'I came to writing late in life, having never for a moment thought I would become a published novelist. It simply never occurred to me that I could or ever would become a writer. My working-class roots put it well beyond any horizon of mine.'
'There were no clear routes for becoming a writer. Degrees in creative writing had not yet mushroomed at the universities; I’d had no idea that writing might be taught. How novelists learnt their craft and made a career of it, to me was an utter enigma.'
08-12-2022
Michael Bond and our host Julia Copus speak about three objects that have a special significance in Michael's writing life, and Michael passes on three of his top writing tips, in 'Three Little Things'.
11-11-2021
Caroline Brothers speaks with Ann Morgan about writing international stories and her roots as a foreign correspondent, the different forms of bravery involved in writing and the process of seeing your work adapted for the stage.
13-05-2021
Cherise Saywell speaks with Doug Johnstone about the correspondence course that showed her she had something to say, the striking sense of place in her writing, her love of clean, understated prose and the benefits of continuing to write short stories alongside her novels.
'I often find myself drawn to novelists who are also poets, among them is Michael Ondaatje, my most constant source of inspiration; books of his... travel with me to the places in which I write.'
'Whilst that doubting voice will always blow in and out like a season, keep hold of, and do not apologise for, the other voice that asserts that you can do this.'
09-01-2020
Mark McCrum speaks with James McConnachie about his first travel writing adventures in South Africa during the last days of apartheid, being sent rather unwillingly for a further book about Australia, and working out what you’re writing about as you go along.
03-10-2019
Meaghan Delahunt speaks with Cherise Saywell about revolutionary beginnings, the physical nature of her writing and drafting process, being a 'citizen of nowhere' and the pressure on Australian writers to conform to Colonial perceptions of their country.
'"New Guinea is not at all a childish dream; West Papua is not at all a childish dream. It is a call. You are perfectly right to answer it". I went.'
27-06-2019
Robyn Marsack speaks with Cherise Saywell about how her interest in the literature of WW1 led her to the work of Edmund Blunden, about discovering her own grandfather’s WW1 writings, and an astonishing literary surprise.
Arriving in Britain from her native Australia Cherise Saywell wondered if she would ever find the confidence to write. More recently, she has found that being an outsider may be no bad thing for a writer.