Show Notes
In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, Norwich-based writer Ashley Hickson-Lovence discusses experimenting with narrative, form, and structure in his latest novel, About to Fall Apart – a thrilling kaleidoscope of thoughts, failures, disappointments and hope.
Ashley Hickson-Lovence earned his PhD in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of East Anglia. He has lectured English and Creative Writing at Brunel University, Arts University Bournemouth, University of East Anglia and the University of Suffolk. He is the author of the poetry collection Why I Am Not a Bus Driver, the acclaimed novels The 392 and Your Show, and the 2024 prize-winning YA novel in verse Wild East.
Set across one weekend, About to Fall Apart is the exhilarating story of a man of mixed heritage – living on the Irish border – as he tries to stay positive, reconnect with his children and maybe, even, find his own birth mother.
He sat down with fellow writer Sophie Yan Yee Lau, who he mentors through the Escalator New Writing Fellowships, for a candid conversation about the freedoms and constraints of setting a novel within a tight timeline. They also explore writing from personal experience, using poetic techniques in prose writing, and creating characters inspired by real-life people.
More from The Writing Life
In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, Belgian author Dieter Rogiers explores how place shapes his writing, discussing both the locations where he writes and the international settings of his novels.
In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, bestselling novelist Isabel Allende shares insights into her creative process and craft, as outlined in her latest book Storytelling – a profound exploration of the art and magic of writing.
In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, debut novelist Ruthy Mason shares how she explores the creative possibilities of liminality and transformation in Death Do Us – a haunting story that peels back the veil from the institution of marriage and exposes the rot underneath.
In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, Polly Barton andCharlotte Goff discuss their paths into literary translation and their experience translating Nao-Cola Yamazaki’s novels from Japanese into English.
In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, Norfolk-based writer Laurence Mitchell reveals how he brought the spirit of landscape and place onto the page in his award-winning book, Flint Country: A Stone Journey.