The Writing Life

In this festive episode of The Writing Life Podcast, crime writer Nicola Upson delves into the themes and appeal of crime novels set at Christmas.   Nicola Upson’s debut, An Expert in Murder, was the first in a series of crime novels to feature Josephine Tey — one of Britain’s finest Golden Age crime writers – and was dramatised for BBC Radio 4. Several of Nicola’s novels have been listed for the CWA Gold and Historical Daggers, and Sorry for the Dead was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month. Praised as a ‘perfect Christmas crime story’ by Elly Griffiths, her latest novel The Christmas Clue was published in September 2025.   She sat down with NCW’s Caitlin Evans to discuss The Christmas Clue, and how she tackled balancing festive cheer with page-turning twists and deceptive characters. Together, they touch on writing fiction inspired by real people, what drew her to writing a Christmas crime novel, and how to develop the ideal festive setting for a murder mystery.

In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, Singapore-based writer Clara Chow delves into the world of 'experimental fiction' and why she takes on projects that push against the grain.   Clara Chow works across genres of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her strange experiments under Hermit Press include obscure prose chapbooks such as The Melancholy of Broken Bollards. She has been a resident at the University of Iowa, Toji Cultural Center, Asean Literary Festival and Shanghai Writers’ Programme. Her residency in the Dragon Hall Cottage was supported by the National Arts Council of Singapore.   She sits down with writer and mentor Megan Bradbury to discuss how she defines ‘experimental fiction’, and the importance of prioritising fun with your creative writing. Together, they touch on her month-long residency in Norwich UNESCO City of Literature, writing as a collaborative project, and the role bilingualism plays in her creative work.

In this Halloween-flavoured episode of The Writing Life Podcast, we’re resharing an illuminating discussion between writers Lisabelle Tay and Heather Parry on writing grief and the monstrous body.   Heather Parry is a Glasgow-based writer and editor, originally from South Yorkshire. Her debut novel, Orpheus Builds a Girl, was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year Award and longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. She is also the author of a short story collection, This Is My Body, Given For You, and her first nonfiction book, Electric Dreams: On Sex Robots and the Failed Promises of Capitalism, was released in 2024 as part of 404 Ink’s Inklings series.   Lisabelle Tay is the author of Pilgrim (The Emma Press, 2021). She writes poetry, fiction, and screenplays. Her work appears in Bad Lilies, Sine Theta Magazine, and elsewhere, and she was part of the 2023 Black List Feature Lab.   They sit down with Yan Ge, author of Strange Beasts of China, to explore how the body and the bodily serve as powerful lenses for examining trauma, grief, and the experience of inhabiting perspectives and bodies beyond our own.   This event, supported by the National Arts Council of Singapore, was recorded in May 2025 for The Global Page. The Global Page is a unique series of online global conversations featuring internationally acclaimed and emerging writers and translators. You can find more conversations like this on our website at nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk

In this episode of The Writing Life, acclaimed British author and academic Sarah Moss (known for Ghost Wall and Summerwater) joins us to discuss her latest novel, Ripeness, ‘a breathtaking story of love and the search for belonging, from 1960s Italy to present-day Ireland.’ Sarah reflects on the novel’s dual structure, which follows Edith both as a young girl and as an older woman, and explores how dance, movement, and the body shape the story’s emotional core. She also talks about her fascination with flawed characters and considers what it means (or doesn’t mean!) to be a ‘political’ writer. Sarah Moss has written several novels including the Sunday Times top ten bestseller Summerwater (being adapted for television by Channel 4) and Ghost Wall, which was longlisted for the Women’s Prize. She has also written two works of memoir, Names for the Sea, an account of her year living in Iceland, and My Good Bright Wolf which will also be published in Spring 2025. Sarah Moss was born in Glasgow and grew up in the north of England. After moving between Oxford, Canterbury, Reykjavik, west Cornwall and the Midlands, she now lives in Dublin.

In this episode of The Writing Life, poets Erica Hesketh and Jenny Pagdin share insights into the poetry of motherhood, and how they each share their ‘emotional truth’ in their writing.   Erica Hesketh is a poet and editor, originally from Japan and Denmark, now based in London. Her poetry has been commissioned by the Royal Festival Hall, Spread the Word and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. From 2016 to 2024 she was Director of the Poetry Translation Centre. Her debut collection, In the Lily Room, is published by Nine Arches Press and explores early motherhood. Her poem ‘Night feed’ was highly commended in the 2025 Forward Prizes.   Jenny Pagdin wrote The Snow Globe (Nine Arches 2024) and Caldbeck (Eyewear, 2017), about postpartum psychosis. The Snow Globe won the East Anglian Book Awards poetry category in 2024, and her work has been shortlisted for the Mslexia pamphlet competition, highly commended and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, and longlisted for the Rebecca Swift Foundation's 2018 Women's Poetry Prize.   Together, they reflect on how their experiences of motherhood have shaped their poetry and the creation of their debut collections. Touching on everything from how poetry fits into their lives as working mothers to the power of connecting with others by giving voice to experiences of illness and mental health, this is an honest and insightful conversation about recovery, language, and craft.