Prepublished

What I’ve always admired about Sarah is her professionalism. She writes to commission, and always has several projects on the go. I love getting to listen to the results on the radio, and I’m really looking forward to her next play, Rodgers and Hart and Hammerstein, set on Broadway, which will be broadcast on Radio 3 on the 27th of December. Do catch it if you can. There is a link to it in the show notes. 

I’m fascinated by the whole writing process, from which plawrights inspire her and why, to how she gets a commission and why star parts matter when constructing a radio play. I also wanted to know what aspiring writers for radio and TV can do to get their foot in the door. Broadcasters want talent. How do you make sure you’re the talent they’re looking for? 

https://www.sarahwooley.com
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ql9r - Rodgers and Hart and Hammerstein 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0006zl8 - Black Water

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p083pr8h - Audio Drama Awards 2020

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p058cxn1 - Victim

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/m000bxch - The National 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b066vcmy - Fifteen Minutes 

Ruth has been called a modern Agatha Christie for her ingenious plotting. She is also one of the friendliest writers I know and is the first person I turn to if I have a question about how something works in the world of publishing. I was delighted when she agreed to be on Prepublished this season, and talk about her influences and her writing process. We discuss developing new plot ideas, creating authentic characters, why being a reader is so important, fitting writing in around daily life, and different types of writer's block. It’s an honest, fascinating and revealing peek into the intricate world of crime.

https://ruthware.com

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/ruth-wares-ingenious-one-by-one-pays-homage-to-agatha-christies-and-then-there-were-none/2020/09/04/c01e0350-ebc3-11ea-99a1-71343d03bc29_story.html

Despite being a prolific novelist across almost all the age ranges, Adele didn’t want to be a writer when she was growing up – she wanted to be a star. She performed in the West End in the 1960s, and I can’t think of anything cooler. Writing runs in the family. Her daughter, Sophie Hannah, writes thrillers and runs her own life coaching service for writers. What an excellent idea.

https://adelegerasbooks.com

https://nga.gov.au/rajahquilt/
https://dreamauthorcoaching.com

Emma was an associate lecturer at the Open University and has a PhD in creative writing. She runs popular courses and workshops, including ‘Self-editing your novel’, with Debi Alper. I had an orderly list of questions to ask her, but as soon as we started talking about writing, we ended up going wherever the subject took us, from free writing to beta readers, psychic distance, showing and telling, and why rewriting is what it’s all about.  
 

https://www.emmadarwin.com

https://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/

https://members.jerichowriters.com/bazaar/self-editing-novel-online-course/

In season one of Prepublished, I talked mostly to writers, agents and editors in the world of children’s fiction, as that’s where I spent the first ten years of my published life. Season two will spread its wings a bit and include conversations with writers across all age groups, including poets and playwrights, debut authors and bestsellers. As before, we’ll also take a look behind the scenes at the world of publishing. 

But I start where I left off, with children’s writing. James Nicol is the author of a fantasy children’s series, published by Barry Cunningham of Chicken House. Barry is the man who discovered JK Rowling, Lucy Christopher, MG Leonard, Kiran Millwood Hargrave (sorry I misspoke your surname in the spoken intro, Kiran), Maz Evans and, in amongst them, me. 

James is the first person I spoke to for this series, during the first lockdown, and once we’d mastered the technology, it was a balm to the soul. Like me, he had a long route to becoming a published writer. I love his story about turning down a dependable job in a sticking foam factory to work as a bookseller for many years. 

James took various writing courses while he honed his craft, and I wanted to discuss the value of these with him. Is it worth it? Should one do it? What do you get out of it? All useful things to know, I think. As always, it was good to talk to a fellow writer about the ups and downs of the road to publication. I loved his comment that ‘you can’t fix a blank page’. If you want to be a writer, however hard it is, you first have to write.

https://jamesnicolbooks.com

https://goldeneggacademy.co.uk

https://www.chickenhousebooks.com 

The ‘Masterminds’ name was actually suggested years ago by Christopher, who produces Prepublished. It’s a term commonly used for groups that get together to learn and share knowledge on a specialist subject. In this case: writing YA fiction. The group meets once a week or once a fortnight (online during lockdown) to workshop a couple of pieces and to be each other’s encouragement, writing conscience and inspiration. As you’ll hear, this was more necessary than ever at the time we spoke.

