substack Penny on Instagram @pennywincer 4bf661332a54c42dda99f791c1378d9407200820 | |||
| Women's Prize Discoveries 2025 with Dreda Say Michell, Chloe Timms and Emma Van Straaten | 18 Dec 2024 | 00:52:55 | |
Join me for a special episode digging deep into the Women's Prize Discoveries 2025, a prize and program for unpublished women fiction writers in the UK and Ireland, with two of this years judges Dreda Say Mitchell, an award winning and bestselling crime and mystery author and Chloe Timms, journalist, author and podcast host. We are joined by the winner of the inaugural Discoveries Prize 2021, Emma van Straaten, whose debut novel This Immaculate Body will be published in February. This episode is packed full of advice and will get you itching to pull out your Work in Progress and enter the prize. Links Women's Prize Discoveries 2025 Girl, Missing - Dreda Say Mitchell This Immaculate Body - Emma van Straaten Dreda Say Mitchell - dredamitchell.com Chloe Timms - chloetimms.co.uk Confessions of A Debut Novelist with Chloe Timms Emma van Straaten on Instagram @evswrites Book Proposal Group Program - pennywincerwrites.com/bookproposalgroup | |||
| S9 Ep5. Lucy Gough - from interior stylist to author | 25 Sep 2024 | 00:45:53 | |
Lucy Gough has come to writing via her career as a stylist and art director. From working in house at magazines, to freelance art direction with John Lewis and Marks and Spencer, Lucy took a leap of faith in lockdown, when all her work disappeared, and wrote a course on Interiors Styling. That creative risk changed everything fo her. In this episode we talk about what the journey looked like and the practical and creative challenges of writing an illustrated book. Links The Home Style Handbook - Lucy Gough Lucy Gough's Online Interior Styling Courses - course.lucygoughstylist.com Lucy Gough on Instagram @style_by_lucy Penny's Book Proposal Group Program - pennywincerwrites.com Not Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com | |||
| S9 Ep4. Alice Vincent on finding home in the garden | 18 Sep 2024 | 00:48:52 | |
Alice Vincent is a writer and broadcaster, and the author of Rootbound: Rewilding a life and Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, both of which were longlisted for the Wainwright Prize. In this conversation we talk about how books begin and evolve for Alice, how she structures her time between columns, book writing and her newsletter and finding home in a balcony garden. Links Why Women Grow - Alice Vincent Hark - Alice Vincent (pre-order) Savour Newsletter - savour.substack.com Not Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com The next Book Proposal Group Program begins Oct 1st. You can book your place at pennywincerwrites.com You can find all the books from Series 9 of Not To Busy To Write at Bookshop.org | |||
| S9. E3. Clover Stroud on home and belonging | 11 Sep 2024 | 00:52:52 | |
Sunday Times bestselling author Clover Stroud's latest book The Giant in the Skyline begins with a difficult decision about whether to uproot her family from their home in Oxfordshire in order to keep the family together, and leads to a pilgrimage of discovery about what it means to feel at home and belong. We talk about grief's affect on our feelings of belonging, how our experience of mothering is affected by our immediate environment and how her life has changed (and not changed) since her family's move from rural Oxfordshire to the suburbs of Washington DC. The next Non-Fiction Book Proposal Group Program begins Oct 1st. Visit pennywincerwrites.com/bookproposalgroup to grab your place. You'll also find information there for the Grant Place for writers on a low income. Links The Giant in the Skyline - Clover Stroud The Wild Other - Clover Stroud Clover Stroud on Substack - cloverstroud.substack.com Not Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com Non-Fiction Book Proposal Program - pennywincerwrites.com/bookproposalgroup | |||
| S9 E2. Kerri ni Dochartaigh on finding home in the Irish landscape | 04 Sep 2024 | 01:08:49 | |
Kerri ni Dochartaigh is the award winning author of Thin Places and Cacophany of Bone. Kerri's work delves deep into home and belonging, from her childhood in Derry during the troubles, where her family were forced to leave their home, to an adulthood of wrestlessness, unable to find a feeling of home, until she returned to the Irish landscape of her early years. We talk about intergenerational trauma, what it means to our sense of safety and belonging to have a home forcibly removed, as so many are facing in the world today, and finding home in the Irish landscape, in community, in our bodies and ritual. We also talk about creativity and caregiving, and the joys of teaching and mentoring other writers. Links Thin Places - Kerri ni Dochartaigh Cacophony of Bone - Kerri ni Dochartaigh In The Garden: Essays on Nature and Growing (Daunt Books) The Garden Against Time - Olivia Laing Kerri on Substack kerrindochartaigh.substack.com Penny on Substack pennywincer.substack.com | |||
