Page One - The Writer's Podcast

John Connolly is a bestselling author of mystery and supernatural fiction. With over 30 published works, including the popular Charlie Parker series, his books have captivated readers around the world. He has won the Edgar, Anthony, Shamus, and Macavity awards in the US, a CWA Dagger in the UK, and an Irish Book Award, as well as numerous international accolades, and has published more UK Sunday Times Top 10 Hardback Bestsellers than any other Irish writer. His collection of short stories, Night & Day, is out at the end of October.We loved speaking with John and hearing how he began to write his supernatural crime novels featuring Charlie Parker, and discussing what authors who write cross-genre should (and shouldn't) tell agents and editors when pitching such stories. We also loved getting into a proper craft discussion about writing in general, and how to write in a way that is sustainable for a whole career.Links:Buy Night & Day and John's other books nowFollow John on InstagramVisit John's websiteSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channel!Kate Mosse is the award-winning author of novels, short story collections, essays, non-fiction, and a much-loved playwright. Her books include the multimillion-selling Languedoc trilogy which begins with the unmissable Labyrinth, and the bestselling more recent series, The Joubert Family Chronicles. The final book in that series, The Map of Bones, was published on 10 Oct by Mantle (Pan Macmillan) and is available as a hardback, ebook and audio recording. Kate’s live one-woman stage show, Labyrinth, will be on tour in 2025. Dates and info can be found here: www.labyrinthlive2025.comWe loved having the chance to speak with Kate and hearing how she had never originally planned to become a novelist until a suggestion from a friend. She tells us how it felt when Labyrinth became such a smash hit, and how she never plans her novels, but instead spends years researching the history of the stories she wants to tell.Links:Buy The Map of Bones nowFollow Kate on InstagramVisit Kate's websiteSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channelDavid Goodman is a novelist and short fiction writer of thrillers and science fiction. His debut novel, A Reluctant Spy, is out now from Headline Books in hardback, eBook and audiobook.We've known Dave for a while outside the podcast, and so it was brilliant having a chance to sit down with him and hear him tell us all about his his brilliant debut got published. It's a story that includes tales of rejection, perseverance and why building up a body of work is so important for authors, because you never know when that opportunity will come along.Links:Buy A Reluctant Spy nowFollow Dave on Twitter/XVisit Dave's websiteSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channel!Lee Child is the author of more than two dozen New York Times bestselling Jack Reacher thrillers, with most having reached the #1 position, and the #1 bestselling complete Jack Reacher story collection, No Middle Name. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have sold in one hundred territories. Andrew Child (as Andrew Grant) is the author of the critically-acclaimed novels Even, Die Twice, More Harm Than Good, RUN, False Positive, False Friend, False Witness, Invisible, and Too Close To Home. He began to take over the mantle of writing Jack Reacher from Lee starting with The Sentinel, and his most recent Reacher novel is In Too Deep.We loved having the opportunity to chat with Lee and Andrew, and hearing about how Jack Reacher was born out of necessity after Lee lost his job in TV. Both of them explain their writing processes, and Lee tells us how rather than a list of ideas about Reacher, he began with a list of the things he didn't want from the character. We also talked about them writing the last few Reacher novels together, and how Andrew feels about taking the series forward.Links:Follow Lee Child on Twitter/XFollow Andrew Child on Twitter/XVisit the Jack Reacher websiteSupport us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageonePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deborah Harkness is the best-selling author of numerous novels. Her debut, A Discovery of Witches, was an immediate best-seller, hitting #2 on the New York Times list, and was also a bestseller in the UK, France and Germany. The initial trilogy in the All Souls series has been translated into 37 languages. Her latest book in the series, The Black Bird Oracle, is just out.We loved chatting with Deb and hearing how she became an author almost by accident thanks to a rainy holiday and a visit to a bookshop. What started as an academic thought experiment about what would happen if witches and vampires are real soon ballooned into a 1100 page draft, leading to her debut novel. We discussed her process, research, and also why you shouldn't chase trends as an author.Links:Buy Deb's books nowFollow Deb on Twitter/XVisit Deb's websitePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Lawrence is a best-selling fantasy author. His first trilogy, THE BROKEN EMPIRE, has been