We chat with author Amita Murray about her process for writing Regency novels, getting to know your characters and the importance of filling her creative cup.Follow AmitaAmita Murray's Unladylike series of Regency novels are published with Harper Collins. She has won the Exeter Novel Prize and the SI Leeds Literary Prize, been a writer-in-residence with Leverhulme, Literature Works, Spread the Word, University College London, Plymouth University and others. She has taught creative writing in the world-renowned University of East Anglia programme and her writing appears in magazines such as Red, New Scientist, Big Issue, Bookseller, Writers Digest, Diva, Ellery Queen, Wasafiri and more.
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37:52
ROISIN MAGUIRE
In this episode we speak with novelist Roisin Maguire about being kind to yourself, filling your well as a source of creativity and the inspiration for her wonderful book Night Swimmers. Also includes a reading from the novel.You can connect with Roisin through her publisher Serpent's TailRoisin is an award-winning short story writer who lives by the sea in rural County Down. A former bouncer, diver and primary-school teacher, Roisin has been writing for many years but over the pandemic took the opportunity to actually finish something. Her novel Night Swimmers was published by Serpent’s Tail in 2024 and was nominated for the Kate O'Brien Debut Authors Award in 2025.
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ORLAINE MCDONALD
We chat to Orlaine Mcdonald about protecting herself as a writer, her process and what it's like to be shortlisted for an award as a debut novelist. Plus a reading from her book No Small Thing.Please note this episode comes with a trigger warning for discussion of suicide. Follow OrlaineOrlaine is a writer of mixed Jamaican & Irish heritage. She lives in London. No Small Thing won the 2024 Kate O'Brien Award, and was shortlisted for The 2024 Nero Book Awards for Debut Fiction, and the RSL Ondaatje Prize.
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MARISA LINTON
This week we speak with YA author Marisa Linton about writing fiction as a means of refuge, bringing a wealth of academic knowledge to a creative outlet and we hear a reading from her novel The Binding Spell.Follow MarisaMarisa Linton is an author, historian and professor emerita. She is one of the world's leading experts on the French Revolution, and taught history for many years at Kingston University, specializing in witchcraft and magical beliefs. She also works as a historical adviser, including for the TV series Dangerous Liaisons, where she was part of the writers' room. She now writes fantasy for young adults that draws on her love for ancient Celtic Britain, folklore and fascination with magic, ghost stories and the supernatural. Born in Barnes, in south-west London, into an Italian/English family, she has lived for many years in Brighton where she has raised her three children. Her novel The Binding Spell was published by Chicken House in May 2025.
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36:00
FIONA WILLIAMS
We chat with prize-winning author Fiona Williams about her creative process, how it felt winning the Bridport first novel prize and giving herself time to play with different writing styles. Plus a reading from her beautiful novel The House of Broken Bricks.Follow Fiona.Fiona Williams is a writer of literary fiction. Her debut novel The House of Broken Bricks was the winner of the 2021 Bridport Prize, Peggy Chapman-Andrews First Novel Award and published by Faber in January 2024. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences from the University of Westminster and had a long career as a medical writer. She has since gained an MA with Distinction in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University and is currently completing a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Exeter. Born and raised in South-East London, she now lives with her husband and two children in Exeter, where her writing focuses primarily on the relationships between identity, belonging, nature and landscape.
Welcome to Forthwrite, a podcast about creative writing with, for and by women. Formerly called Writing Around The Kids.
Hosts Anna and Sam chat to a variety of brilliant women writers about their creative process. From finding inspiration to the nitty gritty of the writing/life balance.
New Zealand