| S9. E1. Penny Wincer on why Home Matters | 28 Aug 2024 | 00:51:29 | |
The tables are turned for the first episode of series 9 - host Penny Wincer is being interviewed by author Caro Giles about her new book Home Matters. We talk about what draws Penny to write about home, digging beneath the surface of homes to find meaning behind the choices we make and how objects become portraits and tell stories about our lives and identities. We also talk about weaving memoir and non-fiction together, making choices about the personal and political aspects of the book and the challenges of writing and publishing a book that doesn't fit neatly into categories. Links All The Houses I've Ever Lived In - Kieran Yates The Lonely City - Olivia Laing Penny on Substack pennywincer.substack.com Caro on Substack carogiles.substack.com | |||
| Stacey Heale on writing about death and life | 27 Mar 2024 | 00:47:30 | |
Stacey Heale is a fashion academic and writer whose husband Greg was diagnosed with terminal cancer when their youngest daughter was just a baby. Greg died 5 years later. In her memoir Now Is Not The Time For Flowers, Stacey writes about the big conversations that arise from imminent death. In this epsiode Stacey and I talk about writing about the dead, abandoning the typical memoir structure and the very funny side of a very dark experience. Now Is Not The Time For Flowers is out March 28th Links Now Is Not The Time For Flowers - Stacey Heale Stacey Heale on Instagram @stacey_heale Not Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com | |||
| Jesse Sutanto on writing a best selling series | 20 Mar 2024 | 00:33:52 | |
Jesse Sutanto is the best selling author of Dial A for Aunties and Vera Wang's Unsolicited Advise for Murders and the winner of the Comic Writer in Print Award 2021. Jesse and I chat about her latest book in her very funny Aunties crime series The Good, The Bad and The Auntie, about her journey from Oxford MFA in Creative Writing, to leaning into her irreverent funny side and the success it led to. We also talk about writing drafts in 5 weeks (yes 5 weeks!!), the joy of sharing her Indo-Chinese culture with the rest fo the world and her favourite funny authors. Links The Good, The Bad and The Aunties - Jesse Sutanto Dial A For Aunties - Jesse Sutanto Vera Wang's Unsolicited Advice for Murders - Jesse Sutanto Jesse Sutanto on Instagram @jesseqsutanto Not Too Busy To Write on Substack pennywincer.substack.com Write Your Non-Fiction Book Proposal with Penny Wincer is at 7pm March 27th Book you place here - pennywincerwrites.com/workshops Podcast listeners can use the code TOOBUSY at checkout to receive £5 off | |||
| Charlotte Wood on writing craft and Australian fiction | 13 Mar 2024 | 00:42:27 | |
Charlotte Wood is an award winning Australian author of 10 books including the 2016 Stella Prize winner The Natural Way of Things and the 2020 international bestseller The Weekend. Her latest novel Stone Yard Devotional is about a woman who abandons her life, her marriage, her career and retreats to a religious community in a remote area of Australia, where she grew up. Charlotte and I talk about the themes that come up in her work, how her craft has changed over the course of her career, why it's so important to her to not over explain to the reader and of course, her favourite Australian fiction writers. Links Stone Yard Devotional - Charlotte Wood The Natural Way of Things - Charlotte Wood The Writers Room - Charlotte Wood The Good Parents - Joan London The Conversion - Amanda Lohrey Charlotte Wood's Substack - charlottewood.substack.com Not Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com | |||
| Tamu Thomas on women who work too much | 06 Mar 2024 | 00:50:49 | |
Tamu Thomas is a transformational coach whose debut book Women Who Work Too Much helps over-achieving, over-functioning women set boundaries, find joy and flourish. In this conversation we talk about natural (rather than toxic) productivity, radical rest and why work (not over work) can be a positive thing. This is such an important conversation for those of us who are writers and have blurred boundaries between work, rest and play. Links Women Who Work Too Much - Tamu Thomas Tamu on Instagram @tamu.thomas Tamu on TikTok @tamu_thomas Book your place on the Non-fiction Book Proposal Workshop 27th March 2024 7pm Discount code for podcast listeners - TOOBUSY pennywincerwrites.com/workshops Not Too Busy to Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com | |||
| Bijal Shah on the power of bibliotherapy | 21 Feb 2024 | 00:57:14 | |
Author Bijal Shah is a trained Bibliotherapist who brings the power of reading into the therapy room. It's a technique that dates back to Ancient Greece and Bijal shares some of the tools and techniques she uses in todays episode. Certain that reading is a big part of your mental wellbeing? You will love this episode which does a deep dive into why books matter and how we can get the most out of our reading experience. Links | |||
| Amy Arthur on pacing yourself as a writer | 14 Feb 2024 | 00:50:59 | |
