Page One - The Writer's Podcast

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This week, we discuss why the publishing industry is pointing fingers at libraries for declining author incomes, but we wonder about the reasons they aren't talking about. Plus, have you heard of Elias Thorne? We talk about AI's repetition problem and why that may be good news for authors. And we revisit the thorny issue of book lists - after we criticised the Guardian's first 'Best 100 books', is their Readers' list any better?

00:00 Intro
01:14 Declining Author Income - Libraries to Blame?
14:13 Thorne in the Machine - AI Running Out of Ideas?
23:38 Guardian Top 100 - Readers vs Critics
30:40 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory
38.23 The Final Chapter - Horrifyingly Good

Links:
Authors Guild Looks at Why Author Incomes are in Decline
Chatbots Keep Telling Stories about Lighthouse Keeper 'Elias Thorne'. We Might Know Why
Wikipedia may have built the best AI writing detection guide
The Guardian Readers top 100 novels of all time
Pokémon Go data trained AI that could assist military drones in war zones

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here!

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Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

J.D. Pennington is an award-winning creative director and copywriter with over 20 years of experience in film and television advertising, creating campaigns for major studios and leading independents. The Othello Club is his first novel. It has been developed for television by Paramount+ as The Revenge Club.

We had a great time chatting with J.D., hearing about his transition from a graphic design and copywriting background into the world of storytelling. We also talk about enduring 10 to 15 years of screenwriting rejection before deciding to write a novel, and we get some interesting anecdotes about the profound impact of reading Bram Stoker's Dracula at age 11, as well as his dedicated process of writing his debut book during the early mornings and weekends over two years!

Link:
Buy The Othello Club now
Visit J.D.'s website
Follow J.D. on Instagram

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

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-one

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Page 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

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On this week's Drafting Notes, we tackle one of the great writing mantras: "Show, Don't Tell." What does it actually mean? And should you always follow the rule? We discuss where the mantra came from, and what we think it is trying to emphasise, while also discussing why it isn't always a rule that needs to (or should) be followed!

Drafting Notes is a series in which one award-winning writer (Tariq) and one hopefully soon-to-be-published writer (Marco) discuss various writing issues as they occur to them!

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Drafting Notes and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are 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-one

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Kieron Gillen is a British comic book writer and former video game journalist. He is best known for his work on high-profile titles such as Star Wars, X-Men, and The Eternals, as well as his acclaimed creator-owned series The Wicked + The Divine and Die. He is currently working on new projects like Power Fantasy.

We had a great time chatting with Kieron, hearing about his transition from video game journalism to comics, the emergent mechanics of video game narratives, and his DIY roots creating cut-and-paste fanzines. We also talk about his early doubts about writing as a viable career path, and we get some interesting anecdotes about what it's like to work on big IP projects like X-Men and Star Wars.

(Note: Kieron has also appeared on our sister podcast, Narrative Damage, talking about his love of TTRPGs. You can listen to that interview here or watch it on YouTube.)

Links:
Follow Kieron on Bluesky
Visit Kieron's Website

Come see us at Cymera: Podcast recording
Narrative Damage live show

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

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-one

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Page 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.

Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

David Goodman is an award-winning, multi-genre author. His debut novel A RELUCTANT SPY won the McDermid Debut Award and Bloody Scotland Debut Prize in 2025 and was optioned for television by Carnival Films. The sequel SOLITARY AGENTS is out this month, June 2026. His SF debut, SHARDS OF STARLIGHT, written as David W. Goodman, is coming from Solaris Books in 2027. He also has several published short SF stories and novelettes.

We had a great time chatting with Dave again, hearing about the emotional rollercoaster of being a debut author, winning two massive debut prizes, and the plot of his highly anticipated sequel, Solitary Agents. We also talk about why release day is actually a starting gun rather than a finish line, and of course he tells us about 5 books that influenced him as an author.

Links:
Buy Solitary Agents now
Follow Dave on Bluesky
Visit Dave's website

Support us on Patreon and get great benefits!: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One Extra and Page One - The Writer's Podcast are 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-one

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Page One Extra is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky
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