universally acclaimed as a ground-breaking work of fantasy. Following The Broken Empire is the related RED QUEEN’S WAR trilogy. THE BOOK OF THE ANCESTOR trilogy is set on a different world and is followed by the related BOOK OF THE ICE trilogy. There is also THE IMPOSSIBLE TIMES trilogy, a D&D/sci-fi work set in London in the 80s. All of these trilogies can be read in any order. His latest series is THE LIBRARY trilogy, with the second book, THE BOOK THAT BROKE THE WORLD, out now.It was great having the chance to interview Mark live before an audience at this year's Cymera Festival in Edinburgh. We chatted about his journey to becoming published, and he told us how he hates planning and never does for his books. He also talked about how success in publishing is such a lottery, and why he created the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO) to try and help authors with that lottery.Links:Buy Mark's books nowFollow Mark on Twitter/XVisit Mark's websiteThe SPFBO websitePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan Malakin is a crime/thriller writer and data security consultant. His short stories have been widely published both in print and online, and he has twice been shortlisted for the Bridport prize. He holds an MA in Creative Writing from Brunel University, and his debut novel, THE REGRET, was published by Bloodhound Books in Summer 2019. His next thriller, THE BOX, was published by Viper Books in 2022, and his latest, THE WRECKAGE OF US, is just out.We loved chatting with Dan and hearing how he honed his craft over the years before publishing his first novel (400 short stories!) We also hear how is is constantly revising his writing process to get the most out of his writing time, and why an early start is essential for his writing habits...Links:Buy Dan's books nowFollow Dan on Twitter/XVisit Dan's websitePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conn Iggulden is one of the most successful authors of historical fiction writing today, with bestselling series on Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan and the Wars of the Roses, as well as two stand-alone novels: Dunstan, set in the red-blooded world of tenth-century England, and The Falcon of Sparta, in which Iggulden returns to the Ancient World. Both instalments of his Athenian series, ­The Gates of Athens and Protector, and his recent Golden Age series, Lion and Empire, are Sunday Times bestsellers. With his brother, he also wrote the award-winning The Dangerous Book for Boys. His latest book, Nero, is just out.We had a fun chat with Conn, talking about his journey which began with sending manuscripts direct to publishers across a variety of genres before his first novel was picked up. He tells us how his approach to writing historical fiction has changed over time, and why he loves every one of the characters he writes, no matter how despicable they may be.Links:Buy Nero and Conn's other books nowVisit Conn's websitePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ilaria Bernardini is one of Italy’s leading novelists, now writing novels in the English language, and an exciting emerging screenwriter. She has film and television projects in development and in production with Lorenzo Mieli's The Apartment, Andy Harries’ Left Bank Pictures, The Russo Brothers/Amazon Studios, Francesco Melzi D’Eril's (SUSPIRIA, BECKETT) MeMo Films. Ilaria helped adapt her own novel CORPO LIBERO for producers Indigo/ALL3MEDIA and Rai & Paramount+. She is also continuing to develop Bernardo Bertolucci’s final script (which Ilaria co-wrote with him) THE ECHO CHAMBER. For Amazon Studios, the Russo Brothers (as directors and creators) & Cattleya she is writing the international science fiction TV series, CITADEL. Her book, WE WILL BE FOREST, is just out in the UK.We enjoyed speaking with Ilaria and hearing about her unusual route into publishing via approaching publishers and then authors directly (not a route that she recommends others follow!) Plus, we hear why she chooses to write some books in Italian and some in English, why she translated her own English novel, The Portrait, into Italian, and what it is like working with the Russo brothers on Amazon's CITADEL series.Links:Follow Ilaria on Twitter/XBuy Ilaria's books nowPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channelBob McDevitt is festival director for Scotland's premier crime writing festival, Bloody Scotland, and programmer for Glasgow's Aye Write literature festival. He has also worked in both sales and commissioning roles at Headline.We had a fun chat with Bob, hearing about how he found himself organising two of Scotland's biggest literary festivals and just what goes into their organisation. We also hear why literary festivals are so important for authors and culture in general, and discuss the thorny and topical subject of festival funding as well. Plus, we get a preview of this year's Bloody Scotland programme!Links:Follow Bob on Twitter/XHave a look at Bloody Scotland's 2024 lineup and grab your tickets now!Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channelGillian Redfearn is deputy publisher at Gollancz, publishing authors from Joe Abercrombie to Brandon Sanderson.We had a great chat with Gillian, hearing how she broke into the publishing industry, what. the day-to-day of an editor involves, and what sort of stories catch her eye when they are submitted by agents. Plus, we find out that she was less than impressed with Joe Abercrombie's first chapter... but fortunately she kept on reading!Links:Follow Gillian on Twitter/XPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channelBecky Brown and Norah Perkins are both literary agents with a twist - they founded and head up Curtis Brown's Heritage section, meaning that they represent the estates of authors such as AA Milne, Iris Murdoch and many more. They also recently won Literary Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards 2024 for their pioneering work in this field.We had a fascinating chat with Becky and Norah about how they got started in this field, and learned about the differences (and similarities) with the "normal" world of agenting. We also chatted about why all authors with published works should think about their posthumous rights.Links:Visit Norah's Curtis Brown webpageVisit Becky's Curtis Brown webpageFollow Curtis Brown Heritage on Twitter/XPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channelJulie Crisp is a literary agent and editor with over fifteen years’ experience working for three major houses across a broad spectrum of commercial titles within fiction, non-fiction and children’s. This also included three years spent working in the Australian publishing industry. For nine years, she headed up the UK arm of one of the largest global brands of science fiction and fantasy, Tor. She has worked on bestselling and award-winning authors such as Ann Cleeves, Peter F. Hamilton, China Miéville, Neal Asher, Amanda Hocking, Naomi Novik and TV/Game partnerships including Halo, The Returned, The Walking Dead and Twin Peaks. As an agent she is actively looking to build my list and is looking for historical fiction, crime/thrillers, bookclub fiction and science fiction and fantasy. Her clients include John Gwynne, Devin Madson, C.T. Rwizi and Sam Hawke.We had a great time chatting with Julie and hearing how she got her start in the publishing world as an editorial assistant, and learn how she uses her editorial experience in her role as a literary agent. We also talk about the growing popularity of genre fiction, as well as talking in detail about queries: the importance of the query letter and comp titles, and what highlights certain things as red flags in some queries that she sees.Links:Visit Julie's website to query her nowFollow Julie on Twitter/XPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channelJohn Baker is a literary agent for Bell Lomax Moreton, focused on sci fi, fantasy and horror. He is the Secretary of the Association of Author's Agents and is co-chair of the AAA Bridge Committee. He also serves on the Kingston University MA Publishing Advisory Board. He is building a small but unique list of authors, who all share a passion for subverting expectations and creating rich new worlds of adventure, including authors like AM Shine, whose book The Watchers is soon to be a film produced by M Night Shyamalan.We had great fun chatting with John about how he got started in the world of agenting, and hearing why he enjoys writing that takes a big swing and is different from what people might expect. Plus, he tells us about the importance of query letters and what can help make a query stand out in the thousands that he receives each year.Links:Follow John on Twitter/XVisit Bell Lomax Moreton's websitePage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this episode as a full video interview on our YouTube channelJonny Geller joined Curtis Brown in 1993 as an assistant after a short career as an actor. He became a literary agent in 1995 after discovering a novel on the unsolicited pile which went on to sell rights around the world. After taking part in a Management Buyout in 2001, he became CEO of the Agency in 2012 and is now CEO of The Curtis Brown Group, the parent company of Curtis Brown agency, C&W, Ed Victor Ltd, Curtis Brown Creative (CBC), Tavistock Wood, Markham Froggatt and Irwin, Cuba Productions and Chair of CBC.Jonny represents a wide range of globally significant writers including novelists, memoirists, Journalists, former Prime Ministers, thought leaders, business people, actors, musicians and screenwriters. Jonny has previously been awarded Literary Agent of the Year and has been listed on The Bookseller’s 150 every year since its inception. He has also been named one of the Evening Standard's 1000 Most Influential People in London and was profiled in The Telegraph.We had a great time chatting with Jonny and hearing how he got into agenting. We also hear why he thinks query letters are so important, and dive into what an agent's role really involves for their authors.Links:Visit the Curtis Brown websiteFollow Jonny on Twitter/XPage One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter/XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.