Hattie Crisell - In Writing. Conversations on Inspiration, Perspiration and Creative Desperation

This is one for anyone interested in writing! We are really delighted to have Hattie Crisell joining us to talk about her brilliant book "In Writing. Conversations on Inspiration, Perspiration  and Creative Desperation" Hattie will be in conversation with fellow author, and friend of the shop, Anna Metcalfe, author of "Chrysalis"

Hattie and Anna will be in conversation for around an hour and this will be followed by a signing.

Hattie Crisell  is a freelance writer based in London. She is a contributing editor of Grazia and her writing regularly appears in The Times, Telegraph, Elle, Vogue, and You among others. Since 2019 she has produced and hosted the podcast ‘In Writing with Hattie Crisell’, interviewing writers of all kinds in their studies.

In Writing. Conversations on Inspiration, Perspiration  and Creative Desperation

In these intimate and frank conversations with some of our best-loved writers, Hattie Crisell uncovers the mysteries of the creative process, asking: Where do ideas come from? How do stories find their shape? What happens when confidence falters or the work fails - and what does success look like?

The answers range from the thought-provoking to the hilarious. Jon Ronson’s writing day is frequently interrupted by saving snapping turtles from being runover; Georgia Pritchett reveals the secrets to swearing creatively via Malcolm Tucker’s diatribes; Curtis Sittenfeld defends the literary sex scene; Rumaan Alam argues that writing digitally leads to novels that are far too long; Maggie O’Farrell tracks her plots out on four gigantic pin boards when she’s in a panic; André Aciman advises us to be wary of an editor who is too gushing in their praise; and Sophie Mackintosh explains how she uses the idea of the bay leaf in her process –- something that adds flavour, but ultimately that you have to take out. 

Taken as a whole, these inspiring interviews amount to an insider's guide to the writing process: its disciplines and demands; its ecstasies and agonies; its coffees, word counts and publishing hurdles. Most of all, they reveal how it really feels to write and be read.

Anna Metcalfe is a writer and lecturer in Creative Writing. Her short stories have been published in Lighthouse, The Dublin Review and Granta, shortlisted for the Sunday Times Short Story Award and the Bridport Prize and collected in her first book Blind Water Pass. Her debut novel, Chrysalis, was published in 2023, the same year she was named as one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists. She teaches writing at the University of Birmingham.

Anna Metcalfe will be running a writing workshop at The Heath Bookshop the following day, Sunday 1st December, at 4:30pm. More details on this coming soon (or check back on our linktree or events page - tickets coming soon!).