Page One - The Writer's Podcast
by STET Podcasts
New episodes every Friday! On Page One - The Writer's Podcast, we talk to writers of all descriptions (authors, screenwriters, comic writers and more) about their writing process and how they craft their next great works. We also explore their career, including how their first big break happened, and discuss the ups and downs along the way. We learn something new every episode, and we hope you do as well. Page One is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/shop.
Episodes
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Ep. 290 - Jordan Acosta on turning a short story into audio drama
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Jordan Acosta is a British-Filipino speculative fiction writer. He was born in Hong Kong in the 1980s and moved to the UK in his teens, before graduating with two degrees in architecture from the University of Sheffield. He now works as a visual…
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Adventures in Publishing-land: AI Literary Awards?! Plus, Author-led AI movies and Patterson's Romantasy Debut
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube After a slightly longer than expected break between episodes, we are back to discuss - you guessed it - AI! First up, we are looking to France, where a prize for AI-written novels has been announced (), then we talk about bestselling authors teaming up…
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Narrative Damage - From the Dust - Part 2: The Mansion | Delta Green Actual Play
As we continue our short break, we bring you the second part of our Delta Green adventure from our sister channel, Narrative Damage. Watch as a full video episode on our YouTube channel New York, 1993. Our four mismatched agents begin to investigate the mansion that Delta Green believes is linked...
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Narrative Damage: From The Dust - Part 1: Green Box | Delta Green Actual Play
We're on a short break from Page One, but enjoy this episode from our sister show, Narrative Damage. Watch as a full video episode on YouTube New York, 1993. In the sweltering heat of late summer, four mismatched operatives are activated by Delta Green to take part in Operation Blister II. Three...
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Ep. 289 - Wes Browne on Writing Appalachian Crime
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Wes Browne lives within the Kentucky River Basin in Madison County, Kentucky. He has practiced law as a criminal defense attorney, prosecutor, and public defender in Appalachia for over 25 years. He's also a coach, a poker player, and helps run his...
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Ep. 288 - Literary agent Diana Beaumont on how to catch an agent's attention
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Diana Beaumont is a literary agent with DHH Literary Agency. She started agenting with Rupert Heath Literary Agency in 2011 before moving to TAG and Marjacq Scripts. Before that she was senior commissioning editor at Transworld. Diana was chosen as one…
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Adventures in Publishing-land: Memoir Myths, Broken Publisher PR Promises and Ethics in Agency
On this episode of AIPL, there isn't even a mention of AI! Instead, we talk about how a recent change to Agent ethics guidelines in the US are questionable at best, discuss how publisher's PR promises are often empty (and whether anything could be done to stop that), and dive into a debate about...
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Ep. 287 - CL Hellisen on Navigating the Publishing Grind
Watch this as a full video interview on YouTube CL Hellisen, formerly published as Cat Hellisen, is a South African author living in Scotland who writes speculative and fantasy fiction across adult, young adult, and middle-grade genres. Their published works include When the Sea is Rising Red,...
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Ep. 286 - Jon Gracey on the storytelling power of games
Watch as a full video interview on our YouTube channel In this special crossover episode with our sister podcast, Narrative Damage, we chat with the brilliant Jon Gracey! Jon is a writer, actor, producer, games designer and much more! Host of the hugely popular Blood on the Clocktower live, Jon...
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Ep. 285 - Arvind Ethan David on writing across mediums from stage to screen to novels
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Arvind Ethan David is a writer and producer whose work spans Broadway, television, and film. He was a lead producer of the Tony and Grammy-winning musical, Jagged Little Pill, and has written and produced extensively in television, including Dirk…
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Ep. 284 - Chloe Benjamin on Genre-Bending Fiction & Her Epic New Novel
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Chloe Benjamin is the author of The Immortalists, a New York Times bestseller, and The Anatomy of Dreams. Her third novel, Under Story, will be published in September 2026. A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, LibraryReads favorite, and...
