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Penny Black, Jonny Wright, Gabriel Gbadamosi, Sanjida O'Connell, Dipo Agboluaje, Shelley Silas and Leila Rasheed tell us about the book they're currently reading.
Dipo Agboluaje, Shelley Silas, Jonny Wright, Gabriel Gbadamosi, Leila Rasheed, Penny Black and Sanjida O'Connell discuss their desert island book.
Patricia Cumper explains how she got started as a radio writer, and single-handedly wrote a Jamaican radio soap with unexpected reach.
Rose Collis explains the full-circle of her writing and performing career, and shares a treasured possession from her biographee Nancy Spain.
Chris Arthur selects, from many possibilities, his Talismanic object – which happens not to be in his possession anymore, but back home in Japan.
Nicholas Murray, Vayu Naidu, Sarah Ardizzone, Robin Blake, Sally Kindberg, Ali Knight and Caitlin Davies discuss their desert island book.
Sebastian Baczkiewicz explains his inadvertent start as a dramatic writer, and reveals where he found his first 'proper' idea.
Fiona Shaw shares her long fascination with collecting and skimming stones, and how this interacted with one of her novels.
Aisha Zia explains how she moved from image editor to playwright, and how she came to be involved with site-specific, community-based theatre.
Rob Chapman shares the reply to a teenaged letter, and explains how the circle was squared in his subsequent career.
Elizabeth Speller explains how she got her start as a writer and then a novelist, and warns against writing about trains.
Emma Darwin introduces the Instant Gratification Monkey, and his role as a productivity aid in her writing life.
Gabriel Gbadamosi finds his talisman, and his Yoruba spiritual counterpart, in a junk shop statue.
John Pilkington shares several tales of serendipity, showing how luck has played a part in his literary life.
Chris Simms introduces his writing talisman, chosen from a plethora of candidates to ward off the perils of dark places in the psyche.
Jon Hotten takes us on a tour of 'thwarted masculinity' including big boxers, hairy rockers and ... um... cricket.
Harriet Castor tells the story of how an unlikely lucky break produced a lovely long-term treasure.
James Sherwood presents a sample of his fashion-related literature, written for both commercial publishers and discerning private clients.
Duncan Forbes explains the significance, and the very long history, of his strange-looking writing talisman.
Philip Osment describes his literary coming-out from acting to writing, and the need to explore fresh source material as a writer's career progresses.
Sanjida O'Connell unpicks the many threads that tie her to her writing talisman - an abstract landscape painting by an artist she loves.
Steph Swainston describes how an autistic character in one of her novels led her to discover her own Asperger's Syndrome — and explains its writing benefits.
Kathleen Jones explains her changing talismans — including a special treasure that she tried to refuse.
Cliff Yates on special Sunday evenings, and why a 1970s LP record still has him in a spin.
Paul Sayer shares what drove him to become a writer, and what happened after his first novel won the Whitbread prize.
Alyson Hallett casts a spell when she shares her writing talisman with us.
John O'Donoghue explains the origins of his memoir 'Sectioned', and how his experience of Victorian asylums has inspired his first novel.
Novelist Helen Grant shares her writing talisman, a reproduction statue from her childhood that bridges eras of its own.
Wendy Oberman describes her writing process and shares a pro tip from the screenwriting business.
Historian John Keay has a changeable talisman, which most recently took the form of an equally changeable bird.
Mark Piggott takes us on his journey from 16 year old school leaver to novelist, with a detour through journalism and a year without beer.
Cynthia Rogerson explains how she acquired her writer's talisman - a personal letter from one of the writers she most admires.
Zoë Marriott on discovering the magic of books, a career which began in snatched moments of writing, and her Evil Cinderella.
Cherise Saywell introduces her writer's talisman – a very special pen – and explains why she never writes with it.
Dean Stalham describes getting his writing start in prison (to the despair of his cellmate), and staging a play with a cast taken from the criminal justice system.
Jonathan Tulloch opens a box that didn't always belong to him — and finds meaning inside it.
SuAndi describes her late start in writing, and her delight that a self-proclaimed Liverpool Nigerian might be 'paid for talking'.
Doug Johnstone gives us a good look at his head.
Playwright and novelist Samuel Lock (1926-2016) describes the mysterious inner genesis of all his work.
Donny O'Rourke introduces us to St Francis, a saint with spiritual and personal significance, as rendered in wood by a New Mexico craftsman.
Chris Westwood shows off some retro tech, and shares his creative routine and his own gothic beginnings as a writer.
Max Adams gives us a look at his writer's talisman — and it takes a good look back.
Roy Bainton describes his early occupations from sailor to sewage worker, and how he achieved his childhood dream of becoming a writer.
Eleanor Updale shares her Writer's Talisman — the fragmentary but potent remains of a bear named Bobby.
In this short animation, writer Alexander Hutchison shares his infectious enthusiasm for libraries.
Millie Murray describes the kinds of books she writes, and her writing process.
Ruth Thomas shares her Writer's Talisman — the famous Three Wise Monkeys, with a dash of personal significance.
Kevin Cadwallender describes mortifying poetic beginnings and how he wrote a pamphlet in a weekend, and shares a bear.
In this short photo-narrative, Linda Cracknell visits her favourite bookshop — The Watermill in Aberfeldy, Perthshire.
Jack Mapanje describes his accidental route into writing.
Marc Alexander explains how he became a writer after reading kept him going during a long childhood illness.
Julia Copus presents her Writer's Talisman — a wee man who's definitely no worry-wart.
Judy Hindley describes the background to one of her enduringly popular children's books, and how she found a spy in a library.
Kapka Kassabova introduces her Writer's Talisman — a nifty little fellow called Karlsson On The Roof.
Trader Faulkner tells a tale of lost marbles, illicit whisky and how he got his unusual name.
Jane Bailey describes the significance of two very different photographs for her third novel.
Angela Patmore speaks about her interest in extreme psychology, cerebral climaxes and her controversial research on stress.
Angela Patmore talks about her love of dogs and her latest dog book.
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