125: Paul McVeigh (I Hear You)

Charlie and Paul McVeigh (I Hear You) discuss Paul's time writing stories for the BBC, being an emotional writer, and a traumatic medical experience that has had a big effect on some of his work.

Please note there are two incredibly mild swear words in this episode.

General references:
BBC Writers Room, now BBC Writers
Paul's play is called Big Man
Paul's blog post about tips from Heather Larmour

Books mentioned by name or extensively:
Kit de Waal: My Name Is Leon
Kit de Waal (ed.): Common People
Paul McVeigh: The Good Son
Paul McVeigh: I Hear You
Paul McVeigh (ed.) The 32
Paul McVeigh (ed.) Queer Love
Sarah Butler: Ten Things I've Learnt About Love
Sinéad Gleeson (ed.) The Art Of The Glimpse
Wendy Erskine: Sweet Home
Wendy Erskine: Dance Move

Release details: recorded 7th April 2025; published 28th July 2025

Where to find Paul online: Website || Instagram

Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok

Discussions

01:28 Paul talks about being commissioned by the BBC to write the short stories now featured in I Hear You, as well as his success in doing so
07:03 Why publish these short stories in a collection now?
13:01 Did Paul's working class background have an affect on the resilience he's discussed?
16:37 The first story, Tickles. We also talk about Paul being an emotional writer
26:01 The second story, Cuckoo, which is heavily influenced by an operation Paul had
32:45 About the 10 linked stories, The Circus
38:23 Paul tells us about the short story collection he's currently writing