Carty-Williams and Kay feature at Orion 2022 showcase

Candice Carty-Williams, Rev Richard Coles, Winnie Li and Adam Kay were among authors sharing inspirations behind their forthcoming books for the 2022 Orion showcase. 

The virtual event was streamed on YouTube on 25th January and hosted by presenter Simon Savidge, featuring interviews and discussions with almost 20 authors.  

Carty-Williams spoke about her second novel, People Person, due in April, which was partly inspired by her own family. She recalled the moment she first came into contact with her half-siblings: “When I was 16 my eldest sister called me and said ‘I got your number from Dad, did you want to meet?’ And it turned my life upside down... And so I was thinking about that relationship and how those relationships are built on something specific. 

“I wondered what would happen if there was a girl who doesn’t really have any friends and something went wrong but she had half-siblings who she hadn’t really spoken to but there is that bond.” 

Carty-Williams also talked about how her bestselling debut helped her realise how writing character was one of her main strengths. “Queenie was so characterful, I realised what my strength was in writing, in terms of people’s voices and how they are... I start them talking to each other in my head, I put them in situations and just see what happens.” 

Li discussed Complicit, a #Me Too-inspired look at the film industry, snapped up in a pre-empt last year and tipped by Savidge to be “one of the most talked-about books of the year”. Li said: “It opens in autumn 2017 which is, as we all know, during when the Weinstein revelations went public and went on to rock the world and were followed by a flood of other revelations about powerful men.  

“When the revelations came out people said ‘you’re probably well placed to write about this issue because I am a survivor of rape and worked in the film industry... I thought maybe there’s a way I can write about this which is intriguing where even though there’s a shadow of sexual assault lurking over it, it’s actually a deep-dive into the film industry.  

“I thought maybe I should write a book about how power is structured in the industry and you can go in as a woman and really want to make your mark and find there are so many things stacked against you because it is rich, powerful men in charge.” 

Many debut authors were introduced including arts journalist Holly Williams who introduced her super-lead high-concept love story, pre-empted in a six-figure: “My novel, What Time is Love, explores what would happen if the same couple met at different points in the 20th Century. Every time Violet and Albert meet they are always 20 years old but their circumstances keep changing and the world around them keeps changing too. Violet is from a Welsh working-class background while Albert is from an aristocratic Yorkshire family, the novel explores how they must reconcile differences in class, opportunity, gender and privilege... Both have their challenges but I really wanted to show the giddy somersaulting joy of falling in love over and over again.” 

Coles was asked about his cosy crime debut, Murder Before Evensong, set in the Midlands in the 1980s. He said: “I wanted to write this because I was enjoyed the crime genre, I always have done. Partly also because vicars make good nosy people and nosy people make good detectives.”  

He added: “I wanted something that was fun – I wrote it for fun actually because it was a period of life which was difficult for me personally when I’d just been bereaved but also everyone was going through lockdown so I was looking to enjoy myself. Also as a vicar you bump into characters all the time... so in my mind I have a community of characters who I’ve encountered in my many years of industry so I use them as archetypes.” 

Other fiction authors included Dolen Perkins Valdez discussing Take My Hand, Jendella Benson on Hope and Glory, Salma Al-Wardany on These Impossible Things and Wet Paint author Chloe Ashby along with Sussie Anie of To Fill a Yellow House. Anna Mazzola also discussed her historical mystery The Clockwork Girl. 

Kay revealed his upcoming currently untitled book will be his new memoir. He added: “It’s about being a doctor, it’s about not being a doctor and about exploding your life. It’s funny, I hope, it’s sad and I know that it’s desperately honest.” 

Other non-fiction authors included Nihal Arthanayake talking about his recently acquired Let’s Talk, Joe Tracini discussing Ten Things I Hate About Me through a rap and Tanya Shadrick sharing the inspiration behind The Cure For Sleep along with insights from writers such as Lily Dunn, David Whitehouse, Jude Rogers, Angela Kirwin and Annie Lord.