Join me for a special episode digging deep into the Women's Prize Discoveries 2025, a prize and program for unpublished women fiction writers in the UK and Ireland, with two of this years judges Dreda Say Mitchell, an award winning and bestselling crime and mystery author and Chloe Timms, journalist, author and podcast host. We are joined by the winner of the inaugural Discoveries Prize 2021, Emma van Straaten, whose debut novel This Immaculate Body will be published in February. This episode is packed full of advice and will get you itching to pull out your Work in Progress and enter the prize.

Links

Women's Prize Discoveries 2025

Girl, Missing - Dreda Say Mitchell

The Seawomen - Chloe Timms

This Immaculate Body - Emma van Straaten

Dreda Say Mitchell - dredamitchell.com

Chloe Timms - chloetimms.co.uk

Confessions of A Debut Novelist with Chloe Timms

Emma van Straaten on Instagram @evswrites

Book Proposal Group Program - pennywincerwrites.com/bookproposalgroup

Not Too Busy To Write on Substack

Lucy Gough has come to writing via her career as a stylist and art director. From working in house at magazines, to freelance art direction with John Lewis and Marks and Spencer, Lucy took a leap of faith in lockdown, when all her work disappeared, and wrote a course on Interiors Styling. That creative risk changed everything fo her. In this episode we talk about what the journey looked like and the practical and creative challenges of writing an illustrated book.

Links

The Home Style Handbook - Lucy Gough

Lucy Gough's Online Interior Styling Courses - course.lucygoughstylist.com

Lucy Gough on Instagram @style_by_lucy

Home Matters - Penny Wincer

Penny's Book Proposal Group Program - pennywincerwrites.com

Not Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com

Alice Vincent is a writer and broadcaster, and the author of Rootbound: Rewilding a life and Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, both of which were longlisted for the Wainwright Prize. In this conversation we talk about how books begin and evolve for Alice, how she structures her time between columns, book writing and her newsletter and finding home in a balcony garden.

Links

Why Women Grow - Alice Vincent

Rootbound - Alice Vincent

Hark - Alice Vincent (pre-order)

Savour Newsletter - savour.substack.com

Home Matters - Penny Wincer

Not Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com

The next Book Proposal Group Program begins Oct 1st. You can book your place at pennywincerwrites.com

You can find all the books from Series 9 of Not To Busy To Write at Bookshop.org