Inside Story with Lucinda

Having been brought up on a diet of books & more books – including Dumas, Dickens and the works of Larry and Gerry Durrell – Melanie Hewitt loved her job of interviewing authors for Waterstones. Finally, last year, she realised her dream of being able to launch her own book there.

Melanie walked a circuitous route to becoming an author. At the age of 18 she wanted to be a book illustrator and went to art college, but halfway through her course, changed her mind and went to Swansea University to study English. After 18 months, she decided student life was not for her and started looking for work. A job advert for a newspaper reporter changed her life. Melanie was taken on as a reporter on the Doncaster Advertiser, where she worked her way up to become the Editor. She then spent a number of years working in PR and Communications – but always knowing she wanted to write a book.

In 2021, her debut novel, Looking for the Durrells, was published by HarperCollins. It was inspired by the Durrell family, their writing and their life in Corfu. Melanie, who is the mother of two grown up children and Ernie, the rescue kitten, is now working on her second book, which is also set in Corfu. Join Melanie and Lucinda Hawksley for the Inside Story at 12pm on Friday 18th March.