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Page One - The Writer's Podcast
Ep. 30 - Struan Murray
Struan Murray is a young Scottish author, whose recently released debut novel Orphans of the Tide has received rave reviews, even earning him comparisons to Philip Pullman. A dark gothic kids fantasy, it’s easy to see why people think of stories such as Northern Lights.
We had great fun chatting to Struan about his long process to getting published, including the value of writing courses, and also getting to know people in the publishing industry. We also hear how he manages to juggle his day job as a lecturer in Oxford with being a professional author, and hear about how Orphans of the Tide got its name.
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255. Ep. 255 - TM Logan on Selling 3m Thrillers, TV Adaptations & the Pressure of Success
01:13:13||Ep. 255Watch this episode as a full video interview on YouTubeTM Logan is the bestselling author of thrillers that have sold over three million copies in the UK and been translated into 22 languages worldwide. A former national newspaper journalist, Tim is also the author of The Holiday — a Richard & Judy Book Club pick adapted for TV — as well as The Catch, The Dream Home, The Mother, The Curfew, Trust Me, Lies and 29 Seconds. His latest novel, The Weekend, is out on 26 February.We had a great chat with Tim, hearing about his time as a journalist, and why he wanted to move into fiction writing. He tells us how a series of events allowed him to try his hand as a full-time author, and we talk about the pressure of success and the expectation that can bring, as well as hearing about TV adaptations of his work.Links:Buy The Weekend and Tim's other books nowFollow Tim on InstagramVisit Tim'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 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
11. Adventures in Publishing-land: How AI ‘Wrote’ 200 ‘Books’ a Year and The Wuthering Heights Adaptation Debate
47:41||Ep. 11Watch as a full video on YouTubeThis week, we’re unpacking the controversy surrounding Emerald Fennell’s "Wuthering Heights" adaptation. From historically inaccurate corsets to Margot Robbie’s "raunchy" take on Cathy, we debate how far a retelling can stray before it loses the source material entirely.Plus, we look at how one writer used AI to publish 200 novels in a single year, allegedly earning six figures. But is she a writer? And after a century of dominance, are paperbacks shuffling toward extinction?00:00 Intro01:25 200 'Books' A Year - The AI Romance Gold Rush?12:48 Pulp Fiction No More - The Death of Paperbacks?23.35 Raunchy Brontë - Straying Too Far From the Source?37:38 - Off Script: Stranger Than Fiction43:15 Final Chapter - Best RomComsLinks:Can AI Chatbots Write Romance? NY Times ArticleThe Death of the Mass Market Paperback?How Different Is Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” Compared to Emily Brontë’s Book?Adventures 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
254. Ep. 254 - Rebecca Hannigan on Writing Twists and Unsympathetic Characters
01:06:43||Ep. 254Watch as a full video interview on YouTubeRebecca Hannigan has an MA in Creative Writing Crime Fiction from UEA, graduating in 2023. She won the UEA/Little Brown Crime Prize for her dissertation. She has also been shortlisted for Virago/The Pool’s Best New Crime Writer. Her first novel, Darkrooms, is out now.We had a great chat with Rebecca, hearing about her experience of getting a masters in crime writing and how that helped her with her debut, Darkrooms. We also discuss the anxiety that can build up as a debut writer in the lead up to launch, and get into a big discussion about what makes twists work (or fail), as well as talking about writing unsympathetic characters.Links:Buy Darkrooms now!Visit Rebecca's websiteFollow Rebecca on InstagramSupport 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 Bluesky
253. Ep. 253 - Weird Fiction and the Unsettling: Inside The Truth of Carcosa with Jacob Rollinson
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Drafting Notes - Are Professional Critique Services Worth It For First-Time Authors?
21:01|Watch this episode as a full video episode on YouTubeOn this week's Drafting Notes, we are discussing whether professional editing/critique services are useful to first-time authors. On the one hand, you are getting professional feedback on your writing, but on the other, they are often very expensive! So is the reward worth the cost? We discuss our own thoughts and experiences!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!Drafting Notes episodes are available early if you join our Patreon - check it out and get this and 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
10. Adventures in Publishing-land: Gen AI’s impact on creatives, Editing old books for modern readers, and Gen Z’s Literacy Crisis
53:37||Ep. 10Watch as a full video episode on YouTubeIn this week's episode of Adventures in Publishing-land, we dive into the heated debate surrounding Val McDermid and the use of sensitivity readers to revise backlist titles. Should books be treated as historical artifacts, or is updating them a necessary step for modern audiences?Plus, we’re tackling two massive shifts in the industry: We break down the Society of Authors' "Brave New World" report, which reveals a staggering 86% of creators are already seeing their earnings hit by Gen AI. And the Literacy Crisis: Are we losing a generation of readers? We discuss the alarming reports of Gen Z arriving at college unable to read full sentences and what "scanning" culture means for the future of the book.00:00 Intro01:00 Brave New World? AI Already Impacting Creatives16:23 Editing the Past - Should Old Books Be Revised?27:52 Can't Read or Won't Read? Is There a Gen Z Literacy Crisis?39:33 Stranger Than Fiction44:40 Final ChapterLinks:All 2.4m of Britain’s creative workers are at risk — and we know whyBrave New World? Justice for Creators in the age of Gen AIVal McDermid was assigned ‘sensitivity reader’ to cut offensive language from old booksGen Z are arriving to college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduatesAdventures 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
252. Ep. 252 - From Green Wing to Pagans: James Alistair Henry on Writing for TV and Novels
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Page One Extra - Vaseem Khan on Writing James Bond's Q, Crime Fiction, and Malabar House
55:05|Watch as a full video interview on YouTubeVaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India and the bestselling Quantum of Menace, the first in a series featuring Q from the James Bond franchise. His debut, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020. In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House, the first in the Malabar House novels set in 1950s Bombay, won the CWA Historical Dagger. Vaseem was born in England, but spent a decade working in India. Vaseem is a former Chair of the UK Crime Writers Association. His latest book in the Malabar House series, The Edge of Darkness, is out now.It was great fun having Vas back on the podcast, hearing about what he has been up to writing-wise in the past few years. He tells us about how he landed the job writing the James Bond Q book, Quantum of Menace, and why he loves going back to his Malabar House books. We also chat about films, and hear about five books that influenced him as an author.Links:Buy The Edge of Darkness and Vaseem's other books nowFollow Vaseem on InstagramVisit Vaseem'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 Bluesky
251. Ep. 251 - Lyndsey Croal on Writing 100 Stories and Embracing the Dark
01:02:11||Ep. 251Watch this episode as a full video interview on YouTubeLyndsey Croal is a Scottish author published in over eighty magazines and anthologies, including Apex, Analog, Weird Tales, and Mslexia’s Best Women’s Short Fiction. She’s a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awardee, Shirley Jackson Award and British Fantasy Award Finalist, and former Hawthornden Fellow. Her longer works include Have You Decided on Your Question (Shortwave), Limelight and Other Stories (Shortwave) The Girl With Barnacles for Eyes (Split Scream Volume Five, Tenebrous Press), and Dark Crescent (Luna Press).We had a great chat with Lyndsey in our studio, hearing about how she has written 100 published stories (!), the differences in writing short and long fiction, as well as dealing with the ups and downs of the publishing industry. We talk about dealing with rejection, changing agents and why she always like to have a dark element to her stories.Links:Buy Dark Crescent and Lyndsey's other books nowFollow Lyndsey on InstagramVisit Lyndsey'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 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