Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Watch this episode as a full video interview on YouTubeStephen Fishbach is a Pushcart Prize-winning writer and former television executive who served as a Vice President at MTV. A graduate of Yale with an MFA from NYU, he is widely recognised as a two-time contestant and runner-up on the reality show Survivor. His diverse writing background includes serving as a speechwriter for Stevie Wonder and hosting the literary podcast Paraphrase. Stephen lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and two daughters, and his debut novel, Escape!, was inspired by his unique insider perspective on reality television.We had a fantastic time chatting with Stephen about how a harrowing monsoon in the Cambodian jungle finally gave him the focus to pursue serious fiction. We delve into his transition from the "clown music" of reality TV to winning the Pushcart Prize, and how he used his writing to reclaim narrative control in his debut novel. We also talk about his love for the social deduction game Blood on the Clocktower and the meticulous research required to capture the "texture" of life of a professional Marilyn Monroe impersonator.Links:Buy Escape! nowVisit Stephen's websiteFollow Stephen on InstagramSupport us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: 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 Bluesky

Watch as a full video episode on YouTubeOn today's episode of Adventures in Publishing-land, we congratulate Tariq on not one but two new Longlistings, and struggle to understand a story about new research that suggests a heavy focus on literacy skills in schools is actively undermining the motivation to read for fun.Plus, the TikTok books charts have launched! What effect will they have on the industry? And as copies of Shy Girl sell for more than £100 on ebay, Tariq wonders if he should buy up as many copies as he can to fund his retirement (spoiler: he shouldn't!)00:00 Intro05:00 The Reading Paradox - Literacy Skills v Joy16:52 Top of the Toks - TikTok Book Charts Launch31:31 From Shy Girl to Prom Queen? Cancelled Book Sales Soar41:49 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea FactoryLinks:Literacy focus 'actively undermining' reading for pleasure, HarperCollins findsTikTok releases first monthly BookTok Bestseller ListCopies of Mia Ballard's Shy Girl listed online for over £100Adventures 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 Instagram

Watch as a full video interview on YouTubeAlessandra Ranelli is an American writer living in Vienna, Austria. Murder at the Hotel Orient is her first crime novel. She has the full support of the real Hotel Orient, and has been allowed access to all its rooms, even the secret ones. As part of her extensive book research, she left her career as a pastry chef and became a hotel receptionist. She is currently writing her second novel.We had great fun chatting with Alessandra about how a visit to the Hotel Orient sparked the idea for the novel, and how she moved from idea to fully finished novel (with multiple agent offers along the way). We talk about her having different UK and US agents and how that works, and the nerves as she waited for Murder at the Hotel Orient to come out.Links:Buy Murder at the Hotel Orient nowFollow Alessandra on InstagramVisit Alessandra's websiteSupport us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: 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 Bluesky

Watch as a full video episode on our YouTube channelCharlotte Robinson is a writer and television producer. After graduating from Exeter University with a degree in English, Charlotte started working as a runner in the television industry, where she perfected the art of making teas and coffees on a wide variety of programmes before moving into drama production and becoming a script editor and story producer on shows such as FORTITUDE (Sky), THE TUNNEL (Sky), and Amazon Prime’s adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s best-selling novel THE POWER. Recently, Charlotte story produced both series of Steven Knight’s upcoming A THOUSAND BLOWS for Disney+ and produced the final three episodes of series two. Her debut novel, MARS ONE, is out now.We had a great time chatting with Charlotte, hearing about how she got started in TV, what the jobs of script editor and story producer entail, and where she first got the idea for MARS ONE. We also talk about getting notes in both TV and fiction writing, and we get some interesting anecdotes about her work in TV!Links:Buy Mars One nowFollow Charlotte on InstagramSubscribe to Narrative Damage on your podcast app and on YouTubeSupport us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: 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 Bluesky

