Congratulations on being longlisted for our unpublished prize! Could you tell us about your novel in one sentence?
It’s about blowjobs, babies, being human—and other things Emma Hughes feels conflicted about.
Have you always been interested in (comic) writing, or did you fall into it unexpectedly? Have you ever kept a teenage diary?
I was really into woe for a long time, but now the pendulum has swung the other way. I did keep a teenage diary and revisited it recently—it makes for a frightening read. I had some lofty ambitions though: become a famous poet, go to the Ballinagare teenage disco.
We’d love to hear about where you get ideas for your wondrous wit? Do you have any tips you could impart to aspiring witty writers?
I think I’m like everyone else looking out at the world, finding ways to laugh so we don’t cry and, you know, arrest the Tories. My tip would be to try to ignore the inner censor, or at least send him for a siesta while you’re getting what Anne Lamott calls the ‘shitty first draft’ down. When I go to write anything odd (which is everything I write) all these elaborate fears pop up, being thrown in the stocks and pelted with apples type stuff, but then I remember all the awful books and films that exist (written by men) and how none of them were ever incarcerated for them, and I keep going.
Speaking of which, where does your writing magic happen?
I have fantasised for years about going somewhere wet and windy French Lieutenant’s Woman style and writing myself into a frenzy, but I’m usually just in thermals at home, promising myself if I finish the next paragraph, I can have a cup of tea.
What is the best piece of content by a witty woman you’ve read/watched/listened to/experienced recently?
I cry and laugh every time I watch Derry Girls. It’s just the most wonderful show. I recently read Amy Key’s collection Isn’t Forever and I found it heartbreakingly beautiful and yet humorous and life-affirming at the same time. It felt like a chat with a good friend.
Finally, what does being longlisted for the CWIP prize mean to you? Do you have any advice for other witty writers thinking about entering the prize?
It meant I had a busy Christmas! I think you have to write for yourself, for what you want to say about the world, but when someone else reads it and gets it—it’s like falling in love, it’s magical. My advice would be if you have an idea that you think is funny or weird or light-hearted, enter. Give people the chance to champion you.
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