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 twenty future literature masters in China. Together, they discuss Yan's experience writing her English l...
Oct 10, 2023•44 min•Ep. 308
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 Buraka Som Sistema, he is a celebrated columnist in Angola and Portugal. Daniel Hahn is a writer, ed...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 307
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 researching and writing sensitively about the Siege and the atrocities of war, drawing from memory and fr...
Sep 11, 2023•49 min•Ep. 306
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 longlisted for the Gold Dagger 2023 and Gordon Burn Prize 2022. Tom chats to NCW CEO Chris Gribble...
Aug 28, 2023•58 min•Ep. 305
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 the Jhalak Prize and the Portico Prize. In addition, her work has been widely anthologised, including...
Aug 14, 2023•35 min•Ep. 304
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 fiction genre and also in women’s fiction (writing as Eva Woods). She has had four radio plays broadcas...
Jul 31, 2023•50 min•Ep. 303
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 , Badgerlands , Islander and Wild Child . He is President of Norfolk Wildlife Trust and lives in Norfolk with...
Jul 17, 2023•42 min•Ep. 302
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. Raymond was born in London, Hackney to an English mother and Jamaican father. He is the author of...
Jul 03, 2023•57 min•Ep. 301
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 and poet. She is the winner of the Scottish Book Trust New Writer Award and the inaugural Emergi...
Jun 19, 2023•49 min•Ep. 300
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 and published by Héloïse Press in 2022. Together with Rebecca, they discuss how Katherine first disc...
Jun 05, 2023•45 min•Ep. 299
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 and vulnerability portrayed through Shy’s protagonist, the musicality of Max’s language, and much mo...
May 22, 2023•42 min•Ep. 298
On this episode of The Writing Life, we speak to news journalist turned non-fiction writer and biographer Richard Balls about interviewing difficult subjects. Richard is the author of three books: A Furious Devotion: The Life of Shane MacGowan ; Be Stiff: The Stiff Records Story , and Sex & Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll: The Life of Ian Dury . In this conversation with Steph McKenna, he talks about using the experience and techniques acquired through a 20-year journalism career to inform the way...
May 08, 2023•52 min•Ep. 297
A conversation from the archive! National Centre for Writing’s Kate Griffin talks to writer, translator and editor Rabi Thapa. Kate is our Associate Head of Programmes and Rabi stayed in the Dragon Hall cottage as part of our Visible Communities programme in June 2021. Rabi is a British-born Nepali writer and translator. He is also the Editor of La.Lit, the literary magazine from Nepal, and the author of Nothing to Declare and Thamel, Dark Star of Kathmandu . From 2010 to 2011, he was the Editor...
Apr 24, 2023•47 min•Ep. 296
As part of the annual Norfolk and Norwich Festival we run a series of events called City of Literature. A central part of our programme is the Harriett Martineau Lecture which celebrates the legacy of a remarkable, world-changing woman by inviting globally-renowned radical speakers to respond to her life and work. In 2022, we were excited to welcome bestselling novelist, memoirist and literary activist Kit de Waal - presenting the lecture in the beautiful environs of the Spiegeltent. Kit gave a ...
Mar 20, 2023•48 min•Ep. 292
We speak to writer and teacher Okechukwu Nzelu. Why? To discuss that greatest pillar of creative writing - character. Gill and Okechukwu discuss many aspects of character development, including those in his latest novel Here Again Now . Based in Manchecter, Okechukwu Nzelu was the recipient of a Northern Writers' Award from New Writing North in 2015. His debut novel, The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney won a Betty Trask Award. It was also shortlisted for our very own Desmond Elliott Prize among o...
Mar 06, 2023•51 min•Ep. 289
Earlier in the year, our very own Ellie Reeves spoke to local writer James Kinsley. James’s first novella, Playtime’s Over , was published by Propolis in 2021 - a love letter to his native Norwich. James Kinsley’s new book, Greyskin, will be published by Deixis Press on 27th April. Greyskin is a stylish collection of interconnected fantasy stories, inspired by the cinematic mythology of the Old West. On its first day of pre-order, the book topped the Amazon chart for Western Science Fiction. Ell...
Feb 22, 2023•43 min•Ep. 291
Norwich-based poet and writer Shannon Clinton-Copeland speaks to our virtual residents Akshita Nanda, Crispin Rodrigues and Daryl Qilin Yam about writing and literary life in Singapore. Their residencies are supported by Singapore’s National Arts Council. Akshita, Crispin and Daryl touch on everything from the relationship between writing and culture, to writing as a method for finding common experiences. They also discuss understanding across social, cultural and linguistic borders. Virtual res...
Feb 06, 2023•43 min•Ep. 295
We speak to Caimh McDonnell about humour. Caimh is a comedian and writer. He’s written for TV shows such as Mock The Week and Have I Got News for You. He was also a professional stand-up comedian and has written a dozen books under the names Caimh and CK McDonnell. Being funny in fiction is hard, so we wanted to ask the Manchester-based Irishman how to do it - or at least, how he does it. The cover of The Stranger Times says: What if the weird news was the real news? An apt way to describe the p...