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Adventures in Publishing-land: MrBeast’s Book Flop, Indie Publishing’s Latest Crisis, & How NOT to Hustle as an Author
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube On this week’s episode, we are talking about MrBeast & James Patterson’s apparent book flop, and wondering if publishers will learn that social media following doesn’t translate into book sales. Plus, we talk about the Self-Publishing Partnership’s…
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Ep. 283 - Doug Johnstone on surviving 20 years in publishing
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Doug Johnstone is the author of twenty novels in twenty years, many of which have been bestsellers. The Space Between Us was chosen for BBC Two’s Between the Covers, while six of his books have been shortlisted or longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel...
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Ep. 282 - Literary agent Oli Munson on why the small details matter in query letters
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Oli Munson is a leading literary agent with AM Heath in London. He has a list of bestselling authors including Mari Hannah and Nadine Matheson, and is always on the look out for new and exciting commercial fiction. We had a great time chatting with Oli...
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Ep. 281 - Literary Agent Ludo Cinelli on why authors shouldn't get stuck on their first book when querying
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Ludo Cinelli is an Agent and the Managing Director at Eve White Literary Agency. He joined the company in 2017 and has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London. He represents fiction, non-fiction and children’s authors across...
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Adventures in Publishing-land: Publishing's AI Panic: Cancelled Deals, AI Detectors (Plus a $44k Marketing Mistake)
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube We're back after a short break, but it appears nothing has changed in publishing as we are still talking about our (least) favourite subject: AI! We go through some listener mail and comments on the subject before diving into Jerry Falade's collapsed $2.4m...
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Ep. 280 - Olivie Blake on the importance of resilience and adaptability as an author
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Olivie Blake is the New York Times bestselling author of speculative fiction for adults, including The Atlas Six trilogy, Alone with You in the Ether, Masters of Death, the short story collection Januaries, Girl Dinner, and her most recent novel,...
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Page One Extra - Ian Green on his fantasy influences
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Ian Green is a writer from Northern Scotland with a PhD in epigenetics. His biopunk eco-terrorism thriller EXTREMOPHILE was one of Financial Times’ Best Science Fiction Books of 2024 and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Dragon Awards.…
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Ep. 279 - Literary Agent Corissa Hollenbeck on whether AI is affecting queries
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Corissa Hollenbeck is an associate agent with Janklow & Nesbit. She grew up in Massachusetts and attended Phillips Academy Andover, King’s College London, the University of Freiburg, and the Columbia Publishing Course. She has worked at VICE, Marie…
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Ep. 278 - Literary Agent Camilla Bolton on Why Authors Should Write What They Want To Read
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Camilla Bolton is a literary agent at Darley Anderson, having joined the Agency in 2007 and was named as a publishing Rising Star by The Bookseller in 2013 and shortlisted for Literary Agent of the Year in 2022. She has built the fastest growing new...
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Ep. 277 - Rhiannon Grist on the Catharsis of Horror
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube Rhiannon Grist is an award-winning Welsh author of Weird, Speculative and Dark fiction, living and writing in beautiful Scotland. Her novella, The Queen of the High Fields (Luna Press), won the British Fantasy Award for Best Novella 2023. Her debut novel,...
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Ep. 276 - Aki Schilz of The Literary Consultancy on Editing with Empathy
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Aki Schilz is the Director at The Literary Consultancy (TLC), where she co-ordinates partnerships and programmes. She launched the Editing Skills Training Scheme in partnership with the Publishing Training Centre, which trained over 100 aspiring editors...
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Adventures in Publishing-land: Why Spotify's ElevenLabs Deal is Bad For Authors. Plus, Book Piracy, and Publishers Playing Fair?
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube Marco is in a bad mood this week, and doesn’t hold back when discussing the march of AI into audiobooks…! Plus, we chat about the depressing reaction to a book piracy site being taken down, and wonder if Canongate’s new approach to paying authors more...
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Ep. 275 - Chiara Bullen on writing cosy fantasy
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Chiara Bullen is a Scottish writer and academic living in Glasgow. She spends most of her days researching literature and her evenings writing novels. When she isn’t exploring hills across Scotland, she can be found wandering the fictional mountains of…
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Page One Extra - Inside Hollywood with Bob Bookman
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Bob Bookman is a Hollywood manager and producer who has worked with some of the biggest authors in the world and helped turn their novels into award-winning movies. He has represented Michael Crichton, Tom Stoppard, Bill Broyles, John Irving, Jojo Moyes,...
