The Hidden Lives of Writers

David Cornwell is the author of the critically acclaimed novel HELL OF A COUNTRY, which has been making waves since its release date.

David joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about the challenges of writing a fictional reimagining of real-life events and how he made his creative choices.

We also discuss his first novel LIKE IT MATTERS and the literary antecedents behind it.

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Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

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Karen Jennings is an internationally acclaimed author whose work has been rewarded with a Booker Prize longlisting.

Karen joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how new ideas sometimes come to her in the form of a colour, and how she writes multiple drafts of the same manuscript in search of incremental improvement. She describes where she was and what she was doing when she found out about the Booker longlisting.

For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up here for our weekly newsletter:

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Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

Email: [email protected]

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Jassy Mackenzie is a multi-award-nominated author who combines talent with hard work and an excellent head for business.

Jassy joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she got her start writing gritty, Joburg-based crime, before being approached to write with James Patterson. She talks about the obligations of being a contracted ghostwriter and how she is already planning to ensure the longevity of her writing career.

For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up here for our weekly newsletter:

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Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

Email: [email protected]

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Twitter: @hiddenwriterpod

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Threads: @thehiddenlivesofwriters

Facebook discussion group: The Hidden Lives of Writers Follow us on Instagram · Chat with us on Twitter · Join our Facebook group · Subscribe to us on YouTube · Join our newsletter · Ask your writing-related questions here

Mike Nicol is one of South Africa's leading crime writers. His Mace Bishop and Fish Pescado series have enthralled readers for years.

Mike joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how he once wallpapered a room in his house with rejection letters. He describes how he found his latest protagonist Zara Dewane lurking in an earlier novel and decided to give her a story of her own. Falls the Shadow is out now from Pan Macmillan.

For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up here for our weekly newsletter:

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Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thehiddenlivesofwriterspod

Twitter: @hiddenwriterpod

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Threads: @thehiddenlivesofwriters

Facebook discussion group: The Hidden Lives of Writers Follow us on Instagram · Chat with us on Twitter · Join our Facebook group · Subscribe to us on YouTube · Join our newsletter · Ask your writing-related questions here

Sally Andrew is a South African literary superstar. Her Tannie Maria books are loved by many thousands of readers and have been turned into a successful international TV series.

Sally joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she plots her books under a huge and ancient tree, and how the voice of Tannie Maria arrived in her head fully formed. The fifth book in the Tannie Maria series, Wild Things Never Die, will be available in May.

For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up here for our weekly newsletter:

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Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thehiddenlivesofwriterspod

Twitter: @hiddenwriterpod

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Threads: @thehiddenlivesofwriters

Facebook discussion group: The Hidden Lives of Writers Follow us on Instagram · Chat with us on Twitter · Join our Facebook group · Subscribe to us on YouTube · Join our newsletter · Ask your writing-related questions here

Botswana-based Lauri Kubuitsile is the multi-award-winning author of The Scattering and But Deliver Us From Evil, as well as many, many books for children, teens, and adults.

Lauri joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about writing what she likes and not being afraid to stand up for herself both creatively and in negotiating contracts.

For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up here for our weekly newsletter:

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Ask your writing-related questions here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8i1_vFmUwsd7E_nvPgQOtqEscvZIircT0imdHm_qYJK5eXA/viewform

Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thehiddenlivesofwriterspod

Twitter: @hiddenwriterpod

YouTube: The Hidden Lives of Writers

Threads: @thehiddenlivesofwriters

Facebook discussion group: The Hidden Lives of Writers Follow us on Instagram · Chat with us on Twitter · Join our Facebook group · Subscribe to us on YouTube · Join our newsletter · Ask your writing-related questions here

Anna Stroud is the award-winning author of WHO LOOKS INSIDE, an extraordinary debut novel that probes beneath the surface of small-town life.

Anna joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how doing an MA in Creative Writing gave her permission to take her writing seriously, and why she composes her stories on a secondhand, offline laptop called 'Gandalf'.

For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up here for our weekly newsletter:

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Ask your writing-related questions here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8i1_vFmUwsd7E_nvPgQOtqEscvZIircT0imdHm_qYJK5eXA/viewform

Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thehiddenlivesofwriterspod

Twitter: @hiddenwriterpod

YouTube: The Hidden Lives of Writers

Threads: @thehiddenlivesofwriters

Facebook discussion group: The Hidden Lives of Writers Follow us on Instagram · Chat with us on Twitter · Join our Facebook group · Subscribe to us on YouTube · Join our newsletter · Ask your writing-related questions here

Tom Eaton is a popular and widely read columnist. He has a long career as a novelist and writer of non-fiction. His latest book is a laugh-out-loud cosy mystery. AN ACT OF MURDER is out now from Penguin Random House.

Tom joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how to write humour, and how his own acerbic wit has softened over the years. Tom explains why he believes that cosy mysteries are having a moment in South Africa right now.

For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up here for our weekly newsletter

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Ask your writing-related questions here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8i1_vFmUwsd7E_nvPgQOtqEscvZIircT0imdHm_qYJK5eXA/viewform

Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thehiddenlivesofwriterspod

Twitter: @hiddenwriterpod

YouTube: The Hidden Lives of Writers

Threads: @thehiddenlivesofwriters

Facebook discussion group: The Hidden Lives of Writers Follow us on Instagram · Chat with us on Twitter · Join our Facebook group · Subscribe to us on YouTube · Join our newsletter · Ask your writing-related questions here

Claire Robertson is a South African literary superstar and winner of multiple major awards. Claire is the author of numerous works of contemporary and historical fiction. Her most recent novel THE IMMORTALITES is out now from Penguin Random House.

Claire joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how her work as a journalist led to novel-writing and how her use of language captures the rhythms of the past

For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up here for our weekly newsletter:

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Ask your writing-related questions here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8i1_vFmUwsd7E_nvPgQOtqEscvZIircT0imdHm_qYJK5eXA/viewform

Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thehiddenlivesofwriterspod

Twitter: @hiddenwriterpod

YouTube: The Hidden Lives of Writers

Threads: @thehiddenlivesofwriters

Facebook discussion group: The Hidden Lives of Writers Follow us on Instagram · Chat with us on Twitter · Join our Facebook group · Subscribe to us on YouTube · Join our newsletter · Ask your writing-related questions here

Zibu Sithole is the popular and multi-award-nominated author of the ZOLA trilogy of novels. The final novel in the trilogy LOVE, ZOLA is published by Pan Macmillan and is in bookstores right now.

Zibu joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about why she feels it is her duty to write aspirational fiction for young black women, and why she dislikes the stereotype that women characters must suffer in order for literature to be good.

For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up here for our weekly newsletter:

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Ask your writing-related questions here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8i1_vFmUwsd7E_nvPgQOtqEscvZIircT0imdHm_qYJK5eXA/viewform

Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you. Please join the conversation here:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @thehiddenlivesofwriterspod

Twitter: @hiddenwriterpod

YouTube: The Hidden Lives of Writers

Threads: @thehiddenlivesofwriters

Facebook discussion group: The Hidden Lives of Writers Follow us on Instagram · Chat with us on Twitter · Join our Facebook group · Subscribe to us on YouTube · Join our newsletter · Ask your writing-related questions here