Writing Worlds: Conversations About World Building

Alternative Stories
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Join award-winning audio drama makers Chris Gregory and Emily Inkpen for fortnightly conversations about world building with some of the best writers around, and find out how their worlds come to life.

  1. 1D AGO ·  BONUS

    Bonus: More On Spaceships With Gareth L. Powell

    Welcome to this bonus episode of Writing Worlds, the podcast about the art of world building with Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory. For this episode, we're continuing our chat with award-winning novelist Gareth L. Powell about spaceships in world building. Gareth is a double winner of the BSFA award for best novel and shortlisted for awards including the Locus awards and the British Fantasy Awards.  Gareth's work includes the epic "Embers of War" trilogy, the brilliantly named Ack Ack Macaque and  "About Writing" a brilliant short guide to creative writing . Find out more about Gareth and his work by visiting his website here https://www.garethlpowell.com/ You can follow Gareth on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/garethlpowell/ And on BlueSky here https://bsky.app/profile/garethlpowell.bsky.socialYou'll be able to hear all our season one bonus episodes and our forthcoming season two unheard chats by joining our Patreon at the Gold Tier or above. We have exclusive bonus content from many of our Writing Worlds episodes coming up for our patrons. Click the link to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ You can purchase a copy of Emily Inkpen's book "The Dex Legacy: Season Two Scripts and Commentary" by searching for Emily Inkpen in your local Amazon store Writing Worlds is created and presented by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory of the audio production company Alternative Stories  Find out more about Emily and her work by visiting her website here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/⁠ Listen to The Dex Legacy and Wasteland, Emily’s award-winning audio drama series here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/thedexlegacy-home/⁠ And follow Emily on Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/emilyinkpen/⁠ And Bluesky ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/emilyinkpen.bsky.social⁠ Find out more about Chris Gregory and Alternative Stories here ⁠https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories⁠ Follow them on Instagram here ⁠https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/⁠ And Bluesky here ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/storiesalt.bsky.social⁠ If you would like to get in touch with the show to recommend a guest for a future episode or to book a Writing Worlds live show for your convention or literary event please contact us via ⁠office@alternativestories.com⁠  Writing Worlds is free to listen to but not free to make.  If you would like to support the show you can join our Patreon to get ad-free and early release episodes of this and all our other shows.  We will also be releasing a series of Writing Worlds mini and bonus episodes featuring many of the guests you have heard in this series and our hosts Emily and Chris exclusively for our Patreon backers.     Click the link below to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    42 min

  2. APR 29

    Jeremy Szal: Species

    Our guest on the Writing Worlds podcast this week is novelist and short fiction writer Jeremy Szal. An author of space opera, fantasy and a genre he calls ‘Space Punk’ , Jeremy is the writer of the three book “Common Saga” , a host of short fiction and From 2014 to 2020, he was the fiction editor and audio producer for the Hugo-winning podcast StarShipSofa where he worked with the likes of George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, and William Gibson.  You can find out more about Jeremy and his work by visiting his website here https://jeremyszal.com/ Visit Jeremy’s page on his publisher, Gollancz’s website and purchase his books here https://store.gollancz.co.uk/collections/author-jeremy-szal You can hear bonus content from many of our Writing Worlds guests by joining our Patreon at the Gold Tier or above. There we have exclusive bonus content from many of our Writing Worlds Season One episodes with many more from season two coming soon. Click the link to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Writing Worlds is created and presented by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory of the audio production company Alternative Stories  Find out more about Emily and her work by visiting her website here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/⁠ Listen to The Dex Legacy and Wasteland, Emily’s award-winning audio drama series here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/thedexlegacy-home/⁠ And follow Emily on Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/emilyinkpen/⁠ And Bluesky ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/emilyinkpen.bsky.social⁠ You can purchase a copy of Emily Inkpen's book "The Dex Legacy: Season Two Scripts and Commentary" by searching for Emily Inkpen in your local Amazon store Find out more about Chris Gregory and Alternative Stories here ⁠https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories⁠ Follow them on Instagram here ⁠https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/⁠ And Bluesky here ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/storiesalt.bsky.social⁠ If you would like to get in touch with the show to recommend a guest for a future episode or to book a Writing Worlds live show for your convention or literary event please contact us via ⁠office@alternativestories.com⁠  Writing Worlds is free to listen to but not free to make.  If you would like to support the show you can join our Patreon to get ad-free and early release episodes of this and all our other shows.  We will also be releasing a series of Writing Worlds mini and bonus episodes featuring many of the guests you have heard in this series and our hosts Emily and Chris exclusively for our Patreon backers.     Click the link below to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 6m

