Conversations with Writers

Jan Horwath is Professor of Child Welfare at the University of Sheffield Her books include The Child's World: The Comprehensive Guide to Assessing Children in Need (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2009) and Child Neglect: Identification and Assessment (Palgrave, 2007). She also co-authored Effective Staff Training in Social Care: From Theory to Practice (Routledge ,1998); Working for Children on the Child Protection Register: An Inter-Agency Practice Guide (Ashgate Publishing Limited, 1999) and Making Links Across Specialisms: Understanding Modern Social Work Practice (Russell House, 2003). Before becoming an academic, Jan Horwath worked as a practitioner, trainer and manager in both voluntary and statutory social work settings. In this interview, she talks about her work and the writing it inspired: How did you initially become involved in social work with children and families? As a young social work student I always intended working with children and families ther

Fantasy and paranormal romance author, Eva Gordon lives in Northern California. Her books include the kabbalistic fantasy,  The Stone of the Tenth Realm as well as the three novels that make up her  Wolf Maiden Chronicles series:  Werewolf Sanctuary (Vanilla Heart Publishing, 2009);  Beast Warrior: Viking Werewolf (Vanilla Heart Publishing, 2009), and  White Wolf of Avalon: Werewolf Knight (Vanilla Heart Publishing, 2010). In this interview, Eva Gordon talks about her writing: When did you start writing? I started seriously writing about 7 years ago. I enjoyed telling stories to my high school students and realized my imagination took me to wonderful places. I wanted to share my stories and getting published became my goal. I joined a critique group, and began to edit and edit. I then sent out my query letters to both agents and publishers. A small UK Press published my first fantasy novel, but we dissolved our contract because they no longer had printing rights in t

By Ellen Berry The marketplace is full of opportunities for writers. There are always new messages that need to be communicated or old messages that need to be communicated in a new way. There are always people and businesses who need help looking good through the use of good writing. When economic times are challenging, the need to spread the word about products, services, and causes increases exponentially. The following are 10 lessons I learned in the 12 or more years I've been doing work as a writer (in some capacity or another): Know your options - When I dreamed of being a writer in college, I had no idea there were so many options available to me. Certainly I read about careers in marketing, communications, journalism, and technical writing, but I didn't realize that I could be successful and happy doing them. Were I to do it over again, I would have shadowed people at work, taken more practical application classes rather than theory, and participated in internsh

Arthur Ernest Gwagwa was born in Chivhu, Zimbabwe. Currently, he lives in London where he works as a mental health and family solicitor. In this interview, Arthur Gwagwa talks about his books, His Story & Her Story (The Lion Press, 2010) and Turning Point (The Lion Press, 2010): How would you describe the two books have written so far? His Story & Her Story ( The Lion Press , 2010) is the product of combined semi-autobiographies which attempt to tell the stories of migration and related issues in a very imaginative, creative and interesting manner. It goes on to discuss general critical social issues in black and ethnic minority communities of Britain, France and the USA as well as issues of ethnicity, race and culture in former colonies such as Zimbabwe, Jamaica and South Africa. The book also conceptually analyses the stories of migration from a social science perspective and it shares some well-tested ideas and concepts that would help migrants, black peopl

Belinda Hopkins is a Director and Lead Trainer at Transforming Conflict , a centre for restorative justice in education. She is also the author of Just Care: Restorative Justice Approaches to Working with Children in Public Care (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2009); The Peer Mediation and Mentoring Trainer's Manual (Optimus Education, 2008) and Just Schools: A Whole School Approach to Restorative Justice (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2003). In this interview, Belinda Hopkins talks about the work she is doing: How did you first become interested in Restorative Justice? In some ways I have always been interested in a restorative approach when working with young people – although in the early days I would not have used the phrase ‘Restorative Justice’ or ‘restorative approaches’ My first experience of teaching, in the field of English as a foreign language, radicalised me in terms of thinking of my students as autonomous, self-directing partners in their learning. Having s

Michael McIrvin has five poetry collections, two novels and a collection of essays to his name. His latest novel, The Blue Man Dreams the End of Time (BeWrite Books, 2009) has been described as an implicit indictment of the use of murder and torture by modern nation states. In this interview, McIrvin talks about his writing: When did you start writing? . My most recent book is a novel, but I have also published poetry collections, and that genre was my first calling. I started writing poetry at age 12 after my first crisis of faith. I read the Bible like a cabalist in my search for answers, every syllable, afraid I might miss some truth hiding there. When I reached the last page, I started over; but this time I only read Genesis , Revelations , and the Psalms , the Christian creation and destruction myths and the King James’ version of poetry — the good bits in my 12-year-old opinion. In fact, the intersection of language and mythology remain important to both my poetry and my prose.

By Carrie Oakley You’ve published your first book ... what next? This is a question I’m sure many (if not all) writers have faced at some point or the other in their career. The quest and drive to publish their first book consume most of their time and energy during the start of their career. They feel on top of the world when they know it is going to see the light of day and when it’s out and in stores, the exhilaration is like nothing else. However, the rollercoaster does have to come down after touching the highs, so it’s back to earth with a bang once your first book is behind you. Now it’s time to take stock and plan what to do next. If your book is doing well and selling like hotcakes, you’re definitely going to find the motivation to keep going ... maybe even write a sequel or a spin-off to ride on this one’s popularity. The adulation you gain is an addiction, and you cannot seem to get enough of it. So you settle down immediately to write the next book, and motivation is never

Podiatrist and author, Tendai Huchu was born in 1982, in Bindura, Zimbabwe. He attended Churchill High School in Harare and currently lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Hairdresser of Harare (Weaver Press, 2010)  is his first published novel. In this interview, Tendai Huchu talks about his writing: When did you start writing? I have been writing since I was in school. I was sub-editor of The Churchill Times , my school newspaper. I even won a couple of national essay contests. But that was mainly articles. I started writing fiction when I was 23 because I felt I had a story to tell. I wanted to express myself and share ideas with other people. I knew I wanted to get published round about the time I started writing ... so ... I wrote and pitched to publishers ... four years later, here I am. How would you describe your writing? I hope it is literary fiction ... I come from an oral tradition ... so I am mainly a storyteller. I enjoy a good plot with great characters and dynamic set piec

Freelance writer, an editor and a role-playing games developer, Alana Abbott is the author of two novels, Into the Reach (White Silver Publishing, 2006) and Departure (White Silver Publishing, 2007). Her stories have been featured in online magazines that include Coyote Wild Magazine ; The Edge of Propinquity and the collaborative writing project, Baeg Tobar . She has also been published in a number of anthologies, among them, Ransom: The Anthology (Enchirdion Books, 2008); Crown Tales (Dark Quest Games, 2008) and Crown Tales 2 , (Dark Quest Games, ___). In this interview, Alana Abbott talks about her writing: When did you start writing? I started writing in grade school, making up stories in other people's worlds. By middle school, I had started creating worlds of my own, and after finishing a 'novel', the summer before my freshman year of high school, I decided to make it my G&T (gifted and talented) project for the year to attempt getting it published. I learn