Listen to this bonus festive episode with Jo Middleton author of Happy Bloody Christmas! We talk about her incredibly speedy novel writing process, challenges going from blog to book, and her brilliant advice to just get cracking!

Follow Jo @jomiddletonauthor

Jo Middleton is a writer, bookshop manager, creative writing teacher and mum of two daughters. She lives in Somerset with her three cats, all named after fictional detectives, and a goofy golden retriever. Happy Bloody Christmas is her second novel.

This week we are in conversation with brilliant Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, on all aspects of her creative writing process, watching reality TV as research and fitting the writing in around everything else.

Follow Lizzie @lizziedamiblackburn

Lizzie Damilola Blackburn is a British-Nigerian charity worker turned author who grew up in south London and now lives with her husband and young son in Milton Keynes. Her bestselling debut novel, Yinka, Where is your Huzband? was selected by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai as a Literati book club pick and was one of Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson's top five books that made a difference – she still pinches herself to this day. Lizzie was a runner-up for a Diverse Book Award in 2023. The Re-Write is her second novel.

This week Anna and Sam chat creative writing with wonderful author Rosanna Amaka. Tune in for our conversation about writing to a deadline (or not), finding inspiration in unexpected places and writing your way out of a creative block.

Follow Rosanna @rosannaamaka

Rosanna Amaka is a writer from London, and is of African and Caribbean heritage. Her debut novel ‘The Book of Echoes’, was shortlisted for The Authors’s Club First Novel Award, The RSL Christopher Bland Prize and The HWA Debut Crown Award. Her second novel ‘Rose and the Burma Sky’ was inspired by a conversation with her grandmother and follows the journey of an African soldier fighting in WW2. 

In this episode Anna and Sam chat with fabulour author Reshma Ruia. We talk about her writing from poetry, to short stories to novels and not forgetting her PhD. Reshma shares her wisdom on the writing process.

Follow Reshma @reshma_ruia_writer

Dr. Reshma Ruia is a Manchester based British writer of Indian origin.  She has a PhD and Master’s in Creative Writing from Manchester University. Her first novel, Something Black in the Lentil Soup, was described in the Sunday Times as ‘a gem of straight-faced comedy’. She has published a poetry collection, A Dinner Party in the Home Counties, winner of the 2019 Word Masala Award and a short story collection, Mrs Pinto Drives to Happiness, shortlisted for the 2022 Eastern Eye ACTA Awards. Her new novel, Still Lives won the 2023 Diverse Book Readers’ Choice Award. 

Reshma’s work has appeared in anthologies and journals, and commissioned by the BBC, University of Cumbria and Manchester Literature Festival. She is the co-founder of The Whole Kahani – a writers’ collective of British South Asian writers. Her writing explores the preoccupations of those who possess a multiple sense of belonging.

www.reshmaruia.com

www.thewholekahani.com

In this episode Anna and Sam chat with the lovely Kate Morrison about researching her novel it before and after the dawn of the internet, having a slow process and the different experience of writing historical vs 1990s fiction.

Follow Kate @katecmorri

Kate Morrison's debut historical novel A Book of Secrets was published in 2019 by Jacaranda Books and longlisted for the Historical Writers Association Debut Crown Awards and the Diverse Book Awards 2020. She has taught historical fiction writing courses & workshops for the British Library and Writing Around the Kids and has also run kids creative writing workshops for Little Green Pig. She is currently writing two novels at once, very slowly.

This week Anna and Sam speak with fabulous author Disha Bose. We talk about writing with a young baby, finding inspiration in parenting forums and when to follow the shiny new idea.

Follow Disha @dishabossy

Disha Bose was born and raised in India. She worked in the tech industry for a few years before deciding to pursue her dream of writing a novel. She lives in Ireland now, her first novel Dirty Laundry was published in 2023 and her second I Will Blossom Anyway is due May 2025.

This week we talk to brilliant author Kate Sawyer, about killing your darlings, doing character development work by watching reality TV and breaking your novel down into manageable chunks.

Follow Kate @mskatesawyer

Kate Sawyer worked as an actor and theatre and events producer, before writing several short films and then turning her hand to fiction. Her debut novel, The Stranding, was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, won the East Anglian fiction prize, was adapted for BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime and is being developed for TV by Fremantle and Afua Hirsch's production company Born In Me. Her second novel This Family is a Waterstones Book Of The Month.

When Kate isn't writing, or talking to other authors about their writing practices for her podcast Novel Experience, she is busy producing the annual Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival. 

After twenty years living in London, she recently returned to her native East Anglia, where she lives with her young daughter.

This week we chat with ever so lovely Rebecca Ryan about prioritising her writing, her way into being published and the cost of a tin of beans.

Follow Rebecca @becsryanauthor

Rebecca Ryan is the author of two uplifting fiction novels. My (extra) Ordinary Life was out last year and The Philosophy of Love is her more recent work. She left a career in teaching to write full time and lives in Bradford. She's a single mum to her three children and mostly, she spends her days fetching them snacks and trying to get on top of the washing. Her main hobby is eating takeaways. 

In this episode Anna and Sam talk to Women's Prize longlisted author Effie Black about how it felt for her debut In Defense of the Act to be nominated and her route to writing it. Plus she helps Sam out with her book group homework.

Follow Effie @effie_black_

Effie Black is a London-based writer with a background in science. She enjoys writing from a queer perspective and she likes bringing a spot of science into her fiction too. Effie's short stories have appeared in Litro and the époque press é-zine. Effie's debut novel, In Defence Of The Act , was published in July 2023 by époque press, and was longlisted for the 2024 Women's Prize for Fiction.

This week Anna and Sam chat to Chikodili Emelumadu about her brilliant book Dazzling and the process of writing it. Also the wisdom of leaning into your stage of life.

Follow Chikodili @chikodiliemelumadu

Chikọdịlị Emelụmadụ was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire and raised in Awka, Nigeria. Her work has been shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Awards (2015), the Caine Prize for African Literature (2017 & 2020) and has won a Nommo award (2020). 

In 2019, she emerged winner of the inaugural Curtis Brown First Novel prize for her manuscript 'Dazzling’. Her debut novel by the same name was published in February 2023 and is available in all bookshops.