Gothic Horror at its finest
Today I want to share with you a podcast put out by the National Centre for Writing, which is a Literature House in Norwich, the UK’s first UNESCO city of Literature and commonly known as the City of Stories.
I am a volunteer at the National Centre for Writing and really believe in its mission and the opportunities it affords people.
They also run the Writing Life Podcast, in the episode I’m sharing with you today author Heather Parry discusses writing the grotesque body and reimagining gothic tropes.
Below is a link to the full podcast catalogue.
Writing the self in memoir: Camilla Balshaw on Named – The Writing Life
In this episode of The Writing Life Podcast, Norfolk-based writer Camilla Balshaw shares insights into exploring themes of identity and belonging in her memoir, Named – an engaging and intimate investigation of what makes us who we are.
Camilla Balshaw has written for the Guardian and the Observer. She holds an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths (Distinction) and is an Honorary Research Fellow in Name Studies at the University of Nottingham. Her memoir Named won the Biography & Memoir category winner in the East Anglian Book Awards 2025.
She sat down with NCW’s Holly Ainley for a candid conversation about the origins of her memoir, which intertwines an exploration of names, global naming conventions and identity politics within a moving, personal narrative about the finding of family and self. They also touch on her approach to writing about real people, the impact of names on our sense of self, and the vulnerability involved in sharing personal stories with readers.
Katie Marie Robinson-Sherlock 
I’d love to hear what you think, please comment below.