#176: Allison King — Breaking into Publishing as Debut Novelist, Writing Historical Fiction With Magical Realism, Plus Tools For Structure

London Writers’ Salon co-founder Matt Trinetti and Head of Writer Experience Lindsey Trout Hughes share prompts from our Dreaming Big in 2026: Creative Goal Setting for Writers workshop – designed to help writers get clear on what they actually want from their writing life in 2026, and translate that desire into a plan that can survive reality in the first 1-3 months of the year.Through 8 steps – from identifying desire to committing to a 48-hour move – Matt and Lindsey step through over a dozen prompts, discuss why each is important for writers to think about, and share what’s coming up for them personally for the year ahead.Download the free workbook: community.londonwriterssalon.com/dreamingbigTimestamps:(00:00) Introduction(02:07) Step 0: Two Words (bringing in & leaving behind)(08:05) Step 1: Identifying what we truly desire(17:42) Step 2: Vision (translating desire into clear vision)(25:18) Step 3: Moving from wanting to deciding(34:35) Step 4: Building a project bank(42:02) Step 5: Finding a first season focus(47:32) Step 6: Designing your creative practice(59:00) Step 7: Your 30-day plan & 48-hour move(01:04:50) Step 8: Opening up to support(01:09:40) Conclusions and next steps You’ll learn:A simple “two words” ritual to decide what you’re bringing into 2026 (and what you’re leaving behind).Prompts to identify what you truly desire, including what you might feel embarrassed to say out loud.How to reframe desire as a helpful signal instead of something “selfish” you should downplay.How to build a project bank so you can choose one focus without feeling like you’re abandoning your other ideas.Ways to use simple lists to spark clearer project options.How to choose a first-season focus (a three-month container) so you’re not trying to hold the entire year at once.The importance of defining what “done” looks like for the season and setting milestones that make progress visible.How to design a writing practice while planning for obstacles before they derail you.How to set a measurable 30-day goal, choose your first moves, and turn intention into proof.   About London Writers’ Salon:London Writers’ Salon is a community and membership that helps writers make meaningful progress on their work, stay committed to a writing practice, and find creative friends around the world. Members can build consistency through Writers’ Hour, develop craft through interviews and workshops, and connect with a global community of writers.  Resources & Links: Download the free workbook at: community.londonwriterssalon.com/dreamingbigJoin Writers’ Hour - daily silent writing sessions: writershour.comAttend live events and workshops – Become a Member: community.londonwriterssalon.com/membership 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!

Translator, performance artist, writer, and educator Haleh Liza Gafori on translating Rumi with fidelity and music, and what his poetry can teach us about liberation, attention, and love.You’ll learn:Habits Haleh uses to re-centre and get quiet enough to work.How she learned to trust sound and rhythm first, and let meaning arrive through the ear.The moment she realised she needed to make her own translations, and what triggered that decision.A simple test for “is this translation working?”, including why one wrong image can flip the whole poem.Principles Haleh uses to keep translations clear, musical, and emotionally true in English.What an editor can mean by “find your voice,” and how to develop a consistent voice as a translator.How to work with old texts honestly, including naming what doesn’t align with your ethics today.What Rumi can teach modern readers about attention, ego, and compassion in daily life.How love shows up in Rumi as a discipline, not a vibe, and why that matters in hard times.What Haleh is building next, and how teaching can deepen (not dilute) your creative practice.Resources & Links📄Interview TranscriptGold: Poems by Rumi Water: Poems by Rumi Rumi’s Secret by Brad Gooch Haleh’s Website Haleh’s Instagram  About Haleh Liza Gafori:Haleh Liza Gafori is a New York City-born translator, performance artist, writer, and educator of Persian descent. A 2024 MacDowell fellow, she has translated the poetry of the Persian mystic and sage Rumi. Her book of translations, Gold: Poems by Rumi, was published by New York Review Books in 2022. Her second volume of translations, Water: Poems by Rumi, was released in 2025, also by NYRB Classics. Supported by an NYSCA grant, Gafori has created a musical and cross-media performance based on the book, and has presented her work through performances, lectures, and workshops at institutions such as Lincoln Center, Stanford University, the Academy of American Poets, and Sarah Lawrence College. Her book of translations Gold has been incorporated into curricula at universities across the country. 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!

