We'd Like A Word

Writers Weekend festival (part 1): Novelist & poet Reshma Ruia, literary agent John Baker of Bell Lomax Moreton, writing mentor Adrienne Dines & festival organiser Sara Gangai all talk to We'd Like A Word presenters Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan about the UK's prime gathering for unrepresented authors to find an agent. This year the festival is online because of Covid. But the author-agent meet-ups are happening as much as ever. And there'll be all sorts of other attractions - celebrity author talks, workshops, writers' circles, plot development, how to improve your writing & discussions. The main Writers Weekend is 24-27 June, 2021 - with the Writers’ Circles starting 16 May. You'll find details here https://writersweekend.uk - the slogan is "from inspiration to publication".

In this episode we hear all about the Writers Weekend; about authors who have found agents at past events; how to use condiments to solve your plotting problems (Cruet Wars... Game of Spoons... at the DWLC - the Desperate Writers Lunch Club); the worst pitch that agent John Baker ever received; what an agent like him is looking for; how to get publishers interested in your comic or fantasy novel; the challenges of writing a multicultural book when authors are accused of cultural appropriation; & how to ensure your story has "emotional geology".

And we also hear about these authors: Lissa Evans, Helen Fields, MG leonard, Tracey Corderoy, Derek Miller, Robert Fabbri, Alison Sherlock, Claire Dyer, Tammye Huf, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Jasper Fforde, Ben Aaronovitch, Joe Abercrombie, CM Waggoner, Gabriela Houston, AM Shine, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, David Nobbs, Tom Sharpe, Stella Gibbons, Diana Gabaldon, Chris Riddell, Helen Dennis, Kerry Fisher, John Cleese, Kira-Anne Pelican, Peace Adzo Medie, Ernest Hemmingway, Beverley Birch & Jeanine Cummins.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is www.wedlikeaword.com -  which is where you'll find information about Paul & Steve & our guests.  We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] - & yes, we are slightly embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - your questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word in person, to chat, review, meet writers or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.

Writers Weekend festival (part 2): Novelist & poet Reshma Ruia, literary agent John Baker of Bell Lomax Moreton, writing mentor Adrienne Dines & festival organiser Sara Gangai all talk to We'd Like A Word presenters Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan about the UK's prime gathering for unrepresented authors to find an agent. This year the festival is online because of Covid. But the author-agent meet-ups are happening as much as ever. And there'll be all sorts of other attractions - celebrity author talks, workshops, writers' circles, plot development, how to improve your writing & discussions. The main Writers Weekend is 24-27 June, 2021 - with the Writers’ Circles starting 16 May. You'll find details here https://writersweekend.uk - the slogan is "from inspiration to publication".

In this episode we hear all about the Writers Weekend; about authors who have found agents at past events; how to use condiments to solve your plotting problems (Cruet Wars... Game of Spoons... at the DWLC - the Desperate Writers Lunch Club); the worst pitch that agent John Baker ever received; what an agent like him is looking for; how to get publishers interested in your comic or fantasy novel; the challenges of writing a multicultural book when authors are accused of cultural appropriation; & how to ensure your story has "emotional geology".

And we also hear about these authors: Lissa Evans, Helen Fields, MG leonard, Tracey Corderoy, Derek Miller, Robert Fabbri, Alison Sherlock, Claire Dyer, Tammye Huf, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Jasper Fforde, Ben Aaronovitch, Joe Abercrombie, CM Waggoner, Gabriela Houston, AM Shine, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, David Nobbs, Tom Sharpe, Stella Gibbons, Diana Gabaldon, Chris Riddell, Helen Dennis, Kerry Fisher, John Cleese, Kira-Anne Pelican, Peace Adzo Medie, Ernest Hemmingway, Beverley Birch & Jeanine Cummins.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is www.wedlikeaword.com -  which is where you'll find information about Paul & Steve & our guests.  We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] - & yes, we are slightly embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - your questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word in person, to chat, review, meet writers or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.

Writers Weekend festival (part 3): Novelist & poet Reshma Ruia, literary agent John Baker of Bell Lomax Moreton, writing mentor Adrienne Dines & festival organiser Sara Gangai all talk to We'd Like A Word presenters Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan about the UK's prime gathering for unrepresented authors to find an agent. This year the festival is online because of Covid. But the author-agent meet-ups are happening as much as ever. And there'll be all sorts of other attractions - celebrity author talks, workshops, writers' circles, plot development, how to improve your writing & discussions. The main Writers Weekend is 24-27 June, 2021 - with the Writers’ Circles starting 16 May. You'll find details here https://writersweekend.uk - the slogan is "from inspiration to publication".

