Moroccan-born writer Laila Lalami explains how a single image became her debut novel
Laila Lalami writes short stories, essays and reviews. Her work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and elsewhere. The UK edition of her debut novel Secret Son was published in the UK by Viking Trade in February 2010. She describes how she’s seen the life of a writer change over the past 10 years.
Man Booker Prize nominee Adam Foulds talks about the pros and cons of literary awards
Adam Foulds won the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2008 for his first novel The Truth About These Strange Times, the Costa Poetry Prize 2009 for his narrative poem The Broken Word, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2009 for his novel The Quickening Maze. Adam describes how writing became an instant obsession for him.
Rob Murray explains the importance of choosing the right words to succeed as a professional cartoonist
Rob Murray is a cartoonist and comic strip writer, producing work to illustrate feature articles, columns and editorials as well as PR and advertising materials. His work appears in magazines including Private Eye, The Spectator, Reader’s Digest, The Week and trade publications. Rob tells us how he finds inspiration in everyday life.
Author and filmmaker James Runcie describes the horrors of bad reviews and the joy of working with JK Rowling
James Runcie is an author and documentary-maker. He’s written five novels, including The Discovery of Chocolate, The Colour of Heaven and East Fortune, and his films include Miss Pym’s Day Out, Ten Days That Made the Queen and J K Rowling: A Year in the Life. James shares his views on the importance of having more than one goal to aim for.
Best-selling author Sophie Hannah describes the importance of structure in crime novels and poems alike
Sophie Hannah writes psychological thrillers, poetry, short stories and children’s books. She won the 2004 Daphne Du Maurier Festival Short Story Competition, and her first crime novel, Little Face, sold more than 100,000 copies. She tells us how the “secretly warped psyches of allegedly normal people” draw her to write crime fiction.
Author and publisher John Yeoman explains why he established Writer’s Village short fiction contest
John Yeoman is the author of eight published books of humour and fiction, and has been working as a successful commercial writer and publisher for 40 years. He has a Phd in Creative Writing and tutors in creative writing at a university. He lets us know why he believes ebooks and self-publishing will be the future for authors.
Sylvia Howe explains how a freelance writer can become an expert in anything, given a little time
Sylvia Howe is a freelance journalist writing on travel, interviews, homes and gardens, food, health, family, countryside, and sustainability for publications ranging from The Times to The Lady. When she isn’t writing for work she works on her novel. She tells us how she got her break by entering the Vogue Talent Contest.
Award-winning playwright David Eldridge explains how actors and anger and unrequited love inspire him
David Eldridge wrote his first play, Serving It Up, while still studying at Exeter University. His other plays include Under the Blue Sky and Market Boy. Under the Blue Sky won the Time Out Live Award for Best New Play. David talks to us about the joy of “seeing actors elevate the work into another place.”
