Forthwrite

Sam and Anna chat to Mira Shah about writing her debut novel during the pandemic and working around a full time job. Mira V Shah is a #1 bestselling author and legal writer who lives in North London with her husband, three good dogs and a mediocre cat. She studied History at the University of Warwick before practising as a City lawyer. During the pandemic, Mira wrote her first ever novel, HER, a p...

This week Anna and Sam dive into a brilliant chat with graphic novelist Hannah Eaton. We find out her process of drawing and writing stories, including making time to write and the importance of reality TV! Plus an exclusive reading from Hannah’s short story Senior Boys. Hannah Eaton has written and illustrated two acclaimed graphic novels: Naming Monsters (MyriadEditions, 2013) was shortlisted fo...

Anna and Sam talk to Luce Brett about writing from personal experience and becoming an advocate for women's health. Luce is the author of PMSL the first incontinence memoir. It was published by Green Tree an imprint of Bloomsbury in 2020. PMSL was her first book and has been influential with healthcare professionals as well as patients and many women and men have contacted her to say it made them...

In this episode Sam and Anna speak with the wonderful Uju Asika, about her love of 'wild' writing, how much of yourself to put into your work and the joy of bringing a picture book into the world, plus Uju reads from her brilliant book Raising Boys Who Do Better. Uju is a multi-award nominated blogger, writer, speaker and creative consultant. She is the creator of the popular family blog Babes Abo...

Anna and Sam speak to Cathy Hayward about her writing process, getting up early and running an independent bookshop. Plus enjoy a reading from her novel The Girl in the Maze. Cathy trained as a journalist and edited a variety of trade publications, several of which were so niche they were featured on Have I Got News for You. She then moved into the world of PR and set up an award-winning communica...

This week Anna and Sam chat with Nicola Gill about her writing process, her road to getting published and how it felt to get published during the pandemic. Plus a reading from her latest novel Swimming For Beginners. Nicola lives in London with her husband and two sons. At the age of five, when all the other little girls wanted to be ballet dancers, she decided she wanted to be an author. Her ball...

Anna and Sam chat to Women's Prize 2022 short-listed author Jacqueline Crooks about her creative process, keeping her writing free and we hear a reading from her novel Fire Rush. Jacqueline was born in Jamaica and grew up in 70s and 80s Southall, part of London's migrant community, carving out a space through music, where she raved at dub reggae dances. She has carved out a career for herself in t...

This week we chat to fabulous Philippa East, about balancing her writing and psychology practices, creating great characters and we hear a reading from I'll Never Tell. Philippa grew up in Scotland and originally studied Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Oxford. After graduating, she moved to London to train as a Clinical Psychologist and worked in NHS mental health services for over...

On our episode this week we chat with wonderful Elizabeth Haynes. Our chat takes in NaNoWriMo, writing across genres and the freedom that can be found writing without a plan. Plus a reading from her latest novel You Me And The Sea. Elizabeth is a former police intelligence analyst who lives in Norfolk with her husband and son. Her first novel, Into the Darkest Corner, was Amazon’s Best Book of the...

In this episode Anna and Sam chat to the brilliant Nicola Williams about writing in a busy schedule and serendipity, plus a reading from her novel Until Proven Innocent. Nicola is a part-time Crown Court Judge, author, and sits on numerous boards as a non executive director. She has been listed as one of the 100 most influential Black people in the UK.   After a successful career at the Bar (inclu...

This week Anna and Sam chat to wonderful Annie Garthwaite, about her long journey to writing, her process and whether she thinks its ok to make things up in historical fiction. Episode also includes reading from her book Cecily. Annie Garthwaite grew up in a working-class community in the north east of England. She studied English at the University of Wales before embarking on a thirty-year intern...

Join us for this brand new series of Writing Around The Kids Podcast, to kick us off we chat with the ever so wonderful Kit de Waal. Listen for her reading from My Name Is Leon and a valuable insight into what makes her tick as a writer. Kit de Waal, born to an Irish mother and Caribbean father, was brought up among the Irish community of Birmingham in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Her debut novel My Name Is...

This week Anna and Sam chat to Sharon Duggal. Sharon writes novels and short stories. Her second novel, Should We Fall Behind (2020, Bluemoose Books) was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature’s 2021 Encore Award, selected for Between the Covers, BBC television’s flagship book show and chosen as a Prima Magazine Book of the Year. Her debut, The Handsworth Times was The Morning Star’s Fict...

Anna and Sam talk to Josie Lloyd about writing, sea swimming and landing a huge book deal for her debut novel. Josie Lloyd is the best selling author of over 20 novels and several parodies which she co-wrote with her husband, Emlyn Rees including 'We're Going On A Bar Hunt' and 'The Very Hungover Caterpillar'.  Also with Emlyn she wrote the nineties rom-hit Come Together which was published in 26...

This week Anna and Sam chat to Louise Fein about writing historical fiction and where she finds her inspiration. Find her Tik Tok series on writing tips here https://www.tiktok.com/@louise.fein.author Louise writes twentieth century historical fiction, based around unheard voices, or from unusual perspectives. Her debut novel, People Like Us  (entitled Daughter of the Reich in the US/Canada editio...

Jacqueline Roy was born and raised in London. Her father was Jamaican and her mother was English and she comes from a family of writers. She hated the pressure to conform at school and left early, so she did her degrees as a mature student and moved to Manchester to take up a full-time teaching post at Manchester Metropolitan University. She lectured in English for many years, specialising in post...

On this week's episode Anna and Sam chat to fabulous Lisa Jewell, about her amazing career, her creepy characters and writing by the seat of her pants. As well as a reading from her novel The Family Remains. Lisa Jewell is a New York Times and Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over twenty-five languages. Lisa has written a number of dark psychological thrille...

Writing chat with this week’s guest Andreina Cordani, about writing for young adults and her dubious browser history. Before writing her first novel, Andreina Cordani was a senior editor and writer for women’s magazines including Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan, where her assignments included interviewing gun-toting moms on the school run, ordering illegal DIY Botox online and learning to do th...

We talk to Gillian Harvey about how she writes around her five children. After graduating from university in 2000 with a degree in English literature, Gillian Harvey trained as a secondary school teacher. She worked in the profession until 2009, when she decided (on the spur of the moment) to move to France with husband Ray. It was there she began working as a freelance writer and has since built...

Anna and Sam talk to Kate Lee about what it is to write for different age ranges and how she finds inspiration for her novels.  Kate is the author of six books for children including the best-selling Santa's Suit which sold 291,000 copies in 7 languages and the popular Snappy pop-up series. Her short stories and poetry have won awards at Shoreham Litfest, the WRITE Festival and the Bath Flash Awar...

We chat to Lorraine about writing in lockdown and using your neighbours for inspiration. Lorraine lives in London with her partner and their 10-year-old son. She previously trained as an actress and has recently completed a postgraduate diploma in psychodynamic counselling. THE PARIS CONNECTION is her debut novel and was published in the UK by Orion Fiction in February 2021 and in the US by G.P. P...

Anna and Sam talk to novelist Laura Wilkinson about her process as well as hearing her read from her novel, Crossing the Line.  Laura Wilkinson is a feminist and lover of ginger hair. A resident of a shabby quarter of Brighton, she likes to write stories which entertain and provide food for thought. Her novels are Crossing the Line, The Family Line, Redemption Song and Skin Deep. Crossing the Line...

Catherine Cooper chats to Sam and Anna about her process and setting her books in glamorous places. Catherine Cooper is Sunday Times Bestseller of thrillers The Chalet and The Chateau, her new book The Cruise was published by Harper Collins this autumn and she is currently working on a fourth thriller set in the Maldives. Her children are aged 20 and 18 and they all live in the South of France.

Join Anna and Sam for this chat with Victoria Dowd, journey with us into Victoria's brilliant/bonkers writing process. Victoria is the award-winning author of the No.1 bestselling Smart Woman’s Mystery series. Her debut novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder , won The People’s Book Prize for fiction 2021 and was named In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel’s Book of the Year 2020. Victoria was a...

In the first episode of season two, Anna and Sam chat to Judith Bryan.  Judith Bryan’s short fiction, non-fiction and poetry appear in various magazines and anthologies including publications by Penguin, Bloomsbury and Peepal Tree. Her debut novel, Bernard and the Cloth Monkey, won the 1998 Saga Prize – republished in 2021 for Penguin’s inaugural Black Britain: Writing Back series, curated by...