London Writers' Salon

Essayist and fiction writer Erica Stern on writing hybrid nonfiction, weaving memoir with research and a ghost-story thread, and finding a publishing home for genre-defying work.   

You'll learn:
What “hybrid nonfiction” can look like when memoir, research, and a fictional thread are all working toward one emotional truth.
Ways to make a genre-bending draft feel cohesive, even when it’s built from multiple modes and timelines.
How reverse outlining can help you figure out what each section is really doing, and tighten the book’s throughline in revision.
Why “moving the pieces around” for a long time can be part of the process when the structure has to be discovered, not imposed.
A mindset shift for writers making unconventional work: follow what the project needs first, before you worry about outcome or category.
How to treat “weirdness” as an asset (not a liability) when the form is doing meaning, not just style.
Practical publishing encouragement for genre-defying books: small presses can be a strong fit, and there’s a growing audience for hybrid forms.
What it can look like to publish without chasing “bestseller” logic, and instead focus on reaching the right readers with the best version of the book.
Why writing “for the market” isn’t the only path to publication—and how commitment to the story can be what ultimately helps it find a home. 
 
Resources & Links:
📑Interview Transcript
Frontier: A Memoir and A Ghost Story by Erica Stern
LWS Substack
Bitter Water Opera by Nicolette Polek

About Erica Stern:
Erica Stern is an essayist and fiction writer whose debut memoir, Frontier, was published by Barrelhouse Books in 2025. Her work has appeared in the Mississippi Review, The Iowa Review, and Denver Quarterly, and she has been a finalist for the Noemi Press Book Awards and the Mississippi Review Prize. She has received fellowships and residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, Martha’s Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and holds a BA in English from Yale University and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is from New Orleans and lives with her family in Evanston, Illinois.

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.
For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.
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Novelists Maggie O’Farrell, Stacey Halls, and Ruta Sepetys on turning research into living scenes, building non-linear structure that still feels clear, and writing voice and dialogue that make the past feel immediate.
 
Timestamps:
00:01:30 Maggie O’Farrell
00:26:14 Stacey Halls
00:49:33 Ruta Sepetys 

You’ll learn:
The importance of "reading like a writer" to reverse-engineer time, tense, and technique from books you love.
How to structure a non-chronological narrative using flowcharts and “breadcrumb trails” so readers never feel lost.
Where to look for small, specific historical details that unlock character, scene, and momentum.
A practical way to treat research as idea-generation, not “homework you must finish” before you start drafting.
A simple plotting method (index cards + one-sentence scenes) that helps you see the whole book at a glance.
Why a first draft is allowed to be rough, and how that mindset can help you write faster and finish.
How “writing toward a feeling” can guide structure when you can’t see the whole plot in advance.
Ways to keep going through the long middle by focusing on the work itself, not external noise.
How to use collaboration and expert readers to pressure-test cultural and historical authenticity.
 
Resources & Links:
Join our LWS community!
Maggie's full episode and notes
Stacey's full episode and notes
Ruta's full episode and notes
 
About the authors:
Maggie O’Farrell is the bestselling author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait, noted for lyrical prose and inventive structure; her craft insights span sentence-level cadence, non-linear timelines, and historically grounded voice.
Note: Our episode with Maggie was done in collaboration with Arvon, the UK’s leading creative writing charity. Arvon believes everyone can benefit from the transformative power of creative writing. It hosts residential, online and community-based writing courses and events, embracing over 6,000 people each year, tutored by some of the most respected writers in the UK today. Find out more at arvon.org
Stacey Halls is the UK author of The Familiars, The Foundling, and Mrs England, known for vivid period settings, propulsive plotting, and character-driven suspense; she outlines with index cards and drafts quickly before deep revision.
Ruta Sepetys is a Lithuanian-American novelist (Between Shades of Gray, Salt to the Sea) whose work uncovers suppressed histories with YA-accessible clarity; she emphasizes collaboration, ethical research, and a clear “why” for every project.

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.
For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.
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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON
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Playwright and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Moira Buffini on moving between theatre, film, and fiction, writing for yourself instead of the market, and shaping structure by rewriting toward the ending you want readers to feel.   
 
You’ll learn:
Why “you are the audience” can be a practical rule for cutting through market noise and writing with conviction. 
A useful way to handle reviews and outside opinions without letting them steer the work. 
How to build story momentum when you can’t fully plot ahead, and why not knowing the next move can be a strength. 
A structure approach based on “writing toward a feeling” at the end, then layering drafts until the story clicks. 
What discipline looks like when you’re writing big worlds in prose, and how constraints can keep you from getting lost. 
How a dramatist’s instincts (plot, structure, obstacles) can transfer into long-form fiction and help sustain narrative drive.   
A grounded reminder about the “mundane” day-to-day of being a professional writer, and why that doesn’t cancel the magic. 
The practical foundations she names for keeping your mind working (sleep, movement, and treating the body as part of the instrument). 
What it can take to keep writing alongside caring responsibilities, and why persistence is often the hardest part.   
The simplest career advice she returns to: don’t accept the story that you “can’t,” and keep putting in the hours. 

