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We are joined by three brilliant returning guests for our bumper-length festive special to mark the end of the year! Fiona Cummins, Cally (C.L.) Taylor and Ed James return to tell us all about their year in writing, what they are looking forward to writing-wise in 2026, and what their favourite reads and watches of the year have been. Plus - our Between The Lines game returns as they all try to guess the first and last lines of some Christmas classics (and some not so classics...!)

00:00 Intro

04:45 Writing over the holidays

25:28 Writing Christmas-themed stories/short stories

34:26 Writing Highlights of 2025

51:42 Writing Hopes for 2026

01:03:30 Book, TV & Film Highlights of 2025

01:18:24 Between the Lines - Our Christmas Game (NSFW!)

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Page 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-one

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Links:

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Joe Hill is a Sunday Times bestseller and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box, The Fireman, and Full Throttle. He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long-running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with artist Gabriel Rodriguez. Much of his work has been adapted for movies and television. His second novel, Horns, was translated to film in 2014 and starred Daniel Radcliffe. His third novel, NOS4A2, is now a hit series on AMC, starring Zachary Quinto. The first season of Locke & Key was released on Netflix in early 2020 and became an overnight smash. His latest book, King Sorrow, is out now.

We had a great time speaking with Joe, learning why he wanted to keep his identity as Stephen King's son a secret when he first started out, how he nearly gave up on novel writing, and why he doesn't plan his novels. He tells us all about his latest, King Sorrow, and its epic structure and story that spans both fantasy and horror, and we talk about why horror is having a bit of a resurgence just now. Plus, we get into the whole AI debate, and Joe even takes time to ask us some either/or questions at the end!

Links:

Buy King Sorrow and Joe's other books now

Visit Joe's website

Follow Joe on Instagram

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page 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-one

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Page 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

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

Watch this episode as a full video episode on YouTube

A good ending can stay with you long after you've finished a book or a film, but a bad one can ruin everything that came before. On this week's episode of Drafting Notes, we talk about what makes a good ending, and talk about some of the ways to think about crafting that ending to try and give a satisfying conclusion to your stories. Plus, we talk about some of our favourite endings (slight spoilers for Marvel Endgame and Star Wars: A New Hope!)

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-one

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Drafting 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

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Kesia Lupo is the commissioning editor at MacMillan Children's Books, as well as being a former agent and author of three YA books.

We had a great chat with Kesia, learning about how she first got started in the publishing industry, and the differences between working for a smaller and larger publisher, and the impact that has on acquisition decisions. Plus, we discuss the differences in the US and UK markets, talk about the all-important query letter to agents, and hear about times that authors have pushed back against editing suggestions.

NOTE: We know Marco's audio is bad on this one - he unwittingly used the wrong mic when recording - we have cleaned the audio up as much as we can, but fortunately you are here for Kesia, not him!

Links:

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Visit Kesia's Substack

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You only have one chance to make a first impression, so you better make sure you offer your prospective agent/editor/reader the best you can! On this week's episode, we chat about what makes a good opening compared to bad and why it matters. Plus, we discuss some of our favourite openings — as well as some not-so-good ones...

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-one

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Drafting 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

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Jenny Brown established Jenny Brown Associates in 2002. She was previously Head of Literature at the Scottish Arts Council, presenter of book programmes for Scottish Television, and founder Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. She was shortlisted in 2014 and2020 for Agent of the Year Award. She is former Chair of the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival (2011–21). She was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2021 and awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List in 2024. She represents 50 writers and likes to work closely with her writers and for this reason, almost all the writers she represents are based in Scotland.

We loved speaking with Jenny and hearing why she first moved into the world of agenting, and what she looks for in the queries that she reads. We also discuss how publishing has changed over the years, and discuss current trends in the market, along with her general advice for writers looking for agents.

Links:

Visit Jenny Brown Associates website

Follow Jenny Brown Associates on Bluesky

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Richard Swan is a critically acclaimed British genre writer. He is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Empire of the Wolf and Great Silence trilogies, the Decurion Saga (2026), and various short fiction for Black Library and Grimdark Magazine. His work has been translated into nine languages.

We enjoyed having Richard back on the podcast, catching up with him since we last spoke with him back in November 2022 (Episode 141 of the main pod!) and hearing about what he has been writing since then. We chat about writing books that will lead readers to your older work, and hear about his two new books - The Scour, out now, and The Infinite State (out next year). Plus, we chat about space roofers (blame Tariq) and of course hear about 5 books that influenced him!

Links:

Buy The Scour and Richard's other books now

Follow Richard on Instagram

Visit Richard's website

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Page 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-one

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Page 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

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On this week's episode of Drafting Notes we are discussing that thing every writer hates: The Synopsis! Nobody enjoys them, but how do you write them? What should you include? What should you leave out? We discuss all this and even talk about why synopses can help you find the heart of your story.

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-one

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Drafting 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

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Watch this episode as a full video interview on YouTube

Phoebe Morgan is the Executive Fiction Publisher at Simon & Schuster, with a career spanning major publishing houses including HarperCollins, Orion, Octopus Books, and Hodder & Stoughton. Specialising in crime fiction while also working across general and book club fiction as well as romantasy, she has published numerous Sunday Times, New York Times, and Kindle bestsellers. A passionate champion of new voices, she was shortlisted for Editor of the Year at the British Book Awards (2022) and has received both a Shooting Star Award (in association with The Bookseller) and a Trailblazer Award (with the London Book Fair). She also runs a very informative blog for authors called The Honest Editor, as well as being a successful author in her own right, with five novel published, the latest one being The Trip.

We had a great chat with Phoebe, hearing all about how she first moved into publishing and what her day-to-day as an editor for one of the Big 5 publishing houses is really like. We also talk about the role of sales and marketing in publishing houses' decisions on what to acquire, hear about how book auctions work, and get into whether the mid-list is sometimes a neglected part of publishing.

Links:

Phoebe's website

Follow Phoebe on Instagram

Visit her Honest Editor site

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page 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-one

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Page 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

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

Watch as a full video interview on YouTube now!

Francesca T. Barbini is an award-winning editor, translator, and founder of Luna Press Publishing, the acclaimed independent press specialising in speculative fiction and academia. Born in Rome and now based in Edinburgh, her work has earned multiple British Fantasy and British Science Fiction Awards. She also supports the Tolkien Society and designs the BSFA Awards booklet.

We had great fun chatting with Francesca and learning why she decided to start a small press, and discuss the advantages that a small press can have over the larger publishing houses. We also talk about what makes a book a success from her point of view, and why she loves to nurture authors and see them grow into huge successes.

Links:

Luna Press Publishing

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Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page 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-one

Follow us on Facebook

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Page 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

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