London Writers' Salon

Lidia Yuknavitch, novelist and founder of Corporeal Writing, explores writing from the body and the natural world. She discusses finding your elemental access path like water or forest. Short, practical rituals such as body-based meditations and a three-ages memory revisit become portals for shaping form. She also talks about nonlinearity, sensory-rich story shapes, and building generative writing communities.

Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Jennifer Breheny Wallace on mattering, resilience through relationships, and the writing practices behind two New York Times bestselling nonfiction books. You’ll learn Why resilience as a writer has far less to do with self-care routines and far more to do with the people you surround yourself with. How to tell whether your idea is a series of articles or a book, and what structural test separates one from the other. A practical way to ask for feedback on your writing that actually leads to useful criticism instead of vague encouragement. Why putting yourself in a nonfiction book can transform it, even if every journalistic instinct tells you not to. The writing schedule that let a journalist with three kids produce two bestselling books, and why it starts at 4AM. Why your inner critic tends to sleep in, and how to take advantage of the hours before it wakes up. A visual trick involving artist sketches that can help you push through the frustration of early drafts. What a lesson from Morley Safer at 60 Minutes reveals about the tension between accuracy and storytelling in nonfiction. The surprising research behind mattering and why it goes deeper than self-esteem, belonging, or purpose on their own. A 30-second daily practice that can help you reconnect to your sense of purpose when long-term projects leave you feeling stuck. Resources & Links 📄Interview Transcript The Mattering Movement Mattering by Jennifer Breheny Wallace Never Enough by Jennifer Breheny Wallace Lives Well Lived Podcast Episode w/ Jennifer Breheny Wallace Julia Cameron on LWS Podcast The Oprah Podcast w/Jennifer Breheny Wallace Subscribe to Jennifer’s Newsletter Jennifer’s IG About Jennifer Breheny Wallace Jennifer Wallace is an award-winning journalist and author of the New York Times bestselling book Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic — And What We Can Do About It, which was named an Amazon Best Book of the Year. Wallace has contributed to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Jennifer began her journalism career in television at “60 Minutes”. She lives in New York City. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

David Eagleman, neuroscientist and bestselling author known for work on brain plasticity and time perception. He explains creativity as a default brain remixing process and outlines three core creative algorithms. He unpacks causes of writer's block and practical fixes like Ulysses contracts. He shares his IHOP writing habit, the Lazy Susan method for juggling projects, and why genre-hopping preserves creative flexibility.

Sarah Hall, award-winning British fiction writer known for prize‑winning short stories; Niamh Mulvey, Irish short fiction writer probing contemporary relationships. They explore building whole worlds in small scenes. They discuss beginnings that don’t show off, planting a “third element” to unlock endings, telescoping drafts into past and future, and grounding stories in real human stakes.

Curtis Chin, memoirist and filmmaker known for Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant, shares practical publicity and touring tactics. He explains booking readings early to drive pre-orders. He details finding venues with simple cold emails, defining target communities, pitching from local to national press, and making high-volume tours financially sustainable.

Morgan Cooper, Los Angeles-based writer-director who turned a self-funded Bel-Air short into a Peacock series. He talks about embracing imperfect action to finish work. He explains finding a dramatic angle by stripping sitcom tropes and locating a story’s big question. He shares practical habits for staying creative and how writing a children’s picture book sharpened his economy and structure.

Erica Stern, an essayist and fiction writer whose debut hybrid memoir Frontier blends memoir, research, and a ghost-story thread. She discusses defining hybrid nonfiction and how a ghost strand emerged. She describes making multiple modes cohesive through long revision and reverse outlining. She talks about integrating research intuitively, treating weirdness as an asset, and practical paths to publishing genre-defying work.

Ruta Sepetys, award-winning writer who uncovers suppressed histories; Stacey Halls, novelist who builds plots with index cards and atmospheric research; Maggie O’Farrell, lyrical storyteller known for inventive, non-linear structures. They discuss turning archival research into living scenes. They explore non-chronological plotting, authentic-sounding dialogue, and treating research as idea-generation rather than homework.

Moira Buffini, Olivier Award–winning playwright and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter turned YA novelist (Songlight), talks about moving between theatre, film and fiction. She explains writing toward a feeling, using dramatist instincts to shape novels, and why “you are the audience” helps resist market pressure. She also reflects on balancing motherhood, routine, and sustaining a long creative career.

A lively walkthrough of prompts to shape your creative year using a two-word ritual and visioning exercises. They outline steps for identifying true desire, building a project bank, and picking a focused three-month season. Practical tactics include designing a sustainable writing practice, a 30-day plan, and a concrete 48-hour first move to jumpstart momentum.