Share

Page One - The Writer's Podcast
Ep. 229 - Fiona Cummins on moving from journalism to writing fiction
Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. Rattle, her debut novel, was the subject of a huge international auction and has been translated into several languages. It received widespread critical acclaim from authors and reviewers. She has since written bestsellers The Collector, The Neighbour, When I Was Ten and Into the Dark in which she introduces DC Saul Anguish, a brilliant young detective with a dark past. Fiona lives with her family in Essex. Her latest book, Some of Us are Liars, is out now.
We had great fun chatting with Fiona, hearing about the highs and lows of being a journalist (including her favourite celeb encounters), and also about how that experience has helped her as a fiction author. We also talk about what draws her to writing dark fiction and why every author needs tenacity to keep going in publishing.
Links:
Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone
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
More episodes
View all episodes
12. Ep. 233 - Laura Shepherd Robinson on moving from politics to page-turners
01:00:40||Season 24, Ep. 12Laura Shepherd-Robinson is the award-winning, Sunday Times and USA Today bestselling author of four historical novels. Her books have been featured on BBC 2’s Between the Covers and Radio 4’s Front Row and Open Book. Her fourth novel, The Art of a Lie, is out now.We had great fun chatting with Laura and hearing how she decided to move from working in politics to writing, and learn about the research that goes into her novels. We also talk about planning, the effect of awards and more!Links:Buy The Art of a Lie and Laura's other books now!Follow Laura on BlueskyVisit Laura's websiteAdventures in Publishing-Land RSS FeedSTET Podcasts YouTube channelSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage 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-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and BlueskyPage One Extra - 5 Books That Influenced Sarah Pinborough with We Live Here Now
40:59|Watch this episode as a full video episode on our YouTube channel!Sarah Pinborough is a New York Times bestselling and Sunday Times Number one and Internationally bestselling author who is published in over 25 territories worldwide. Having published more than 25 novels across various genres, her recent books include Behind Her Eyes and Insomnia, both of which have been adapted for TV. Her latest book, We Live Here Now, is out now.We had a really fun chat with Sarah, hearing about what she has been up to since she was last on the podcast, chatting about the realities of book to TV deals, and hearing about 5 books that influenced her as a writer (and influenced this latest book).Links:Buy Sarah's books nowFollow Sarah on InstagramSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One Extra and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are 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-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One Extra is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky11. Ep. 232 - Amelia Blackwell on bringing Jane Austen to the Modern Day
55:22||Season 24, Ep. 11Amelia Blackwell has a master’s degree in Creative Writing, a corn snake called Colin, and a deep love of the works of Jane Austen. Although the Boleyns appear in her family tree, it’s through marriage, not blood, which is probably just as well. Georgiana Darcy’s most persistent suitor in her novel A Crime Through Time, Baron John de Halighwell, takes his name from one of Amelia’s distant great-grandfathers, who lived in a mansion that even Lady Catherine de Bourgh would admire. She has previously published YA under Lisa Glass.We had great fun chatting with Amelia and hearing about the ups and downs of her career as an author, including several agent changes, as well as what led to her writing her new novel, A Crime Through Time. We talk about Jane Austen, the research she did for the novel and why she wanted to tell this time-skipping story.Links:Buy A Crime Through Time now!Follow Amelia on InstagramAdventures in Publishing-Land RSS FeedSTET Podcasts YouTube channelSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage 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-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky10. Ep. 231 - Jonathan Lee on what editing taught him about writing
01:00:58||Season 24, Ep. 10Novelist and TV showrunner Jonathan Lee is the author of four novels, including High Dive and The Great Mistake. He is creator, executive producer & lead writer of the BBC/ Netflix drama series “The Bombing of Pan Am 103”. Other TV projects include originating and executive producing the documentary series “Who Killed Jill Dando?” (Netflix, 2023), a Top 10 show on the streamer in 47 countries.We enjoyed chatting with Jonathan and hearing how his experience as an editor taught him to be a better writer. We also chat about the differences for writing for novels as opposed to for the screen, and talk about the sensitivities around making a show on real-life events.Links:Watch The Bombing of Pan Am 103 nowBuy Jonathan's booksVisit Jonathan's websiteAdventures in Publishing-Land RSS FeedSTET Podcasts YouTube channelSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage 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-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky9. Ep. 230 - Beth Lewis on Telling Women's Stories in the Wild West
