Let’s meet at London Book Fair 2026
Are you coming to the London Book Fair this week? Let’s meet and chat. The best way to catch me is: Tuesday – I’m the Society of Authors’ Author of the Day. Meet me at…
Adaptations and are you coming to London Book Fair?
Do you hate watching movies and TV dramas based on novels? Or love them? Why do some adaptations work, while others crumble into dust? I’ve been talking about adaptations and why some writers fail while others…
Want help adapting a book for screen?
HELP ADAPTING This week I have two new resources for you if you want help adapting a book for film or TV, or are a reader/viewer who’s interested in seeing how writers set about transforming…
Want help selling a book or film?
HELP SELLING A BOOK OR FILM No book or film reviews today. This week I’m talking about pitching a book or film with Thomas Umstattd Jr, who runs the outstanding Novel Marketing podcast. His podcast…
Book Fuel fires up – Feb 25 – Mar 7
BOOK FUEL Facing scarily rising fuel bills, my fellow Bloodhound thriller author Vikki Patis has come up with a tremendous way to help families who can’t afford to heat their homes – an online auction…
Oy veh! Jewface casting?
JEWFACE CASTING There was a massive fuss this autumn when a major Hollywood movie came out. A white actor played Martin Luther King in blackface. No, of course he didn’t. It would never happen. Blackface…
Hallucinations at the Oscars
HALLUCINATIONS AT THE OSCARS Like staring into a fire, part of the fun of watching all the films submitted for the Baftas or Oscars is that unexpected patterns begin to appear. Between December and April,…
Is the rise of the topical novel killing literature?
THE RISE OF THE TOPICAL NOVEL In 2010, I took my then agent for a Chinese lunch. I pitched an idea for a novel about fake news, close elections and knife crime. He said that…
Why most people are crap at persuading
GETTING GOOD AT PERSUADING This message was intended solely for writers and film-makers, until I realised that pitching and persuading is something that everyone in the media has to get good at. And then I…
Angry movies at the Baftas
ANGRY MOVIES AT THE BAFTAS We live in angry times, it seems. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I had a load of angry movies to watch for this year’s Bafta awards. Now, I…
#IndieAuthorChat Nov 19 & book offer
Book offer Christmas is coming and the first presents are on their way. First, I’m hosting a free Twitter chat next Tuesday November 19 at 8pm GMT (find the time in your own time zone).…
Do’s and don’ts of submitting to agents
SUBMITTING TO AGENTS Crime writer Dominique Hall has written to me for advice on sending a novel to an agent. She says: I am at the stage of approaching agents as I have written a…