Page One - The Writer's Podcast

M. H. Ayinde was born in London’s East End. She is a runner, a lapsed martial artist, and a screen time enthusiast. She is the Sunday Times bestselling author of epic fantasy novel A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST (Orbit UK/Saga Press). Her short fiction has appeared in FIYAH Literary Magazine, F&SF, Fantasy Magazine, and elsewhere, and she was the 2021 winner of the Future Worlds Prize. She lives in London with three generations of her family and their Studio Ghibli obsession.We had great fun chatting with Modupe live at the Cymera Festival back in June, and heard all about her amazing journey to winning the Future Worlds Prize and how that kickstarted her career as an author. Plus, we talk about her inspirations including Black Panther and A LOT of Final Fantasy!Links:Buy A Song of Legends Lost nowFollow Modupe on InstagramVisit Modupe's websiteAdventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Intisar Khanani is an award‑nominated American fantasy author and former public‑health consultant. Born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, she spent her childhood moving around—living in five U.S. states and time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia—before settling in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two daughters. Her writing career began with the self‑published YA fantasy Thorn and has since expanded into acclaimed series such as The Dauntless Path and The Sunbolt Chronicles. Her latest work, Debts of Fire, continues the adventures in The Sunbolt Chronicles and is out now.We had great fun chatting with Intisar and hearing about what made her want to start writing, and why she thinks diverse fantasy stories are so important. We also talk about how she moved from self-publishing to traditional and back to indie again, as well as chatting about the perceived "necessary" rate of books for indie authors.Links:Buy Intisar's books nowFollow Intisar on InstagramVisit Intisar's websiteAdventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

J.R. Dawson's debut, The First Bright Thing, is a Golden Crown award winner. Her shorter works are in places such as F&SF, The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018, and Lightspeed. Dawson lives on Dakota land in Minnesota with a loving spouse and three dogs. She is a professor at Drexel University's MFA program. Her second novel, The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World, is a loose sapphic retelling of Orpheus, and releases from Tor in July 2025.We had great fun chatting about how she quickly learned playwriting wasn't for her, and how she found her community writing short stories and novels. We also talk about the retelling of myths and legends, hear about the scary step of changing agents and much more!Links:Buy The Lighthouse at the Edge of the WorldFollow J.R. on BlueskyVisit J.R.'s website Adventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carlo Lucarelli is an acclaimed Italian crime writer, journalist, screenwriter, and television presenter. He is best known for his detective novels, including the De Luca Trilogy and the Inspector Grazia Negro series, which have been widely translated and adapted for screen. Alongside his fiction, Lucarelli has hosted popular true crime TV shows in Italy and remains a prominent voice in Italian cultural life. His latest English-translated novel, The Darkest Winter, is out now.We had a really interesting chat with Carlo, hearing about how he uses his different recurring characters to explore the different time periods he wants to explore in his crime novels. We also talk about where he gets his inspiration, including from some real-life mysteries that he examined when presenting his TV show.Links:Buy The Darkest Winter nowAdventures in Publishing-land on Apple PodcastsAdventures in Publishing-land in SpotifyAdventures in Publishing-land on YouTubeSupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura Shepherd-Robinson is the award-winning, Sunday Times and USA Today bestselling author of four historical novels. Her books have been featured on BBC 2’s Between the Covers and Radio 4’s Front Row and Open Book. Her fourth novel, The Art of a Lie, is out now.We had great fun chatting with Laura and hearing how she decided to move from working in politics to writing, and learn about the research that goes into her novels. We also talk about planning, the effect of awards and more!Links:Buy The Art of a Lie and Laura's other books now!Follow Laura on BlueskyVisit Laura's websiteAdventures in Publishing-Land RSS FeedSTET Podcasts YouTube channelSupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amelia Blackwell has a master’s degree in Creative Writing, a corn snake called Colin, and a deep love of the works of Jane Austen. Although the Boleyns appear in her family tree, it’s through marriage, not blood, which is probably just as well. Georgiana Darcy’s most persistent suitor in her novel A Crime Through Time, Baron John de Halighwell, takes his name from one of Amelia’s distant great-grandfathers, who lived in a mansion that even Lady Catherine de Bourgh would admire. She has previously published YA under Lisa Glass.We had great fun chatting with Amelia and hearing about the ups and downs of her career as an author, including several agent changes, as well as what led to her writing her new novel, A Crime Through Time. We talk about Jane Austen, the research she did for the novel and why she wanted to tell this time-skipping story.Links:Buy A Crime Through Time now!Follow Amelia on InstagramAdventures in Publishing-Land RSS FeedSTET Podcasts YouTube channelSupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Novelist and TV showrunner Jonathan Lee is the author of four novels, including High Dive and The Great Mistake. He is creator, executive producer & lead writer of the BBC/ Netflix drama series “The Bombing of Pan Am 103”. Other TV projects include originating and executive producing the documentary series “Who Killed Jill Dando?” (Netflix, 2023), a Top 10 show on the streamer in 47 countries.We enjoyed chatting with Jonathan and hearing how his experience as an editor taught him to be a better writer. We also chat about the differences for writing for novels as opposed to for the screen, and talk about the sensitivities around making a show on real-life events.Links:Watch The Bombing of Pan Am 103 nowBuy Jonathan's booksVisit Jonathan's websiteAdventures in Publishing-Land RSS FeedSTET Podcasts YouTube channelSupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beth Lewis is the author of five novels so far, including her debut, THE WOLF ROAD. My latest novel, THE RUSH, came out in the UK on 10th June 2025 and is out in the US on the 7th October. It was July’s Goldsboro Books Prem1ere Book Club pick and a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick.We had a great chat with Beth, hearing about the influences that went into writing The Rush, and how she researches her historical fiction. Plus, we talk about how westerns have romanticised the period and erased the part that women often played.Links:Buy The Rush and Beth's other books nowFollow Beth on BlueskyVisit Beth's websiteAdventures in Publishing-Land RSS FeedSTET Podcasts YouTube channelSupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on ThreadsPage One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. Rattle, her debut novel, was the subject of a huge international auction and has been translated into several languages. It received widespread critical acclaim from authors and reviewers. She has since written bestsellers The Collector, The Neighbour, When I Was Ten and Into the Dark in which she introduces DC Saul Anguish, a brilliant young detective with a dark past. Fiona lives with her family in Essex. Her latest book, Some of Us are Liars, is out now.We had great fun chatting with Fiona, hearing about the highs and lows of being a journalist (including her favourite celeb encounters), and also about how that experience has helped her as a fiction author. We also talk about what draws her to writing dark fiction and why every author needs tenacity to keep going in publishing.Links:Buy Fiona's books nowFollow Fiona on BlueskySupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Johnson is a novelist, historian, and publisher. She is the UK publisher of many bestselling authors, including George R.R. Martin. She has written for both adults and children, including the bestselling novels The Tenth Gift and The Salt Road. Her latest book is Secrets of the Bees.We really enjoyed chatting with Jane and hearing how it was working with the Tolkien estate and bringing us the version of Lord of the Rings we all now know and love, as well as how she came to found the Voyager imprint at Harper Collins. We also talk about how her experience as an editor informs her own writing, and chat about the latest book, Secrets of the Bees.Links:Buy Jane's books nowFollow Jane on InstagramVisit Jane'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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Cordy's debut novel,The Miracle Strain/Messiah Code, was published in over twenty-five languages and reached the top five in the Sunday Times Bestseller List.  Disney bought the film rights for $1.6 million. Another five novels followed: Crime Zero/The Crime Code, The Lucifer Code, The Venus Conspiracy, The Source and The Colour Of Death. All were published in the UK by Bantam Press and Corgi, and translated into several languages. Warner Bros optioned the film rights to The Source and the producers of Lord of The Rings and The Golden Compass optioned The Crime Code. His latest novel, Manhattan Down, is out now.We had a great chat with Michael, hearing about how he decided to take a year out to write his first novel - and how that ended up paying off handsomely. We also chat about how he gets his inspiration for his novels, and why the siren calls of Hollywood don't always end up being what they appear.Links:Buy Manhattan Down and Mike's other books nowFollow Michael on InstagramVisit Michael'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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

