My guest today is the brilliant author Holly Bourne (recorded in 2021) who started her writing career as a news journalist, where she was nominated for Best Print Journalist of the Year. She then spent six years working as an editor, a relationship advisor, and general 'agony aunt' for a youth charity - helping young people with their relationships and mental health. (TW: This episode discusses rape and sexual assault.)

Inspired by what she saw helping young people, she started writing teen fiction, including the best-selling award-winning 'Spinster Club' series which helps educate teenagers about feminism. When she turned 30, Holly wrote her first adult novel How Do You Like Me Now?, examining the intensified pressures on women once they hit that landmark age, and the book became a Sunday Times bestseller. She now has her second adult fiction book out called Pretending.

In one review of Pretending a reader says: "the book deals with trauma and sexual violence, there is also heart and humour throughout the pages". I feel like this sums up a lot of Holly's work - dealing with tough subjects through a lighter touch that makes her stories feel more accessible and real.

I hope you enjoy this episode and if you did please leave a lovely rating or review.

• Read Holly's books: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/holly-bourne
• My Substack page, come and say hi: https://thehyphen.substack.com/
• My books: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/emma-gannon
• Books mentioned on Ctrl Alt Delete podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/books-mentioned-on-ctrl-alt-delete-podcast
• Twitter: Twitter.com/emmagannon
• Instagram: Instagram.com/emmagannonuk

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Today's guest (recorded back in 2020) is the brilliant Caitlin Moran! Award-winning columnist, author, scriptwriter. She is the eldest of eight children, grew up in Wolverhampton and she published her first novel at the age of 16. She then became a columnist at The Times aged 18 and has gone on to be named Columnist of the Year six times. Her popular novel How to Build a Girl is now a movie with Beanie Feldstein playing her. She is perhaps most known for her multi-award-winning bestseller How to Be a Woman which has now been published in 28 countries and won the British Book Awards’ Book of the Year 2011. I read How To Be a Woman when I was 21, and like most people it had a profound effect on me and was my first introduction to the world of feminism. Now she has released a follow up book, ten years later, called More Than A Woman, it was so great getting to talk to her about everything thats gone on since HTBAW came out. We talk about the book, why she wrote it, helping a loved one who is struggling and of course some writing tips. Really enjoyed this chat - and hope you do too! If you enjoyed please feel free to leave a review. :) Thank you! xo

• Read More Than A Woman: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9781529102772
• My Substack page, come and say hi: https://thehyphen.substack.com/
• My books: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/emma-gannon
• Books mentioned on Ctrl Alt Delete podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/books-mentioned-on-ctrl-alt-delete-podcast
• Twitter: Twitter.com/emmagannon
• Instagram: Instagram.com/emmagannonuk

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Come and join my Substack today! 🔗 https://thehyphen.substack.com 🔗

Ctrl Alt Delete might be no longer publishing new episodes, but I am writing and posting brand new content on all the same themes on my Substack page The Hyphen.

It is £6.50 a month, or free subscription will get you occasional free posts.

If you are struggling financially right now and would like a complimentary 3-month trial, email us at helloATemmagannon.co.uk and we'll see what we can do!

The Hyphen is an online space for thousands of curious readers, you'll receive writing tips, book recommendations and articles that leave you feeling nourished. Plus, it's a fantastic community of brilliant readers, writers, creatives, thinkers. If you love Ctrl Alt Delete, you'll LOVE The Hyphen :)  

All the love! xo

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Today’s guest (recorded back in 2021) is with the amazing Laura Mucha, an ex-lawyer, author, award-winning poet, and speaker. Her first book, Love Factually / We Need to Talk About Love is the result of ten years of interviews with hundreds of strangers aged 8-95 years old across every continent, and it is fascinating. The Guardian describes her as “a fantastic nosy parker”. She is such a talented writer and researcher and I think you’ll fall in love with her like I did when you hear this episode. Her debut poetry collection, Dear Ugly Sisters is out now and her debut picture book, Rita’s Rabbit is out in 2021, so keep your eye out for that! We talk about SO much in this episode, I hope you enjoy, if you did, please do leave a review somewhere on Apple podcasts!

- Link to Laura's book here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9781472982438

- My books: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/emma-gannon

- Twitter: Twitter.com/emmagannon

- Instagram: Instagram.com/emmagannonuk

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Hello and welcome back to Ctrl Alt Delete. This is a replay episode (recorded in 2021) with brilliant Martha Beck, a return guest! I wanted to invite her back on, to talk about her book The Way Of Integrity. Martha Beck, if you didn’t already know, is a Harvard-trained sociologist, world-renowned coach and New York Times bestselling author. She has published nine non-fiction books, one novel, and more than 200 magazine articles. The Way of Integrity is her new book all about being your full undivided self, coming back to your true nature, it's about not telling lies to yourself or others. Martha tells us about integrity cleanses, something that started years ago when she decided to not tell a single lie for a year. I love Martha’’s work because it's sort of science meets spooky; so much scientific data and spiritual stuff also. It’s also the first self-help book based on Dante's Inferno and It’s brilliant. I loved the episode, definitely go grab a copy of the book!