Writer and editor Mason Currey on what artists’ routines can teach us about focus, discipline, procrastination, and building a sustainable creative life.You'll learn:What led Mason to writing, and the early pressures that shaped his relationship with the work.Why he started Daily Routines as a side project, and what he was trying to solve with it.The moment the blog went viral, and what changed when an audience arrived.What it took to turn a quote-collecting blog into a book, including the research and structure behind it.Why routines work best when they’re personal and flexible rather than prescriptive.Ideas for protecting your best hours, including Nicholson Baker’s “double morning.”The difference between physical routine and creative routine, and why both matter.A realistic way to design an hour of writing, including what to do when “nothing happens.”What Worm Zooms are, and why “small progress” can be a powerful creative philosophy.The question underneath every routine: how artists make time for the work while paying the bills.Resources and Links:📑Interview TranscriptNicholson Baker BooksMaking Art and Making a Living by Mason Currey Daily Rituals by Mason CurreyDaily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason CurreyWorm ZoomsDeath in Venice by Thomas Mann Mason’s SubstackAbout Mason CurreyMason Currey is a writer and editor living in Los Angeles and the author of the Daily Rituals books. In addition to compiling the Daily Rituals books, Currey was a design-magazine editor for ten years, working as the managing editor of Metropolis, the executive editor of Print, a senior editor at Core77, and the programming chair for the 2015 Core77 Conference. His freelance writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, and Slate, and he has delivered talks on the creative process to high school and college students, writers’ groups, and the partners of the design consultancy IDEO. Currey is currently writing a new nonfiction book and sending out a fortnightly newsletter on routines, rituals, and wriggling through a creative life. 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!

Debut novelist and 2023 Reese’s Book Club LitUp fellow Allison King on blending history with magical realism, and what it takes to build a writing life while navigating the modern publishing landscape.We discuss:Allison’s early relationship with stories and the role her grandmother played in shaping it.The path from fan fiction and short stories to publishing a debut novel.The dual timeline and braided structure of The Phoenix Pencil Company, moving between WWII-era Shanghai and contemporary Cambridge.Building a magic system at the heart of the novel, and why its consequences matter more than its mechanics.Pragmatic outlining and structural tools (including reverse outlining) for managing timeline-heavy drafts.Researching family history without turning the book into an autobiography.Writing about Alzheimer’s with care, and what Allison learned in revision about emotional precision.Resources and Links:Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi ThorpeRedwall by Brian JacquesThe Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King Last Boat Out of Shanghai by Helen Zia LitUp FellowshipOnce Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan My Brilliant Friend by Elena FerranteA Tale For the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki About Allison KingAllison King is an Asian American writer and software engineer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In technology, her work has ranged from semiconductors to platforms for community conversations to data privacy. Her short stories have appeared in Fantasy Magazine, Diabolical Plots, and LeVar Burton Reads, among others. She is also a 2023 Reese's Book Club LitUp fellow. The Phoenix Pencil Company is her first novel. 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!

Neuroaesthetics researcher Susan Magsamen and Google design leader Ivy Ross on creativity as a biological necessity, intuition, and the aesthetic mindset for a good life.   You'll learn:Habits that Susan and Ivy turn to when they need to re-centre.What Susan and Ivy are trying to change in the world with their day jobs. The beginning of Susan and Ivy working together.Clear evidence that proved to Susan and Ivy that their work was needed.Advice for using your intuition to be more creative.How a writer might find their voice.Questions to ask yourself if you’re writing a similar book to Your Brain on Art.Principles that Susan and Ivy use to help them live a good life. The link between nature and neuroaesthetics.The transforming power of journaling.Resources and Links:📄Interview TranscriptYour Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform UsWebsiteNeuroarts Resource CenterAbout Susan Magsamen and Ivy RossSusan Magsamen is the founder and director of the International Arts + Mind Lab, Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she is a faculty member, and she co-directs the NeuroArts Blueprint. Ivy Ross is Vice President of Design for hardware product area at Google, leading an award-winning team, and is also an arts grant recipient and recognised creative leader. 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!

