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Francesca Segal is the author of Welcome to Glorious Tuga and Island Calling, the first two novels in a trilogy about the delightful fictional island of Tuga De Oro in the South Atlantic. Francesca talks with me about fictional world building, the deliberate choice to create a refuge and a community, not without challenges but incredibly hopeful as well as the influence of 19th century literature on the novels, and the joys and challenges of writing interconnected books. We also talk about Francesca's 2019 memoir Mothership, still one of the most incredible accounts of early motherhood I have ever read. links Welcome to Glorious Tuga - Francesca Segal Island Calling - Francesca Segal Mothership - Francesca Segal The Fold membership for writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Today I am in conversation with not one but three guests! We're talking about the incredible impact of the Women's Prize Discoveries from three perspectives - 2026 Judge and Curtis Brown literary agent Ciara Finan, 2022 shortlistee and author of the extraordinary debut novel Ordinary Saints, Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin and Alice Trew, 2024 shortlistee who has just secured a 2 book deal, the first of which The Hungry Dark, will be out in 2027. Ciara talks us through her work as a literary agent and what she'll be looking for amongst entries in the 2026 prize, and Niamh and Alice talk about their experiences as shortlistees and the incredible impact it has had on their careers and their community as writers. The Women's Prize Discoveries is open to all women aged over 18 who are unagented and unpublished, resident in the UK and Ireland, and writing in English, in any adult fiction genre. The deadline for the 2026 prize is January 12th. Submission is free and requires 10k words and a synopsis. See the link below for more details. Links Women's Prize Discoveries Ordinary Saints - Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin Curtis Brown Creative Ciara Finan at Curtis Brown Alice on Instagram Niamh on Instagram This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Chartered psychologist, coach and author Suzy Reading believes women need to learn to be a bit selfish. After many books on the subject of self care and self nourishment, Suzy focuses her new book How To Be Selfish, instead, on the importance of receiving care. Suzy and I talk about why women struggle with self advocacy so much and why it's a vital skill to live a full life, especially one in which we contribute so much to our families and communities. We also talk about why writers specifically need to be a little bit selfish and why it's worth learning how to be. Links How To Be Selfish by Suzy Reading Suzy Reading on Instagram The Fold membership for writers Penny Wincer on Instagram This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Lily Dunn is the author of the acclaimed Sins of My Father and her latest book Into Being brings together her experience as a writer and teacher of literary memoir. It's an essential read for anyone embarking on personal narrative form. Lily talks with me about assumptions people get wrong about memoir, the unique relationship between memoirist and reader and the ethics and challenges of writing about other people. Links Into Being by Lily Dunn Sins of My Father by Lily Dunn London Lit Lab Memoir Bootcamp with Lily Dunn The Fold Writers Membership This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Claire Lynch is on the podcast this week talking about her incredible debut novel A Family Matter, the story of a family torn apart and the decades of silence that follows. This is Claire's second time on the podcast - we spoke way back in 2021 about her memoir Small: On Motherhoods. Claire talks with me about when she first discovered how lesbian mothers had access to their children forcibly removed by court order well into the 1990s in the UK and her decision to explore this heartbreaking recent history in fiction. Claire talks about the varied reception the book has had across different regions facing differing political climates, as well as her recent decision to leave her job as a professor of literature and creative writing and write full time. Links A Family Matter by Claire Lynch Small: On Motherhoods by Claire Lynch The Fold Membership for Writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Sunday Times best selling author Alice Slater is with me today talking about her second novel Let The Bad Times Roll, a dark and delicious follow up to her debut Death of a Bookseller. Alice talks with me about the pleasures of writing immoral characters, finding her way into her 'difficult' second novel, the challenges of shift work (and why bookselling is a bad profession to have alongside writing) and why she is no where near ready to give up the day job just yet. Links Let The Bad Times Roll by Alice Slater Death of A Bookseller by Alice Slater Alice Slater on Substack The Fold Membership for Writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Caro Giles is an award winning writer and author of two memoirs. Unschooled is about Caro's experience raising children who don't fit in to the school system. Forced to homeschool out of necessity rather than choice, Caro weaves in her own experiences as a teacher at both mainstream and specialist provisions to uncover what is an inadequate and chronically underfunded system that is failing so many children in this country. It's a truly beautiful book about making the most of a system virtually impossible to navigate if you don't fit into a neat little box. Caro talks about how the book has been received in mainstream media, using your voice to stand up for those whose lives are at the edges and just how on earth she managed to finish the book to such a tight deadline whilst caring and homeschooling full time. Links Unschooled by Caro Giles Twelve Moons by Caro Giles Caro on Substack and Instagram The Fold Membership for Writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

Lily King is an award winning and best selling author of 6 novels and a short story collection. Her latest novel Heart The Lover is an exquisite and profoundly hopeful book about first love and first heartbreak. Lily shares the most incredible wisdom from her 25 years as an author, from waitressing to pay the bills, to the holding on to herself as a writer during early motherhood, to writing about love and hope in a time of political upheval. Links Heart The Lover by Lily King Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King Writers and Lovers by Lily King Penny on Instagram The Fold Membership for Writers This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free! Huge thanks to xigxag for sponsoring the series

Not Too Busy To Write is back from series 11 from October 15th with some incredible authors. Here's a little preview of what's to come. Links pennywincerwrites.com The Fold Writer's membership This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code TOOBUSY to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free!

