BBC Radio 4: Babies In Bags

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This month I took part in the BBC Radio 4 programme Babies In Bags, in which I discussed the issues raised in Dreams Before the Start of Time, as part of a half-hour programme on human reproductive technologies. The show’s host, Dr Jen Gupta and Alice Fraser, were absolutely brilliant at bringing together both the fiction around this subject and the actual science!

This was the first of six episodes in Stranger Than Sci-Fi and here are the details from the BBC website: Read more

Interview at BSFA November meeting. Free and all welcome.

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I’m back from an autumn road trip in our campervan, this time to Croatia, where Garry and I caught the last of the season’s fine weather. So I’m feeling re-energised for a house move (more of that another time) and for an interview at the British Science Fiction Association’s November meeting.

If you’re in London on Wednesday 22nd November please come along! I’ll be interviewed about my latest novel, Dreams Before the Start of Time, and other matters no doubt, by the wonderful Glyn Morgan. Glyn recently completed his PhD in English Literature and I’m looking forward to a great conversation.

Wednesday, November 22,  2017, 7pm
Glyn Morgan interviews Anne Charnock
Artillery Arms (upstairs private bar) 102 Bunhill Row (corner of Dufferin St)  London EC1Y 8ND.

(You don’t need to be a member of BSFA to come along to these monthly meetings!)
Nearest Tube: Old St – exit 3

More info here.

And if you ever visit the Island of Krk in Croatia, you should make a beeline for the Church of St Lucy in Jurandvor to see the Glagolitic inscriptions, dating back to around 1100. A real highlight of the trip for me.

Interview at BSFA/SFF Annual Meeting, and a Conversation with Author Irenosen Okojie

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Two brief updates that I’m really chuffed to share with you.

I’m really honoured that I’ll be a special guest of the British Science Fiction Association at their AGM and mini-convention on 17th June at Imperial College, London. Author Stephanie Saulter will be the special guest of the Science Fiction Foundation. The day’s mini-convention events – interviews and a panel discussion – are open to all. Tempted to come along? Here’s the latest information.

Irenosen Okojie, winner of a Betty Trask Award.

The Ada Lovelace Conversation #3 — Irenosen Okojie

As the Arthur C. Clarke Award’s  ‘interviewer in residence’ — what a great title! — I took the opportunity to chat with author Irenosen Okojie about her wonderful short story collection, Speak Gigantular. We discuss our varying approaches to fiction writing and where we find playfulness in the process.

This exchange proved to be a brilliant learning experience. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! Read the Ada Lovelace Conversation #3 with Irenosen Okojie here.

Read more

Susan Duerden on Narrating Dreams Before the Start of Time

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Susan Duerden

ONE WEEK to the release of Dreams Before the Start of Time, and I’m really delighted to tell you that award-winning actress Susan Duerden is the main narrator for the audiobook edition. Her performance is simply wonderful, which comes as no surprise to me since Susan also narrated my first novel, A Calculated Life.

I’m fascinated with the transition from manuscript to novel to audiobook. As I listen to the audio, I feel I encounter the novel anew; it feels unfamiliar, in a good way, and I find myself grinning all the time that I’m listening. 

Last week, we chatted by email and Susan very kindly took the time to answer a few questions:

Is there a particular character or storyline that appealed to you in Dreams Before the Start of Time?

I absolutely loved Dreams Before The Start Of Time and narrating it was a joy. I particularly loved the character Toni and her storyline. She left such an impression on me. I was so glad she reappeared throughout the book. I really loved her sense of humor, especially in the face of adversity. I thought her relationship with Atticus was wonderfully written.

How do you prepare for a new narration project? Read more

A Conversation With Speculative Fiction Author Nina Allan

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Nina

Nina Allan’s Desert Island book is Iris Murdoch’s The Book and the Brotherhood. “There is something exalted about her work, a sense of heightened reality that shines a light on ordinary objects and occurrences and reveals their hidden magic – and madness.”

Award-winning author Nina Allan had fifty published short stories to her name before she wrote her first novel, The Race. This debut novel was shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award. Her novella Spin won the BSFA Award for short fiction, and the French translation of The Silver Wind won the Grand Prix de L’imaginaire.

I’m delighted that Nina joins me today in a conversation about the writing process, touchstone influences and our writing quests!

Here goes—

ANNE: Recently I read Stephen King’s On Writing and although he gives great advice throughout, I was curious about one of his comments on the subject of theme. He feels that the theme of a novel is something that emerges in the first draft or after the first draft, and can then be enhanced in subsequent reworking. But for me the theme, or concept, comes first, before I start outlining and plotting a piece of fiction. How do you view the importance of theme? Does it vary from one writing project to another? Read more

Update: The Independent, Historical Novel Society and more

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It’s been a while since I posted here because I’ve been in the writing cave, scribbling away at the next novel. Here’s a quick catch-up. 

The very talented author Tricia Sullivan used the launch of her latest novel, Occupy Me, as an opportunity to promote four new science fiction writers, including yours truly. So generous! I ‘m totally delighted that Tricia interviewed me as part of the research for her recent article in The Independent. The interview appears in full on the Gollancz blog. Great questions! Tricia also interviewed Emma Newman, Karen Lord and Stephanie Saulter. Read more