Poets Mary Jean Chan, David Whyte, and Anthony Anaxagorou read their work and unpack emotional truth, craft choices, and poems built from lived detail.  You'll learn:How early “bad” poems can still be soothing and give you a way through angst. Why simplicity of voice can beat complexity when a poem needs clarity. How form and layout can carry a poem’s physicality, including a modern sonnet’s constraints. How to face writer’s block by writing directly about the ways you can’t write. Why repetition works in live readings, helping the audience “hear” what just landed. How to mine notebooks for strong lines, then iterate through multiple drafts and edits. A simple morning practice for capturing overheard language until you find where the poem starts.  Resources and Links:Mary Jean Chan: maryjeanchan.comDavid Whyte: davidwhyte.com  Anthony Anaxagorou: anthonyanaxagorou.comOur full episode with Mary Jean Chan, #170: https://podcast.londonwriterssalon.com/episodes/170-mary-jean-chan-emotional-truth-in-contemporary-poetry-imagery-juxtaposition-and-finding-the-right-formOur full episode with David Whyte, #32: https://londonwriterssalon.simplecast.com/episodes/032-david-whyte-poetic-imagination-the-way-of-the-poet-PdTckwKEOur full episode with Anthony Anaxagorou, #12: https://podcast.londonwriterssalon.com/episodes/012-anthony-anaxagorou-push-past-self-doubt-and-think-like-a-poet-fHa8ehM1About the poets:Mary Jean Chan is the author of Flèche and Bright Fear (Faber), and their work has won and been shortlisted for major prizes. David Whyte is a poet and writer whose books include Consolations and The Bell and the Blackbird, alongside ongoing poetry and speaking work. Anthony Anaxagorou is a poet and publisher, founder of Out-Spoken, and author of After the Formalities and Heritage Aesthetics. 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!

What does it mean to turn a life of art, love, and loss into story? How do we write honestly about the people who shaped us? And what can theater teach us about the art of memoir?In her debut memoir No Stars in Jefferson Park (Northwestern University Press), writer and professor Maggie Andersen tells a Chicago coming-of-age story that alternates between the exhilaration of founding a theater company and the devastating realities of loss, resilience, and rebuilding.In this conversation with Maggie Andersen, we discuss the craft of storytelling at the intersection of theater and memoir, what it means to write through loss, and the risks and revelations of choosing your own story.Resources and Links:No Stars in Jefferson Park About Maggie AndersenMaggie Andersen has published fiction and nonfiction in magazines such as Salt Hill, Blood Orange, the Los Angeles Review, Creative Nonfiction, Grain, Cutbank, and DIAGRAM. She has been a finalist for the Montana Prize for Nonfiction and has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize. She is an Associate Professor of English at Dominican University and an ensemble member at the Gift Theatre. Her debut memoir, No Stars in Jefferson Park, was published by Northwestern University Press in October 2025.   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!

The Diary of a CEO’s Director of Trailers, Anthony Smith, on capturing attention in the first few seconds, building cliffhangers and emotional momentum that keep audiences watching (or reading), and testing hooks and packaging without losing trust or story.You'll learn:Why you only have 3–5 seconds to earn attention, and what that changes about your opening lines and first scenes.How to take the guesswork out of hooks by testing titles and thumbnails to see what audiences actually care about.Ways to pull a more compelling later moment forward and work in reverse when the early material is setup.What makes a cliffhanger work across books and videos, and how to raise the stakes so people feel “gutted” not knowing the answer.How to build an “emotional rollercoaster” so the narrative never flatlines.Why sound and silence can help storytelling work, creating intensity and then giving the audience space to breathe.How to balance intrigue with respect for your audience by offering a “moment of value” instead of holding everything back.Why giving away too much can kill curiosity, and how to protect the reason someone keeps reading or watching.Resources and Links:📄 Interview transcriptMichael Bublé on The Diary of a CEO The Diary of a CEO YouTube ChannelJürgen Klopp on The Diary of a CEOSimon Kernick books Peter James BooksAnnie Jacobsen on The Diary of a CEOCreativity, Inc by Ed Catmull The Chimp Paradox by Steve PetersIncrease Your Productivity! Playlist - The Diary of a CEO CapCut for DesktopAdobe Premiere ProAnthony’s LinkedIn About Anthony SmithAnthony Smith is Director of Trailers at The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett, where he leads storytelling through video for one of the world’s most-watched podcasts, and his work spans Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Sky, and Netflix. Through talks and consulting, he helps creators and brands combine narrative craft with human psychology to make emotionally engaging, purposeful content. 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!

