Catch up with Lauren Beukes in conversation

Lauren talks about the research she did for her new book, as well as ADHD, writers block and much more!

I had a great chat with award-winning author Lauren Beukes on 23 October, which is now available for catch up!

We talked about the research that Lauren did for her newest book, Bridge, including how she finds people to talk to, pantsers vs plotters vs headlighters, how her journalism skills helped her, particularly with how to listen for the most important information, and the challenges of getting access to institutions like the police when they don’t really want to chat.

We also talked about working with a story development editor, how to find one, and how they can help ensure that characters are authentic. Plus Lauren’s ADHD diagnosis and how it presents differently in women, writers block and how to get past it, and much, much more.

(Please note that we did have a few issues with minor trolls attempting unsuccessfully to disrupt the webinar and those have all been cut out.)

About Lauren Beukes

Lauren Beukes is the award-winning author of six novels, a collection of short stories, a pop history about South African women, and New York Times best-selling comics. Her work has been translated into 26 languages and won prizes across genres from the Arthur C Clarke Award to the Strand Critic’s Choice award and the University of Johannesburg Prize. Her novel, The Shining Girls, about a time-travelling serial killer and the survivor who turns the hunt around is now a major AppleTV series with Elisabeth Moss. Her latest novel, Bridge, about a young woman’s search for her mother across realities is out now. She lives in London with a daughter and two cats.

Lauren can be found at the following links: Website, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, Facebook, YouTube, SubStack. 

Lauren’s books are available on Bookshop.org: Bridge, Zoo City, The Shining Girls, Afterland, Moxyland, Broken Monsters.