01:01:15||Season 24, Ep. 9Beth Lewis is the author of five novels so far, including her debut, THE WOLF ROAD. My latest novel, THE RUSH, came out in the UK on 10th June 2025 and is out in the US on the 7th October. It was July’s Goldsboro Books Prem1ere Book Club pick and a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick.We had a great chat with Beth, hearing about the influences that went into writing The Rush, and how she researches her historical fiction. Plus, we talk about how westerns have romanticised the period and erased the part that women often played.Links:Buy The Rush and Beth's other books nowFollow Beth on BlueskyVisit Beth's websiteAdventures in Publishing-Land RSS FeedSTET Podcasts YouTube channelSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage 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-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and BlueskyPage One Extra - 5 Books That Influenced DV Bishop for Carnival of Lies
42:29|Watch as a full video episode on our YouTube channelD. V. BISHOP writes the award-winning Cesare Aldo historical thrillers, published by Pan Macmillan. A writer of many narrative forms, his love for Italy and the Renaissance meant there could only be one setting for his crime fiction. He has previously guested on the main podcast way back in Episode 69. His latest book in the Cesare Aldo series, Carnival of Lies, is out on 26 June 2025.We had great fun chatting with David and hearing about his huge success since we last spoke with him as the Cesare Aldo books have led to many awards and nominations! Plus, we quiz him on the five books that influenced him as an author for Carnival of Lies!00:03 Intro00:42 David tells us all about Carnival of Lies and what he has been up to23:08 Book number 527:19 Book number 429:55 Book number 333:04 Book number 238:17 Book number 141:19 OutroLinks:Buy David's books now!Follow David on BlueskyVisit David's websiteSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One Extra and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are 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-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One Extra is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky1. Adventures in Publishing-land - Debut episode!
56:50||Season 1, Ep. 1Watch as a full video episode on YouTube!Subscribe to Adventures in Publishing-land's own feed for future episodes or watch on YouTube!Welcome to the very first episode of Adventures in Publishing-land! Join us as we discuss some of the biggest (and strangest) stories in publishing over the past few weeks.This week:00:17 Intro01:32 The Unbound Saga continues15:19 Authors hounded off social media - is it worth it?24: 41 Literary Estates and copyright - how long should it last?38:05 James Frey - the self-proclaimed literary bad boy is back, but should anyone care?44:55 Off Script - Nadine and Marco argue over the latest cinematic iteration of SupermanUnboundhttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/unbound-authors-will-not-receive-unpaid-royalty-payments-until-new-publisher-boundless-is-cash-stablehttps://www.thebookseller.com/news/boundless-position-morally-and-financially-unacceptable-says-unbound-co-founder-john-mitchinsonSocial media bullyinghttps://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-buzz/ali-hazelwood-leaves-instagram-after-bullying-over-hunger-games-joke-controversy-explained-article-152076401Conan Doyle Literary Estate DealJames Freyhttps://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/pompidou-plus/magazine/article/james-frey-i-use-artificial-intelligence-because-i-want-to-write-the-best-book-possiblehttps://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/next-to-heaven-james-frey-review-zvg5mnfttAdventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more!Follow us on BlueskyFollow us on Instagram7. Ep. 228 - Jane Johnson on how her editing experience made her a better author
01:04:20||Season 24, Ep. 7Jane Johnson is a novelist, historian, and publisher. She is the UK publisher of many bestselling authors, including George R.R. Martin. She has written for both adults and children, including the bestselling novels The Tenth Gift and The Salt Road. Her latest book is Secrets of the Bees.We really enjoyed chatting with Jane and hearing how it was working with the Tolkien estate and bringing us the version of Lord of the Rings we all now know and love, as well as how she came to found the Voyager imprint at Harper Collins. We also talk about how her experience as an editor informs her own writing, and chat about the latest book, Secrets of the Bees.Links:Buy Jane's books nowFollow Jane on InstagramVisit Jane's websiteSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage 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-oneFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads