In Writing with Hattie Crisell

Hattie Crisell
  • 4.9 (296)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
In Writing with Hattie Crisell

Journalist Hattie Crisell visits the studies of writers of all kinds – novelists, screenwriters, poets, journalists and more – to find out how they write, why they write, and what they can teach us about doing it better.

  1. 12 HR AGO

    Craig Brown, satirist and biographer

    I had a great chat this week with Craig Brown, parody writer and columnist for Private Eye and the Daily Mail, and author of offbeat biographies including A Voyage Around the Queen; One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time; and Ma'am Darling (about Princess Margaret). Craig takes iconic cultural figures and writes around them, exploring how they were seen by their friends, fans and critics, and the strange, humorous and poignant ways that they affected other lives. It's an art form that Craig has made his own, mixing imagination with fact, and it was so interesting to visit him at his flat in Bloomsbury, London, and hear about how he puts these portraits together. Read Craig's very funny Daily Mail column here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/profile-2082/criag-brown.html Buy A Voyage Around the Queen or browse more of Craig's books: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing Order my book 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.

    1 hr

  2. 18 OCT

    Bella Mackie, novelist

    The very funny and frank Bella Mackie is with me today. We met in August to talk about the writing of her three bestselling books: the nonfiction hit Jog On: How Running Saved My Life, and the witty murder novels How to Kill Your Family and What a Way to Go – a new genre that we dub 'sarcastic crime'. Bella opens up about accepting defeat on a failed manuscript, learning her craft on the job, and battling with structure. And we discuss all of that while her dog Barney wanders around us at her kitchen table. Browse and buy Bella's books here: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing Read Bella's newsletter on privilege and honesty, 'Do influencers owe you transparency?': https://bellamackie.substack.com/p/manifesting-luck Pre-order my book 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: https://www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk See me and Anna Metcalfe at Stratford Literary Festival on 26 October: https://www.stratfordliteraryfestival.co.uk/events/hattie-crisell-and-anna-metcalfe

    47 min

  3. 11 OCT

    Donal Ryan, novelist

    This week, meet Donal Ryan, who has since 2012 published seven bestselling novels and a collection of short stories. Based in County Limerick, Ireland – where he teaches creative writing at the University of Limerick – he writes heartfelt stories inspired by the kinds of people he's lived among all his life. His latest novel, Heart, Be At Peace, is a sequel to his debut, The Spinning Heart, which won the Guardian First Book Award and Irish Book of the Decade, among other plaudits. We sat down in London in August and talked about the self-doubt that delayed the start of his writing career; the characters he loves so much that he can't stop writing them into new stories; and his wife Anne-Marie's important role in his work. Browse and buy Donal's books here: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/donal-ryan-novelist Pre-order my book, In Writing (thank you!): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Conversations-Inspiration-Perspiration-Desperation/dp/1803510633 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: https://www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk Here are the details of my book tour: https://www.instagram.com/p/DA5bYGqIqYN/ Buy tickets for my online masterclass in writing with emotional honesty (discounts are available for various groups including those on low income): https://www.arvon.org/writing-courses/courses-retreats/masterclass-how-to-improve-the-authenticity-of-your-writing/

    43 min

  4. 4 OCT

    Naomi Klein, author, journalist and activist

    We're back! And I'm sitting down with influential Canadian writer and thinker Naomi Klein, author of Doppelganger, No Logo, The Shock Doctrine and many more. Naomi studies and writes about corporate globalisation and the climate emergency, but today we're talking about the challenges of hiding from a child in order to get some work done, and not being able to read one's own handwriting, among other writerly challenges like structure and tone. She's really interesting on honing her voice as a writer and what she learnt from seeing a creative-writing tutor during the pandemic. Browse Naomi's books here: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing Pre-order my book, In Writing: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5954/9781803510637 or at Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Conversations-Inspiration-Perspiration-Desperation/dp/1803510633 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.

    55 min

  5. 28/04/2023

    Michael Rosen, poet and author

    In this final episode of the season, recorded in February 2023, I'm joined by the beloved poet and author Michael Rosen. Known equally for humorous children's verse and his poetry and prose for adults, Michael's books for kids include We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake, Michael Rosen's Sad Book and Jelly Boots, Smelly Boots. He's also written a number of more grown-up books, including Many Different Kinds of Love and the memoir Getting Better, about healing and recovery. In recent years he's written and spoken about his experience of spending seven weeks in intensive care with Covid-19, at the peak of the pandemic. In this conversation, we talk about how writing can help us after trauma; how performing poetry for children shaped his work; and how plain, understated language can express great emotion. Browse Michael's books in the In Writing bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing Visit his YouTube channel for kids: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7D-mXO4kk-XWvH6lBXdrPw Watch the short film Many Different Kinds of Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsrSN-OCk8w Listen to Word of Mouth, hosted by Michael, on BBC Radio 4: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qtnz Subscribe to the In Writing newsletter and leave your questions about the podcast in the comments, and I'll do my best to answer them: https://inwriting.substack.com/ This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off one of their four, five, six, or ten-week online writing courses. Visit https://www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.

