This week Anna and Sam chat to wonderful Annie Garthwaite, about her long journey to writing, her process and whether she thinks its ok to make things up in historical fiction. Episode also includes reading from her book Cecily.
Annie Garthwaite grew up in a working-class community in the north east of England. She studied English at the University of Wales before embarking on a thirty-year international business career working with multi-national companies and eventually establishing her own communications consultancy. In 2017 she studied for an MA in Creative Writing at Warwick University and, during two years of study, wrote her debut novel Cecily which was published by Penguin in 2021. Cecily was named a ‘top pick’ by The Times and Sunday Times and a ‘Best Book of 2021’ by independent bookshops and Waterstones. Her second novel, The King’s Mother, will publish in July 2024.