Announcing the Author Line-Up for 2024's Twelve Days Of Christmas Writing Advice

Just a few days until the big day now, and if you are anything like me you are still completely disorganised and haven’t bought a single present. What I have bought though is four bags of brussel sprouts.

Anyway, enough of brussel sprouts, I have a very exciting announcement to make, because not only is December 25th when Santa makes an appearance, but more importantly for us grown ups it’s also the day that I kick off my annual Twelve Days of Christmas Writing Advice.

For those who weren’t subscribers of mine last year, this is how it works: every day from December 25th I post an essay from one of your favourite authors with the writing advice they swear by and would like to impart to you. This series runs every day until Twelfth Night (January 5th), so for each of those twelve days, you will receive one original piece of writing advice from a bestselling writer.

The essays are filtering in to me now, and I have to tell you that they are absolutely wonderful, you will learn so much to kick off 2025 with great writing intentions.

In previous years, each author has been a mystery and revealed only on the day itself, but I’m breaking with tradition here to get you excited, and so, in no particular order…

Here’s Your 2024 Author Line-Up:

Noreen Masud

Noreen is a writer, lecturer in twentieth century literature and author of A Flat Place, her first memoir. Noreen was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2024. And her book found itself on various prize shortlists including The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, The Jhalak Prize and The Ondaatje Prize. It was also selected as book of the year in 2023 by The Guardian, The Sunday Times and the New Yorker.

Damian Barr

Damian is an award-winning writer and broadcaster. He is the author of Maggie & Me, a Sunday Times memoir of the year and now a major play with the National Theatre in Scotland. His debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here, was a BBC Radio Four Book at Bedtime and chosen as Book of the Year by The Guardian, The Observer and the Financial Times. This year saw the publication of his second novel, The Two Roberts.

Damian presents the Big Scottish Book Club on BBC television and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Emma Barnett

Emma is an award-winning British broadcast journalist, author and Substacker, you can find her brilliant Substack,

Trying with Emma Barnett

here:

She is the author of two books, Period, and forthcoming in March, Maternity Service. She was formally the presenter of BBC Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour, and now co-presents Radio Four’s Today programme. Emma has welcomed queens and prime ministers, popstars and political prisoners to her microphone and I am thrilled she has somehow found the time in her schedule to pen an essay of writing advice for you.

Sarah Winman

Sarah is an author and actress. Her debut novel, When God Was a Rabbit, became an international bestseller. Her second novel, A Year of Marvellous Ways was an instant Sunday Times bestseller, as was her third novel, Tin Man, which was shortlisted for the Costa Prize. Her most recent novel, Still Life, was published in 2021 to critical acclaim, it has been translated into at least fourteen languages and has since sold half a million copies worldwide. Another Sunday Times bestseller, it was the winner of the 2021 Books Are My Bag Readers Award for Fiction, was a Good Morning America Book Club pick, and Guardian Book of the Year among other accolades.

Nick Hornby

Nick is an author and screenwriter, he also has a brilliant Substack, A Fan’s Notes which you can find here:

Nick is best known for his memoir Fever Pitch and novels, High Fidelity and About A Boy, all of which were made into movies. He is the author of seven other novels and many, many other short stories and non-fiction books including Dickens & Prince, published in 2022. His novels have won and been shortlisted for prizes such as the E M Forster Award, the Whitbread Novel Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has also been nominated for Academy Awards and Baftas for his adaptations of An Education and the Colm Tóibin novel, Brooklyn. In 2010, Nick co-founded Ministry of Stories, a writing charity based in east London.

Elizabeth MacNeal

Elizabeth is a bestselling author and potter. Her debut novel, The Doll Factory was translated into 29 languages, was a Sunday Times bestseller, a BBC Radio Two Book Club pick, a BBC Radio Four Book at Bedtime and it was adapted for screen by Paramount. Her second novel, Circus of Wonders, was another Sunday Times bestseller and a Sunday Times Book of the Month. This year saw the publication of her third bestseller, The Burial Plot, a bewitching, seductive gothic thriller about murder and manipulation.

