Uploaded September 2020 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
This week Simon Trewin chats to Scarlett Thomas, Professor of Creative Writing & Contemporary Fiction at the University of Kent and the author of ten novels, including 'The End of Mr. Y' and 'PopCo', as well as the Worldquake series of children's books. Scarlett's first three novels feature Lily Pascale, an English literature lecturer who solves murder mysteries. Her next three novels - 'Bright Young Things' (2001), 'Going Out' (2002), and 'PopCo' (2004) - took her away from genre fiction, and she used them to "explore what it means to be trapped in a culture where your identity is defined by pop culture." Her novel 'The End of Mr. Y' was longlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007 and sold in 22 countries.
Scarlett's non fiction book bringing 'Monkeys With Typewriters', focuses on how to unlock the power of storytelling. With startling and original insights into how we construct stories, this is a creative writing book like no other. It will show you how to read and write better, exploring the great plots from Plato to The Matrix and from Tolstoy to Toy Story.
The third in the Worldquake series 'Galloglass' was published in 2019 alongside Scarlett's latest novel for adults, 'Oligarchy', described by The Times as 'A delightful compound of fantasy and traditional family saga ... A modern fairytale, with flashes that are savagely funny.'
Find her on Twitter @scarthomas
This week Simon Trewin chats to Scarlett Thomas, Professor of Creative Writing & Contemporary Fiction at the University of Kent and the author of ten novels, including 'The End of Mr. Y' and 'PopCo', as well as the Worldquake series of children's books. Scarlett's first three novels feature Lily Pascale, an English literature lecturer who solves murder mysteries. Her next three novels - 'Bright Young Things' (2001), 'Going Out' (2002), and 'PopCo' (2004) - took her away from genre fiction, and she used them to "explore what it means to be trapped in a culture where your identity is defined by pop culture." Her novel 'The End of Mr. Y' was longlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007 and sold in 22 countries.
Scarlett's non fiction book bringing 'Monkeys With Typewriters', focuses on how to unlock the power of storytelling. With startling and original insights into how we construct stories, this is a creative writing book like no other. It will show you how to read and write better, exploring the great plots from Plato to The Matrix and from Tolstoy to Toy Story.
The third in the Worldquake series 'Galloglass' was published in 2019 alongside Scarlett's latest novel for adults, 'Oligarchy', described by The Times as 'A delightful compound of fantasy and traditional family saga ... A modern fairytale, with flashes that are savagely funny.'
Find her on Twitter @scarthomas
