Alexandra Sokoloff is the bestselling, Thriller Award-winning and Bram Stoker and Anthony Award-nominated author of thirteen supernatural, paranormal and crime thrillers. The New York Times has called her “a daughter of Mary Shelley” and her books “Some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre.” As a screenwriter she has sold original suspense and horror scripts and written novel adaptations for numerous Hollywood studios (Sony, Fox, Disney, Miramax), for producers such as Mi...
Jun 05, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Alex De Campi is a comics writer and author, who has been nominated for numerous Eisner awards and has recently collaborated with film director Duncan Jones on the graphic novel, Madi , the latest chapter in his Moon series of films. She has also just released her highly anticipated novel debut, The Scottish Boy , a thrilling adventure set in medieval Britain. We had a great chat with Alex talking about how she broke into the comics industry, what her process is when she is creating comics, and ...
May 29, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Laura Lam is a sci fi and fantasy author whose latest book is Goldilocks, a bold, thought-provoking and high concept feminist dystopian thriller, best described as a cross between The Martian and The Handmaid's Tale. We've been lucky enough to read it, and it is a good one! We loved hearing from Laura about all the research she put into Goldilocks to make sure it rang true, and also had a great discussion about her teaching on the creative writing Masters course at Napier University in Edinburgh...
Apr 17, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Struan Murray is a young Scottish author, whose recently released debut novel Orphans of the Tide has received rave reviews, even earning him comparisons to Philip Pullman. A dark gothic kids fantasy, it’s easy to see why people think of stories such as Northern Lights. We had great fun chatting to Struan about his long process to getting published, including the value of writing courses, and also getting to know people in the publishing industry. We also hear how he manages to juggle his day jo...
Apr 10, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Harriet Tyce is a Sunday Times Bestselling Author whose debut novel, Blood Orange , was a huge hit and featured on Richard & Judy’s Book Club list in 2019. A domestic noir set in the UK legal world, it is a twisty tale of murder and quite a few flawed characters! We had a really interesting chat with Harriet, hearing about how the long path to her debut with Blood Orange, how being selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club was transformational, and how writing courses really can help you b...
Apr 03, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Neil Forsyth is a Scottish author and screenwriter who has written critically acclaimed TV shows such as Eric, Ernie and Me , as well as the infamous Bob Servant , the Dundee cheeseburger svengali portrayed by Brian Cox on TV, and now a Twitter phenomenon. Most recently, he created and wrote the hit BBC show Guilt , a dark crime comedy about two brothers whose night home from a wedding doesn't quite go to plan. We had great fun chatting with Neil about how he moved from freelance journalism into...
Mar 27, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 7
It's the Return of the Mike as friend of the podcast Mike Carey returns to chat with us about his latest novel, The Book of Koli, set in a post-apocalyptic Britain. We also had time to talk about his latest comic series, The Dollhouse Family, and gained lots of hints and tips about how to create new worlds. Links: Buy The Book of Koli and Mike's other books Buy The Dollhouse Family The Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and ...
Mar 20, 2020•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 6
Christian Divine is a screenwriter and video game writer whose credits include the seminal cyberpunk game Deus Ex. More recently, Christian was lead writer on the amazing Life Is Strange games from DontNod Entertainment which tell the stories of teenage kids with supernatural powers growing up in small-town USA. We had a really interesting chat with Christian about how he came to be a writer, and how writing for video games differs from other mediums. He talked to us about why video game writers...
Mar 13, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Season 3Ep. 5
After working in Scottish politics, Jonathan Whitelaw moved into journalism before becoming an author. Subjects he has covered in the press have varied from breaking news, the arts, culture and sport to fashion, music and even radioactive waste - with everything in between. He's also a regular reviewer and talking head on shows for the BBC and STV. His debut novel was Morbid Relations, a darkly comic tale about a struggling Scottish comedian was followed up by Hellcorp in which the devil sets up...
Mar 06, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Gareth L Powell is an award-winning British sci-fi author whose amazing worlds have found him a loyal following. Best known for his Embers of War trilogy, his novels have twice won the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel and have been finalists for both the Locus Award in the US and the Seiun Award in Japan. He is also the first person to have had individual work shortlisted in the Best Novel, Best Short Fiction, and Best Nonfiction categories of the BSFA Award in the same y...
