This week we welcome Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, A Spot of Bother, The Porpoise) to the podcast for a chat about people-pleasing. Find out where Mark's people-pleasing tendencies come from, what people-pleasing gives us versus what it takes away, and why artists might be particularly prone to it.

We also chat about the impact of having a keen sense of smell on dating, how to write for yourself as well as other people, and why the word 'playwright' is spelled like that. Mark talks about his struggle with long covid, and we discuss how he learned to breathe properly.

You'll also find out who Mark thinks is the best person on Instagram, and why he likens them to a camp vicar.

Buy Mark's hilarious and heartbreaking new memoir (in full colour!) LEAVING HOME. Or wet your whistle with this Guardian extract.

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A treat for the ears! It's Anna Jordan (Yen, Lost Atoms, Succession, Killing Eve)!

Anna made her name as a scriptwriter, but has now also published her debut poetry collection DECADE.

She co-runs runs Support Playwrights with Morgan Lloyd Malcolm; a group of theatre artists finding ways to support playwrights and create community - which can be found on Substack.

Join Anna and Molly for a conversation about CREATIVE FLOW. Find out what the optimum conditions are to find and help us figure out how to maintain it. Hear Anna's theory on 'us' writers versus 'them' writers. We also discuss alcohol, painting, approaches to planning and how to have a hobby over the age of 40.

Lovely stuff! Enjoy! Buy Decade this week - it's brilliant.

Generous, visceral and darkly comic. I love Anna’s huge-hearted writing — Sara Pascoe

These poems of love, of loss, and of longing are at once extraordinarily moving and exhilarating. There is an energy in the language and a richness of feeling that consistently move you forward and lead you inexorably from poem to poem. It’s called Decade for a reason but this collection seems to encompass lifetimes. I found it totally compelling — Timberlake Wertenbaker

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It's Harry Baker day! Harry is a poet with a background in MATHS. His poems have been watched by millions of people online, and his new collection TENDER was an instant Sunday Times Best Seller.

Join Harry and Molly for a chat about self belief. We need it as artists, even when we don't know where to get it or how to sustain it. What do we do when we're the only ones who believe in our work during those early days of being a maker? What do we do when others believe our work should be different to how it is in order to be more 'successful'? How do we sustain self belief in a light, easy way? All this and lots more.

Buy Harry's book!

Catch him on tour!

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