I am in the process of commissioning writers for a collection of essays on writing a first novel, and have a contract with Palgrave Macmillan. The book will contain 16 essays by new, established, and award-winning writers, and will be an inspiring resource for aspiring novelists, as the contributing writers will be discussing in an honest and illuminating way, the process involved in approaching a large piece of writing for the first time, or the experience of looking back on this from a more knowledgeable position. Writers who have so far confirmed include Valerie Martin, David Vann, Andrew Cowan, Jane Feaver, Johanna Skibsrud, Alison MacLeod, Soumya Bhattacharya, Ed Hogan, Alexander Chee, Isabel Ashdown, Jane Rusbridge.

The opportunity for aspiring novelists to read about the different practices, approaches and inspirations in one collection is intended to give them confidence in following their own intuition. Rather than offering solutions the book is intended to be inspiring, probing, and thought-provoking.

My paper will discuss the enduring appeal and art of the novel, and choice of contributors for the collection. It will draw together common areas that contributors feel are important when writing a first novel. It will assess their different approaches and techniques, and will reflect on what this process reveals about the ‘journey’ involved in writing a large piece of work for the first time.