In this fourth session on writing for performance our guest is Jeremy Herrin, who will be chatting to us about New Writing for theatre. Jeremy is Associate Director at Live Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne as well as running the New Writing department. He has directed productions at the National Theatre, The Royal Court, in the West End and at The Market Theatre in Johannesburg. He has also enjoyed directing short films and radio plays. Continue reading ‘New Writing for theatre’
Archive for the 'Author interviews' Category Page 2 of 2
In our series on scriptwriting (see writing short films and writing for radio) we have explored some of the outlets for writing for performance. This week we speak to ex-Eastenders writer Richard Stockwell about writing for television.
Richard was an actor who had time on his hands, so started writing plays, then moved into television. His plays Bad Blood and Killing Time have been produced many times, in 10 countries and in several languages – most recently touring in California. He wrote for the BBC’s premier evening soap Eastenders for two years. He is also the Programme Leader for Drama and Scriptwriting at Northumbria University. Continue reading ‘Writing for Television’
In the increasingly competitive world of mainstream publishing, it’s hard to get a book deal – and that’s an understatement. In the gap between self-publishing and mainstream publishing are the independent publishers. These small publishing houses take on work that might be overlooked by their larger competitors, and while they do not have the resources to market books in any major way, many talented authors have found a home with them. For some, they hope that it will be a stepping stone into mainstream publishing, for others, like the acclaimed crime writer Val McDermid, who chose to approach independent publisher Flambard Press with her anthology of short stories, Stranded, it’s a strategic move.
The Crafty Writer spoke to first-time novelist Rosalie Warren about her experiences with an independent publisher. Continue reading ‘Independent publishers – an author’s perspective’
Steve Chambers has written for theatre, radio, TV and film – his feature film Hold Back the Night won the audience prize at Cannes ’99 Critics Week. He has written episodes for Casualty and Byker Grove and adapted ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ for BBC Radio 4’s Classic Serial. He is currently developing a number of new ideas for broadcast and in development with a new feature film with NE film-maker Sarah McCarthy. A director of Bruvvers Theatre Co as well as New Writing North, he also works as a script mentor and teacher of dramatic narrative fiction. Steve was kind enough to answer some of our questions about writing for radio: Continue reading ‘Writing for Radio’
Peter Dillon has written for the stage, radio, theatre and film. He is a co-director of Wildcat Films for whom he has script edited and co-produced a number of films – several of them, shorts. Peter teaches screenwriting at Northumbria University and runs an Introduction to Screenwriting Course at the Tyneside Cinema. He’s completed a draft of a stage play called ‘Guts’ and is working on a film script for Airship Productions called ‘Where’s Charlie?’. Continue reading ‘Writing Short Films’
In the latest in our series on so-called niche markets, we speak to Christian ‘chick lit’ author Penny Culliford. Penny first came to fame with the Theodora’s Diary series, which were described by one critic as ‘Bridget Jones Goes to Church’. After concluding the third in the series, Penny turned her hand to a reporter sleuth mystery, The Art of Standing Still, (Zondervan, 2007) about a community that revives a series of mediaeval mystery plays. She also writes poetry, plays and articles for magazines. Continue reading ‘Niche markets: Christian ‘chick lit’’
Sometimes literature is defined by its content and other times simply by its target readership. There is ‘black’ literature, ‘feminist’ literature, ‘Christian’ literature and ‘gay’ literature; and somewhere I’m sure there’ll be black, feminist, Christian gay lit too! It may be argued that these are simply marketing niches rather than literary categories or that they are sub-genre of broader literary categories. For example, is gay literature just romance with homosexual characters? Is a Christian historical any different from an ordinary historical? Is there a more overt ‘message’ when a niche readership is catered for?
The Crafty Writer interviewed gay novelist and short story writer Jay Mandal in the hope of shedding some light on the debate. Continue reading ‘Gay literature: separate genre or marketing niche?’
Alex Gazzola is an author and journalist specialising in food, nutrition and health, with a particular focus on food intolerance, food allergy, digestion and digestive orders. Continue reading ‘A health writer coughs up’
Welcome to The Crafty Writer, published by Fiona Veitch Smith, a freelance journalist, editor, author, playwright, screenwriter and writing teacher. This site is full of information and resources to help you to become a better writer. 