Feb 28, 2020•46 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Dave Cook is the writer and creator of indie comics such as Bust, Vessels and the hugely successful cyberpunk comic, Killtopia. We had a great chat with Dave about how he began writing comics and then turn them into a reality. We talked about teaming up with artists, the importance of conventions and how welcoming the comics community can be if you are wanting to be part of it. We also discussed the themes behind Killtopia, and what is next in the series… Links: Buy Killtopia on Amazon Check out...
Feb 21, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Sarah Pinborough is the Sunday Times and New York Times number one bestselling author of over 20 books, including her smash hit, Behind Her Eyes and the just released Dead To Her . She’s also written for TV, and adaptations of her books 13 Minutes and Behind Her Eyes will soon be appearing on Netflix. We had great fun talking to Sarah about how she became an author, why she enjoys writing across genres, and how she came up with THAT twist in Behind Her Eyes (but no spoilers, we promise!). We als...
Feb 14, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Richard Morgan is the author of ground-breaking sci fi and fantasy novels. His debut novel, Altered Carbon , was the first to feature the infamous antihero, Takeshi Kovacs, and was recently adapted into a successful Netflix series. Since then, he has added to the Kovacs series with Broken Angels and Woken Furies , written the fantasy series, A Land Fit For Heroes , and much more. His most recent novel, Thin Air , is the sequel to his 2007 novel, Black Man (also known as Thirteen ). This is the s...
Dec 16, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Richard Morgan is the author of ground-breaking sci fi and fantasy novels. His debut novel, Altered Carbon , was the first to feature the infamous antihero, Takeshi Kovacs, and was recently adapted into a successful Netflix series. Since then, he has added to the Kovacs series with Broken Angels and Woken Furies , written the fantasy series, A Land Fit For Heroes , and much more. His most recent novel, Thin Air , is the sequel to his 2007 novel, Black Man (also known as Thirteen ). We had an epi...
Dec 13, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Claire Askew is the award-winning author of the DI Helen Birch crime series. The first book in the series, All the Hidden Truths , deals with the aftermath of a college shooting in Edinburgh and won the McIlvanney Debut Prize at the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival. The next book in the DI Birch series, What You Pay For , is a blistering follow-up which has also been shortlisted for the McIlvanney and CWA Awards. We had a great chat with Claire, exploring the long and winding process to th...
Dec 06, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Stuart Heritage is a writer and columnist for The Guardian, The Times, Esquire and many other publications. His columns on TV programmes are always both informative and hilarious, a tradition that carried on when he wrote his first book: a biography of his brother entitled Don’t be a dick, Pete (which we think is genuinely one of the funniest books we have read in years!) His follow-up is a satirical take on fairytales, entitled Bedtime Stories for Worried Liberals. Our chat with Stuart was grea...
Nov 29, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Ian Dallas is the creative director of Giant Sparrow, an indie game studio responsible for some of the most mind-provoking games of recent years. Their first game, The Unfinished Swan , won Best Debut Game at the 2013 Video Game BAFTAs, as well as awards for innovation. The follow-up, What Remains of Edith Finch , won Game of the Year at the BAFTAs, and is a remarkable study of grief and family, the likes of which would previously have been unthinkable in the medium of video games. We chat to Ia...
Nov 22, 2019•56 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Andy McNab was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS. Since then Andy has become one of the world’s bestselling writers, drawing on his insider knowledge and experience. His debut book, Bravo Two Zero, was a huge success worldwide and told the true account of a mission in the Gulf War that went awry. As well as three nonfiction bestsellers including Bravo Two Zero, he is the author of the bestselling Nick Stone series and the Tom Buckingham thrille...
Nov 15, 2019•48 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Jim Zub is a Canadian comic book writer, artist, animator and teacher who has worked on comics such as Marvel's Avengers: No Surrender , IDW's Dungeons & Dragons , and his own creator-owned comics including Skullkickers and Wayward with Image Comics. He also teaches animation at Seneca College in Toronto, and still finds time to offer advice to people wanting to work in the comics industry via his website and on social media. We had a great chat with Jim about how playing Dungeons & Drag...
Nov 08, 2019•55 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Christopher Golden is the award-winning, bestselling author of novels such as The Myth Hunters, Of Saints and Shadows, Ararat and many more. He is also a fan of the team-up, collaborating with authors such as (previous Page One Podcast guest) Tim Lebbon on novels such as Blood of the Four and The Map of Moments. He has also worked with comics legend Mike Mignola on Hellboy novels, and frequently writes for and edits horror anthology books, such as the recent Hex Life. We had a great chat with Ch...
