Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channel Francesca Riccardi is a literary agent with Kate Nash Literary Agency who has over fifteen years of experience in the publishing industry, starting at RNIB where she transcribed books into accessible formats for blind and partially sighted readers. She has since worked in sales and marketing roles at publishers Canelo, Atlantic Books, Constable & Robinson and HarperCollins. Francesca reads widely, especially across popular commercial genres, but is a particular fan of crime and thrillers, and loves a dogged detective or unusual sleuth. She also enjoys books about unusual family dynamics, toxic friendships and people keeping secrets. We had a great time speaking with Francesca, hearing about what she looks for in queries and what aspiring authors should - and shouldn't - do to hook that agent! Plus, we hear how her time in publishing helps her in her role as an agent, and discuss how important the different parts of a query package are. Links: Visit the Kate Nash Literary Agency Follow Francesca on Twitter/X Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter/X Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kim Sherwood is an award-winning novelist and a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. Her debut novel Testament (2018) won the Harper’s Bazaar Big Book of the Year Award and the Bath Novel Award, was shortlisted for the Author’s Club Best First Novel Award, and longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. In 2019, Kim was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. Kim is currently writing a series of Double O novels for the Ian Fleming Estate and HarperCollins, expanding the James Bond universe with a new cast of Double O agents for the 21st century. The first title, Double or Nothing, was released in 2022, and the follow-up, A Spy Like Me, is just out. We loved chatting with Kim and hearing how a very last-minute decision to enter the Bath Novel Award changed her writing life, as well as talking about just how she managed to land the dream job of writing the new Bond novels. We talk about what it's like to write for a franchise that is so big and beloved, and discuss the pros and cons that can bring. Links: Buy Kim's books now Follow Kim on Twitter/X Visit Kim's website Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter/X Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jasper Fforde is the critically acclaimed author of The Last Dragonslayer series: THE LAST DRAGONSLAYER, THE SONG OF THE QUARKBEAST and THE EYE OF ZOLTAR, SHADES OF GREY, the Nursery Crime books: THE BIG OVER EASY and THE FOURTH BEAR and the Thursday Next novels: THE EYRE AFFAIR, LOST IN A GOOD BOOK, THE WELL OF LOST PLOTS, SOMETHING ROTTEN, FIRST AMONG SEQUELS, ONE OF OUR THURSDAYS IS MISSING and THE WOMAN WHO DIED A LOT. His latest book is RED SIDE STORY, a sequel to Shades of Grey. We really enjoyed this chat with Jasper, hearing about how he dealt with initial rejections, and why you must persist with your writing in order to make it better. We also chat about not writing to market and hear how he develops initial ideas to full story, including the concept of the "narrative dare" that he as an author makes with himself. Plus, we talk about his rather unique author website! Links: Buy Jasper's books now Visit Jasper's website Follow Jasper on Twitter/X Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter/X Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eliza Chan is a Scottish-born speculative fiction author. Her short fiction has been published in The Dark, Podcastle, Fantasy Magazine and The Best of British Fantasy. Her debut novel FATHOMFOLK — inspired by mythology, ESEAN cities and diaspora feels — was published by Orbit in Feb 2024 and hit number 1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list. We had a great chat with Eliza, talking about the differences in writing short- and long-form fiction, as well as the growing acceptance of wider representation in publishing. Plus, we talk about why Twitter isn't all bad (!) and hear about hopping vampires... Links: Buy Fathomfolk now Follow Eliza on Twitter/X Visit Eliza's website The Submission Grinder Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter/X Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gareth Brown has been writing novels since he was a teenager. His first published novel - The Book of Doors - will be released in the UK (Bantam) and USA (William Morrow) in February 2024. Foreign language rights for The Book of Doors have also been sold to nearly twenty other territories including Germany. Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Hungary. It was great fun speaking with Gareth and hearing about his long writing journey, including hearing about why its so important to be patient as a writer. We talk about the difficulty of not selling a book on sub, and how to move past such disappointments, and why he thinks The Book of Doors has been such a success. Links: Buy The Book of Doors now Follow Gareth on Twitter/X Visit Gareth's website Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter/X Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Antony Johnston is one of the most versatile writers of the modern era, with a body of work spanning books, film, graphic novels, videogames, and non-fiction. An award-winning author and New York Times bestseller, his creations include Atomic Blonde, The Dog Sitter Detective, the Brigitte Sharp thrillers, and many more. We loved chatting with Antony and hearing how he got his start as a professional writer through comics and graphic novels, including writing The Coldest City, which was the graphic novel on which the film Atomic Blonde was based. We also chat about his work in video games such as Dead Space, Shadow of Mordor and more (and hear about what it was like writing 4,000 orcish insults) and why he has recently moved into writing cosy crime novels with the Dogsitter Detective series. Plus, we talk about his process, which he has brought together in his book, The Organised Writer. Links: Buy Antony's books now Follow Antony on Twitter/X Visit Antony's website Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter/X Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Logan (also known as James Long) has worked for years in the publishing industry, currently as Senior Commissioning Editor for Orbit. But for years, he harboured a secret - he really wanted to write his own fantasy epics instead of just editing them - and he has achieved that dream with his debut novel, THE SILVERBLOOD PROMISE, which is out in April 2024, and has already received rave reviews, including from the likes of Scott Lynch. We really enjoyed chatting with James and hearing about his work on the publishing side of the fence, editing authors such as Richard Swan, as well as his desires to become an author. We hear how it too years for that writing to pay off, including what seemed like a doomed submission process with other editors only for it to be picked up just as he was considering self-publishing. Plus, we reminisce about our favourite Fighting Fantasy books. Links: Buy The Silverblood Promise Follow James on Twitter/X Visit James's website Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter/X Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is also available as a full video interview on our YouTube channel Felicity Blunt has been a literary agent with Curtis Brown since 2005, and represents authors that span the literary to commercial spectrum, including Booker Prize shortlisted Claire Keegan, Women's Prize shortlisted Meg Mason, Rosamund Lupton, Renée Knight and Gillian McAllister in addition to NYT bestselling debut authors Abi Daré and Bonnie Garmus. Gráinne Fox is a literary agent with UTA and represents award-winning novelists, New York Times bestselling journalists and academics. Her clients have been shortlisted for, or won, various awards including The William Hill Sports Book of The Year, The Booker Prize, The Women’s Prize, The Irish Book Awards, The British Book Awards, The Orwell Prize, The Plutarch Award, the RTÉ Short Story Competition, and the NBCC. We were delighted to have the chance to catch up with both of them just ahead of the start of this year's London Book Fair to hear why that and other literary book fairs are so important, and to talk about what really happens at these events! Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter/X Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Mastodon Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We know - we've been away far longer than we said. This is a very short explanation/apology for that and a teaser of our imminent return! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A slightly different - but bumper-length - episode this time as we are joined by authors Nick Binge and Dave Goodman for our review of 2023! Nick is a previous podcast guest and is an internationally bestselling author of speculative fiction, sci-fi, and horror. His novels include Ascension and Professor Everywhere. Dave is a thriller and SFF novelist and short story author with stories in Clarkesworld and Analog. His debut novel is coming from a major publisher in 2024. We loved finishing off the year chatting with Dave and Nick about their writing highlights and hearing about what they have planned for 2024. Plus, we discuss each others' highlights on the reading and viewing front, as well as finding out about everyone's favourite Christmas movie... Links: Buy Nick's books now Read Dave's latest novelette in Analog Follow Nick on Twitter/X Follow Dave on Twitter/X Visit Nick's website Visit Dave's website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is also available as a full video episode on our YouTube channel! A slightly different - but bumper-length - episode this time as we are joined by authors Nick Binge and Dave Goodman for our review of 2023! Nick is a previous podcast guest and is an internationally bestselling author of speculative fiction, sci-fi, and horror. His novels include Ascension and Professor Everywhere. Dave is a thriller and SFF novelist and short story author with stories in Clarkesworld and Analog. His debut novel is coming from a major publisher in 2024. We loved finishing off the year chatting with Dave and Nick about their writing highlights and hearing about what they have planned for 2024. Plus, we discuss each others' highlights on the reading and viewing front, as well as finding out about everyone's favourite Christmas movie... Links: Buy