I got the chance to chat with debut author Carly Heath all about her new book The Reckless Kind and the importance of representation in YA literature. There are lots of horses alongside the disability and LGBTQ+ storyline so of course we went on a magical journey discussing writing horses in literature and the joys and perils of carriage driving!

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Show notes

Carly’s Twitter
Carly’s website

Things mentioned in the episode:
The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath
Becky Albertalli
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Cerce by Madeline Miller
House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn Tara O’Neil
Happy Times in Norway by Sigrid Undset

I catch up with Cat & Dan and we discuss Cat’s research on disability in publishing, as well as all things friction, especially related to accessibility and disability. We talk about CV gaps, how accommodating accommodations are, the way reasonable adjustments can make a huge difference to people, and how reducing friction can make things more accessible.

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Show notes

Cat’s Twitter
Dan’s Twitter
Cat’s report Access Denied
Cat’s piece in The Bookseller about the research findings
Cat’s piece on the disability network
Dan’s website Rogue Interrobang
Money and Mental Health Policy Institute’s work on the disability income gap
FIDO Alliance

Content warning: we talk about mental illness, chronic illness, and suicide.

I chat to prolific and award winning author Marcus Sedgwick all about his writing process, the therapeutic effects of writing, and how important reading can be for mental wellbeing.
We also discuss Marcus’ research into illness and writers and how illness has affected his writing practice, alongside his as yet unpublished book on chronic illness.

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Show notes

Marcus’ Twitter
Marcus’ website
Marcus’ books

Things mentioned in the episode:
Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick
Floodland  by Marcus Sedgwick
My Swordhand is Swinging  by Marcus Sedgwick
The Foreshadowing  by Marcus Sedgwick
The Dark Flight Down  by Marcus Sedgwick
The Book of Dead Days  by Marcus Sedgwick
David Almond
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Saint Death  by Marcus Sedgwick
All in Your Head  by Marcus Sedgwick
This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
Sylvia Plath
Virginia Woolf
On Being Ill by Virginia Woolf
Sigmund Freud
Carl Jung
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction by Frank Kermode