Thanks as always to Christopher Pett for production and editing.

Links: 

City Lit: https://www.citylit.ac.uk/

Arvon: https://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/courses-retreats/

British Library: https://www.bl.uk/

David Higham: https://www.davidhigham.co.uk/

Undiscovered Voices competition, run by SCBWI: https://www.undiscoveredvoices.com/

City Uni Novel Studio: https://www.city.ac.uk/study/courses/short-courses/courses/the-novel-studio/

Faber FAB Prize: https://www.fabprize.org/

Spread the Word: : https://www.spreadtheword.org.uk/projects/london-writers-awards/

Catherine Johnson is a multi-award-winning writer of twenty novels. She’s best known for her history writing for young adults, but has also written contemporary novels and screenplays, and taught creative writing in schools, universities, art galleries and prisons. She has great personal style and we could have spent the time talking fashion, art and growing up in London – but we were mostly disciplined, and talked books. Her work is brave and feminist, addressing the history of slavery, but also throwing much-needed light on black people in history who were adventurers, medics and aristocrats. 

Thanks as always to Christopher Pett for production and editing.

Links: 

Central St Martins arts and design college: https://www.arts.ac.uk/colleges/central-saint-martins

Royal Society of Literature: https://rsliterature.org

Royal Literary Fund: https://www.rlf.org.uk

Jasbinder Bilan is a debut children’s author and winner of the Times/Chicken House competition and the Costa Children’s Book Award. After a career in teaching she did an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, and her first novel was started on that course. She shares her writing journey, why family are so important to her, and how one of the tips she picked up on her course helped her to build the story Asha and the Spirit Bird.

Thanks as always to Christopher Pett for production and editing.

Links: 

Jasbinder Bilan: https://www.jasbinderbilan.co.uk

Chicken House: https://www.chickenhousebooks.com

Costa Book Awards: https://www.costa.co.uk/behind-the-beans/costa-book-awards/welcome

Bath Spa Writing for Young People MA: https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/pg-writing-for-young-people/

Cover reveal: https://twitter.com/chickenhsebooks/status/1235158289996013569

Stephanie Thwaites joined Curtis Brown sixteen years ago. She represents authors including Francesca Simon and Tom Fletcher.

Sophia went to the agency’s expansive offices in Central London to talk to her about what she’s looking for from prepublished writers (you don’t need to worry about the synopsis!) and what an agent does once you sign up.

In addition to living authors, Stephanie represents the estates of AA Milne and John Steinbeck. (Yes, she really does represent Tom Fletcher and John Steinbeck. The life of an agent...)

Thanks as always to Christopher Pett for production and editing.

Links: 

Stephanie Thwaites: https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/agent/stephanie-thwaites

Keren David’s first YA thriller, 'When I Was Joe', was published in 2010. It started as an exercise in a creative writing course she did at City University. At one stage it had the distinction of being the most stolen book from libraries in young offender institutions. Since then she’s published a further 10 novels, and taught that course at City University. Keren is currently a features editor at the Jewish Chronicle. Her latest YA novel, 'What We’re Scared Of', will be out in 2021. 

Thanks as always to Christopher Pett for production and editing.

Links: 

Keren on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kerensd  

The Writing for Children course City University (full disclosure - Sophia is the current visiting lecturer): https://www.city.ac.uk/study/courses/short-courses/courses/writing-for-children

City Lit: https://www.citylit.ac.uk

Jewish Chronicle: https://www.thejc.com/landing/Author/Keren%20David

Barrington Stoke: https://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk

5 Questions with Keren David: https://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/blog/2017/01/23/five-questions-with-keren-david/