Watch as a video episode on YouTubeYou've been querying for months, or even years, and then it happens - you get that email from an agent asking for a call! It's exciting, but also nerve-wracking. What should you ask, what green flags - or red flags - should you be looking out for? We break down the dos and don'ts of 'The Call' so that you can go into it well-prepared and hopefully land the best agent for you.Drafting Notes is a series in which one award-winning writer (Tariq) and one hopefully soon-to-be-published writer (Marco) discuss various writing issues as they occur to them!Support us on Patreon and get access to Drafting Notes episodes early, along with other great benefits!Drafting Notes 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 ThreadsDrafting Notes is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky

Watch as a full video episode hereGareth Ryder-Hanrahan is a writer and game designer. Originally qualified as a computer programmer, he took a three month break to see how “this writing thing” would go. More than fifteen years later, he’s still on that break. The writing thing seems to be going. Gareth has published more role-playing games and supplements than he can even recall, including the award-winning The Laundry RPG, The One Ring and The Dracula Dossier. His debut novel, The Gutter Prayer was published by Orbit Books in 2019. His next book, The Dungeon Book, comes out later this year.We had great fun chatting to Gar about his writing career, hearing how Nanowrimo is what got him started with novel writing and talking about how he juggles writing novels with writing for tabletop roleplaying games (which you can hear him talk about in more detail on an upcoming episode of our sister podcast, Narrative Damage!)Links:Buy Gareth's books nowFollow Gareth on InstagramVisit Gareth's websiteSubscribe to Narrative Damage on your podcast app and on YouTubeSupport us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: 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 Bluesky

Watch as a full video episode on YouTubeThis week, we’re diving into the unmasking of one of the world’s most successful authors. Freida McFadden, the bestselling author behind The Housemaid, has officially revealed her true identity as Dr. Sara Cohen. We wonder 'why now', talk about imposter syndrome, and discuss why authors use pseudonyms.Plus, we of course chat about some AI-related stories: we go over some of your comments about our last episode on the Shy Girl scandal, talk about the allegation that editors are using LLMs to help them decide which books to pick up, and talk about scam emails again - this people pretending to be editors.00:00 Intro00:46 Shy Girl Fallout - Audience Comments14:17 Chat G-P-Cheat? - Are Editors Using LLMs?25:05 Something Phishy - Fake Editor Emails Spike33:58 Not Just The Housemaid - McFadden's Secret Revealed45:10 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory50:57 Final Chapter - Stellar AdaptationsLinks:Some editors 'uploading confidential manuscripts to Chat GPT'Scam emails impersonating editors on the riseThe Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals real identityAdventures 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!

Watch as a full video episode on YouTubeIzzy (Isabelle) Broom is the author of 12 escapist books and has been published in 14 overseas territories. In 2015, she won The Great British Write Off with her short story, The Wedding Speech, which was later adapted into a prize-winning short film. Her fifth novel, One Thousand Stars and You, was awarded Contemporary Romance Novel of the Year at the 2019 RNAs. Formerly a Book Reviews Editor at heat magazine and Woman & Home, Izzy still works for magazines on a freelance basis and is an editor and mentor at Curtis Brown Creative.We loved chatting with Izzy about her journey from journalism to fiction and how she transitioned from being a "pantser" to a dedicated plotter. She shares how her background at heat magazine made her a more resilient writer , the serendipitous way she landed her first agent , and her photographic memory for locations that helps her bring her European settings to life. Plus, we discuss her new series, starting with The House of Hidden Letters, and the discipline required to maintain a prolific writing schedule.Links:Buy The House of Hidden Letters nowFollow Izzy on InstagramVisit Izzy's websiteSupport us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: 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 Bluesky

Watch as a full video episode on our YouTube channelDo your characters have to likeable? No! There are plenty of brilliant books and movies with horrible protagonists. So what makes them work? How do you write characters who are deeply flawed and unlikeable without turning the reader or viewer off? We discuss it all on this week's episode of Drafting Notes, while also discussing some of our favourite unlikeable characters.Drafting Notes is a series in which one award-winning writer (Tariq) and one hopefully soon-to-be-published writer (Marco) discuss various writing issues as they occur to them!Support us on Patreon and get access to Drafting Notes episodes early, along with other great benefits!Drafting Notes 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 ThreadsDrafting Notes is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky