The Writing Life

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Chief Executive Peggy Hughes is joined by award-winning poet Martin Figura to discuss the process of writing poetry, and how things make their way into his poetic imagination. Martin Figura was born in Liverpool and lives in Norwich. His collections include The Little Book of Harm (Firewater Press, 2000), Ahem (Eggbox, 2005) and Whistle (Arrowhead, 2010), w...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Chief Executive Peggy Hughes is joined by writers and members of The Martineau Society Stuart Hobday and Gaby Weiner to discuss their new book Reintroducing Harriet Martineau: Pioneering Sociologist and Activist, which explores the innovative, sociological approach adopted by Harriet Martineau in her efforts to develop a ‘scientific’ approach to understandi...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Head of Programmes & Creative Engagement Holly speaks with novelist Michael Donkor about crafting identity in fiction. Michael Donkor was born in London to Ghanaian parents. He studied English at Wadham College, Oxford, followed by a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. His first novel, Hold, was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas and shortlisted...

In this episode of The Writing Life, former NCW Communications Assistant Molly speaks with author Naomi Wood about writing subversive women. Naomi Wood is the award-winning author of three novels, including the bestselling Mrs. Hemingway. Her stories have been published in the Mid-American Review, Washington Square Review, Joyland and Stylist, and have been shortlisted for the Manchester Fiction P...

In this episode of The Writing Life, writer and translator Daniel Hahn speaks with three former virtual residents Nur-El-Hudaa Jaffar, Sim Wai-chew and Tse Hao Guang about the quirks of virtual residencies, and how their expectations compared to reality. We were delighted to host them from June to December 2023, in a virtual residency generously supported by the National Arts Council of Singapore....

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, NCW Senior Communications and Marketing Manager Steph speaks with author Heather Parry about writing the grotesque body. Heather Parry was born in Rotherham and lives in Glasgow. She has won the Bridge Award for an Emerging Writer, Cove Park's Emerging Writer Residency and the Laxfield Literary Launch Prize. In 2021 she was a Hawthornden Fellow and her...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Emerging Translator Mentorships Programme Manager Annie speaks with author Polly Atkin about writing with a chronic illness. Polly Atkin is a multi-award-winning writer, essayist and poet. She is the author of the poetry collections Basic Nest Architecture, which won a Northern Writers' Award, and Much With Body, which was longlisted for the Laurel Prize, a...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Programme Officer Ellie speaks with author and NCW mentor Chip Colquhoun about oral storytelling and writing for younger audiences. An NCW Associate Artist, Chip is a storyteller and children’s author. He’s trained teachers through the Department for Education’s English Hub, young creatives through Rathbone College, vicars through Ridley Hall in Cambridge,...

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, NCW Programme Officer Ellie speaks with American author Margot Douaihy about the development of the noir genre in crime writing. Margot Douaihy is the author of several noir titles including the mystery novel Scorched Grace, the inaugural title of Gillian Flynn Books. Douaihy is originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Northampton, Massa...

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, Head of Programmes and Creative Engagement Holly speaks with novelist Hannah Vincent about point of view and different types of narration. Hannah Vincent is a novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her first novel, Alarm Girl was published in 2014 and her second, The Weaning in 2018. Her 2020 short story collection, She-Clown and Other Stories was...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW CEO Peggy Hughes speaks to four dazzling voices in contemporary poetry. On Wednesday 22 November, Jay Bernard, Anthony Vahni Capildeo, Gail McConnell and Joelle Taylor gathered to celebrate the launch of exciting new poetry archive collection, ‘Towards a Centre for Contemporary Poetry in the Archive'. This project, delivered by the British Archive for Creat...

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, writer and theatre director Jen Dewsbury speaks with writer, performer and NCW Academy tutor Molly Naylor about the craft of scriptwriting. Molly Naylor is the co-creator and writer of Sky One comedy After Hours. Her plays have been toured nationally and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. She wrote and performed the acclaimed solo spoken-word shows Stop Trying T...

