In this inspiring collection of essays, a range of award-winning, established and newly published writers offer highly personal accounts of their creative processes. Authors reveal the anxieties, considerations and discoveries that shaped their own first novels, arming new writers with practical advice, focus and inspiration. The book's final section presents the perspectives of an agent, a publisher and an author on the business of publishing a first novel. Writing a First Novel offers an illuminating read for both aspiring and seasoned writers. It contains contributions by:   - Hanif Kureishi - Valerie Martin - Johanna Skibsrud - David Vann - Maile Chapman - Edward Hogan - Kishwar Desai - Wena Poon - Alison MacLeod - Andrew Cowan - Jane Rusbridge - Isabel Ashdown - Helon Habila - David Swann - Soumya Bhattacharya - Jane Feaver - Hannah Westland - Helen Garnons-Williams - Lionel Shriver

Acknowledgements List of Contributors Introduction; Karen Stevens PART I: INSPIRATION AND THE NOVEL Something Given: Reflections on Writing; Hanif Kureishi Look Back in Angst; Valerie Martin Illuminating the Shadows: the Space Between Fact and Fiction; Johanna Skibsrud Genesis; David Vann PART II: RESEARCH AND THE NOVEL Treasure, Trash, and Planned Obsolescence; Maile Chapman Writing Home; Edward Hogan Walking the Tightrope; Kishwar DesaiThe Reluctant Aficionado; Wena Poon PART III: VOICE AND THE NOVEL Hearing Voices; Alison MacLeod 'This Won't Do': Pig and the Temptation of Silence; Andrew Cowan Knots and Narrative; Jane Rusbridge 'Voice' and the Inescapable Complexity of Experience; Isabel Ashdown PART IV: FORM AND THE NOVEL Giving Shape to One's Universe; Helon Habila Another Fine Mess; David Swann Man of Letters; Soumya Bhattacharya Belief; Jane Feaver PART V: THE BUSINESS OF PUBLISHING An Agent's Perspective; Hannah Westland The Role of the Editor; Helen Garnons-Williams Baby, You've Got it; Lionel Shriver Index.