John Boyne is the internationally bestselling author of THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS as well as 18 books for adults. This includes the ELEMENTS quartet, the final novella of which - FIRE - has recently been released.

John joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how he will never stop being grateful for having such a huge, breakout novel so early in his career, and why he likes to end each day knowing he has made some progress on his current book.

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Takalani M is the author of the bestselling The Royal Mistress series, the After Dawn series, and the standalone novel A BURNING DESIRE. She has created a publishing and distribution powerhouse that dominates the romance sphere.

Takalani joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she got her start in 2017 with a Facebook page and no followers. She tells us about writing 2,500 words a night alongside her full-time job in finance and three children. Takalani breaks down the exact process for producing a book, from editing, layout, and cover design, to sales, distribution, and marketing.

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Paige Nick is the author of multiple novels and a collection of humorous columns. Her latest novel BOOK PEOPLE has already gone into reprint. Paige is also the founder of the Good Book Appreciation Society on Facebook.

Paige joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how humour is the golden thread that links all her writing, and why she now creates the kind of books she loves to read.

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Khaya Dlanga is an author, speaker, opinionista, and all-round South African celebrity. His latest collection of essays LIFE IS LIKE THAT SOMETIMES is available from Pan Macmillan right now.

Khaya joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how he is preparing for his upcoming talk on the main stage at TED Vancouver. He tells us how he breaks his writing down into achievable goals, and why he decided to embrace radical honesty in writing about his late younger brother.

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Joanne Fedler is the celebrated and beloved author of such bestsellers as Secret Mothers' Business, Unbecoming, Love in the Time of Contempt, and When Hungry, Eat. Fans are thrilled to have a new Joanne Fedler novel to enjoy - The Whale's Last Song.

Joanne joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about the time she gave up writing and how she found her way back to it again. We talk journals, illustrations, dreams, and vision boards. And we hear how an image of a young girl running through a village with a fork in her hand inspired Joanne's latest book.

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Morabo Morojele is the award-winning author of the novels How We Buried Puso and Three Egg Dilemma, which won the University of Johannesburg Award in 2024.

Morabo joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about the time he forgot that he was a writer, and what made him remember again. He talks about writing drunk and editing sober, and gaining his inspiration from visits to a nearby working-man's pub.

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Cliffordene Norton is the celebrated author of young adult novels and short stories in Afrikaans, and has a new title coming out in 2025.

Cliffordene joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about why Afrikaans readers show up so consistently for their writers. She shares the secrets behind writing for teens, and having her short stories regularly snapped up by magazines like HUISGENOOT.

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Terry-Ann Adams is the award-winning author of the novel THOSE WHO LIVE IN CAGES and the short story collection WHITE CHALK.

Terry-Ann joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about what it is like to embark upon an MA in Creative Writing after you have already been published and won awards. She shares what she has learned from the process.

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Penny Haw is the highly successful author of several works of historical fiction. Her latest novel FOLLOW ME TO AFRICA is hitting bestseller lists all over South Africa right now.

Penny joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about her early forays into children's fiction, thrillers, and now historical fiction.

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Ask your writing-related questions! Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

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Shameez Patel Papathanasiou is taking her writing in a new direction.

The author of the Selene Trilogy of fantasy novels, has gone back to her one true love - contemporary romance.

Shameez joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about what inspired this pivot and how much fun she had writing her new hit novel, PLAYING FLIRTY.

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Ask your writing-related questions!

Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you.

Please join the conversation here:

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