Page One - The Writer's Podcast

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, House of Sand and Secrets, and Beastkeeper, along with numerous award-winning short stories featured in publications such as Tor.com and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Their latest novel is The Shape of Monsters.

We had a great time chatting with Cat, hearing about world-building in secondary world fantasy and navigating the ups and downs of changing literary agents. We also talk about the reality of securing an audiobook-first deal before landing a print release, the craft differences between short fiction and novels, and we get some interesting anecdotes about writing routines, dealing with industry tropes, and keeping motivated through awards and release days!

Links:
Buy The Shape of Monsters now
Follow CL on Bluesky
Visit CL's website
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 also designs board games and appears regularly on No Rolls Barred as well as other gaming channels playing both board games and roleplaying games. His debut novel will be set in the world of Blood on the Clocktower.

We loved chatting to Jon in the studio, hearing how he first got into sketch comedy before moving into the world of games. We talk about how to craft a good sketch show, hear why Blood on the Clocktower live has been such a huge success, and chat about why he wanted to write a novel set in that world. We also discuss the narrative power of both video games and TTRPGs, and how that storytelling differs from other mediums.

Links:
Follow Jon on Instagram
Visit Jon's website
Watch the Jon Parkin video that Jon talks about in the episode

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Listen to authors telling stories together on our sister show, Narrative Damage

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

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Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Anansi Boys, and the Asian Academy Award winner, The Garden of Evening Mists. He was recently nominated for an Olivier Award for his adaptation of The Boy with Wings (Best Family Show category). His graphic novels include the Stoker-nominated Darkness Visible, and his stage work includes the adaptation of his late mentor Douglas Adams' legendary The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The Great Game, his first novel, is out now.

We had a great time chatting with Arvind, hearing about his unexpected detour into corporate law to secure a visa, using comics as a gateway to television and film, and his transition to writing his debut historical thriller novel, The Great Game. We also talk about the highly collaborative and ever-changing nature of writing for theatre and the screen, and we get some interesting anecdotes about learning the craft by observing legendary mentors like Douglas Adams.

Links:
Buy The Great Game now
Follow Arvind on Instagram
Visit Arvind's website

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Listen to authors telling stories together on our sister show, Narrative Damage

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Bluesky
Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 #1 Indie Next pick, The Immortalists was named a best book of 2018 by NPR, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and others. The Anatomy of Dreams received the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award and was long listed for the 2014 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Originally from San Francisco, CA, Benjamin is a graduate of Vassar College and the M.F.A. in fiction at the University of Wisconsin. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages. She lives with her husband and two Maine Coon cats in the San Francisco Bay Area.

We had a great time chatting with Chloe, hearing about her early days of writing overly long fourth-grade stories, navigating the traditional workshop model, and the challenging reality of today's publishing industry. We also talk about why she does a lot of research for her novels, how it took her 5 year to write her latest, and we get some interesting anecdotes about the creation of her expansive new genre-bending novel, Under Story!

Links:
Buy Under Story now
Follow Chloe on Instagram
Visit Chloe's website

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Listen to authors telling stories together on our sister show, Narrative Damage

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Bluesky
Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 collapse, and discuss how NOT to behave at conventions after stories of a very pushy author came out of WorldCon.

00:00 Intro
01:02 From the Slush Pile - Listener Comments
17:43 Self-Publishing Panic - Another Unbound?
26:09 WorldCon Drama - When the Hustle Goes Wrong
34:02 MrBeast Book Bomb - Is Publishing The Most Dangerous Game?
42:45 Stranger Than Fiction - Nadine's Idea Factory
45:19 The Final Chapter - Entertainment Catch-up

Links:
Almost 100 authors affected by Self-Publishing Partnership collapse
Is There a Wrong Way to Chase Your Dreams?
Is MrBeast and James Patterson’s Novel Collaboration Headed for a Disastrous Debut?
South Korean police officer admits to closing missing person cases to avoid work

Adventures in Publishing-land is brought to you by STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing podcast needs, featuring Page One - The Writer's Podcast, The Conversation with Nadine Matheson and more! Find all our shows here!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.