Old habits are hard to break and, while I’m not co-hosting So You Want To Be A Writer podcast this year, I still get an itch every now and then (okay, I admit, quite regularly) to interrogate another writer about their creative process and their work.
I do love a nitty gritty podcast interview about writing.
Fortunately for me, writers are still happy to talk to me.
My ’10 minutes with…’ interviews for Your Kid’s Next Read podcast are proving incredibly popular – and NEVER last ten minutes (apparently I just can’t let go of a good conversation, who knew?).
Plus, I’ve been lucky that Dani at Words And Nerds podcast says yes when I send an email saying ‘I’m thinking I’d like to chat to X…’
The thing I love most about interviewing other authors is that I learn something each and every time.
Here are five recent interviews that I found illuminating.
Writing a ‘read it again’ picture book
There was a bit of fangirling, I confess, when I interviewed Alison Lester for episode 075 of Your Kid’s Next Read.
I had interviewed Alison previously for So You Want To Be A Writer (you can hear this, much longer, interview here), but, with only 10 minutes to chat, I wasted no time in drilling down into the secrets of creating ‘read it again’ picture books.
Alison is so generous with her creative knowledge. Listen here
Creativity and crossing categories
Allison Rushby is the much-less-chatty third member of Team Your Kid’s Next Read. While Megan and I waffle on weekly for Your Kid’s Next Read podcast, Al remains in the background, keeping us humming along.
I considered it a coup, then, to wrangle her for an interview for Words And Nerds – an interview in which I interrogated her (in a most loving way) about how she gets away with writing everything from junior fiction to commercial women’s fiction with great success and apparent ease.
Engaging reluctant readers
In ep 073 of Your Kid’s Next Read podcast, I spent 10 minutes (actually, much longer) with award-winning, bestselling author Morris Gleitzman, talking about ‘Digging Up Dad’, his latest collection of short stories.
We also dig (see what I did there?) into the secrets of engaging reluctant readers (and publicists), writing stories with heart and why kids need both light and dark stories.
One of our most popular episodes ever. Listen here.
Creativity, memoir and mental illness
It’s always a pleasure when I get to chat to Anna Spargo-Ryan, but this interview for Words and Nerds podcast is next level.
Anna and I dive deep into her creative process, mental illness, the ins and outs of writing a memoir, cats and, er, navels.
Big themes in middle-grade fiction
You only need to listen to a few episodes of Your Kid’s Next Read to know that Nova Weetman figures in our top ten author recommendations. Megan and I are big fans of her thoughtful, sensitive, intelligent contemporary novels for middle-grade readers.
In this interview in episode 71, Nova and I discuss her latest novel THE JAMMER, big themes in middle-grade fiction, how to get the feels on the page and determining ‘age appropriateness’ for young readers.
I’m also lucky that other podcasters like to talk to ME about writing. In fact, I recently had a terrific chat with Joanne Morell for episode 40 of The Hybrid Author podcast.
Writing in your real life
Joanne and I talked about So You Want To Be A Writer (the book), how authors can make the most of their writing time around other commitments, being kind to your writing self and more!
The secrets of writing with the time you have, not the time you wish you had.
Other writing interviews
Other recent interviews are those conducted for my Write With Allison Tait group Industry Insider Zoom events. These include:
• a brilliant chat with international bestselling author Kate Forsyth about Deep Point of View (and how to make it work on the page),
• an insightful discussion with Sophie Hamley, former literary agent now non-fiction publisher at Hachette and bestselling author under the name Sophie Green about the inner workings of the publishing industry
• expert advice from literary agent Annabel Barker about getting published in children’s literature
And more!
Those (video) interviews are archived in the group for easy access and I’m gradually sharing highlights on my YouTube channel here.
[For immediate access to full interviews and to attend our next Industry Insider Zoom event with Natasha Lester on Monday 14 November 2022, join Write With Allison Tait now! ]
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