In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, Head of Programmes and Creative Engagement Holly speaks with novelist Hannah Vincent about point of view and different types of narration.

Hannah Vincent is a novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her first novel, Alarm Girl was published in 2014 and her second, The Weaning in 2018. Her 2020 short story collection, She-Clown and Other Stories was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize. Her stage plays have been produced by among others, The Royal Court Theatre and The Royal National Theatre Studio and her radio play Come to Grief won a BBC Audio award.

Together, they discuss the specifics of different perspectives that writers can inhabit, and the effects perspectives and voices can have on readers. They also touch on why a writer’s choice of perspective is fundamental to the way a story is told, and whether any narrative voice can truly be reliable.

Hannah explores this topic in a free, self-paced course for NCW Academy entitled How to Write Unreliable Narrators.

Edited by Omni Mix

Hannah Vincent is a novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her first novel, Alarm Girl, was published in 2014 and her second, The Weaning, in 2018. Her 2020 short story collection, She-Clown and Other Stories, was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize. Her stage plays have been produced by among others, The Royal Court Theatre and The Royal National Theatre Studio and her radio play Come to Grief won a BBC Audio award. Hannah teaches Creative Writing on The Open University’s MA programme and on The Creative Writing Programme in Brighton. She holds a PhD in Creative and Critical writing from The University of Sussex and is an Advisory Fellow for the Royal Literary Fund.