  3. APR 15

    Frasier Armitage: Dyson Spheres

    Our guest on the Writing Worlds Podcast today is a novelist, short story writer, prize winning audio dramatist, presenter of the Spotlight Indie YouTube channel and a part time robot.   Frasier Armitage is the author of several novels including "Cage of Stars' which will be the inspiration for today's discussion but we may also reference his previous novels including "Time's Elipse" and "New Yesterday" and his prize-winning radio play "Postcards from Another World". You can find out more about Frasier and his work by visiting his website here https://frasierarmitage.com/ Find out more about Spotlight Indie here https://spotlightindie.co.uk/ And follow Frasier's videos on the Fan Fi Addict channel here https://www.youtube.com/c/FanFiAddict You can hear bonus content from many of our Writing Worlds guests by joining our Patreon at the Gold Tier or above. There we have exclusive bonus content from many of our Writing Worlds Season One episodes with many more from season two coming soon. Click the link to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Writing Worlds is created and presented by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory of the audio production company Alternative Stories  Find out more about Emily and her work by visiting her website here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/⁠ Listen to The Dex Legacy and Wasteland, Emily’s award-winning audio drama series here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/thedexlegacy-home/⁠ And follow Emily on Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/emilyinkpen/⁠ And Bluesky ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/emilyinkpen.bsky.social⁠ You can purchase a copy of Emily Inkpen's book "The Dex Legacy: Season Two Scripts and Commentary" by searching for Emily Inkpen in your local Amazon store Find out more about Chris Gregory and Alternative Stories here ⁠https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories⁠ Follow them on Instagram here ⁠https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/⁠ And Bluesky here ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/storiesalt.bsky.social⁠ If you would like to get in touch with the show to recommend a guest for a future episode or to book a Writing Worlds live show for your convention or literary event please contact us via ⁠office@alternativestories.com⁠  Writing Worlds is free to listen to but not free to make.  If you would like to support the show you can join our Patreon to get ad-free and early release episodes of this and all our other shows.  We will also be releasing a series of Writing Worlds mini and bonus episodes featuring many of the guests you have heard in this series and our hosts Emily and Chris exclusively for our Patreon backers.     Click the link below to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 8m

  4. APR 1

    Gothic World Building With Carolyn Jess-Cooke

    Our guest on the Writing Worlds Podcast today is the bestselling and award winning  novelist, poet and academic C.J. Cooke.  C.J.'s novels including the acclaimed 'The Lighthouse Witches' 'The Nesting'  and 'The Ghost Woods' lean on the gothic tradition.  Carolyn has built a huge and devoted international following and it is often the sense of world and place in her books that immerse readers so deeply.  Carolyn's most recent novel 'The Last Witch' was published by Harper Collins in autumn 2025.   You can find out more about C.J. Cooke and her work by visiting her website here https://carolynjesscooke.com/ Visit C.J's substack to read her blog 'The Gothic Cabinet' here https://cjcooke.substack.com/ You can follow C.J. on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/cjcooke_author/ You can hear bonus content from many of our Writing Worlds guests by joining our Patreon at the Gold Tier or above. There we have exclusive bonus content from many of our Writing Worlds Season One episodes with many more from season two coming soon. Click the link to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Writing Worlds is created and presented by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory of the audio production company Alternative Stories  Find out more about Emily and her work by visiting her website here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/⁠ Listen to The Dex Legacy and Wasteland, Emily’s award-winning audio drama series here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/thedexlegacy-home/⁠ And follow Emily on Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/emilyinkpen/⁠ And Bluesky ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/emilyinkpen.bsky.social⁠ You can purchase a copy of Emily Inkpen's book "The Dex Legacy: Season Two Scripts and Commentary" by searching for Emily Inkpen in your local Amazon store Find out more about Chris Gregory and Alternative Stories here ⁠https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories⁠ Follow them on Instagram here ⁠https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/⁠ And Bluesky here ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/storiesalt.bsky.social⁠ If you would like to get in touch with the show to recommend a guest for a future episode or to book a Writing Worlds live show for your convention or literary event please contact us via ⁠office@alternativestories.com⁠  Writing Worlds is free to listen to but not free to make.  If you would like to support the show you can join our Patreon to get ad-free and early release episodes of this and all our other shows.  We will also be releasing a series of Writing Worlds mini and bonus episodes featuring many of the guests you have heard in this series and our hosts Emily and Chris exclusively for our Patreon backers.     Click the link below to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    56 min

