In this episode of Bookable Space we’re joined by Anna Caig. Anna reads from The Wise Witch of Orkney and answers three questions about writing place, writing history, and writing as repair. It’s an engaging discussion of research and craft.

About the Author:

Anna is a historical fiction author, and her debut novel is The Wise Witch of Orkney. Anna’s obsessed with the hidden voices of women and a compelling underdog story. Luckily, history offers plenty of these. She’s inspired by the glimpses into a woman’s life we get before the historical record moves onto something considered much more important.

About The Wise Witch of Orkney

1593, Scotland. King James VI launches a bloody witch hunt across the length and breadth of the country. But are the women he fears most already within his court?

Elspet is a spae-wife, a wise woman and healer from Orkney. Some might call her a witch. When the king's new bride, Anna of Denmark, summons her to deliver her baby and cast a binding spell over the child, Elspet is trapped between two impossible choices. She cannot refuse the queen, and she cannot be discovered by the king.

About the host

Yvonne Battle-Felton is an author, academic, and podcaster. Her debut, Remembered, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Not the Booker, and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize. Winner of The Shirley Jackson Award, Curdle Creek is her second novel. Yvonne was a finalist in the Hurston Wright Foundation Legacy Zora Award for Fiction, has been awarded the RSL Scriptorium Award, and lives in West Yorkshire, England. She aims to create a literary community bringing readers and writers together over words

For information about Yvonne's books, events, and more vist https://www.yvonnebattlefelton.com/ or sign up to Yvonne's Substack https://yvonnebattlefelton.substack.com/

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In this episode of Bookable Space we’re joined by Stella Oni. Stella reads from Deadly Sacrifice and answers three questions about writing as remembering, writing spaces, and what writing makes possible. It’s an engaging discussion of process and craft.

About the Author:

Stella Oni is a British-Nigerian crime writer, podcaster, public speaker and technologist. She is the author of Deadly Sacrifice and host of Talking Tech with Creatives. She is a guest lecturer for the University of Cambridge PACE and speaks on writing, technology, creativity and building a sustainable creative career.

About the Book:

Deadly Sacrifice introduces British-Nigerian police detective Toks Ade, investigating the ritualistic murder of a child. As the case draws her into a world of family secrets, cultural tensions and hidden loyalties, Toks must navigate both London policing and the Nigerian community around the crime to uncover the truth.

About the host

Yvonne Battle-Felton is an author, academic, and podcaster. Her debut, Remembered, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Not the Booker, and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize. Winner of The Shirley Jackson Award, Curdle Creek is her second novel. Yvonne was a finalist in the Hurston Wright Foundation Legacy Zora Award for Fiction, has been awarded the RSL Scriptorium Award, and lives in West Yorkshire, England. She aims to create a literary community bringing readers and writers together over words.

For information about Yvonne's books, events, and more vist https://www.yvonnebattlefelton.com/ or sign up to Yvonne's Substack https://yvonnebattlefelton.substack.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Bookable Space we’re joined by Heidi Smith. Heidi reads to us from Play On: From Adversity to Advantage Through 140 Years of Women’s Soccer and talks about writing, supporting one another on and off the field, and more.

About the book

In Play On: From Adversity to Advantage Through 140 Years of Women’s Soccer, former soccer player and coach Heidi Smith spoke to countless coaches, players, sports journalists and other experts to trace the history of women’s soccer and its parallels to sociopolitical and women’s rights movements worldwide.

“Sexism is pervasive; it just looks different depending on what decade you’re in,” Smith says. “Violence is common, whether it’s in 1890s England or 2010s Iran. Modern football federations have new reasons they can’t pay women’s teams, yet the common denominator fits into 1970s Mexico—the belief that women’s work is less valuable than men’s.”

Women’s soccer has advanced significantly, but challenges facing today’s players have been obstacles since the game began. Play On explores that history through the lens of soccer’s “play on” rule: If a player is fouled but in an advantageous position, play can continue. On and off the field, despite chronic and outrageous fouls, women persevered to change the game and the world.

About the author

Heidi Smith is a former teacher, magazine editor, soccer coach, trail crew leader, and humor columnist. Her work has appeared in South Sound Business, Educational Leadership and Connected Science Learning. She looks forward to the day she will again have dogs but for now, she borrows other peoples. To be clear, she does ask first.

For information about Yvonne's books, events, and more vist https://www.yvonnebattlefelton.com/ or sign up to Yvonne's Substack https://yvonnebattlefelton.substack.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.