Nick's books now Read Dave's latest novelette in Analog Follow Nick on Twitter/X Follow Dave on Twitter/X Visit Nick's website Visit Dave's website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cassandra Khaw is an award-winning game writer, and USA Today bestseller. Khaw's work can be found in places like Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Tor.com. Khaw's first original novella, Hammers on Bone, was a British Fantasy award and Locus award finalist. Richard Kadrey is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sandman Slim supernatural noir series. Sandman Slim was included in Amazon’s “100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime,” and is in development as a feature film. Some of Kadrey’s other books include King Bullet, The Grand Dark, Butcher Bird, and The Dead Take the A Train (with Cassandra Khaw). He’s written for film and comics, including Heavy Metal, Lucifer, and Hellblazer. Kadrey also makes music with his band, A Demon in Fun City. It was great having the chance to speak to both of them and hear about their very different routes into the writing world, and how they came to collaborate on The Dead Take The A Train. We also discuss why authors shouldn't be shy about asking for proper payment for their work and why it's always good to have more than one project on the go. Links: Buy The Dead Take The A Train now Follow Cassandra on Twitter/X Follow Richard on Twitter/X Visit Cassandra's website Visit Richard's website Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter/X Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Mastodon Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gareth Rubin writes about social affairs, travel and the arts for British newspapers. In 2013 he directed a documentary about therapeutic art at the Bethlem Royal Hospital in London ('Bedlam'). His books include Liberation Square, set in Soviet-occupied London; The Winter Agent, about British agents in Paris on the eve of D-Day and The Turnglass, two entwined mysteries that take place in Essex in 1881 and Los Angeles in 1939. We loved chatting with Gareth and hearing how he moved into writing fiction from journalism, why he thinks you should never give your book to friends to read, and what made him want to write a tête-bêche novel. Plus, we discuss why research can be both helpful and a waste of time, and why he loathes the writing process! Links: Buy The Turnglass and Gareth's other books Follow Gareth on Twitter/X Visit Gareth's website Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter/X Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Mastodon Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of fifty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, James, and her dog, Mimi. Her latest book is I Know It's You. We enjoyed chatting with Susan about how she got her start in TV and why it was advice from a producer that led her to become a novelist. We ask how she keeps coming up with ideas, talk about what makes a compelling protagonist, and hear some stories of her times in Hollywood... Links: Buy Susan's books Follow Susan on Facebook Visit Susan's website Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Mastodon Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian Moore is a leading stand-up comedian, known for his sharp, entertaining punditry, who regularly headlines at London’s world-famous Comedy Store. A TV/radio regular, he stars in Dave’s satirical TV show Unspun and Channel 5’s topical comedy Big Mouths. Ian lives in rural France and commutes back to the UK every week. However, he has recently moved into the world of novel writing, with Death and Croissants being released to great reviews as the first in a new cosy crime series. His latest book, The Man Who Didn't Burn, sees Ian turn to a more serious side of his thriller writing. We had a great time talking with Ian and hearing why he wrote his standup while actually standing up, why a desire never to leave the house again turned him into a novelist, and how doing so has allowed him to fulfil his dreams he had as an 18-year-old. Links: Buy Ian's books now Follow Ian on Twitter/X Visit Ian's website Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Mastodon Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caimh McDonnell is the internationally bestselling author of the Dublin Trilogy which is set in his hometown. His debut novel A Man with One of Those Faces – a darkly comedic crime thriller – was published in 2016. It went on to spawn the increasingly uncountable Dublin Trilogy (seven and a half books and counting) and the McGarry Stateside series. The books have been ranked #1 in their Amazon categories in the UK, Ireland and the USA, have been translated into several languages and optioned for television. He also writes the critically acclaimed The Stranger Times series under the name of C.K. McDonnell. These books combine his distinctive dark wit with his love of the weird and wonderful to deliver a celebration of how truth really can be stranger than fiction. We had great fun chatting with Caimh and hearing about why he left stand-up comedy for novel writing. He gave some great tips on how to be successful in self-publishing and also explains why he enjoys being both self-published and trad published, and why he went down that route. Links: Buy Caimh's books now! Follow Caimh on Twitter/X Visit Caimh's website Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Mastodon Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