A bonus episode today! It's peak inside the writing coaching audio sessions of my new writers membership The Fold. This audio session is all about finding motivation when we are not excited to sit down and write. In it, I give a number of journaling prompts to get to the heart of your lack of motivation (which we all experience from time to time) and figure out what's causing it, in order to better address the problem. If you enjoy this writing coaching audio session you can join The Fold to receive these weekly, along with co-writing sessions and monthly workshops with guest experts, all designed to help you get your writing done. The Fold is suitable for writers of all kinds fiction/non-fiction/memoir/poetry/substack, for new writers and old hats - any writer working on projects that would love support and accountability to achieve their writing goals. Join by Friday 9th May and you can take part in the 21 day Writing Sprint which includes daily audio sessions, extra co-writing sessions and prizes for those who take part! Join The Fold to take pat in the sprint. Join The Fold here pennywincerwrites.com/the-fold More about Penny Wincer

Alice Kinsella is a poet based in the west of Ireland. She's the author of the poetry pamphlet Sexy Fruit, the prose poem memoir Milk: On motherhood and madness and the genre blending Wake of the Whale, co-authored with Daniel Wade, which was a Sunday Independent Book of the Year in 2024. This conversation covers so much - from unpaid work in publishing, to blending genres, to the creative energy and frustrations of early motherhood. We also talk about why Alice and Daniel chose their local independent publisher Mayo Books Press to publish their latest book. You can order Wake of the Whale directly from Mayo Books and use the code Whale25 to get free shipping. * Join The Fold writers membership * This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code NTBTW to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free! * Links Wake of the Whale by Alice Kinsella and Daniel Wade Milk by Alice Kinsella Sexy Fruit by Alice Kinsella Alice Kinsella on Substack Poet Mark Grist Not Too Busy To Write on Substack

Sarra Manning is the author of 8 adult novels, over 15 YA novels. She began her career on teen magazines and has been writing about love and sex ever since. Sarra talks about being a 'word count slut', writing books fast, how what she learned on magazines helps her pitch novels and the secret to writing about sex successfully. Sarra is also the literary editor of Red magazine and is my go to person for book reccos - this episode is chock full of amazing books!! The Last Days of Summer is out March 27th This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code NTBTW to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free! You can listen to The Last Days of Summer on xigxag :) Links The Last Days of Summer - Sarra Manning London, With Love - Sarra Manning Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes A Sky Painted Gold - Laura Wood Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfeld The Wedding People - Alison Espach Maeve Kerrigan Series - Jane Casey Deep Cuts - Holly Brickley The Eights - Joanna Miller

Want to know how to get funding to write? Today I'm speaking to Robyn Law, head of Fundraising, Grants and Prizes at The Society of Authors, a UK trade union for writers, illustrators and literary translators. As well as looking at everything the SoA can do for all of us, we do a deep dive into how to apply for grants to help support you while you write, including my own experience as an SoA grant recipient. This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code NTBTW to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free! Links The Society of Authors - How to join The Society of Authors - Grants The Society of Authors - Advice and Resources

Aime McNee is a writer and creativity coach and author of We Need Your Art - a look at the power and essential nature of creativity and how to kick start and maintain your own creative habits. From perfectionism to permission and the difficulty in finishing work, Aime talks about some of the big challenges and joys we experience as artists, and why it's worth spending our precious time on the process of creating. We Need Your Art is out 13th March This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code NTBTW to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free! Links We Need Your Art - Aime McNee The Rules Upheld By No One - Aime McNee Regrettably, I Am About To Cause Trouble - Amie McNee Range - David Epstein

Alice Wilkinson is an award winning journalist and the author of How To Stay Sane in A House Share, her debut book about the joys and challenges of cohabiting. In this conversation we discuss some of the challenges of writing personal non-fiction, finding a gap in the current discourse and some of the differences she found in book writing and publishing, from her day to day life as a journalist and editor. We also talk a bit about her experience working with a book coach on the proposal - me! How To Stay Sane in A House Share is out March 6th This series of the podcast is sponsored by award winning audio book app xigxag Listeners of Not Too Busy To Write can receive their second book FREE To redeem, download the xigxag app from the App Store or Google Play.  Go to My xigxag/Settings, then click on Account.  Under Vouchers, click on the ‘Enter code’ button and add your voucher code NTBTW to your account.  After your first purchase, your second title will be free! Links How to Stay Sane in a House Share by Alice Wilkinson