Jan 24, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 294
For this episode, we speak to the wonderful Kirsty Logan. Kirsty is completely devoted to books: she is the award-winning author of several novels, including The Gloaming and The Gracekeepers , and short story collections including A Portable Shelter and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales . She recently wrote the Audible Original The Sound at the End , an Arctic ghost story. She’s also a book reviewer, editor and mentor. Kirsty’s new novel, Now She is Witch , came out this month. It is a me...
Jan 02, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 290
National Centre for Writing’s Rebecca DeWald talks to translator Clare Richards. Rebecca is our Emerging Translator Mentorships Programme Manager and Clare is a previous mentee, who was mentored by Anton Hur. Clare is a translator of Korean, but has a passion for the more challenging scripts such as Japanese, as she explains in their conversation. As a neurodivergent person, Clare is perfectly placed to reflect on our ablist workplaces and the male-skewed view of autism - and she also describes ...
Dec 21, 2022•53 min•Ep. 288
In this episode, we speak to novelist and NCW tutor Megan Bradbury, who gives us a wealth of great advice to help you build your writing routine. We cover a lot of ground in this discussion, the focus of which is removing mental, physical and even temporal blocks to get you writing - from tackling your own avoidance excuses to noise-cancelling headphones. Many of you will already know Megan from the podcast, and it was a pleasure to welcome her back. Megan is a long-time friend of the writing ce...
Dec 07, 2022•50 min•Ep. 287
This episode is a Writing Life special, featuring an hour of new writing read by the writers on this year’s National Centre for Writing Escalator programme - recorded earlier this year at the showcase event, here at Dragon Hall. Melody Bowles Bang Wang Ben Cartwright Shirley Day Isabelle Higgins Adam Leeder Joanna Miller Carrie Patten Rick Roydes Mark Stocker Escalator is our talent development programme. And each year, we look for ambitious, challenging, unconventional and affecting new voices ...
Nov 22, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 286
In this episode: How to grip your readers, with crime and noir writer Julia Crouch. Julia is a crime and noir novelist so she really knows how to grip readers, and this episode has dozens of great tips for writers of all genres. Julia explains how characters and their development can grip readers; she explains how we can build narrative tension; and how conflict is a key driver of a reader’s attention. We also discuss the role of dead bodies, how to create and use twists as well as lots of great...
Nov 07, 2022•48 min•Ep. 285
In this episode, Isabelle King speaks to our recent writer-in-residence, Els Beerten. Els is an award-winning Belgian writer, and, in this wide-reaching conversation, she discusses how she develops characters as well as uses the senses to bring places and people to life. Els is part of our residency programme in which writers and translators from around the world stay in our cottage, here at Dragon Hall - or work remotely on a virtual residence. Isabelle King writes historical fiction and works ...
Oct 24, 2022•44 min•Ep. 284
This month, we explore the short story : what makes a great short story and how the format differs from longer forms such as the novel. Lots of writers and teachers extol the virtues of short stories as a training ground for novels, and while this might be true, short stories are a great medium in their own right - doing many things that novels can’t. To help us delve into this topic, we spoke to writer and teacher Jenn Ashworth. Jenn is probably best known for her novels, which include A Kind O...
Oct 10, 2022•51 min•Ep. 283
How to write about love in its various forms with Maddie Mortimer. Maddie is the author of Maps Of Our Spectacular Bodies which won her a 2022 Desmond Elliott Prize. The first part of our conversation was about her Desmond Elliott Prize win, but we soon started talking about the novel, writing craft and writing love. This episode features the section of the conversation about writing love, from the intimate and tender to the physical and visceral, from the romantic to the familial. As part of th...
Sep 28, 2022•35 min•Ep. 282
This episode is a Writing Life special to celebrate Noirwich, the 2022 Norwich Crime Writing Festival here in our fine city. The festival featured Ukrainian-born American and French artist and writer, Yelena Moskovich. Yelena has written for Vogue, The Times Literary Supplement, Paris Review and many more. She has also just released her third novel, A Door Behind a Door , an exploration of the post-Soviet diaspora. We invited our friend, creative writing tutor and the godmother of domestic noir,...
Sep 14, 2022•58 min•Ep. 281
This month, we discuss revision. To help us understand how, when and why writers should revise, rewrite and redraft our work, we speak to writer and NCW course tutor, Lynne Bryan. We discuss the importance of revising one’s work, how revision is different for different types writer, when to do what kind of revision, and the role of third-party feedback. This is a great discussion for anyone doing creative writing. Lynne received her MA in Creative Writing in 1985. Her first book - Envy At The Ch...
Aug 30, 2022•47 min•Ep. 280
We talk to international bestselling writer Mohsin Hamid about his new book, The Last White Man . The conversation covers the key themes of his new novel: race, transformation, freedom, loss - as well as his journey into writing fiction, and, how a story is only ever half-told, until it finds a reader… Many will know his Booker shortlisted novels The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West. And some may also know his other novels Moth Smoke and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia - and a non-fi...
Aug 18, 2022•47 min•Ep. 279
In this episode, we speak to novelist, teacher and doctor of letters, Ashley Hickson-Lovence to explore story and plot. Ashley is the author of The 392 and the prize-nominated novel Your Show (which he talks a little about in our chat). We also discuss the difference between story and plot, key plot devices and how you can ensure your story has a plot that keeps people turning pages. Ashley is also the tutor for our Start Writing Fiction course. We also have courses on fiction, crime, memoir, hi...
Jul 18, 2022•49 min•Ep. 278