    1h 10m

  6. 21/04/2023

    Barbara Trapido, novelist

    This week's guest is the beloved novelist Barbara Trapido, who I met at her home in Oxford in March 2023. Barbara's first novel was 1982's Brother of the More Famous Jack, which was published when she was 41; she followed it with Noah's Ark (1984), Temples of Delight (1990), Juggling (1994), The Travelling Hornplayer (1998), Frankie & Stankie (2003) and Sex & Stravinsky (2010). She's now in her early eighties, and talked to me about finding the energy to write in later life; her playful philosophy of writing; and her memories of introducing a young, then-aspiring novelist Maggie O'Farrell to her first agent. You can find Barbara's novels here in the In Writing bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing Please do subscribe to my newsletter on the writing process, and join me for writing hours on Google Meet, here: https://inwriting.substack.com Here's the episode of In Writing with novelist Maggie O'Farrell, who talks about Barbara: https://audioboom.com/posts/7835707-maggie-o-farrell-novelist This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off one of their four, five, six, or ten-week online writing courses. Visit https://www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.

    43 min

  7. 14/04/2023

    Nigel Williamson, obituarist

    A little detour into death this week – or life, depending on how you look at it. Nigel Williamson, obituary writer for The Times newspaper, joins me to talk about the art of summing up a person one final time, over 1600 words or so, for the permanent record. I met Nigel in March at the News Building in London to talk about researching a biography, interviewing the bereaved, and trying to get the essence of a whole human life into a couple of pages. You can buy the latest Times anthology of obituaries, Lives Less Ordinary, here, including Nigel's pieces on Ken Dodd, Greg Lake, Rod Temperton, Anita Pallenberg, April Ashley, Magic Alex, Christina Smith, Richard Cole, Jan Morris and many more: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5954/9780008537913 And here are some more of Nigel's obituaries: Lisa Marie Presley: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lisa-marie-presley-dies-elvis-priscilla-aged-54-r5jt9v6ls Jeff Beck: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/guitarist-jeff-beck-dies-aged-78-djff57bw9 Hilary Alexander: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hilary-alexander-obituary-fxc02swrk and my 2013 piece on Hilary Alexander, which I loved writing: https://www.thecut.com/2013/01/hilary-alexander-will-stop-working-someday.html Join me on 18 April 2023 in London for this live event with the London Writers' Salon: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-build-a-self-directed-writing-career-w-london-writers-salon-tickets-609412698787 For a 50% discount and a drink at the bar, use the code HATTIEFRIEND when you purchase your ticket. This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off one of their four, five, six, or ten-week online writing courses. Visit curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.

    50 min

  8. 07/04/2023

    Tor Freeman, comic book writer and illustrator

    This week's guest is my friend Tor Freeman, who writes and illustrates comics and children's picture books. Tor is a hugely imaginative person, a smart observer of human nature, and a very funny writer. Her comics include Sister Clawdetta: Murder at the Monastery and Welcome to Oddleigh, while her children's books include The Toucan Brothers and Olive and the Bad Mood. In November 2017 she was the winner of the Observer/Cape/Comica graphic short story prize (you can read her entry here). We sat down at her home in Shepherd's Bush, London, in October 2022 to talk about the mysteries of creative inspiration, how she brings together images and words, and the perils of working alone at home (including a profound question all freelancers will recognise: are you distressed or do you just need a banana?). One of my favourites of Tor's personal comics, Dad's Improvement Schemes: https://www.instagram.com/p/CglvcldIiuO/ Her newsletter, The ReposiTORy: https://torfreeman.substack.com/ Wrapping paper and prints for sale, illustrated by Tor: https://torfreeman.bigcartel.com/ The Book that No One Wanted to Read by Richard Ayoade, with very funny illustrations by Tor: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5954/9781529500301 Browse some of Tor's books and others by guests of the podcast in the In Writing bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/in-writing This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off one of their four, five, six, or ten-week online writing courses. Visit curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.

    40 min
See All (58)

Trailer

4.9
out of 5
296 Ratings

About

Journalist Hattie Crisell visits the studies of writers of all kinds – novelists, screenwriters, poets, journalists and more – to find out how they write, why they write, and what they can teach us about doing it better.

Information

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada