The hidden secrets of writing with Jo-Anne Richards
This is an extract from Jo-Anne’s first book, The Innocence of Roast Chicken. Much of the coming-of-age novel is devoted to the narrator’s life on her grandparents’ chicken farm in […]
The hidden secrets of writing with Jo-Anne Richards
Today we’re celebrating the reprinting of My Brother’s Book (Picador Africa) which has just gone into a new print run, fifteen years after it first appeared in 2008. My Brother’s […]
Ignite your writing passion on our retreats
Who needs a writing retreat? Well … who doesn’t? You might need a creative boost, to break a writing block or to advance a writing project close to your heart? Or perhaps you crave time to [...]
Free webinar: How to use a sense of place in your writing
All About Writing, in association with Pan Macmillan, invites you to join Tony Park and Jo-Anne Richards, two novelists from opposite sides of the world, as they meet on the common ground of [...]
There are holidays … and then there are writing holidays
Holidays should present you with time to do exactly what you please and concentrate on yourself, but they seldom do. Writing holidays are different. These provide a time out of time for you [...]
The book that just won’t lie down
In 1996 my first novel, The Innocence of Roast Chicken, appeared – and changed my life. Its success took me completely by surprise. The book shot to number one in South Africa in the week it was [...]
Monday Motivation: A yeasty tale of bread and inspiration
I had a long conversation with a breadmaker last night. It was the occasion of a friend’s seventieth birthday party, and the tables groaned beneath a range of dishes too […]
The secrets behind the practice of good writing: Pages of exciting events … ho hum
Exciting events don’t make a story. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s a point that struck me forcibly when assessing a manuscript recently. You might have the greatest premise […]