Writer's Routine
Julia Raeside, author of 'Don't Make Me Laugh' - Journalist discusses writing angry, tricking yourself to work, and telling another's story
Published: 28 March 2025 at 00:00 Europe/London
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Episode notes
Julia Raeside is a journalist and broadcaster, who has written for The Times, The Guardian, The Big Issue and many others, and appeared across the BBC.
Her new novel is 'Don't Make Me Laugh', which looks at the culture within the world of comedy... an industry which is rapidly approaching a #MeToo moment. It tells the story of Ali Lauder, a radio producer enlisted to hire Paul Bonatti to host a show. It could be her career breakthrough. Bonatti is a comedian who is thought to be cosy, warm, cool, and a fun feminist... turns out he's anything but.
We talk about how the idea developed from experiencing life at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, covering it as a journalist, and then thinking there was more to be discussed as a novel. You can hear why being a journalist isn't always helpful to novel writing, why she had to trick herself to write, and whether she was ever worried it wasn't her story to tell.
You can get a copy of the novel at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine
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