Writers & Worlds with Madam Lether

In Episode Three of Writers & Worlds, Madam Lether sits down with Dr Ama Josephine Budge Johnstone, speculative writer, artist, curator and pleasure activist.

Their conversation moves through queerness, ecology, Black identity, climate and speculative fiction, looking at the ways our identities and experiences shape the stories we tell and the futures we imagine. Ama speaks about her own Black and queer identity, and how race, queerness and our relationship with the natural world intersect throughout her writing, art and wider creative practice.

Madam Lether and Ama also talk about finding your voice as a writer, creating speculative worlds, representation, ecology and climate, and the freedom that comes with working across different forms of storytelling.

Rather than centring on one particular piece of work, this episode takes a wider look at Ama's creative world, from writing and speculative fiction to art, research and activism, and the ideas and experiences that continue to shape everything she creates.

🎙️ Writers & Worlds with Madam Lether
Episode Three: Dr Ama Josephine Budge Johnstone: Queerness, Ecology & Speculative Worlds

A PrideXtra Original.

What happens when your experience with death becomes thething you write about?

In Episode Two of Writers & Worlds, Madam Lether sitsdown with writer, designer and former funeral professional Cecil Fenn.

Originally from New York, Cecil apprenticed in embalming andworked in the funeral industry before moving across the Atlantic and retrainingin theatre. Their work continues to draw heavily on those experiences,exploring grief, death, the body, illness, queerness and the strange ways wetry to make sense of being human.

The conversation also dives into Cecil's debut novel, TheRestorative Artist, a contemporary gothic novel following an accomplishedembalmer whose own illness and grief begin to unravel his relationship with hiswork, his past and the dead he has built his life around.

Madam Lether and Cecil talk funeral work, writing from livedexperience, our relationship with mortality, creating horror from the body, andwhat it takes to turn all of that into a debut novel.

The Restorative Artist is out now from Lucent Dreaming.

Writers & Worlds with Madam Lether

A PrideXtra Original.

The Restorative Artist is out now. Pick up your copy usingthe links below:

⁠The Restorative Artist by CecilFenn (Preorder Paperback, 2026) – Lucent Dreaming⁠

⁠The Restorative Artist a bookby Cecil Fenn - Bookshop.org UK⁠⁠The Restorative Artist:Amazon.co.uk: Fenn, Cecil: 9781916632240: Books⁠

Music Notice: All music contained in this episode consistsof original recordings created for Writers & Worlds and released by MadamLether. Music featured includes “Writers & Worlds – Main Theme” and“Between the Pages: A Writers & Worlds Theme,” composed by TheodoreBathhouse & Madam Lether. No third-party commercial music is used in thisepisode.

AI Notice: No generative AI was used in the creation,writing, recording, or production of this episode.

Horror author John Langan joins Madam Lether for the very first episode of Writers & Worlds.

Best known for his award-winning novel The Fisherman, John sits down with Madam Lether to talk about horror, monsters, mythology and the stories that have shaped his writing. They explore the ideas and influences behind his work, his approach to creating horror, and, of course, the strange and haunting world of The Fisherman.

From the stories that inspire us to the things lurking beneath them, join us for an hour in the world of John Langan.

Writers & Worlds is a PrideXtra Original Podcast, bringing together authors and creators for conversations about writing, worldbuilding, creativity and the stories behind their work.

Guest: John Langan
Host: Madam Lether
Produced by: PrideXtra

New episodes released fortnightly.

Writers & Worlds is a PrideXtra Original Podcast hosted by horror author Madam Lether. Each episode brings her together with writers and creators to explore the stories they tell, the worlds they build and the ideas behind their work. From horror and the strange to fantasy, science fiction and speculative fiction, Writers & Worlds goes beyond the page to discover where stories come from, how imagined worlds take shape, and the people behind them. New episodes released fortnightly.

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