  5. MAR 18

    Stewart Hotston: Politics And Governance

    Our guest on the Writing Worlds podcast this week is novelist, short story author, game writer and live action role playing game organiser and player, Stewart Hotston. Stewart’s novel 'The Entropy of Loss' was a finalist for both the BSFA and Subjective Chaos awards and it’s one of 7 novels Stewart has published. As well as writing for the page Stewart has also written for 'Age of Ascent', the computer game and has set a number of short stories in this world. You can find out more about Stewart Hotston and his work by visiting his website here https://stewarthotston.com/ You can follow Stewart on Bluesky here https://bsky.app/profile/stewarthotston.com and on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/thestewhotston/ Order a copy of Stewart's novel Project Hanuman from Waterstones in the UK here https://www.waterstones.com/book/project-hanuman/stewart-hotston/9781915998941 You'll be able to hear more from this conversation with Stewart Hotston and many of our other guests by joining our Patreon at the Gold Tier or above. There we have exclusive bonus content from many of our Writing Worlds episodes with many more from season two coming soon. Click the link to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Writing Worlds is created and presented by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory of the audio production company Alternative Stories  Find out more about Emily and her work by visiting her website here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/⁠ Listen to The Dex Legacy and Wasteland, Emily’s award-winning audio drama series here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/thedexlegacy-home/⁠ And follow Emily on Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/emilyinkpen/⁠ And Bluesky ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/emilyinkpen.bsky.social⁠ You can purchase a copy of Emily Inkpen's book "The Dex Legacy: Season Two Scripts and Commentary" by searching for Emily Inkpen in your local Amazon store Find out more about Chris Gregory and Alternative Stories here ⁠https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories⁠ Follow them on Instagram here ⁠https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/⁠ And Bluesky here ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/storiesalt.bsky.social⁠ If you would like to get in touch with the show to recommend a guest for a future episode or to book a Writing Worlds live show for your convention or literary event please contact us via ⁠office@alternativestories.com⁠  Writing Worlds is free to listen to but not free to make.  If you would like to support the show you can join our Patreon to get ad-free and early release episodes of this and all our other shows.  We will also be releasing a series of Writing Worlds mini and bonus episodes featuring many of the guests you have heard in this series and our hosts Emily and Chris exclusively for our Patreon backers.     Click the link below to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 4m

  6. MAR 4

    Alexandra Beaumont: Coasts and Shorelines

    Our guest on the Writing Worlds podcast this week is novelist and musician Alexandra Beaumont.  Alex’s fantasy is inspired by folklore, mythology,  history and the coastline of Cornwall in the far south west of England.  Her novels Dissonance of Birdsong and Ballad of River Bones (together known as the Myst Cycle) tell the story of a young woman, Eseld on a mission to cure the sacred birds her people rely upon.  Dissonance of Bridsong is a storm riven, atmospheric novel that has received a good deal of acclaim and we’re going to be looking at the settings and world building within it in our chat today.  Find out more about Alexandra Beaumont and her work by following her on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/abeaumontwriter/ And find links to Alex's books and articles here https://linktr.ee/AlexandraBeaumontAuthor You'll be able to hear more from this conversation with Alexandra Beaumont and many of our other guests by joining our Patreon at the Gold Tier or above. There we have exclusive bonus content from many of our Writing Worlds episodes with many more from season two coming soon. Click the link to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Writing Worlds is created and presented by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory of the audio production company Alternative Stories  Find out more about Emily and her work by visiting her website here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/⁠ Listen to The Dex Legacy and Wasteland, Emily’s award-winning audio drama series here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/thedexlegacy-home/⁠ And follow Emily on Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/emilyinkpen/⁠ And Bluesky ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/emilyinkpen.bsky.social⁠ You can purchase a copy of Emily Inkpen's book "The Dex Legacy: Season Two Scripts and Commentary" by searching for Emily Inkpen in your local Amazon store Find out more about Chris Gregory and Alternative Stories here ⁠https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories⁠ Follow them on Instagram here ⁠https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/⁠ And Bluesky here ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/storiesalt.bsky.social⁠ If you would like to get in touch with the show to recommend a guest for a future episode or to book a Writing Worlds live show for your convention or literary event please contact us via ⁠office@alternativestories.com⁠  Writing Worlds is free to listen to but not free to make.  If you would like to support the show you can join our Patreon to get ad-free and early release episodes of this and all our other shows.  We will also be releasing a series of Writing Worlds mini and bonus episodes featuring many of the guests you have heard in this series and our hosts Emily and Chris exclusively for our Patreon backers.     Click the link below to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 4m