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, former NCW CEO Chris Gribble spoke to bestselling crime writer Ian Rankin about his new standalone short thriller The Rise. Ian Rankin was born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960 and graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982. He is the internationally bestselling author of the Inspector Rebus and Detective Malcolm Fox novels, as well as a string of...

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, former NCW CEO Chris Gribble caught up with author Fiona Mason to discuss her memoir 36 Hours and the craft of life writing. Originally from the Midlands, Fiona Mason now lives between the salt marshes of the east of England, and the Ariege Pyrenees in southwest France where she's renovating a house with her partner. She holds MAs in Philosophy and Crea...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Programme Officer Vicki Maitland caught up with writer and NCW Academy tutor Yan Ge to discuss the process of writing short stories. Yan is a fiction writer, writing in both Chinese and English, and is the author of thirteen books in Chinese, including five novels. She has received numerous awards and was named by People’s Literature magazine as one of twen...

This episode of The Writing Life features musician and writer Kalaf Epalanga and writer, editor and translator Daniel Hahn on the process of writing and translating Kalaf’s exhilarating debut novel, Whites Can Dance Too. They were interviewed by NCW Programme Manager Rebecca DeWald. Kalaf Epalanga is a musician and writer. Best known internationally for fronting the Lisbon-based dance collective B...

In this episode we’re bringing you a conversation with debut novelist and creative writing teacher Priscilla Morris. Priscilla’s first novel Black Butterflies is the author’s personal response to the war that devastated her mother’s hometown of Sarajevo, Bosnia, in the former Yugoslavia, from 1992-1996. Priscilla spoke to NCW Communications Assistant Molly-Rose Medhurst about her approach to resea...

In this episode of The Writing Life, we are joined by author, screenwriter and lecturer Tom Benn to discuss his latest novel, Oxblood. Set in 1980s South Manchester, Benn's blazing novel of female solidarity and the legacy of male violence centres on three generations of women at the heart of an underworld family. It won the 2022 Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award and was...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Programme Officer Vicki Maitland speaks with writer, editor and workshop leader Katy Massey about the process of writing real people in memoir. Katy was a journalist for many years before studying for an MA and PhD in Creative Writing. Her memoir, Are We Home Yet? was published in 2020 and praised by Bernardine Evaristo as ‘a gem’. It was shortlisted for th...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Chief Executive Chris Gribble caught up with Claire McGowan to discuss how she got started as a writer, her route(s) into publishing and how she’s maintained and developed a career in writing across a range of genres and over a lengthy period of time. Claire McGowan published her first novel in 2012, and has followed it up with many others in the crime fict...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Chief Executive Chris Gribble speaks with writer Patrick Barkham about the process of writing his new book The Swimmer, and how he found ways to ‘hear’ the voice of an author whose work he knew well, but who he never met. Patrick Barkham is an award-winning author and natural history writer for the Guardian. His books include The Butterfly Isles, Badgerland...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Chief Executive Chris Gribble speaks with writer, poet and educator Raymond Antrobus in an interview which was recorded ahead of his performance at the City of Literature weekend 2023. City of Literature takes place in May each year and is a National Centre for Writing and Norfolk & Norwich Festival partnership, programmed by National Centre for Writing. Ra...

In this episode of The Writing Life, National Centre for Writing’s Head of Programmes & Creative Engagement Holly Ainley caught up with Victoria Mackenzie after her event in Norwich to discuss her debut novel For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain, the joys and pitfalls of researching historical periods, and how you communicate this to contemporary readers. Victoria is a fiction writer an...

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Programme Manager Rebecca DeWald had the pleasure of talking with Katherine Gregor and Caroline Lamarche about the process of writing and translating The Memory of the Air, a novella by Caroline which explores a universal experience of gender and sexual violence and challenges common notions of victimhood. The book was translated into English by Katherine a...

On this episode of The Writing Life, we are delighted to welcome Max Porter back to Norwich! Max was here in April for an event hosted by The Book Hive to celebrate the publication of his latest novel, Shy. NCW Executive Director Peggy Hughes settled in for a cosy chat with Max upstairs in The Book Hive. Their expansive conversation covers the special power of bookshops, questions of masculinity a...