Holly Bourne

Her best-selling book How Do You Like Me Now? was both wildly funny and brilliantly perceptive – and I can confirm that Holly Bourne is both of these things, not to mention clever, kind and wise. We talk about everything from the surreal pressure society puts on 30-something women, to conquering stage fright (Holly used to get so nervous before public speaking that she would be sick) and why she started rationing her news intake in 2016. She also reveals how she comes up with her ideas – a process she calls “literary cystitis” – and why she was tempted to have “THIS IS NOT A MEMOIR” tattooed on to her head after the release of How Do You Like Me Now. And we talk about why she feels a responsibility to tackle subjects such as mental health, emotional abuse and feminism in her work. Finally Holly, who is also the author of nine young adult novels, as well as an official champion for SANE mental health charity, reveals the single most important piece of advice she would give any aspiring writer. Welcome to the first ever episode of The Sunday Salon with Alice-Azania Jarvis.
Edited by Chelsey Moore