RJ Barker is a critically acclaimed and award-winning author of fantasy fiction. He won the 2020 British Fantasy Society (BFS) Robert Holdstock award for Best Novel for his fourth novel, The Bone Ships. His debut trilogy The Wounded Kingdom (Age of Assassins, Blood of Assassins and King of Assassins) was nominated for the David Gemmel Award, the Kitschie Golden Tentacle, The Compton Crook and the BFS Best Debut and Best Novel awards. He followed this with the award-winning Tide Child Trilogy: The Bone Ships, Call of the Bone Ships and The Bone Ships Wake. His latest book is Gods of the Wyrdwood. This episode was recorded live at Cymera Festival in Edinburgh in July 2023, and we had a great time chatting with RJ about all things writing, Skyrim and dinosaurs... We also got an insight into his brilliant imagination as he gave us some hints about his next books, and heard about how he is such a prolific writer. Links: Buy RJ's books now! Follow RJ on Twitter/X Visit RJ's website Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Mastodon Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sunyi Dean is a biracial autistic author who was born in Texas, grew up in Hong Kong, and now resides in North England. She writes speculative fiction with a weird slant, and has both too many books and too many children. In her spare time, she can be found hiking, weight lifting, wild-swimming, and dying in jiu-jitsu. She also founded and co-hosts the Publishing Rodeo Podcast with fellow Tor author, Scott Drakeford. Sunyi’s debut novel, THE BOOK EATERS, launched Aug 2022 and was an instant #2 Sunday Times Bestseller. We had a great time chatting with Sunyi and hearing about her difficult journey to being published and talking about some of the difficulties that even published authors can face. We also chat about her own podcast, which is another must-listen (alongside this one of course!) for any writer. Links: Buy The Book Eaters now Follow Sunyi on Twitter/X Visit Sunyi's website Listen to The Publishing Rodeo Podcast Buy tickets for talks hosted by Tariq and Marco at this year's Bloody Scotland on 16 September 2023: Tariq's event - High Seas, High Stakes: Will Dean, Amy McCulloch and Catherine Cooper Marco's event - Deadly Deceptions: Gilly MacMillan, Stig Abell, Katherine Faulkner Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Mastodon Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexander Darwin is an author living near Boston with his wife and three daughters. Outside of writing, he teaches and trains martial arts (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). He’s inspired by old-school Hong Kong action flicks, jRPGs, underdog stories and bibimbap bowls. Outside of writing fiction, Alexander has written for publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine, Jiu Jitsu Style and SF Signal. His latest piece, The Lost Diary of Anthony Bourdain, was a featured piece in Rolling Stone’s January 2022 Issue. His debut novel, Combat Codes, is out now. We had a great chat with Alex, hearing about how he got started thanks to the SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off), and how he made a success of self-publishing. We also talk about the transition to trad publishing and discuss what aspects of self-publishing he misses now he has made the change. Plus, we discuss whether Star Wars is a fantasy movie... Links: Buy Combat Codes now Follow Alex on Twitter Visit Alex's website Buy tickets for talks hosted by Tariq and Marco at this year's Bloody Scotland: Tariq's event - High Seas, High Stakes: Will Dean, Amy McCulloch and Catherine Cooper Marco's event - Deadly Deceptions: Gilly MacMillan, Stig Abell, Katherine Faulkner Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Mastodon Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads: @ukpageone Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Edwards writes psychological thrillers about scary things happening to ordinary people. He has sold more than four million copies of his books and topped the bestseller lists numerous times since his first solo novel was published in 2013. His latest book, Keep Her Secret, is out now. We had a great time chatting with Mark and hearing about his long journey to amazing success, including his moves back and forth between self-publishing and traditional publishing, and the pros and cons of both. We also talked about the importance of persistence with your writing even when nothing is happening, and chat about how publishing attitudes differ in the US and the UK. Links: Buy Keep Her Secret and Mark's other books now Follow Mark on Twitter/X Visit Mark's website Buy tickets for talks hosted by Tariq and Marco at this year's Bloody Scotland: Tariq's event - High Seas, High Stakes: Will Dean, Amy McCulloch and Catherine Cooper Marco's event - Deadly Deceptions: Gilly MacMillan, Stig Abell, Katherine Faulkner Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Mastodon Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads: @ukpageone Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.