Justine Picardie is a journalist, novelist and memoirist and fashion biographer. Until recently she was editor of Harpers Bazaar magazine. I first encountered her through her publication of Before I Say Goodbye, a collection of pieces by and about her sister Ruth who died of cancer in 1997. We talk about how that book came about, and how fashion and family weave their way through all her writing, including her latest book about Catherine, the sister of Christian Dior.

Thomas Taylor started out in the 1990s, aged 23, by creating some of the most famous cover art in the world - more of that later. Lately, thanks to his Eerie-on-Sea middle grade series, starting with Malamander, he has become a successful international author in his own right.

In part 2 of my conversation with Sophie Hannah we talk about her invitation to write for the Agatha Christie estate, picking up the career of Hercule Poirot. I love Sophie's description of her working day, and her advice on how to create a pageturner. As always, there's a lot here from the creator of the Dream Author programme for writers to learn from and think about.

Jenny Colgan is the Scottish-based, bestselling author of sci-fi and romantic fiction, from Doctor Who stories to novels including Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe and her latest, Five Hundred Miles from You.

Amanda Craig is a novelist and journalist whose ninth novel, The Golden Rule, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021. She was for many years the children's book critic of The Times and now reviews children's fiction for The New Statesman and adult fiction for The Observer.

Sophie Hannah is an international bestselling thriller writer, author coach and poet. In part 1 of this conversation about her writing life and work, we discuss writing ambitions and dealing with rejection. Sophie vividly explains how her Dream Author coaching programme can help. I guarantee that aspiring writers will want to listen.

Luke Deckard and Alex Reeve are both crime writers studying for a PhD in creative writing. What does it take? How do you do a creative writing PhD? And does it help in the world of publishing?

Jo is a multitasker. She has written for prime ministers and celebrities, published her own novels for children and adults, and teaches creative writing, first at Bath Spa and now at the Universtiy of Bristol, where she’s a senior lecturer. One of the things I wanted to talk about was the thorny old question of whether writing can be taught, and if so, what can students can reasonably expect to learn.

Michelle Lovric has written books for adults and children, with publishers such as Virago, Bloomsbury and Orion. As well as the setting of Venice, which she brings intensely to life, we talk about writing history, killing your darlings, about Michelle’s strong sense of environmentalism – more important now than ever – and about writing as a way of confronting trauma and bringing a community together.

Natasha is the recent winner of the Costa Children’s Book Award, for her middle grade novel, Voyage of the Sparrowhawk. As a longstanding book scout for foreign publishers, she describes foreign rights, and how important they can be to writers and publishers.

In this episode we talk about libraries, writing for boys and prizes. Anthony McGowan is a children’s author and until this week the holder (although, as we’ll hear, that’s not exactly true) of the Carnegie Medal, the most prestigious prize for writing for young people in the UK.

Phil Earle is the author of twenty books for children and young adults, including Being Billy, Bubble Wrap Boy and Demolition Dad. His latest novel is the Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month for June 2021, so if you’re listening to this episode soon after it’s released, look out for When the Sky Falls in a Waterstones near you now.

This episode features the actress, film maker and author Carol Drinkwater. You may know her as the original Helen in the iconic 1970s production of All Creatures Great and Small, or maybe you’re familiar with her bestselling Olive Farm series of memoirs and travel books. Recently, she has written historical novels based around the South of France. An Act of Love is set in World War 2 and is the story of refugees. Carol talks about its resonance with the contemporary world.

Have you ever wondered if you should do a creative writing course? Until recently, Julia Green was the long-running director of the MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. Now, she is an Emeritus Professor. She’s also the author of more than twenty novels and short stories for children.

After two dozen episodes of Prepublished, who's next? Sophia introduces some of her guests in the upcoming weeks and the topics they talk about, including creative writing courses. Are they worth it? What can they teach?

In this episode, Caroline Green returns to Prepublished to interview Sophia about switching genres. The sale of The Windsor Knot and its sequels in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series coincided with the start of the pandemic. For Sophia, alongside all the fear and uncertainty, it was also every writer's dream come true.

It’s no secret that the publishing industry is predominantly white and middle class, and still struggles to represent diverse voices. I talk about what needs to change with YA writer Attiya Khan, whose debut novel Ten Steps to Us is out soon, and Abiola Bello, co-founder of the publishing house Hashtag BLAK.

In this podcast, I try to reveal as much about the publishing process as I can to new writers. Holly Tonks has seen it all. She has worked in a literary agency, edited books in large publishing houses and a small indie, and she is now a Lecturer in Publishing at Bath Spa University.

Sheena Wilkinson has been described in the Irish Times as ‘one of our foremost writers for young people’. From her home in Belfast, she talks to me about her writing process, and how the story you end up writing is often not the one you started out with.

I talk to Fraser Grace about making plays, writing poetry, and the website he built in lockdown called The Word Cage, where he shares his own poems and those of his special guests.