  7. FEB 18

    Gareth L. Powell: Spaceships

    Thank you for listening to the Writing Worlds Podcast with Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory.  Today on Writing Worlds we are honoured to be joined by novelist, short story writer and publisher Gareth L Powell.   Gareth is a double winner of the BSFA award for best novel and shortlisted for awards including the Locus awards and the British Fantasy Awards.  Gareth's work includes the epic "Embers of War" trilogy, the brilliantly named Ack Ack Macaque and  "About Writing" a brilliant short guide to creative writing. Find out more about Gareth and his work by visiting his website here https://www.garethlpowell.com/ You can follow Gareth on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/garethlpowell/ And on BlueSky here https://bsky.app/profile/garethlpowell.bsky.social Find out about Gareth and Jendia Gammon's publishing house Stars and Sabers here https://www.starsandsabers.com/ You'll be able to hear more from this conversation with Gareth L. Powell and many of our other guests by joining our Patreon at the Gold Tier or above where we have exclusive bonus content from many of our Writing Worlds episodes coming up for our patrons. Click the link to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ You can purchase a copy of Emily Inkpen's book "The Dex Legacy: Season Two Scripts and Commentary" by searching for Emily Inkpen in your local Amazon store Writing Worlds is created and presented by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory of the audio production company Alternative Stories  Find out more about Emily and her work by visiting her website here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/⁠ Listen to The Dex Legacy and Wasteland, Emily’s award-winning audio drama series here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/thedexlegacy-home/⁠ And follow Emily on Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/emilyinkpen/⁠ And Bluesky ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/emilyinkpen.bsky.social⁠ Find out more about Chris Gregory and Alternative Stories here ⁠https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories⁠ Follow them on Instagram here ⁠https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/⁠ And Bluesky here ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/storiesalt.bsky.social⁠ If you would like to get in touch with the show to recommend a guest for a future episode or to book a Writing Worlds live show for your convention or literary event please contact us via ⁠office@alternativestories.com⁠  Writing Worlds is free to listen to but not free to make.  If you would like to support the show you can join our Patreon to get ad-free and early release episodes of this and all our other shows.  We will also be releasing a series of Writing Worlds mini and bonus episodes featuring many of the guests you have heard in this series and our hosts Emily and Chris exclusively for our Patreon backers.     Click the link below to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 2m

  8. 11/19/2025

    Season One Review with Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory

    Thank you for joining us for this review of season one of Writing Worlds with hosts Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory. To hear our bonus content please join us on Patreon here ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠⁠ You can purchase a copy of Emily Inkpen's book "The Dex Legacy: Season Two Scripts and Commentary" by searching for Emily Inkpen in your local Amazon store. Writing Worlds is created and presented by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory of the audio production company Alternative Stories. Find out more about Emily and her work by visiting her website here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/⁠ Listen to The Dex Legacy and Wasteland, Emily’s award-winning audio drama series here ⁠https://www.emilyinkpen.com/thedexlegacy-home/⁠ And follow Emily on Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/emilyinkpen/⁠ And Bluesky ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/emilyinkpen.bsky.social⁠ Find out more about Chris Gregory and Alternative Stories here ⁠https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories⁠ Follow them on Instagram here ⁠https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/⁠ And Bluesky here ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/storiesalt.bsky.social⁠ If you would like to get in touch with the show to recommend a guest for a future episode or to book a Writing Worlds live show for your convention or literary event please contact us via ⁠office@alternativestories.com⁠  Writing Worlds is free to listen to but not free to make.  If you would like to support the show you can join our Patreon to get ad-free and early release episodes of this and all our other shows.  We will also be releasing a series of Writing Worlds mini and bonus episodes featuring many of the guests you have heard in this series and our hosts Emily and Chris exclusively for our Patreon backers.     Click the link below to find out more. ⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 8m
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Join award-winning audio drama makers Chris Gregory and Emily Inkpen for fortnightly conversations about world building with some of the best writers around, and find out how their worlds come to life.

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