Resources & Links:
📑Interview Transcript
Moira’s Agent Website
Moira’s screenwriting credits
National Youth Theatre in London
Caryl Churchill
The National Theatre London
Dinner (play)
Byzantium (film)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Harlots (tv series)
The Torch Trilogy: Songlight, Torchfire
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
deus ex machina definition
raconteur definition
Robert Prosky
The Dig (film)

About Moira Buffini:
Moira Buffini is an Olivier Award–winning UK playwright and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter, writing many plays for the National Theatre and the West End. Films include Tamara Drewe, Jane Eyre, Byzantium, and The Dig. She cocreated and was showrunner of Harlots. Songlight is her debut novel. She lives in London.

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.
For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.
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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON
Twitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalon
Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon
Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon
If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

London Writers’ Salon co-founder Matt Trinetti and Head of Writer Experience Lindsey Trout Hughes share prompts from our Dreaming Big in 2026: Creative Goal Setting for Writers workshop – designed to help writers get clear on what they actually want from their writing life in 2026, and translate that desire into a plan that can survive reality in the first 1-3 months of the year.
Through 8 steps – from identifying desire to committing to a 48-hour move – Matt and Lindsey step through over a dozen prompts, discuss why each is important for writers to think about, and share what’s coming up for them personally for the year ahead.
Download the free workbook: community.londonwriterssalon.com/dreamingbig

Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(02:07) Step 0: Two Words (bringing in & leaving behind)
(08:05) Step 1: Identifying what we truly desire
(17:42) Step 2: Vision (translating desire into clear vision)
(25:18) Step 3: Moving from wanting to deciding
(34:35) Step 4: Building a project bank
(42:02) Step 5: Finding a first season focus
(47:32) Step 6: Designing your creative practice
(59:00) Step 7: Your 30-day plan & 48-hour move
(01:04:50) Step 8: Opening up to support
(01:09:40) Conclusions and next steps
 
You’ll learn:
A simple “two words” ritual to decide what you’re bringing into 2026 (and what you’re leaving behind).
Prompts to identify what you truly desire, including what you might feel embarrassed to say out loud.
How to reframe desire as a helpful signal instead of something “selfish” you should downplay.
How to build a project bank so you can choose one focus without feeling like you’re abandoning your other ideas.
Ways to use simple lists to spark clearer project options.
How to choose a first-season focus (a three-month container) so you’re not trying to hold the entire year at once.
The importance of defining what “done” looks like for the season and setting milestones that make progress visible.
How to design a writing practice while planning for obstacles before they derail you.
How to set a measurable 30-day goal, choose your first moves, and turn intention into proof.  
 
About London Writers’ Salon:
London Writers’ Salon is a community and membership that helps writers make meaningful progress on their work, stay committed to a writing practice, and find creative friends around the world. Members can build consistency through Writers’ Hour, develop craft through interviews and workshops, and connect with a global community of writers. 
 
Resources & Links: 
Download the free workbook at: community.londonwriterssalon.com/dreamingbig
Join Writers’ Hour - daily silent writing sessions: writershour.com
Attend live events and workshops – Become a Member: community.londonwriterssalon.com/membership

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.
For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.
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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON
Twitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalon
Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon
Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon
If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Translator, performance artist, writer, and educator Haleh Liza Gafori on translating Rumi with fidelity and music, and what his poetry can teach us about liberation, attention, and love.
You’ll learn:
Habits Haleh uses to re-centre and get quiet enough to work.
How she learned to trust sound and rhythm first, and let meaning arrive through the ear.
The moment she realised she needed to make her own translations, and what triggered that decision.
A simple test for “is this translation working?”, including why one wrong image can flip the whole poem.
Principles Haleh uses to keep translations clear, musical, and emotionally true in English.
What an editor can mean by “find your voice,” and how to develop a consistent voice as a translator.
How to work with old texts honestly, including naming what doesn’t align with your ethics today.
What Rumi can teach modern readers about attention, ego, and compassion in daily life.
How love shows up in Rumi as a discipline, not a vibe, and why that matters in hard times.
What Haleh is building next, and how teaching can deepen (not dilute) your creative practice.

Resources & Links
📄Interview Transcript
Gold: Poems by Rumi 
Water: Poems by Rumi 
Rumi’s Secret by Brad Gooch 
Haleh’s Website 
Haleh’s Instagram 
 
About Haleh Liza Gafori:
Haleh Liza Gafori is a New York City-born translator, performance artist, writer, and educator of Persian descent. A 2024 MacDowell fellow, she has translated the poetry of the Persian mystic and sage Rumi. Her book of translations, Gold: Poems by Rumi, was published by New York Review Books in 2022. Her second volume of translations, Water: Poems by Rumi, was released in 2025, also by NYRB Classics. Supported by an NYSCA grant, Gafori has created a musical and cross-media performance based on the book, and has presented her work through performances, lectures, and workshops at institutions such as Lincoln Center, Stanford University, the Academy of American Poets, and Sarah Lawrence College. Her book of translations Gold has been incorporated into curricula at universities across the country.

For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.
For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.
*
FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON
Twitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalon
Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon
Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon
If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!