An absolute honour for Episode 14 to be chatting to Andrew McMillan whose debut novel, Pity, is published by Canongate today (8 Feb 2024). Here we talked about Northern writing, diversity in fiction and the challenges of creating audiobooks from dialect fiction.

Find out more:
https://canongate.co.uk/books/4560-pity/
https://canongate.co.uk/contributors/19019-andrew-mcmillan/
https://www.andrewmcmillanpoet.co.uk/
https://newwritingnorth.com/tempest-prize-seeks-new-queer-voices-from-across-the-north/
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/27/beyond-cliche-and-condescension-we-need-new-stories-about-the-north

@AMcMillanPoet
@canongatebooks
@newwritingnorth

Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 14: Andrew McMillan

For Episode 24 I'm joined by linguist Rob Drummond to discuss his new book, You're All Talk: Why We Are What We Speak. Rob tells us about accentism, making academic research accessible and why we might need to change how we listen rather than expecting others to change how they speak.

Find out more:
https://www.robdrummond.co.uk/
https://scribepublications.co.uk/books-authors/books/youare-all-talk-9781914484285
https://accentism.org/
Twitter: @RobDrummond
Instagram: robdrummondlanguage


Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 24: Rob Drummond

In Episode 25 I'm joined by playwright, novelist and academic Louise Powell to talk about bias in the creative arts, Northern storytelling and how winning the Sid Chaplin Award changed her life.

Find out more:
https://louisepowellwriter.wordpress.com/
https://louisepowellwriter.wordpress.com/first-stage/
X: @louise__powell
@RedhillsDurham
@NewWritingNorth

Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 25: Louise Powell

In a Northern Voices first, publicist to the literary stars and PR professional Jess Gulliver talks about working in publicity, literary prizes and living in London.

Find out more:
X: @JessicaGulliver

Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 26: Jess Gulliver

In Episode 27 I am joined by journalist and historian Brian Groom as he discusses his books, Northerners: A History and Made in Manchester. Our discussion goes all the way back to Roman times, through some of the region's most powerful women and cultural figures, and into recent history with the miners' strike.

Find out more: 
Northerners: A History – https://shorturl.at/mswz5
Made in Manchester – https://shorturl.at/zRX13
https://www.andrewlownie.co.uk/authors/brian-groom
X: @groomb
@HarperNorthUK
Instagram: @harpernorthuk

Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 27: Brian Groom

In this week's episode, Catherine Taylor talks about her book The Stirrings: Coming of Age in a Northern Time, the challenges of writing memoir and the social and political events that defined her upbringing in the North of England.

Find out more:
The Stirrings – https://shorturl.at/ekPQ7
X: @KatyaTaylor
@wnbooks
Instagram: @katyataylor29
@wnbooks

Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 28: Catherine Taylor

In Episode 29, novelist Caroline England talks about writing psychological thriller novels, how her career in law influenced her work and why getting one novel published doesn't mean it's an easy ride when it comes to the next book.

Find out more:
https://carolineenglandauthor.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/CazEngland
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cazengland1
https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/caroline-england/the-stranger-beside-me/9780349431505/
X: @PiatkusBooks
Instagram: @littlebrownbookgroup_uk

Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 29: Caroline England

In Episode 30, publisher, novelist and multi-tasker Isabelle Kenyon chats about her thriller The Dark Within Them, starting indie publisher Fly on the Wall Press and her role with the Northern Fiction Alliance.

Find out more:
https://www.flyonthewallpress.co.uk/product-page/the-dark-within-them-by-isabelle-kenyon
https://www.kenyonauthorservices.co.uk
https://x.com/kenyon_isabelle
https://x.com/fly_press
https://x.com/northfiction
https://www.instagram.com/kenyonauthorservices
https://www.instagram.com/flyonthewallpress
https://www.instagram.com/northernfictionalliance

Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 30: Isabelle Kenyon

In this perfect episode for Pride Month, debut novelist Iqbal Hussain tells us about his vibrant new book Northern Boy. As well as delving into all things Bollywood and ABBA, he also discusses marginalised voices, Northern publishing and his own writing journey.

Find out more:
https://unbound.com/books/northern-boy
https://www.ihussainwriter.com/
https://x.com/ihussainwriter
https://x.com/unbounders
https://www.instagram.com/ihussainwriter
https://www.instagram.com/unbounders

Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 31: Iqbal Hussain

In Episode 32 award-winning novelist Jessica Andrews talks about her two novels Saltwater and Milk Teeth. She discusses finally feeling like her voice is valid, platforming other writers and why winning the Portico Prize gave her permission to own her Northern identity.

Find out more:
https://www.jessica-andrews.com/
https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/jessica-andrews/saltwater-winner-of-the-portico-prize/9781473682771/
https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/jessica-andrews/milk-teeth/9781473682825/
X: https://x.com/jessicacandrews
https://x.com/hachetteuk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itbeginswiththebody
https://www.instagram.com/hachetteuk

Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 32: Jessica Andrews

In Episode 33 Emma Layfield, co-founder of Children's Books North, talks about how the organisation is going from strength to strength, why she left her job in publishing to run it and why the whole industry should be looking to move North.

Find out more:
www.childrensbooksnorth.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/children-s-books-north
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childrens_books_north
Twitter: https://x.com/books_north

Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 33: Emma Layfield

Northern Voices explores Northern writers (published and unpublished), storytelling and publishing. The podcast is hosted by Jen Bowden, a writer, editor, journalist and PhD candidate in Creative Writing at Curtin University exploring biases against the North in the UK book industry.
Music credit: 'Water of Tyne' performed by Edinburgh University Brass Band (2009) arranged by Jack Stobbs, edited and scored for Brass Band by David Dye. Used with kind permission of the publisher, arranger and performers.

Episode 14: Andrew McMillan

Northern Voices

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