Episode 108 In Conversation with Ashleigh Nugent

Write, Damn It! with Zoe Richards

Ashleigh Nugent’s debut novel, LOCKS, was published by Picador Books in 2023 to rave reviews including 4/5 stars in the Daily Telegraph. LOCKS recently secured a TV deal with 2LE Media. Ashleigh has also written for theatres, academic journals, poetry anthologies and magazines. Ashleigh was Liverpool City Region’s Artist of the Year in 2021. He is also course director at RiseUp, where he uses his own life experience and mindset expertise to support prisoners.
LOCKS
Published by Picador 22nd June 2023
First self-published in May 2020
Paperback coming on 27th June 2024

Ashleigh will be touring around libraries, bookshops and prisons throughout 2024.
Ashleigh said "My biggest fear was that my family would hate me for writing the book, and that Black people would misunderstand the message, white people would be offended and LGBT people, women and all kinds of other people would misunderstand my use of derogatory terms from the 1990s."
You can connect to Ashleigh on his website - ashleighnugent.com
And on social media - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
I asked Ashleigh what his advice to other writers would be and he said:
"While writing ‘Locks’ I had a picture of Tupac Shakur on my wall, watching over me and encouraging me to take on board his work ethic. I would hear Tupac’s voice in my head telling me (in his own expletive-laden Tupac-ish way) to get it done.

My advice to others, and self, is to do it your way -- 100% -- and, eventually, people will get it, people will come on board and support and help you to make this happen. But don’t wait for anyone, no excuses, stop procrasti-learning.

Just CRACK ON!
Write 500 words per day. Do that 5 days a week and you have 2,500 words a week; that’s 10,000 words a month; that’s 120,000 words a year. Novel done."

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Happy writing, and may the wo...