Amy Arthur is an award winning writer and science journalist whose new book Pace Yourself is a practical guide to pacing - a tool developed to the manage symptoms of chronic illnesses like ME/CFS which Amy was diagnosed with as a teenager. This is such an important (and practical) conversation, not just for those who are managing chronic illnesses but for any writer juggling writing alongside many other responsibilities, who constantly feel like they never have quite enough energy. Links Amy Arthur on Instagram @a_e_arthur Not Too Busy To Write on Substack pennywincer.substack.com Penny on Instagram @pennywincer | |||
| Jessica Bull on blending fact and fiction | 07 Feb 2024 | 00:47:53 | |
Jessica Bull's debut novel Miss Austen Investigates sets Jane Austen up as an amateur sleuth, when a dead woman is discovered at a ball and her beloved brother is arrested and facing the noose. I had so much fun talking to Jessica about the challenges of blending fact and fiction, her passion of Jane Austen (and the books and films that have been inspired by her) and the pleasures of researching late Georgian England. Miss Austen Investigates is a delight and is out now Links Miss Austen Investigates - Jessica Bull Jessica Bull on Instagram @jessicabullnovelist Jessica Bull on Twitter @NovelistJessica Not Too Bust To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com Book coaching with Penny Wincer - pennywincerwrites.com | |||
| Katherine May on writer boundaries | 29 Nov 2023 | 00:53:52 | |
Katherine May is the Sunday Times and New York Times best selling author of Enchantment. Today we talk about the challenges of writing a follow up to her phenomenal bestseller Wintering, the importance of writers being open about the constraints they face, especially successful authors and advocating for accessibility while promoting your work. We also do a deep dive into Substack and why Katherine loves it so much and the importance of writers getting paid for their work. links The Electricity of Every Living Thing - Katherine May The Clearing - Katherine's Substack Katherine May's Accessibility and Language Guide | |||
| Marisa Bate on writing the political and personal | 22 Nov 2023 | 01:06:56 | |
Marisa Bate is a freelance journalist, women's rights advocate and author of Wild Hope. Part memoir, part reportage and part social history, Wild Hope tells the story of expanding and contracting women's rights in America through two bus journey's across the mid west - one by Marisa's mother in the 70s and the other, by Marisa in 2021. In this episode Marisa talks about finding hope in dark times, keeping faith in action and writing your own story when it so intertwined with the stories of others. Links Writing About Women - Marisa Bate's substack Not Too Busy To Write on Substack Non-fiction writing coaching with Penny - pennywincerwrites.com Penny on instagram @pennywincer | |||
| Laura Bates on the power of storytelling in activism | 15 Nov 2023 | 00:41:04 | |
Laura Bates is a Sunday Times Bestselling author, an activist and speaker. Laura founded the Everyday Sexism Project in 2012 and has gone on to write multiple best selling non-fiction books about gender equality. She has spoken in the United Nations, the Houses of Parliament, is regularly called on to provide evidence for parliamentary reports and has been awarded a British Empire Medal for her work on gender equality. Laura also writes Young Adult fiction and today we are discussing her latest novel Sisters of Sword and Shadow and why she's so passionate about writing for young people, the incredible power of storytelling and why activism needs fiction as well as non-fiction. Links Sisters of Sword and Shadow - Laura Bates Fix the System, Not the Women - Laura Bates Men Who Hate Women - Laura Bates Glitch Charity - Promoting Online Safety for women and girls
Not Too Busy To Write on Substack Penny on Instagram @pennywincer | |||
| Huma Qureshi on fiction and borrowing from life | 08 Nov 2023 | 01:12:17 | |
Award winning writer Huma Qureshi returns to the podcast to discuss her debut novel Playing Games, a story about two sisters, their very different ways of processing grief and the question over whether it's ok for a writer to take from real life. We talk about the challenges of moving from short to long form fiction, the pluses (and minuses) of having a two book deal and the pleasures of writing about a writer. Huma is also a brilliant creative writing teacher and we discuss her style as a teacher and some of her favourite book recommendations for writers. Playing Games is out Nov 9th Links Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love - Huma Qureshi Huma's creative writing classes Sign Up to Dear Huma newsletter Huma Qureshi on Not Too Busy To Write in 2021 Recommended Books American Wife - Curtis Sittenfeld Help Yourself - Curtis Sittenfeld Writers and Lovers - Lily King Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri | |||
| Karen Haller on publishing non-fiction as an expert | 01 Nov 2023 | 00:49:59 | |