Nov 01, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Abby-Lynn Knorr is a bestselling author of urban fantasy young adult novels. Her bestselling Elemental Origins series of novels follow a group of friends over one summer as they discover they have secret powers that they will need to use together to help save the world. We had a really interesting chat with Abby about how she has made a massive success of self-publishing (19 novels in 3 years!) She gives out a huge number of helpful hints and tips to those who fancy going down the self-published...
Oct 25, 2019•56 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Craig Robertson spent 20 years as a journalist for Scottish Sunday newspaper reporting on stories such as 9/11, the Omagh Bombings and the Dunblane shootings before changing career to become a bestselling crime writer. His books, featuring police photographer Tony Winter and his wife DI Narey, have become firm favourites for crime lovers everywhere. We had a great chat with Craig about how he broke in with his first book, Random , and why he made Tony Winter a police photographer. We also hear h...
Oct 18, 2019•58 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Welcome to a new season of The Page One Podcast! We kick off this season in great style with a chat with world-renowned and bestselling thriller writer, David Baldacci. Since releasing his first book, Absolute Power, in 1997, David has gone on to create iconic characters like King & Maxwell, Amos Decker and Will Robie. With 130 million books sold, David is still at the top of his game and earlier this year released his latest novel, One Good Deed, a 1940s set thriller with new character, Alo...
Oct 11, 2019•51 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Peter James is a UK No. 1 bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. He has sold over 19 million copies to date, and has been translated into 37 languages. His latest book in the Roy Grace series, Dead at First Sight, went straight in at No. 1. We had a great chat with Peter about his career and how a start in TV led to him becoming a published author. We also learn about his his collaboration with t...
Jun 11, 2019•55 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Tim Lebbon is a New York Times-bestselling horror, thriller, sci-fi and fantasy writer. He has written over 30 novels, including several in collaboration with Christopher Golden, as well as dozens of novellas and many short stories. One of his books, The Silence, was recently adapted as a Netflix movie. We had a great chat with Tim, learning how he managed to escape the world of work to become a full-time writer, what it's like writing novelisations and tie-ins to well-known franchises, and what...
May 24, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 9
One of the UK's most acclaimed and successful crime novelists, Mark Billingham has seen each of his novels feature in the top ten of The Sunday Times bestseller list. Sales of his novels featuring London-based detective Tom Thorne have topped over 4.5 million in over 25 countries, and he is the first author to win the Theakstons Old Peculier Award for Crime Novel Of The Year twice, for his novels Lazybones and Death Message . His latest novel, Their Little Secret , is just out in hardback. Our c...
May 17, 2019•45 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Helen Fitzgerald is the author of books including The Cry, recently adapted to acclaim on the BBC, and Worst Case Scenario, her latest novel featuring a darkly comic tale involving criminal social justice, murder and the #metoo movement! We had a great time chatting to Helen, hearing about her writing process, and how the adaptation of The Cry came to be. We also chat about Worst Case Scenario (out in paperback on May 16) and how you balance telling a serious story about abuse with dark comedy. ...
May 03, 2019•48 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Mike Carey is a writer of many talents! His work on comics like Lucifer, Hellblazer, X-Men and The Unwritten is legendary, and he has also received acclaim for his novels, such as The Girl With All The Gifts, Fellside and Someone Like Me. He is also a screenwriter, having written the screenplay for The Girl With All The Gifts. We had a really fun chat with Mike, learning about how he broke into comics and the differences between writing for comics, novels and film. We hear about how writing acro...
Apr 26, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Ed James is the prolific author of many crime novels, including the DS Scott Cullen Mysteries and the DI Fenchurch series. His latest book, Kill the Messenger, is the sixth entry in the Fenchurch series. We had a great chat with Ed about how he manages to write four (yes, four!) books a year, including the in-depth planning that goes into each novel, and also discuss how he made a success of self-publishing and moved into the "conventional" publishing world. We also discuss the narrative writing...
Apr 18, 2019•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Adrian J Walker is the author of speculative fiction novels, including the highly (and deservedly!) praised The End of the World Running Club, which featured on the Radio 2 Book Club. Adrian has just announced the sequel, The End of the World Survivors Club, will be out later this year! We had a great time chatting to Adrian, learning about his path from self-published author to appearing on Radio 2 with Simon Mayo to discuss The End of the World Running Club, and what it feels like when one of ...
Apr 11, 2019•52 min•Season 1Ep. 4
