Forthwrite

We talk to Gillian Harvey about how she writes around her five children.

After graduating from university in 2000 with a degree in English literature, Gillian Harvey trained as a secondary school teacher. She worked in the profession until 2009, when she decided (on the spur of the moment) to move to France with husband Ray.

It was there she began working as a freelance writer and has since built a career writing features, opinion pieces and short stories for national titles including Woman’s Weekly, People’s Friend, the Independent, Guardian and Metro.

Gillian also works as a columnist for popular Writing Magazine, a role she has held since 2020. She was also a columnist for Prima Baby magazine (2015-16) and Living France magazine (2017-2019).

Gillian’s first novel ‘Everything is Fine’ was published in May 2020. Her second, ‘Perfect on Paper’ was published in May 2021 (both with Orion).

Her latest novel ‘A Year at the French Farmhouse’ is due for publication with Boldwood on 29 September 2022.

Gillian lives in Limousin, France, with her husband and their five children.

Anna and Sam talk to novelist Laura Wilkinson about her process as well as hearing her read from her novel, Crossing the Line. 

For more information find her here: www.laura-wilkinson.co.uk   Twitter @ScorpioScribble Facebook: Laura Wilkinson Author Instagram: laura_wilkinsonwriter Pinterest: laura1765 Goodreads: Laura_ Wilkinson

Join Anna and Sam for this chat with Victoria Dowd, journey with us into Victoria's brilliant/bonkers writing process.

Victoria is the award-winning author of the No.1 bestselling Smart Woman’s Mystery series. Her debut novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, won The People’s Book Prize for fiction 2021 and was named In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel’s Book of the Year 2020. Victoria was awarded the Gothic Fiction prize for her short fiction and her work has been published in many literary journals. She is also the author of the Adapting Agatha series which has seen her speak at many literary festivals, including The International Agatha Christie Festival and this year’s Crimefest. Originally from Yorkshire, she was a criminal defence barrister for many years and is now a board member of the Crime Writers’ Association and head of the London Chapter.

In the first episode of season two, Anna and Sam chat to Judith Bryan. 

Judith Bryan’s short fiction, non-fiction and poetry appear in various magazines and anthologies including publications by Penguin, Bloomsbury and Peepal Tree. Her debut novel, Bernard and the Cloth Monkey, won the 1998 Saga Prize – republished in 2021 for Penguin’s inaugural Black Britain: Writing Back series, curated by Booker-prize winner Bernardine Evaristo. Judith’s play, ‘A Cold Snap’, was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award. She has over twenty years experience teaching creative writing including running an MA programme. She has two historical novels in progress and is working towards a first collection of short stories.

In this episode Anna and Sam talk to Susan Allott about writing a thriller and how Australia has influenced her writing. 

Susan Allott grew up on the south coast of England, then moved north to study English at Leeds University. In her late twenties she travelled to Australia, where she found work and settled for a while, despite her overwhelming homesickness. When she eventually returned to the UK, by strange coincidence, she met an Australian man who she went on to marry.

Susan’s debut novel, The Silence, is a literary thriller set in Australia, in which she tackles some of the issues around migration and colonialism that had been nagging at her since her time living in Sydney. The Silence was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger award 2021 and was described by the Wall Street Journal as ‘emotionally wrenching.’

Her second novel will be published in summer 2023. She lives in south London with her children and her very Australian husband.

This week Anna & Sam chat to the lovely Victoria Scott

Victoria has been a journalist for two decades, working for outlets including the BBC, Al Jazeera, Time Out and the Telegraph. She lives on a Thames island with her husband, two children and a cat called Alice, and when she's not writing she works as a university lecturer and copywriter. She has a degree in English from King's College London and a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from City University, London. Victoria's debut novel, Patience, was a Booksellers' Association Book of the Month. Her new book Grace came out in July.