Episodes

  • Stacey Heale on writing about death and life
    Mar 27 2024

    Stacey Heale is a fashion academic and writer whose husband Greg was diagnosed with terminal cancer when their youngest daughter was just a baby. Greg died 5 years later. In her memoir Now Is Not The Time For Flowers, Stacey writes about the big conversations that arise from imminent death. In this epsiode Stacey and I talk about writing about the dead, abandoning the typical memoir structure and the very funny side of a very dark experience. Now Is Not The Time For Flowers is out March 28th

    Links

    Now Is Not The Time For Flowers - Stacey Heale

    Stacey Heale on Instagram @stacey_heale

    Not Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com

    Show more Show less
    48 mins
  • Jesse Sutanto on writing a best selling series
    Mar 20 2024

    Jesse Sutanto is the best selling author of Dial A for Aunties and Vera Wang's Unsolicited Advise for Murders and the winner of the Comic Writer in Print Award 2021. Jesse and I chat about her latest book in her very funny Aunties crime series The Good, The Bad and The Auntie, about her journey from Oxford MFA in Creative Writing, to leaning into her irreverent funny side and the success it led to. We also talk about writing drafts in 5 weeks (yes 5 weeks!!), the joy of sharing her Indo-Chinese culture with the rest fo the world and her favourite funny authors.

    Links

    The Good, The Bad and The Aunties - Jesse Sutanto

    Dial A For Aunties - Jesse Sutanto

    Vera Wang's Unsolicited Advice for Murders - Jesse Sutanto

    Jesse Sutanto on Instagram @jesseqsutanto

    Not Too Busy To Write on Substack pennywincer.substack.com


    Write Your Non-Fiction Book Proposal with Penny Wincer is at 7pm March 27th Book you place here - pennywincerwrites.com/workshops

    Podcast listeners can use the code TOOBUSY at checkout to receive £5 off


    Show more Show less
    34 mins
  • Charlotte Wood on writing craft and Australian fiction
    Mar 13 2024

    Charlotte Wood is an award winning Australian author of 10 books including the 2016 Stella Prize winner The Natural Way of Things and the 2020 international bestseller The Weekend. Her latest novel Stone Yard Devotional is about a woman who abandons her life, her marriage, her career and retreats to a religious community in a remote area of Australia, where she grew up. Charlotte and I talk about the themes that come up in her work, how her craft has changed over the course of her career, why it's so important to her to not over explain to the reader and of course, her favourite Australian fiction writers.

    Links

    Stone Yard Devotional - Charlotte Wood

    The Weekend - Charlotte Wood

    The Natural Way of Things - Charlotte Wood

    The Writers Room - Charlotte Wood

    The Slap - Christos Tsiolkas

    The Golden Age - Joan London

    The Good Parents - Joan London

    The Conversion - Amanda Lohrey

    Charlotte Wood's Substack - charlottewood.substack.com

    charlottewoodauthor.com.au

    Not Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com

    Show more Show less
    42 mins
  • Tamu Thomas on women who work too much
    Mar 6 2024

    Tamu Thomas is a transformational coach whose debut book Women Who Work Too Much helps over-achieving, over-functioning women set boundaries, find joy and flourish. In this conversation we talk about natural (rather than toxic) productivity, radical rest and why work (not over work) can be a positive thing. This is such an important conversation for those of us who are writers and have blurred boundaries between work, rest and play.

    Links

    Women Who Work Too Much - Tamu Thomas

    Tamu on Instagram @tamu.thomas

    Tamu on TikTok @tamu_thomas

    Book your place on the Non-fiction Book Proposal Workshop 27th March 2024 7pm Discount code for podcast listeners - TOOBUSY

    pennywincerwrites.com/workshops

    Not Too Busy to Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com

    Show more Show less
    51 mins
  • Bijal Shah on the power of bibliotherapy
    Feb 21 2024

    Author Bijal Shah is a trained Bibliotherapist who brings the power of reading into the therapy room. It's a technique that dates back to Ancient Greece and Bijal shares some of the tools and techniques she uses in todays episode.

    Certain that reading is a big part of your mental wellbeing? You will love this episode which does a deep dive into why books matter and how we can get the most out of our reading experience.

    Links

    Bibliotherapy: The healing power of reading by Bijal Shah

    Bijal Shah's website

    Not Too Busy To Write on Substack pennywincer.substack.com

    Show more Show less
    57 mins
  • Amy Arthur on pacing yourself as a writer
    Feb 14 2024

    Amy Arthur is an award winning writer and science journalist whose new book Pace Yourself is a practical guide to pacing - a tool developed to the manage symptoms of chronic illnesses like ME/CFS which Amy was diagnosed with as a teenager.

    This is such an important (and practical) conversation, not just for those who are managing chronic illnesses but for any writer juggling writing alongside many other responsibilities, who constantly feel like they never have quite enough energy.

    Links

    Pace Yourself - Amy Arthur

    Amy Arthur on Instagram @a_e_arthur

    Not Too Busy To Write on Substack pennywincer.substack.com

    Penny on Instagram @pennywincer

    Show more Show less
    51 mins
  • Jessica Bull on blending fact and fiction
    Feb 7 2024

    Jessica Bull's debut novel Miss Austen Investigates sets Jane Austen up as an amateur sleuth, when a dead woman is discovered at a ball and her beloved brother is arrested and facing the noose. I had so much fun talking to Jessica about the challenges of blending fact and fiction, her passion of Jane Austen (and the books and films that have been inspired by her) and the pleasures of researching late Georgian England.

    Miss Austen Investigates is a delight and is out now

    Links

    Miss Austen Investigates - Jessica Bull

    Jessica Bull on Instagram @jessicabullnovelist

    Jessica Bull on Twitter @NovelistJessica

    Not Too Bust To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com

    Book coaching with Penny Wincer - pennywincerwrites.com

    Show more Show less
    48 mins
  • Katherine May on writer boundaries
    Nov 29 2023

    Katherine May is the Sunday Times and New York Times best selling author of Enchantment. Today we talk about the challenges of writing a follow up to her phenomenal bestseller Wintering, the importance of writers being open about the constraints they face, especially successful authors and advocating for accessibility while promoting your work. We also do a deep dive into Substack and why Katherine loves it so much and the importance of writers getting paid for their work.

    links

    Enchantment - Katherine May

    Wintering - Katherine May

    The Electricity of Every Living Thing - Katherine May

    The Clearing - Katherine's Substack

    Katherine May's Accessibility and Language Guide

    Not Too Busy To Write on Substack

    Penny Wincer's book coaching - pennywincerwrites.com

    Show more Show less
    54 mins