What's it like to publish a book as an expert in your field? Karen Haller is a behavioural colour and design psychology expert and is the author of The Little Book of Colour. Karen and I talk about some of the highs and lows of traditional publishing, some of the particular challenges she faced, as well as the many opportunities it opened up for her when her book became a huge success and was published in 14 languages. We also dive into what colour psychology is and how the book fits into Karen's aim to help people be less afraid of using colour. Links The Little Book of Colour - Karen Haller Karen Haller's website and newsletter Download a free ebook on Colour Myths Karen Haller on Instagram @karen_haller_colour Penny's Cornish Writing Retreat Feb 2024 - pennywincerwrites.com/retreat You can sign up to Penny's Substack Not Too Busy To Write | |||
| Kate Sawyer on second novels and career changes | 25 Oct 2023 | 00:43:42 | |
Kate Sawyer is novelist and podcaster with a background in theatre producing and acting. Her first novel The Stranding was shortlisted for the Costa first novel award in 2021 and today we are talking about her second novel This Family. We talk about how her career in theatre has fed into her work as a novelist, genre expectations and how being a solo mother by choice made her rethink how she was going to earn a living and flex her creative muscles. Kate is the host of the wonderful podcast Novel Experience - if you are a fan of Not Too Busy To Write, then this is right up your street. Available on all your favourite podcast feeds. links Novel Experience podcast with Kate Sawyer Follow Kate on Instagram - @mskatesawyer Follow Penny on Instagram - @pennywincer | |||
| Marchelle Farrell on memoir and belonging | 18 Oct 2023 | 00:48:12 | |
Marchelle Farrell's debut memoir Uprooting is about a year of tremendous upheaval and Marchelle's attempt to find home in a garden. In this conversation, we talk about vulnerability in the garden and on the page, identity in medicine and as a writer and how Marchelle's garden gave her a new perspective on colonialism. Uprooting is out now. Links Marchelle on Instagram @afroliage Marchelle on Substack - Afroliage Penny on Instagram @pennywincer | |||
| REPLAY: Beth Kempton on being a fearless writer | 16 Aug 2023 | 01:04:14 | |
Summer REPLAY series Beth Kempton is a Japanologist, a best selling author and a writing mentor whose books have been translated into 24 languages. Her Latest book The Way of the Fearless Writer challenges the assumption that writing must be a struggle and filled with suffering. We talk about why it's important to know why we write, learning to let go in our writing, when to share our work (and when not to) and learning to trust in writing as a practice. Links The Way of the Fearless Writer - Beth Kempton Do What You Love For Life - Writing classes with Beth Kempton Instagram @bethkempton You can sign up to Penny's weekly newsletter about all things writing and finding time to write here Instagram @pennywincer | |||
| REPLAY: Evie Wyld on writing about male violence | 09 Aug 2023 | 00:38:07 | |
You can sign up to the waitlist for Penny's next Non-Fiction Book Proposal Group at pennywincerwrites.com Summer REPLAY series Evie Wyld is an award winning author of three novels, the latest of which, The Bass Rock, won the Stella Prize 2021. We discuss writing a novel about male violence against a backdrop of #MeToo, and speaking about the subjects in the book in a year of highly publicised violence against women. We also talk about how motherhood, and the nature of writing with young children, led to some of the structural elements of The Bass Rock and how an award like the Stella Prize can create change in a writing career. Links The Interestings - Meg Wolitzer You can sign up to Penny's weekly newsletter at pennywincerwrites.com Instagram @pennywincer | |||
| REPLAY: Abigail Bergstrom - literary agent and novelist | 02 Aug 2023 | 00:43:11 | |
To sign up to the waitlist for Penny's next Non-Fiction Book Proposal Group Program visit pennywincerwrites.com Summer REPLAY series Abigail Bergstrom is a literary agent and consultant, former editor, and now debut novelist. What A Shame is a darkly funny novel about grief, friendship and dabbling in the occult. Abigail talks about the challenges of having a lot of knowledge of the industry whilst writing and having to take her agent hat off in order to write, removing the constraints that made writing feel like 'work' and being conscious of the exchange that happens when we give up other things in order to write on the side of a demanding full time job. Bergstrom Studio is a 360 degree literary consultancy, offering editorial consultancy and representation. As an agent Abigail represents multiple best selling authors and has some excellent advice for those who are going out on submission. Links What A Shame - Abigail Bergstrom Beautiful Country - Xian Julie Wang You can find Abigail on Instagram @abigailbergstrom and @bergstrom.studio You can sign up to Penny's newsletter at pennywincerwrites.com instagram @pennywincer | |||