Poet, novelist, and broadcaster Salena Godden on turning love, grief, and fury into books and poems, surviving years in the wilderness before publication, and sustaining a boundaryless creative life through performance, early-morning writing, and community.You'll learn:Why you don’t have to be a “starving artist” and how to make powerful work while loving yourself and looking after your health.How to treat your story as uniquely yours, with material that no one else can reproduce.How Salena’s “rule of three” can help you balance meaning, generosity, and income in a creative career.Ways to draft poems and prose from an image or phrase and reshape darker early drafts into a final piece.How to write for “tomorrow you” first, using self-doubt and a critical future self as fuel for deeper revision.What it looks like to carry a memoir from years of rejection to publication without letting the work disappear.How to “compose on the lips” by walking, speaking drafts into your phone, and writing in the space between sleep and waking.Ways to ground yourself after writing emotionally charged work, including nature, slow rituals, and leaning on trusted loved ones.Resources and Links:📑Interview TranscriptSalena’s Books: Mrs Death Misses DeathPessimism is for LightweightsWith Love, Grief and FurySpringfield Road - A Poet's Childhood RevisitedFishing in the AftermathSalena's Instagram Poets, Musicians, and Authors mentioned: Jock ScottShane MacGowanJohn Cooper ClarkeNeneh CherryJoelle TaylorJenni FaganCider with Rosie by Laurie LeeBurning Eye BooksNational Theatre At Home - Medea (Greek Tragedy)Salena’s Roaring 20s Radio Show (Soho Radio)About Salena Godden:Salena Godden FRSL is an award-winning novelist, poet, and broadcaster of mixed Jamaican–Irish heritage, and the author of the acclaimed debut novel Mrs Death Misses Death, which won the Indie Book Awards for Fiction and the People’s Book Prize and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards and the Gordon Burn Prize. Her books include the poetry collections Pessimism is for Lightweights – 30 Pieces of Courage and Resistance and With Love, Grief and Fury, and the literary childhood memoir Springfield Road: A Poet’s Childhood Revisited, and she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Patron of Hastings Book Festival, and an Honorary Fellow of West Dean, Sussex.    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!

Award-winning poet Mary Jean Chan on emotional truth in contemporary poetry, the imagery and juxtaposition that hold big feelings on the page, writing queerness, family and grief with care, and what submissions and prize judging reveal about poems that endure.You'll learn:Why emotional truth sits at the centre of Mary Jean’s work and how you can use it as a compass in your own poems.How to move from a single striking line into a finished poem by working on rhythm, line breaks, and imagery.What juxtaposition and understatement can do for poems about grief and other intense subjects (and how to avoid tipping into melodrama).How to decide whether a memory or idea belongs in a poem, a short story, or another form.Ways to write about queerness, family, and other vulnerable themes while setting boundaries that protect your relationships and your wellbeing.How to approach submissions, rejections, and prize lists so they support a long-term poetry practice rather than define your worth.What reading and judging for major prizes can teach you about sentences, images, and books that stand out in a crowded field.How to sustain a poetry life alongside teaching, study, and care by staying attentive to everyday moments and small pockets of time.Resources and Links:📑Interview TranscriptAdrienne RichPoetry SchoolNight Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong Submit your work to FaberPity by Andrew McMillanBilly-Ray Belcourt National Poetry Competition The Window by Mary Jean Chan Seamus Heaney Mary OliverWestern Lane by Chetna Maroo Prophet Song by Paul Lynch Whereas by Layli Long Soldier Contact page  About Mary Jean ChanMary Jean Chan is the author of the poetry collections Flèche and Bright Fear; Flèche won the Costa Book Award for Poetry and was shortlisted for multiple international prizes, while Bright Fear was a Guardian Best Poetry Book of 2023 and shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Writers’ Prize, and the Dylan Thomas Prize. They co-edited 100 Queer Poems, co-wrote Siblings, teach poetry on the MSt in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford, and have judged major awards including the Booker Prize and the Dylan Thomas Prize. 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!