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Ep. 274 - Matthew Capodicasa on seeing your words brought to life by actors
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Matthew Capodicasa is an award-winning playwright whose work has been developed and presented at the Kennedy Center, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and the National New Play Network, among many others. A recipient of the Woodward/Newman Drama Award and…
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Adventures in Publishing-land: Are Authors Losing? AI Audiobooks, Closed Movie Deals & Mass Licensing
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube On this week's episode, we ask if the publishing industry is "blowing the bloody doors off" author rights. From Michael Caine's voice getting cloned for an epic audiobook to Hachette and Studiocanal's book to film deal, plus 250 UK publishers signing a...
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Ep. 273 - Benedict Anning on The Art of Twisty Horror and Crafting Atomic Coffin
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube Benedict Anning is a Surrey-born author and short fiction writer living just outside of Edinburgh with his wonderful cat, Penny. An artist at heart and fan of all things eerie, Ben has a special love for twisty horror fiction where the setting is a…
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Page One Extra - Capital Crime 2026 Special
Watch as full video interviews on YouTube This past weekend, we travelled to London for Capital Crime, London's premier crime and thriller festival and while we were there, we took the opportunity to record some bite-sized interviews with a few authors! We started off speaking with previous guest...
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Ep. 272 - The Queen of Grimdark Anna Smith Spark on Autism, Writing, & Epic Fantasy
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube Anna Smith Spark loves grimdark and epic fantasy and historical military fiction. She has a BA in Classics, an MA in history and a PhD in English Literature. She has previously been published in the Fortean Times and the poetry website…
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Page One Extra - Craig Robertson & Alexandra Sokoloff on writing together as a married couple
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Craig Robertson had a twenty-year career as a journalist with a Scottish Sunday newspaper before becoming a full-time author. His books such as Murderabilia, The Photographer and Watch Him Die have been nominated for numerous awards. Alexandra Sokoloff…
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Adventures in Publishing-land: Are Libraries Killing Incomes? (Plus: AI Hits a Wall & The Guardian’s Readers’ Top 100)
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube This week, we discuss why the publishing industry is pointing fingers at libraries for declining author incomes, but we wonder about the reasons they aren't talking about. Plus, have you heard of Elias Thorne? We talk about AI's repetition problem and why...
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Ep. 271 - J.D. Pennington on moving from copywriting to novel writing
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube J.D. Pennington is an award-winning creative director and copywriter with over 20 years of experience in film and television advertising, creating campaigns for major studios and leading independents. The Othello Club is his first novel. It has been...
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Drafting Notes - Should you always use "Show, Don't Tell"?
On this week's Drafting Notes, we tackle one of the great writing mantras: "Show, Don't Tell." What does it actually mean? And should you always follow the rule? We discuss where the mantra came from, and what we think it is trying to emphasise, while also discussing why it isn't always a rule…
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Ep. 270 - Kieron Gillen on moving from Games Journalist to Comic Book Writer
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Kieron Gillen is a British comic book writer and former video game journalist. He is best known for his work on high-profile titles such as Star Wars, X-Men, and The Eternals, as well as his acclaimed creator-owned series The Wicked + The Divine and Die....
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Page One Extra - David Goodman on Why Book Release Day is Just the Starting Gun
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube David Goodman is an award-winning, multi-genre author. His debut novel A RELUCTANT SPY won the McDermid Debut Award and Bloody Scotland Debut Prize in 2025 and was optioned for television by Carnival Films. The sequel SOLITARY AGENTS is out this month…
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Ep. 269 - Callum McSorley on Mixing Noir and Humour
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube Callum McSorley is a writer based in Glasgow.His debut novel, Squeaky Clean, was published by Pushkin Vertigo in 2023 and won the prestigious McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.Its sequel, Paperboy, was released in 2025 and was a finalist...
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Drafting Notes - Stop writing boring dialogue
On this week's Drafting Notes, we are talking about... talking! Writing dialogue convincingly is something a lot of writers find tricky, and we discuss things to watch out for, what makes dialogue sound convincing (not necessarily realistic), and talk about some examples of what to do and what…
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Adventures in Publishing-land: Nobel AI Scandal, Silicon Serpents & The Children's Literacy Crisis
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube This week, we're expanding on our discussion from the last episode about the depressing HarperCollins report on children's reading habits. Author and teacher Cailean Steed joins us to break down the underlying data and explain exactly how hyper-fixating on...
