Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Ep. 269 - Callum McSorley on Mixing Noir and Humour

Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Show Notes

Watch as a full video episode on YouTube

Callum McSorley is a writer based in Glasgow.His debut novel, Squeaky Clean, was published by Pushkin Vertigo in 2023 and won the prestigious McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.Its sequel, Paperboy, was released in 2025 and was a finalist for the same award.His short fiction has been featured in Gutter Magazine, New Writing Scotland, and broadcast on BBC Radio 4.His latest book, Rat Race, is out now.

We had a great time chatting with Callum, hearing about his early days of mapping out fantasy epics and why he pivoted to writing crime. We also talk about the brutal realities of working grueling night shifts on the railways, and we get some interesting anecdotes about how writing a non-historically accurate Victorian serial killer book actually landed him his literary agent!

Link Buy Rat Race now Follow Callum on Instagram Visit Callum's website

Come see us at Cymera: Podcast recording Narrative Damage live show

Vote for Tariq's book The Midnight King for the Old Peculier Harrogate Crime Novel of the Year Award Vote for Tariq's book The Midnight King for the Capital Crime Overall Crime Book of the Year Award

Support us on Patreon and get the podcast early and ad-free, along with other great benefits, including a bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/ukpageone

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-one

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Threads

Page One - The Writer's Podcast is part of STET Podcasts - the one stop shop for all your writing and publishing podcast needs! Follow STET Podcasts on Instagram and Bluesky Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Oct 23, 2026

We're on a short break from Page One, but enjoy this episode from our sister show, Narrative Damage.

Oct 16, 2026

Watch as a full video interview on YouTube

Oct 9, 2026

Watch as a full video interview on YouTube

Oct 5, 2026

On this episode of AIPL, there isn't even a mention of AI! Instead, we talk about how a recent change to Agent ethics guidelines in the US are questionable at best, discuss how publisher's PR promises are often empty (and whether anything could be done to stop that), and dive into a debate about whether memoirs should be fact-checked or should be left to be almost fictional in some cases...

Oct 2, 2026

Watch this as a full video interview on YouTube

See all episodes →