Forthwrite

This week Anna and Sam have the pleasure of talking to Carla Montemayor about her fascinating book, the research that went into it and her writing process. Plus a reading from Islands of Forgotten Daughters.

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Carla Montemayor is a writer originally from the Philippines, now based in London. She won a London Writers Award for narrative nonfiction in 2021 and was a fellow on the London Library Emerging Writers Programme 2022-23. Her writing has been shortlisted for Spread the Word’s Life Writing Award (2020), and the Specimen Press competition To Speak England in Different Languages (2021). She has contributed work to acclaimed food writing anthology London Feeds Itself (2022), and her essay ‘The Shapeshifters’ in Hinterland Magazine was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021.

This week we speak with novelist Kathleen Whyman. Our conversation covers fitting writing into the juggle of everything else, creating characters who are very unlike her family members and injecting humour into her writing. Plus a reading from her latest The Mother of all Comebacks.

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Kathleen Whyman is a bestselling author of relatable, humorous women's fiction. Her books have been shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print prize and the Romantic Novelists' Association. Kathleen writes for all the multi-tasking, mentally-overloaded women who put themselves on the subs bench for the sake of their family, and are beginning to realise that they don't have it all – they do it all! Kathleen is also an interviewer and event host, a mentor, and teaches writing workshops, usually with an emphasis on writing with humour.

This week we chat with author Mel Pennant about her brilliant Miss Hortense books, including her inspiration, her process and the surreal situation of finding herself in a publishing auction. Plus a reading from her latest novel Miss Hortense and the Last Rites.

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Mel Pennant is a playwright, screenwriter and novelist. She graduated in 2014 with an MA in Screenwriting from the London College of Communication. In 2013, she won the Brockley Jack Write Now 4 award with her play, No Rhyme, and was involved with the Tamasha Theatre Company--writing for the Barbican Box. Mel has written audio plays with Tamasha and the National Archives and, in 2018, she was awarded a place on the Hachette X Tamasha scheme for aspiring playwright novelists. She lives in London with her family and their dog, Bleu.

This week we talk to Mona Dash about writing in different genres, managing the work/ life balance and the importance of being part of a writing community.

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Mona Dash is an award-winning author based in London. Her work includes the memoir A Roll of the Dice, the short story collection Let Us Look Elsewhere, the novel Untamed Heart, and the poetry collections, Map of The Self, A Certain Way and Dawn Drops. Her work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4, included in Best British Short Stories, and published in more than thirty-five anthologies. She holds an MA and MPhil in Creative Writing and has been listed in Tagore Literary Prize, SI Leeds, Novel London, Bristol Short Story and many more. Alongside her writing she has build a career in business and technology. She is represented by Portobello Literary Agency

This week we chat with author Lisa Brace about the benefits of self publishing vs traditional, writing historical and contemporary fiction. We find out what to do when Simon Cowell visits you in a dream plus a reading from Lisa's novel Swim.

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Lisa Brace is an award-winning writer, who multitasks writing novels with running her own business in the beautiful surroundings of West Sussex. 

Her third novel The Fastest Girl on Earth, is out now and is winner of Historical Novel of the Year 2025 (Eyelands Book Awards).

Her second book, SWIM, a historical fiction novel was runner up as Historical Novel of the Year 2024 (Eyelands Book Awards), and finalist in Best Historical Fiction and Best General Fiction in the New Generation Indie Book Awards 2025.

Gill Thompson author of bestselling The Oceans Between Us, described it as " A powerful novel about skill, courage and determination. I was completely invested in the story of Lucy Morton and her quest to become a champion swimmer. Lisa Brace's writing moves seamlessly between tension, poignancy and humour in a compelling story."

Her debut novel, Star Survivor, a dark women's fiction novel was published in March 2024.

In this episode* we talk all things novel writing with fab author Ivy Ngeow. We hear how Ivy likens the process of writing novels to the process of building houses, that its OK when things go wrong its how you adapt. Plus a reading from Ivy's latest In Safe Hands.

*Apologies, we had some technical issues during this recording so you may need to adjust your sound.

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Ivy Ngeow was born and raised in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. She holds an MA in Writing from Middlesex University, where she won the 2005 Middlesex University Literary Press Prize out of almost 1500 entrants worldwide. The American Boyfriend, published by Penguin Random House Southeast Asia in 2023, was longlisted for the Avon x Mushens Entertainment Prize for Commercial Fiction Writers of Colour 2022 and the winner of the Singapore Book Awards 2024 for Best Marketing Campaign. Her debut, Cry of the Flying Rhino (2017), was awarded the International Proverse Prize in Hong Kong. Her novels include Heart of Glass (2018), Overboard (2020) and White Crane Strikes (2022). She is the commissioning editor of the Asian Anthology New Writing series. Her latest novel, In Safe Hands, was shortlisted for the Joffe Books Prize 2024 and published by Penguin Random House Southeast Asia in October 2025. She lives in London.

Welcome back to the brand new series of the Forthwrite podcast! This week we chat with brilliant author and all round wonderful woman, Yvvette Edwards, all about her writing inspiration and process, including how to write a novel backwards and not taking the easy road. Plus we hear an extract from her latest novel Good Good Loving.

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YVVETTE EDWARDS is a British writer of Montserratian origin and author of A Cupboard Full of Coats and The Mother.  She has written a variety of short stories which have been broadcast on radio and published in anthologies, including New Daughters of Africa. Her work has been nominated for a number of literary awards including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the Booker Prize.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.  Her third novel, Good Good Loving, was published by Virago in March 2026.

We chat with author Amita Murray about her process for writing Regency novels, getting to know your characters and the importance of filling her creative cup.

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Amita Murray's Unladylike series of Regency novels are published with Harper Collins. She has won the Exeter Novel Prize and the SI Leeds Literary Prize, been a writer-in-residence with Leverhulme, Literature Works, Spread the Word, University College London, Plymouth University and others. She has taught creative writing in the world-renowned University of East Anglia programme and her writing appears in magazines such as Red, New Scientist, Big Issue, Bookseller, Writers Digest, Diva, Ellery Queen, Wasafiri and more.

In this episode we speak with novelist Roisin Maguire about being kind to yourself, filling your well as a source of creativity and the inspiration for her wonderful book Night Swimmers. Also includes a reading from the novel.

You can connect with Roisin through her publisher Serpent's Tail

Roisin is an award-winning short story writer who lives by the sea in rural County Down. A former bouncer, diver and primary-school teacher, Roisin has been writing for many years but over the pandemic took the opportunity to actually finish something. Her novel Night Swimmers was published by Serpent’s Tail in 2024 and was nominated for the Kate O'Brien Debut Authors Award in 2025.

We chat to Orlaine Mcdonald about protecting herself as a writer, her process and what it's like to be shortlisted for an award as a debut novelist. Plus a reading from her book No Small Thing.

Please note this episode comes with a trigger warning for discussion of suicide.

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Orlaine is a writer of mixed Jamaican & Irish heritage. She lives in London. No Small Thing won the 2024 Kate O'Brien Award, and was shortlisted for The 2024 Nero Book Awards for Debut Fiction, and the RSL Ondaatje Prize.