The Writing Life

We're a weekly podcast for anyone who writes. 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!Brought to you by the National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall in Norwich.


All Episodes

Writing for younger audiences with Chip Colquhoun

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Programme Officer Ellie speaks with author and NCW mentor Chip Colquhoun about oral storytelling and writing for younger audiences.
An NCW Associate Artist, Chip is a storyteller and children’s author. He’s tr…

Writing modern noir with Margot Douaihy

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, NCW Programme Officer Ellie speaks with American author Margot Douaihy about the development of the noir genre in crime writing.
Margot Douaihy is the author of several noir titles including the mystery no…

Writing unreliable narrators with Hannah Vincent

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, Head of Programmes and Creative Engagement Holly speaks with novelist Hannah Vincent about point of view and different types of narration.
Hannah Vincent is a novelist, short story writer and playwright. H…

Into the contemporary poetry archive

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW CEO Peggy Hughes speaks to four dazzling voices in contemporary poetry.
On Wednesday 22 November, Jay Bernard, Anthony Vahni Capildeo, Gail McConnell and Joelle Taylor gathered to celebrate the launch of excit…

How to Write a Script with Molly Naylor

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, writer and theatre director Jen Dewsbury speaks with writer, performer and NCW Academy tutor Molly Naylor about the craft of scriptwriting.
Molly Naylor is the co-creator and writer of Sky One comedy After…

In conversation with bestselling crime writer Ian Rankin

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, former NCW CEO Chris Gribble spoke to bestselling crime writer Ian Rankin about his new standalone short thriller The Rise.
Ian Rankin was born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960 and graduated from the Univers…

The craft of life writing with Fiona Mason

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, former NCW CEO Chris Gribble caught up with author Fiona Mason to discuss her memoir 36 Hours and the craft of life writing.
Originally from the Midlands, Fiona Mason now lives between the salt marshes of …

Writing Short Stories with Yan Ge

In this episode of The Writing Life, NCW Programme Officer Vicki Maitland caught up with writer and NCW Academy tutor Yan Ge to discuss the process of writing short stories.
Yan is a fiction writer, writing in both Chinese and English, and is the aut…

Music and translation with Kalaf Epalanga & Daniel Hahn

This episode of The Writing Life features musician and writer Kalaf Epalanga and writer, editor and translator Daniel Hahn on the process of writing and translating Kalaf’s exhilarating debut novel, Whites Can Dance Too. They were interviewed by NCW …

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