A Q&A with Hannah Brown, author of Look After Her
A good mentor doesn’t only suggest areas for improvement; they highlight your strengths and encourage you to embrace them. This is just the mix of feedback that 2014 grad Hannah Brown received from her mentor. We caught up with her over email to hear more about her novel and her Humber experience.
Tell us about your book/project? How did it come about?
A friend who volunteered that their grandmother and great aunt had been taken to a brothel when their parents died suddenly, and that grandmother eventually ended up in Claridge’s Hotel, where my friend would go on school breaks and have a wonderful time. I wondered, “How can two young teens disappear and no one notice?”
How did you find the experience of working with your writing mentor? What insight into your writing did you gain through the mentorship process?
Working with Michael Redhill was a jovial and positive experience. He asked questions, and encouraged me, saying I “knew how people talk” and that “[t]his book is sensual, in all its ways." These comments were heartening to a former screenwriter. Through the process, I learned to let writing rest and return to it with fresh eyes.
To learn more about Hannah Brown and her work, follow her on Twitter at @hannahbrown555, on Facebook as Hannah Brown, and on Instagram at @hannahbrownwrites, or visit her website: hannahbrownwrites.com. Connect with her in person at the Leeds International Festival in spring 2020. Look After Her will be published by Inanna Publications in October 2019.
