The Hidden Lives of Writers

Helen Moffett is a writer, an editor, and an award-winning poet. Her novel 'Charlotte' was released internationally to great acclaim.

Helen joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how every writer needs to be edited and why the business of editing has remained untransformed for so long.

Helen describes her writing process for 'Charlotte', much to the envy of Fiona and Gail, and explains why writing poems is very different.

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Diane Awerbuck is the award-winning author of multiple novels and short story collections. Her latest book is Inside Your Body There Are Flowers published by Karavan Press.

Diane joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about being published at a young age and what a young writer brings to the table.

Diane talks about why she believes that a writer's process shouldn't always be revealed to the world. She describes how her own process has changed since becoming a parent, and how parenthood has supplied her with new inspiration.

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

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

Ron Irwin is the acclaimed author of Flat Water Tuesday and My Side of the Ocean, which was recently published by Pan Macmillan. He is a senior lecturer in Media Studies at UCT and teaches in the UCT Creative Writing Masters programme.

Ron joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how deciding to write a book that he would give an A to instead of a D, transformed his writing career years ago.

Ron shares what it is like to have a novel in script development in Hollywood, and tells us why his latest book features a female protagonist who makes choices that readers may choose to judge.

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Shafinaaz Hassim is an author, activist, and sociologist. She has written extensively about GBV, human trafficking, and women's issues. Her latest novel, Darlings of Durban, has everyone talking.

Shafinaaz joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she built her literary career from the ground up and developed a network of loyal readers and reviewers. Shafinaaz describes how her use of domestic oral lore in her Nisa Qamar series for children has won her fans among their parents too.

Shafinaaz hosts the Book Bytes radio slot on Salaamedia and has started her own publishing imprint.

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Sven Axelrad is a Durban-based writer whose debut novel Buried Treasure took the South African literary world by storm in 2023.

Sven joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how he balances his day job as an accountant with the demands of his lively literary imagination. He talks about the influence of the South American magical realists on his work and discusses the significance of the Bob Dylan lyrics that appear at the start of each chapter of his book.

Fiona and Gail disagree about whether Buried Treasure is a light book with dark moments or a dark book with light moments. They also debate the significance of the dog named God. Sven reveals how many stories he envisions for his fictional town of Vivo and gives listeners inside information about his upcoming novel God’s Pocket.

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In their first-ever remote interview, Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel are joined by the charming and delightful Qarnita Loxton. As well as being an award-winning novelist, Qarnita is a regular listener to the podcast, so it was great to have her on this side of the microphone.

Qarnita is the author of the 'Being' series of novels, including Being Dianne, Being Lily, Being Kari, and Being Shelley. Qarnita describes how she recently submitted a new manuscript to a publisher and is now feeling bereft without it, as she waits to be drawn into a new idea. She tells Fiona and Gail how a writing course run by Mike Nichol got her into authorship, and how she situates her plots within detailed timelines.

Gail asks Qarnita whether she feels obliged to use her voice to speak on behalf of the South African woman's Muslim community or feels free to write about whatever she likes. Fiona asks about the importance of women's friendships in Qarnita's books and in real life.

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Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you! Please join the conversation on any of our socials. 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

We have an episode locked & loaded and ready to go early in 2024. Gail and Fiona are going remote, and their first guest connects from Cape Town. 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

Mandy Wiener is a superstar of South African journalism. Currently the presenter of the Midday Report on 702, Mandy is the award-winning author of Killing Kebble, Behind the Door: The Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp Story, Ministry of Crime, The Whistleblowers, and more.

Mandy joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how the first idea she ever pitched to a publisher was rejected, but the second was enthusiastically accepted. She describes how she wrote that book in three months, and regularly produces ten thousand words a week when she is writing.

Mandy traces her early enthusiasm for the written word back to her Polokwane High School and the incredible English teachers she encountered there. She tells us what it was like to be accused of being a 'brand journalist' when her name first became known, and how it is the actual journalism that still attracts her.

Gail asks Mandy whether she ever feels afraid while investigating the South African underworld, and Fiona asks how she manages to keep a distance from her sources while still getting them to trust her.

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Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you! Please join the conversation on our socials. 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

Jo Watson is an internationally bestselling and award-winning author of romantic comedies. Her latest huge hit is What Happens on Vacation.

Jo joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she got her start writing on Wattpad, building such a huge online audience that her first book garnered offers of representation from three major literary agents.

Jo discusses romance as a genre, and how it is really made up of hundreds of sub-genres, providing something for everyone - from dark mermaids to Amish romance. Jo tells Gail and Fiona how she has resisted setting her novels anywhere except in South Africa, and has managed to achieve international success, nevertheless. She emphasises the importance of a strong social media presence and discusses the rise of BookTok as a major force in the publishing world.

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Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you! Please join the conversation on socials. 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

Craig Higginson is an award-winning novelist, playwright, and theatre director. His most recent book, The Ghost of Sam Webster, is currently making waves on the South African literary scene.

Craig joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how writing for him is a thing that flows in to fill the spaces that are left in a day. Sometimes this means writing in his car in the parking lot before work, and sometimes it means trying to write while on holiday in the countryside.

Craig talks about how he got his start writing poetry, and how he is once again working on putting together a collection of poetry for publication. He describes how the mentorship of the late Barney Simon introduced him to the theatre world, and why he was only really able to find his voice as a novelist when he returned to South Africa after a long time abroad.

Gail asks whether the story or the writing comes first for Craig, and Fiona asks about the inspiration behind his latest novel, The Ghost of Sam Webster.

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

Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you! Please join the conversation on our socials. 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