C.L. Taylor is the nine times Sunday Times bestselling author of eleven gripping stand-alone psychological thrillers: THE ACCIDENT, THE LIE, THE MISSING, THE ESCAPE, THE FEAR, SLEEP, STRANGERS, HER LAST HOLIDAY, THE GUILTY COUPLE, EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE and her newest book, IT’S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND, published on 5th June 2025.We loved chatting with Cally and hearing perhaps the most unique story ever about how she got her agent, why she moved into writing psychological thrillers, and how she has drawn on some personally traumatic events to inform her stories.Links:Buy Cally's books nowFollow Cally on BlueskyVisit Cally'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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kate Foster worked as a national newspaper journalist for more than twenty years before becoming an author. Growing up in Edinburgh, she became fascinated by its history and often uses it as inspiration for her stories. Her previous novels include The Maiden, which won the Bloody Scotland Crime Debut of the Year and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and The King’s Witches. The Mourning Necklace is her third novel.We had a great chat with Kate, hearing about how taking a writing course helped her develop her first novel, The Maiden, and how she found an agent in part thanks to success in Bloody Scotland's Pitch Perfect competition. Plus, we learn about her approach to writing historical fiction and why every story starts with a character for her.Links:Buy Kate's books nowFollow Kate on InstagramSupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuart MacBride is the Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae and Ash Henderson novels. He’s also published standalones, novellas, and short stories, as well as a slightly twisted children’s picture book for slightly twisted children. His latest book, This House of Burning Bones, is out now.Despite some technical difficulties (explained at the start!) we enjoyed chatting with Stuart and hearing about how he loves the thrill of the blank page and how every story starts with him writing the cover copy for the novel. We also chat about true crime and the danger of sensationalising it, as well as whether he prefers writing long-running series or standalones.Links:Buy Stuart's books nowVisit Stuart'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 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 channelAndrew Hunter Murray is a writer, broadcaster and comedian. He co-hosts the award-winning podcast No Such Thing As A Fish, which has received 500 million downloads and toured the world. He also writes jokes and journalism for Private Eye magazine, hosts the Eye's podcast Page 94, presents BBC Radio 4’s Friday night comedy The Naked Week, and spent 14 years writing BBC2’s QI.His first novel, The Last Day, was a Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller, and one of the top 10 fiction debuts of 2020; his second, The Sanctuary, was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month; and his third, A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering, was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic literature.We had a great time speaking with Andrew all about how he got into writing for TV and Private Eye, and how that differs from writing fiction. We also discuss why his first two books were more speculative, with the latest being more humorous. Plus, we strangle a few metaphors along the way...Links:Buy Andrew's books nowFollow Andrew on BlueskySupport 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 FacebookFollow us on InstagramFollow us on BlueskyFollow us on Threads Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.