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Ep. 268 - Andrea Mara on The "What If" Method: Building Domestic Noir
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Andrea Mara is a Number One Sunday Times, Irish Times, and Kindle bestselling author whose books have sold over one million copies across all formats. She has been shortlisted for six An Post Book Awards and won Irish Crime Novel of the Year for It…
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Page One Extra - RJ Barker On Subverting Epic Fantasy Tropes
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube RJ Barker is an award-winning fantasy author from Leeds, West Yorkshire. He is best known for his critically acclaimed trilogies, The Wounded Kingdom and The Tide Child, the latter of which won the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel. His work often...
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Ep. 267 - Leigh Radford on How Personal Grief Transformed into a Debut Horror Novel
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube Leigh Radford trained as a broadcast journalist. She produced and presented arts and entertainment content for commercial radio, Time Out, The Times and The Sun, along with documentaries for the BBC, including Rilke’s Women for Radio 4. A former book...
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Ep. 266 - Stephen Fishbach on moving from Survivor to Pushcart Prize Winner
Watch this episode as a full video interview on YouTube Stephen Fishbach is a Pushcart Prize-winning writer and former television executive who served as a Vice President at MTV. A graduate of Yale with an MFA from NYU, he is widely recognised as a two-time contestant and runner-up on the reality...
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Adventures in Publishing-land: Literacy Lows, TikTok Highs, & the £100 Canceled Book
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube On today's episode of Adventures in Publishing-land, we congratulate Tariq on not one but two new Longlistings, and struggle to understand a story about new research that suggests a heavy focus on literacy skills in schools is actively undermining the...
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Ep. 265 - Alessandra Ranelli on the real-life inspiration behind her debut
Watch as a full video interview on YouTube Alessandra Ranelli is an American writer living in Vienna, Austria. Murder at the Hotel Orient is her first crime novel. She has the full support of the real Hotel Orient, and has been allowed access to all its rooms, even the secret ones. As part of her...
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Ep. 264 - Charlotte Robinson: From Script Producing to Writing Mars One
Watch as a full video episode on our YouTube channel Charlotte Robinson is a writer and television producer. After graduating from Exeter University with a degree in English, Charlotte started working as a runner in the television industry, where she perfected the art of making teas and coffees…
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Drafting Notes: You Finally Got The Call With An Agent... Now What?
Watch as a video episode on YouTube You've been querying for months, or even years, and then it happens - you get that email from an agent asking for a call! It's exciting, but also nerve-wracking. What should you ask, what green flags - or red flags - should you be looking out for? We break down...
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Ep. 263 - Gareth Hanrahan on the difference between writing novels and RPGs
Watch as a full video episode here Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan is a writer and game designer. Originally qualified as a computer programmer, he took a three month break to see how “this writing thing” would go. More than fifteen years later, he’s still on that break. The writing thing seems to be…
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Adventures in Publishing-land: McFadden Unmasked, Fake Editor Scams & Are Editors "Reading" with AI?
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube This week, we’re diving into the unmasking of one of the world’s most successful authors. Freida McFadden, the bestselling author behind The Housemaid, has officially revealed her true identity as Dr. Sara Cohen. We wonder 'why now', talk about imposter...
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Ep. 262 - Izzy Broom on changing from a pantser to a plotter
Watch as a full video episode on YouTube Izzy (Isabelle) Broom is the author of 12 escapist books and has been published in 14 overseas territories. In 2015, she won The Great British Write Off with her short story, The Wedding Speech, which was later adapted into a prize-winning short film. Her...
About this show
New episodes every Friday!
On Page One - The Writer's Podcast, we talk to writers of all descriptions (authors, screenwriters, comic writers and more) about their writing process and how they craft their next great works. We also explore their career, including how their first big break happened, and discuss the ups and downs along the way. We learn something new every episode, and we hope you do as well.
Page One is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/shop.
Hosted by
STET Podcasts