by National Centre for Writing
We’re a podcast for anyone who writes. Every week we talk to writers about their writing journeys and techniques, from early career debuts to self-publishers and narrative designers. We’ve featured Margaret Atwood, Jackie Kay, Sara Collins, Antti Tuomainen, Val McDermid, Sarah Perry, Elif Shafak and many more! The Writing Life is produced by the National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall in Norwich.
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Publishing Since
3/6/2019
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April 14, 2025
This week on The Writing Life, we’re diving into the world of romantasy — exploring what makes these stories so captivating for readers and such a rewarding genre for writers.
March 17, 2025
In this episode of The Writing Life, writers Alex Allison, George Harrison, and Ashley Hickson-Lovence share their insights into writing about sport and modern masculinity. Alex Allison is a writer from London. He is the author of two novels, published by Dialogue. His second novel, Greatest of All Time, was released on 30th January 2025. With humour, heart and a touch of rebellion, Greatest of All Time explores queer love and the trials of growing up in the hyper-masculine world of sport. George Harrison is a writer based in Norwich. His debut novel, Season, is published by Eye Books. Set on the terraces of a fictionalised football club and old through thirty-eight chapters – one for each game of the Premier League campaign – Season is a lyrical, hypnotic and gently uplifting study of loneliness and modern masculinity. He wrote Season while participating in our Escalator New Writing Fellowships. Ashley Hickson-Lovence is a novelist, poet, literary critic and Lecturer of Creative Writing. His second novel Your Show, published by Faber in 2022, was shortlisted for the East Anglian Book Awards. Your Show is the thrilling story of one man’s pioneering efforts to make it, against the odds, to the very top of his profession as a football referee and beyond. Together, they discuss their novels Greatest of All Time and Season, and how they capture the unifying role of football. They also touch on the framework of their novels, the importance of writing a novel that you would want to read, and the challenge of balancing modern masculinity with intimacy and vulnerability in their writing.
February 10, 2025
In this episode of The Writing Life, writer, poetry programmer, and NCW Academy mentor Julia Bird shares her insights into developing your creative practice. Julia Bird is a highly experienced poetry programmer who has worked for organisations including the Poetry School and The Poetry Society. As a freelancer, she’s worked for literary development agencies, festivals, publishers and magazines, and in arts, university and healthcare settings. Through her company Jaybird Live Literature she has produced eight Arts Council England-funded touring poetry shows; and she is the author or co-author of six poetry collections. She sits down with NCW Programme Officer Ellie to discuss practical advice for those looking to pursue a creative career. Together, they explore how structured mentoring can help writers to develop their practice, guidance for bringing out the vibrancy of your ideas in funding applications, and the barriers writers and creatives may face along the way. If you're interested in learning more from Julia, go to nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/mentoring/ to book a mentoring session with her now.
Dan Simpson
Kelton Reid
James Thayer
Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra
Savannah Gilbo
K.M. Weiland
Joanna Penn
Daylight Productions and Sony Music Entertainment
Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler
BBC Radio 4
London Review Bookshop
Waterstones
sam baker
Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia
BBC News
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