In this episode we hear all about the Writers Weekend; about authors who have found agents at past events; how to use condiments to solve your plotting problems (Cruet Wars... Game of Spoons... at the DWLC - the Desperate Writers Lunch Club); the worst pitch that agent John Baker ever received; what an agent like him is looking for; how to get publishers interested in your comic or fantasy novel; the challenges of writing a multicultural book when authors are accused of cultural appropriation; & how to ensure your story has "emotional geology". 

And we also hear about these authors: Lissa Evans, Helen Fields, MG leonard, Tracey Corderoy, Derek Miller, Robert Fabbri, Alison Sherlock, Claire Dyer, Tammye Huf, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Jasper Fforde, Ben Aaronovitch, Joe Abercrombie, CM Waggoner, Gabriela Houston, AM Shine, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, David Nobbs, Tom Sharpe, Stella Gibbons, Diana Gabaldon, Chris Riddell, Helen Dennis, Kerry Fisher, John Cleese, Kira-Anne Pelican, Peace Adzo Medie, Ernest Hemmingway, Beverley Birch & Jeanine Cummins.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is www.wedlikeaword.com -  which is where you'll find information about Paul & Steve & our guests.  We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] - & yes, we are slightly embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - your questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word in person, to chat, review, meet writers or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.

Literary agents (part 1): Piers Blofeld of Sheil Land & James Wills, managing director of Watson Little discuss with We'd Like A Word presenters, Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan, how to get an agent for fiction or non-fiction, how to keep an agent, & mistakes to avoid. They also dish up some behind the scenes gossip.

Piers has been the agent for Nadine Dorries, Cath Quinn, Jamie Thomson & Pizza Express. No, really. The Pizza Express Cookbook. He's also Stevyn Colgan's agent. James is agent for Christopher Fowler, Martin Edwards, Alex Pavesi, footballer Jamie Carragher & the great Alan Moore - crime fiction, thrillers, sports star & graphic novels. He's also the agent who sold the audiobook rights for Paul Waters' book, Blackwatertown, to WF Howes. (Patrick Moy is the audiobook narrator. You should have a listen.)  On this episode we hear about Piers Blofeld's link to the Bond villain with whom he shares a surname, from authors Jo Jakeman & Allie C Hall, about Henry "Blowers" Blofeld, the price of getting an agent's name wrong in your pitch letter, diversity, comedians called David getting book deals (yes Davids Baddiel & Walliams, we mean you), books on spontaneous combustion, dropping a tea-soaked gingernut on Paul's phone, why your pitch letter should be "half long & twice strong", changing book titles or not (David Alderton - Fat Dog Thin & Freya Berry - The Dictator's Wife), author relationships with mega-publishers (like Penguin Random House, Harper Collins or Hachette) v smaller but perfectly formed ones (like Orenda or Viper), how good storytelling is not the same as good writing (& far rarer), how winning awards may not change your life, why you need an agent to be your bad cop, & how agents cope with rejection. (You see? It's not just authors who go through it.)

We'd Like A Word is a podcast and radio show from authors Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction and non-fiction. We go out on various radio and podcast platforms. Our website is www.wedlikeaword.com -  which is where you'll find information about Paul and Steve and our guests.  We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword and Facebook @wedlikeaword and our email is [email protected] - and yes, we are slightly embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - your questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word in person, to chat, review, meet writers or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.

Literary agents (part 2): Piers Blofeld of Sheil Land & James Wills, managing director of Watson Little discuss with We'd Like A Word presenters, Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan, how to get an agent for fiction or non-fiction, how to keep an agent, & mistakes to avoid. They also dish up some behind the scenes gossip.

Piers has been the agent for Nadine Dorries, Cath Quinn, Jamie Thomson & Pizza Express. No, really. The Pizza Express Cookbook. He's also Stevyn Colgan's agent. James is agent for Christopher Fowler, Martin Edwards, Alex Pavesi, footballer Jamie Carragher & the great Alan Moore - crime fiction, thrillers, sports star & graphic novels. He's also the agent who sold the audiobook rights for Paul Waters' book, Blackwatertown, to WF Howes. (Patrick Moy is the audiobook narrator. You should have a listen.)  On this episode we hear about Piers Blofeld's link to the Bond villain with whom he shares a surname, from authors Jo Jakeman & Allie C Hall, about Henry "Blowers" Blofeld, the price of getting an agent's name wrong in your pitch letter, diversity, comedians called David getting book deals (yes Davids Baddiel & Walliams, we mean you), books on spontaneous combustion, dropping a tea-soaked gingernut on Paul's phone, why your pitch letter should be "half long & twice strong", changing book titles or not (David Alderton - Fat Dog Thin & Freya Berry - The Dictator's Wife), author relationships with mega-publishers (like Penguin Random House, Harper Collins or Hachette) v smaller but perfectly formed ones (like Orenda or Viper), how good storytelling is not the same as good writing (& far rarer), how winning awards may not change your life, why you need an agent to be your bad cop, & how agents cope with rejection. (You see? It's not just authors who go through it.)