• Buy Martha's book The Way Of Integrity here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9780349426020
• My Substack page, come and say hi: https://thehyphen.substack.com/
• My books: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/emma-gannon
• Books mentioned on Ctrl Alt Delete podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/books-mentioned-on-ctrl-alt-delete-podcast
• Twitter: Twitter.com/emmagannon
• Instagram: Instagram.com/emmagannonuk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This was recorded in 2021. My guest today is Meg Mason, author of several books including the recent instant Sunday Times bestseller Sorrow and Bliss. She began her career at the Financial Times and The Times of London and has been a regular columnist for GQ, ELLE and Vogue. I absolutely loved Sorrow & Bliss and reached out to Meg's team as soon as I finished reading it. The quote on the cover from Anne Patchett says: ‘'I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realised that I wanted to send it to everyone I know’ which is how I feel having gifted it to a few friends because I just want everyone to read it so I can talk more about it. It’s a Gen X coming of age, mental health love story that will rip you apart and piece you back together. This was a real treat getting to chat to Meg, I hope you enjoy this chat!

• Read Sorrow & Bliss: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9781474622998
• My Substack page, come and say hi: https://thehyphen.substack.com/
• My books: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/emma-gannon
• Books mentioned on Ctrl Alt Delete podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/books-mentioned-on-ctrl-alt-delete-podcast
• Twitter: Twitter.com/emmagannon
• Instagram: Instagram.com/emmagannonuk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was recorded in 2021. Genelle Aldred, newsreader, communication expert, and now author who has worked as a journalist at many of the UK largest broadcasting organisations for over a decade, including BBC, ITV and ITN. In this episode we discuss her debut book Communicate for Change: Creating Justice in a World of Bias unpicking some of its fascinating themes: how to make a positive difference, how to think for yourself, how to have better conversations and how to recognise our own biases and blind spots. This book encouraged me to ask better questions and question my own assumptions, breaking away from singular narratives and monolithic thinking. Hope you enjoy this conversation about how it’s OK to agree to disagree in conversation and how it’s important to not shy away from other peoples truth in order to see how other people around us think. Here is the episode with Genelle!

• Grab a copy of Genelle's book here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9780281085576
• My Substack page, come and say hi: https://thehyphen.substack.com/
• My books: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/emma-gannon
• Books mentioned on Ctrl Alt Delete podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/books-mentioned-on-ctrl-alt-delete-podcast
• Twitter: Twitter.com/emmagannon
• Instagram: Instagram.com/emmagannonuk

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A raw and imperfect voicenote to say goodbye. No frills, just a huge heartfelt thanks.

Thank you so much for being here. It's been a wonderful way to spend the last 6 years, making this podcast for you.

Ctrl Alt Delete may have reached its natural end but I'll be back podcasting in other ways one day I'm sure.

In the meantime, come and say hi over on my Substack page where I'll be sharing insights, writing and interviews over there instead.

>>> thehyphen.substack.com <<<<

THANK YOU and love you all. <3

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This is replay of an episode recorded in early 2020. My guest today is Samatha Clarke, an author and Happiness Consultant. She is a teacher of Guardian Masterclasses and lecturer at The School of Life and expert on work happiness, culture and relationships. Whenever I speak to Sam, she always says something that makes me reflect on my work life. She has given me amazing advice in the past on setting better boundaries which has therefore grown my business in turn because I'm less likely to burnout when my boundaries are firm. Sam has just released her first book called Love It or Leave It: How to Be Happy at Work, and she wants her readers to find a way to say goodbye to the dread of Monday morning. This guide is full of vital tips and tools that will help you either Love It and find ways to get more out of the job you have or Leave It by working out the skills you have to offer and identify the steps you need to take, whether that's switching jobs, starting a portfolio career or testing a new business idea.

Hope you enjoy this episode and if you did, please leave a little rating or review on Apple Podcasts. Thank you!

• Read Sam's book 'Love It Or Leave It": https://uk.bookshop.org/a/153/9781913068080
• My Substack page, come and say hi: https://thehyphen.substack.com/
• My books: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/emma-gannon
• Books mentioned on Ctrl Alt Delete podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/books-mentioned-on-ctrl-alt-delete-podcast
• Twitter: Twitter.com/emmagannon
• Instagram: Instagram.com/emmagannonuk

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Today's replay episode is the brilliant psychologist Dr Emma Hepburn. She has over 15 years experience of working with and treating mental health difficulties. She is also someone I've followed on Instagram for years (@thepsychologymum on Instagram). In this episode we talk about her book A Toolkit for Modern Life: 53 Ways to Look After Your Mind). She shows how we can understand our own brains better and be more self-compassionate. She is all about about bringing psychology to people beyond the clinic. She is also the author of A Toolkit for Happiness and has a new book out soon called A Toolkit for Your Emotions: 53 ways to feel better which is out inJjanuary 2023. Hope you enjoy this episode!

• Emma's Toolkit books here: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/dr-emma-hepburn
• @psychologymum Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/thepsychologymum/?hl=en
• My Substack page, come and say hi: https://thehyphen.substack.com/
• My books: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/emma-gannon
• Books mentioned on Ctrl Alt Delete podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/books-mentioned-on-ctrl-alt-delete-podcast
• Twitter: Twitter.com/emmagannon
• Instagram: Instagram.com/emmagannonuk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.