S02 E04 Hamilton Wende

In 1985, a young Hamilton Wende watched the South African security forces drag seven bodies into Casspirs at Crossroads township and lie about it on the evening news. Since that day, he has dedicated himself as a war reporter to keeping the record and telling the truth in wartime situations. Hamilton Wende joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to break down how he went from being a 16-year-old boy who used to hide Pride and Prejudice behind his Maths textbook at boarding school to a seasoned war reporter, historical novelist, and children’s author. Hamilton is the author of numerous historical novels, set in wartime situations, as well as the Arabella series of novels for tweens. Fiona talks about dealing with professional jealousy as a writer and Gail tells us how her break from writing has freed up different parts of her brain. This episode provides fascinating insight into how one man’s day job – war reporting – can feed into decades of fiction writing. Follow us on Instagram · Chat with us on Twitter · Join our Facebook group · Subscribe to us on YouTube · Join our newsletter · Ask your writing-related questions here