We'd Like A Word is a podcast and radio show from authors Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction and non-fiction. We go out on various radio and podcast platforms. Our website is www.wedlikeaword.com -  which is where you'll find information about Paul and Steve and our guests.  We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword and Facebook @wedlikeaword and our email is [email protected] - and yes, we are slightly embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - your questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word in person, to chat, review, meet writers or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.

Literary agents (part 3): Piers Blofeld of Sheil Land & James Wills, managing director of Watson Little discuss with We'd Like A Word presenters, Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan, how to get an agent for fiction or non-fiction, how to keep an agent, & mistakes to avoid. They also dish up some behind the scenes gossip.

Piers has been the agent for Nadine Dorries, Cath Quinn, Jamie Thomson & Pizza Express. No, really. The Pizza Express Cookbook. He's also Stevyn Colgan's agent. James is agent for Christopher Fowler, Martin Edwards, Alex Pavesi, footballer Jamie Carragher & the great Alan Moore - crime fiction, thrillers, sports star & graphic novels. He's also the agent who sold the audiobook rights for Paul Waters' book, Blackwatertown, to WF Howes. (Patrick Moy is the audiobook narrator. You should have a listen.)

We'd Like A Word is a podcast and radio show from authors Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction and non-fiction. We go out on various radio and podcast platforms. Our website is www.wedlikeaword.com -  which is where you'll find information about Paul and Steve and our guests.  We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword and Facebook @wedlikeaword and our email is [email protected] - and yes, we are slightly embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - your questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word in person, to chat, review, meet writers or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.

YA young adult books (part 1) with Sarwat Chadda & Shiulie Ghosh: Sarwat & Shiulie discuss with We'd Like A Word presenters, Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan, how to write & market YA (young adult) and mid-lit books. Sarwat is the author of City of the Plague God published by Rick Riordan Presents. He's also the author of The Templar Chronicles (trilogy) (coming out - again - soon with a new part 3), The Ash Mistry series, The Dragon's Eye, Mission Atomic, The Devil's Kiss, The City of Death, and Dark Goddess. He also writes the animated The Legend of Hanuman series for Disney Hotstars. And he has a tendency to get into trouble with rhinos & other occasionally aggressive species. Shiulie is the author of the Daughter of Kali trilogy (& prequel), the Chronicles of Cetaea duology, Mark of the Djinn, The Prince and his Thief, and Soul Quest - some of them published by Peach Publishing. She's also the renowned ITN, Al Jazeera, BBC & TRT TV foreign correspondent & presenter. She honed her diplomatic skills talking herself out of tight corners in war zones.

Shiulie & Sarwat discuss paranormal fantasy; gritty urban coming-of-age romance; diversity & appropriation in representation & writing; creating an anti-Indiana Jones hero, mythology & varying value systems; Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad adventures; making a place for kickass mothers in YA fiction; how to & whether to tackle tough issues like sex, violence, drugs, death, racism, cancer, incest, murder & rape; and who exactly is this goddess Kali they both find so galvanising?

We also hear about other inspirational authors, agents & phenomena including Natasha Ngan, Olivia Chadha, SA Chakraborty, Sonia Land, Piers Blofeld, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rick Riordan, Grayson Perry, Angie Thomas, John Green, Ray Harryhausen, Kali, Peter L Barnes and Indiana Jones.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast and radio show from authors Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction and non-fiction. We go out on various radio and podcast platforms. Our website is www.wedlikeaword.com -  which is where you'll find information about Paul and Steve and our guests.  We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword and Facebook @wedlikeaword and our email is [email protected] - and yes, we are slightly embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - your questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word in person, to chat, review, meet writers or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.

YA young adult books (part 2) with Sarwat Chadda & Shiulie Ghosh: Sarwat & Shiulie discuss with We'd Like A Word presenters, Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan, how to write & market YA (young adult) and mid-lit books. Sarwat is the author of City of the Plague God published by Rick Riordan Presents. He's also the author of The Templar Chronicles (trilogy) (coming out - again - soon with a new part 3), The Ash Mistry series, The Dragon's Eye, Mission Atomic, The Devil's Kiss, The City of Death, and Dark Goddess. He also writes the animated The Legend of Hanuman series for Disney Hotstars. And he has a tendency to get into trouble with rhinos & other occasionally aggressive species. Shiulie is the author of the Daughter of Kali trilogy (& prequel), the Chronicles of Cetaea duology, Mark of the Djinn, The Prince and his Thief, and Soul Quest - some of them published by Peach Publishing. She's also the renowned ITN, Al Jazeera, BBC & TRT TV foreign correspondent & presenter. She honed her diplomatic skills talking herself out of tight corners in war zones.