Beth Kempton

Another Substacker now and it’s Beth Kempton. Beth is a Japanologist and a bestselling self-help author and writing mentor. Her books, including Kokoro and Wabi Sabi have been translated into nearly 30 languages. Wabi Sabi has also sold more than 300,000 copies. If you do not already follow her on Substack, you simply must and you can find her here:

Beth Kempton

’s Calm Christmas Podcast is also the UK’s official number one Christmas podcast. Plus she has a free Winter Writing Sanctuary which sounds idyllic and kicks off on December 28, which she is inviting you all to join and you can do that here. I can’t wait to share her writing wisdom with you.

Matt Cain

Matt is a British writer and broadcaster and is best known for the novels The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, Becoming Ted and One Love. He’s also a former editor of Attitude magazine. In 2017, Matt - a previous judge of the Costa Book Awards - crowdfunded his third novel, The Madonna of Bolton, after receiving 30 rejections from publishers after claims that his book was ‘too gay’. It reached its funding in just seven days becoming Unbound’s fastest crowdfunded novel ever with pledges coming from 28 countries and backed by dozens of celebrities including David Walliams, David Nicholls, Mark Gatiss and the author, Lisa Jewell. The Madonna of Bolton was published in 2018.

Louise Candlish

Louise is an internationally bestselling and award-winning author of 17 novels. Her latest book, Our Holiday was an instant Sunday Times bestseller and a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. She has been writing novels for twenty years and is best known for Our House, which sold more than 250,000 copies, won the British Book Awards Book of the Year — Crime & Thriller, was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year award, Specsavers National Book Award as well as many others. It was also a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and was adapted for screen as part of an ITV four-part drama.

Jennie Godfrey

Jennie Godfrey

’s debut novel The List of Suspicious Things was published in 2024 and became an instant Sunday Times bestseller reaching number three in the top ten. It was chosen as a best debut novel by the BBC, Red and Good Housekeeping magazine, and Marian Keyes described her as a ‘fresh and interesting voice’. The List of Suspicious Things won Best Debut Novel at the Crime Fiction Lover Awards and was chosen as a Radio Two Book Club read.

Jennie also has a fabulous Substack, which you can find here:

Priscilla Morris

Priscilla is a British author and teacher of creative writing who divides her time between Ireland and Spain. She wrote Black Butterflies to understand the war that devastated her Bosnian mother’s hometown in Sarajevo from 1992-1996.

Priscilla’s debut novel, Black Butterflies, was published in 2022 and was shortlisted for several major prizes including The Women’s Prize for Fiction, The Ondaatje Prize, and the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award. Black Butterflies was selected by the New York Times as one of the best historical novels of the year in 2023 and was chosen as a BBC Radio Four Book at Bedtime.

Jennifer Cox

Time for another Substacker now and this time it’s Jennifer Cox who makes up one half of the excellent Substack,

Women Are Mad with Jen&Salima

which you can find here:

Jennifer Cox is a psychotherapist and author of The Times and Sunday Times Best Self-Help Book of the Year, Women Are Angry: Why Your Rage Is Hiding And How To Let It Out. She is co-founder of the global Women Are Mad mental health platform and hosts the hit podcast Women Are Mad, whose guests include

Jameela Jamil

, Philippa Perry and Jess Phillips MP

And so, that’s your line-up…

So don’t forget Twelve Days of Christmas Writing Advice starts on December 25th and you won’t want to miss any of the wisdom that these authors have to impart, so ensure that you are subscribed here:

It takes an awful lot of work behind the scenes to bring all these people together for you, so any of you who would like to show your appreciation would make my day by becoming a paid subscriber – I’ve got lots more lined up for you in 2025 on White Ink. You can upgrade here:

I am so grateful for these busy authors who have taken the time to pen a guest post for you, and the best way of you showing your appreciation during the series is by liking, sharing and commenting on their pieces – and of course, buying their books. You can start right now by spreading the word:

And I can’t wait to share their wisdom with you!

Until Christmas Day…