Welcome back to the Write Club Podcast, where we take you behind the pages and into the fascinating world of writing!

In this episode, hosts Beth and Mary from the Writing Magazine and Writers Online team sit down with Julia Bell, Professor of New Writing at Birkbeck, University of London, and the author of Radical Attention and the acclaimed new book, Between the Lines – Life Lessons from the Creative Writing Workshop.

Together, we chat about why studying the craft of writing is inherently a study of human nature, and how the modern workshop serves as a vital antidote to a fractured, fast-paced world.

Plus, stay tuned until the very end to hear Julia’s top book recommendation for your reading list!

Welcome back to the Write Club Podcast with Mary and Beth from the Writing Magazine and Writers Online team!

This week, we are taking you behind the pages with the brilliant Matthew Sullivan, the award-winning, New York Times-featured author of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. We dive deep into his gripping new release, Midnight in Soap Lake - a book so addictive we’ve been sneaking chapters all week!

Matthew shares his incredible story from growing up in a family of eight kids and working as an indie bookseller to teaching creative writing for 20 years.

Midnight in Soap Lake is out now. Grab a cup of tea, get comfortable, and join the club!

This week on The Write Club, Mary and Beth chat with Simon Mason, a writer whose career has spanned every corner of the book world - from Managing Director at David Fickling Books to Fellow of Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes University.

We explore his latest Ryan and Ray Wilkins thriller, The Dangerous Stranger, and discover how a ‘trailer park boy’ and a privately educated detective became one of crime fiction’s most effective, friction-filled duos. Simon shares how the personal conflict between his protagonists mirrors the stark social contrasts of Oxford itself.

In this episode, we discuss:

* The Wilkins friction: Why Ray and Ryan shouldn’t work on paper, and why that makes them so compelling on the page.

* Messy play vs. composition: Simon’s unique take on the creative process and how to balance raw imagination with structured storytelling.

* The rhythm of crime: How a lifelong obsession with the poetry of Dylan Thomas influences the dialogue and linguistic energy of Simon’s prose.

* Fixing boring drafts: Simon shares his go-to tricks for injecting life back into a scene when the energy starts to lag.

* The publisher’s perspective: Whether a career working with other authors in major publishing houses actually improves your own writing.

Get a copy of Simon Mason’s latest mystery, The Dangerous Stranger, now.