Shiulie & Sarwat discuss paranormal fantasy; gritty urban coming-of-age romance; diversity & appropriation in representation & writing; creating an anti-Indiana Jones hero, mythology & varying value systems; Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad adventures; making a place for kickass mothers in YA fiction; how to & whether to tackle tough issues like sex, violence, drugs, death, racism, cancer, incest, murder & rape; and who exactly is this goddess Kali they both find so galvanising?

We also hear about other inspirational authors, agents & phenomena including Natasha Ngan, Olivia Chadha, SA Chakraborty, Sonia Land, Piers Blofeld, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rick Riordan, Grayson perry, Angie Thomas, John Green, Ray Harryhausen, Kali, Peter L Barnes and Indiana Jones.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast and radio show from authors Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction and non-fiction. We go out on various radio and podcast platforms. Our website is www.wedlikeaword.com -  which is where you'll find information about Paul and Steve and our guests.  We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword and Facebook @wedlikeaword and our email is [email protected] - and yes, we are slightly embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - your questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word in person, to chat, review, meet writers or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.

YA young adult books (part 3) with Sarwat Chadda & Shiulie Ghosh: Sarwat & Shiulie discuss with We'd Like A Word presenters, Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan, how to write & market YA (young adult) and mid-lit books. Sarwat is the author of City of the Plague God published by Rick Riordan Presents. He's also the author of The Templar Chronicles (trilogy) (coming out - again - soon with a new part 3), The Ash Mistry series, The Dragon's Eye, Mission Atomic, The Devil's Kiss, The City of Death, and Dark Goddess. He also writes the animated The Legend of Hanuman series for Disney Hotstars. And he has a tendency to get into trouble with rhinos & other occasionally aggressive species. Shiulie is the author of the Daughter of Kali trilogy (& prequel), the Chronicles of Cetaea duology, Mark of the Djinn, The Prince and his Thief, and Soul Quest - some of them published by Peach Publishing. She's also the renowned ITN, Al Jazeera, BBC & TRT TV foreign correspondent & presenter. She honed her diplomatic skills talking herself out of tight corners in war zones.

Shiulie & Sarwat discuss paranormal fantasy; gritty urban coming-of-age romance; diversity & appropriation in representation & writing; creating an anti-Indiana Jones hero, mythology & varying value systems; Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad adventures; making a place for kickass mothers in YA fiction; how to & whether to tackle tough issues like sex, violence, drugs, death, racism, cancer, incest, murder & rape; and who exactly is this goddess Kali they both find so galvanising?

We also hear about other inspirational authors, agents & phenomena including Natasha Ngan, Olivia Chadha, SA Chakraborty, Sonia Land, Piers Blofeld, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rick Riordan, Grayson perry, Angie Thomas, John Green, Ray Harryhausen, Kali, Peter L Barnes and Indiana Jones.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast and radio show from authors Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction and non-fiction. We go out on various radio and podcast platforms. Our website is www.wedlikeaword.com -  which is where you'll find information about Paul and Steve and our guests.  We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword and Facebook @wedlikeaword and our email is [email protected] - and yes, we are slightly embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - your questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word in person, to chat, review, meet writers or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.

Lessons in fantasy & world building (part 1) from Elizabeth Knox & Stephanie Bretherton: They discuss with We'd Like A Word presenters, Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan, how to construct imagined worlds from top to bottom, dual narratives, fantastic naturalism, combining fantasy, speculative fiction & science fiction. Elizabeth's new book, The Absolute Book, published by Penguin / Michael Joseph, is out now. It's massive & the cover is lovely. Elizabeth joins us from the land of tomorrow - ie New Zealand. She teaches world building at Victoria University in Wellington. She's the author of 13 novels and other other works besides. Literary non-realism, she sometimes calls it. Her books have won plenty of awards & she has an honour herself - Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Stephanie is the author of Bone Lines, published by Unbound, and various short stories. She's has not (yet) been honoured by royalty, but she's revered as a kind and effective support by many, many new authors. She's currently working on the sequel to Bone Lines - part 2 in her Children of Sarah series.

We also hear about inspiration from JRR Tolkien, George RR Martin, Lionel Shriver, Anne McCaffrey, Black lace women's erotica, Suzie Wilde, Sue Clark, Ursula Le Guin & Richard Powers. And also about author (& former We'd Like A Word guest) Dougie Brimson's new TV & film production company, Red Bus Movies. He's ex-RAF & wants ex-military to apply.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast and radio show from authors Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction and non-fiction. We go out on various radio and podcast platforms. Our website is www.wedlikeaword.com -  which is where you'll find information about Paul and Steve and our guests.  We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword and Facebook @wedlikeaword and our email is [email protected] - and yes, we are slightly embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - your questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word in person, to chat, review, meet writers or read out passages from books. . .