In Writing with Hattie Crisell

Fresh from judging the Booker Prize, novelist Sara Collins joins us this week. Her debut The Confessions of Frannie Langton won the First Novel prize in the 2019 Costa Book Awards, and having adapted it into a TV series, she's now working on her second book. In this episode, she talks about the careful rhythms of her writing routine; the value of plotting (even in literary fiction); and her perspective on the publishing industry, having spent the first 17 years of her career as a corporate lawyer. Buy The Confessions of Frannie Langton: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5954/9780241984017 Watch The Confessions of Frannie Langton, as adapted by Sara: https://www.itv.com/watch/the-confessions-of-frannie-langton/10a1811/10a1811a0001 Listen to Sara and I discussing the writing process with Samira Ahmed on BBC Radio 4's Front Row (from the 28-minute mark): https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0024l44 How to Write a Book, presented by Sara, her agent Nelle Andrew, and publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-to-write-a-book/id1756969285 Buy In Writing: Conversations on Inspiration, Perspiration and Creative Desperation: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5954/9781803510637 This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative – the renowned writing school run by the literary and talent agency. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off your first online writing course – eligible courses can be found here. Visit https://curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.

This week I'm talking to Tom Crewe, author of 2023's The New Life, contributing editor of the London Review of Books and winner of the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. I visited Tom in September at his London office, which is really more of a nest of books, and we talked about the strange emotional journey of publication; the wrangling of structure; the role of sex scenes and much more. Buy The New Life here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5954/9781529919714 Listen to Tom reading his LRB essay on his childhood obsession with wrestling: https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/the-lrb-podcast/wrestling-days Buy my book In Writing: Conversations on Inspiration, Perspiration and Creative Desperation: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5954/9781803510637 Come and see me and author Anna Metcalfe in Birmingham on Saturday 30 November: https://the-heath-bookshop.eventcube.io/events/68404/hattie-crisell-in-writing-conversations-on-inspiration-perspiration-and-creative-desperation This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative – the renowned writing school run by the literary and talent agency. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off your first online writing course – eligible courses can be found here. Visit https://curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.

This week I'm in the London home of artist and writer Posy Simmonds. From the 1970s onwards, Posy had a regular comic strip in The Guardian, where she wrote Mrs Weber's Diary and later serialised the graphic novel Tamara Drewe. She went on to publish two more graphic novels, Gemma Bovery and Cassandra Darke. Earlier this year, she had a major exhibition at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and became the first British artist to win the Grand Prix at France’s Angoulême International Comics Festival. Here are some of Posy's books: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing ...and here are some more: https://www.waterstones.com/author/posy-simmonds/520640 I'm teaching an online writing masterclass with Arvon on Tuesday 19 November: https://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/courses-retreats/masterclass-how-to-improve-the-authenticity-of-your-writing/ I'm doing an event at Oxford's Caper Bookshop on Thursday 21 November: https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML2NMXXMTK08F/checkout/QDFD4C2ZV7EK2S4TD25M3MUB I'm interviewing David Nicholls on the writing process in Cambridge on Saturday 23 November: https://www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/events/david-nicholls-you-are-here-in-writing-live-with-hattie-crisell/ Buy a signed copy of In Writing: Conversations on Inspiration, Perspiration and Creative Desperation here: https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/in-writing-owl-bookshop-signed-copy/ This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative – the renowned writing school run by the literary and talent agency. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off your first online writing course – eligible courses can be found here. Visit https://curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.

Nathan Silver, director and co-writer of Between the Temples (and many other movies) joins me from New York today to talk about his 'scriptment' approach to screenwriting, in which scripts read more like novellas. Nathan and I have a great chat about how he collaborates with cast and uses improvisation to tell a story; how comedy helps him to 'Trojan horse' experimental work to audiences; and his thoughts on letting an audience feel a little bit lost.  Watch the trailer for Between the Temples, starring Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UNPfUU0UZI If you liked this episode, try my interview with filmmaker Ruben Ostlund: https://audioboom.com/posts/8259325-ruben-ostlund-filmmaker 'Great rewards come from being brave' – read my Q&A in Curtis Brown Creative's newsletter: https://www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog/hattie-crisell-author-interview Order a signed or dedicated copy of my book for someone you love (possibly yourself): https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/in-writing-owl-bookshop-signed-copy/ To celebrate the publication of In Writing, Granta Books is giving away twenty 'Creative Desperation' T-shirts. To be in with a chance of winning one, all you have to do is pre-order or purchase a copy of the book from any retailer. Email your receipt/proof of purchase to [email protected] before Tuesday 12th November, putting ‘In Writing Giveaway’ in the email subject. Terms and conditions: Entrants must be UK-based. The winners will be chosen at random. Any entries received after the closing date will not be counted. Entries must include proof of purchase. Both online and in-store purchases are accepted as entries. This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative – the renowned writing school run by the literary and talent agency. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off your first online writing course – eligible courses can be found here. Visit https://curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.