Robin is joined by multi-award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor for a full and frank discussion centred on Nnedi’s most recent novel, DEATH OF THE AUTHOR, released in 2025. We cover writing family and disability, the culture of food, plus writing two books at the same time that you later discover are in fact two parts of one book.

https://britishfantasysociety.org/blog/bfs-podcast-long-story-short/

Are you a member of the British Fantasy Society yet? Join us here: https://britishfantasysociety.org/about-the-bfs/become-a-member/

Find out more about Nnedi here: https://nnedi.com/books/

Visit David’s: https://www.davidgreenwriter.com/

And Robin’s website: https://robincmduncan.com/

Time stamps

(01:18) Introducing Death of the Author

(03:13) the writing process / academia

(19:22) sharing Zelu’s writer journey

(20:57) the power of family, food as a pillar of culture

(28:16) Katie reviews 3 cosy fantasies: Travis Baldree, David Green, and Julie Leong

(30:15) writing Zelu’s disability

(39:55) U is for uncategorizable; reader reactions

(44:00) “When is Book 2 coming, Zelu?”

(45:38) Deciding on the next project

(47:45) Wrangling the silver screen / meta x meta

(51:27) What’s next?

Robin and David are joined by novelist, essayist and teacher Matt Greene to discuss his latest novel, The Definitions. In a wide and varied conversation such topics arise as holidays in La Rochelle, chairs vs benches, and A.I. – Matt really doesn’t like it.

https://britishfantasysociety.org/blog/bfs-podcast-long-story-short/

Are you a member of the British Fantasy Society yet? Join us here: https://britishfantasysociety.org/about-the-bfs/become-a-member/

Find out more about Matt here: https://evewhite.co.uk/authors/matt-greene/

Visit David’s: https://www.davidgreenwriter.com/

And Robin’s website: https://robincmduncan.com/

- LINK TO THE ROYAL INSTITUTE LECTURE [time stamp 24:00 to 25:50, AI is lying to you]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkdziSLYzHw

Time Stamps

(0:10) Ostrich, screenwriting and not making choices

(6:50) a precis of Ostrich, a properly humorous book, the serious business of comedy

(10:22) Matt’s new novel: The Definitions

(14:35) Robin has a question, the impact of AI on language

(21:10) the LLM class action database

(23:30) talking about writing about love

(26:30) Katie’s book review, three novellas

(28:50) an Alien Earth parallel / the infant self

(37:42) influences on The Definitions

(40:15) Matt asks a question (Lit vs Genre, Round #347)

(53:26) what about Fantasy?

Shen Tao joins Robin and David to discuss her debut, The Poet Empress, which released a day or so after us recording. A captivating and challenging story that does not shy away from difficult choices, inhabited by darkness, but shining brightly with bravery and love. We discuss Shen’s remarkable novel, matters of author self-care, character empathy, the experience of writing, and mice bombing asteroids.

https://britishfantasysociety.org/blog/bfs-podcast-long-story-short/

Are you a member of the British Fantasy Society yet? Join us here: https://britishfantasysociety.org/about-the-bfs/become-a-member/

Find out more about Shen here: https://www.shentao.ca

Visit David’s: https://www.davidgreenwriter.com/

And Robin’s website: https://robincmduncan.com/

Time stamps

(01:00) The Poet Empress and Shen as an author

(03:28) a precis of the story and the writing of it

(06:00) not for the faint of heart, how Shen looked after herself

(10:27) the evolution of style, considering the follow-up

(14:40) empathising with your character, escaping negative head-space, a tapestry of light and dark

(19:40) shifting POV, ‘time travel’, THE QUESTION, from 90K words to 130K, emergent themes

(24:03) writing close to the bone (re: word count), advice for debut authors

(28:17) an anti-romantasy

(32:08) Katie’s book review, “Scratch Moss” by David Barnett

(33:45) is it a feminist story?

(37:35) promotion planned in Shen’s debut year? Fantasycon in Glasgow

(42:02) writing as a solitary, but also collaborative experience

(45:27) mice bombing asteroids; acknowledgement for Miss Palumbo!