Roy Bainton speaks with Frances Byrnes about the stories an adventurous life accumulates, the increasing difficulty of surviving as a freelancer, and the way music and writing come together as a cornerstone of his career.

Clare Shaw speaks with Geoff Hattersley about the origins of her love of poetry, the legacy of mental illness in her writing, and her drive to find the light in even the darkest material.

Katharine Quarmby spends a diary week researching and editing her first novel, a work of historical fiction inspired by a cruel act of punishment, and finds the process surprisingly familiar.

Kerry Young speaks with Frances Byrnes about how her early life in Jamaica influenced her novels: her father’s gangster life in Kingston and her mother’s Catholicism and ideas of redemption and Kerry’s passionate feelings about being Chinese-Jamaican.

John Keay explains why writing a foreign nation’s history is no more presumptuous than writing about Picts and Scots, and shares his enthusiasm for RH Tawney, a man who was ‘more history writer than historian’.

Tobias Jones considers, as both reader and writer, the fascination of the true crime genre, and the profound truths with which it can connect us.

Marina Benjamin speaks with James McConnachie about midlife, the lost dreams of the space age and the note of melancholy running through all of her work.

Esther Selsdon shares a late summer writing week featuring Stalin memorabilia, matchgirl strikes, sore toes and Soviet cinema.

Debjani Chatterjee speaks with Frances Byrnes about her writing work in the community, and her own medical traumas and their impact on her life.

Cliff Yates speaks with Geoff Hattersley about changing from school hater to school teacher, his poetry collections and his love of performing, and shares some poems featuring his distinctive touch of surrealism.

Cliff Yates, Jeremy Seal, Debjani Chatterjee, Peter Forbes and Ian McMillan share their all-time favourite books, and explain why they matter.