The Write to Know #16
Recommendations, reviews, randoms and reads
I thought about calling this blog, ‘The Joy of Shoulder Pads’, in homage to the new Disney + series, Rivals.
Based on Dame Jilly Cooper’s book of the same name, it’s a technicolour romp through the world of commercial television, in south west England, in the 1980s.
That sentence in no way does it justice.
It’s a pot pourri of love, power, sex, revenge, betrayal, cheating, intruigue, horse-riding and ugly floral-patterned wallpaper, and is the most riotous fun you’ll see this year on the small screen. Think of the show Slow Horses and then imagine the exact opposite of what that could be, and you get Rivals.
Dame Jilly’s books were known in true tabloid fashion as ‘bonkbusters’ (a term she never liked), and in fact, the series starts with an invitation to join the ‘mile high club’. After that, the ‘bonking’ and madness never stops.
Now 87, Jilly was a journalist in the Sixties before turning to novel writing, publishing How to Stay Married, in 1969.
Rivals and ten other books make up The Rutshire Chronicles, with the first in the series, Riders, published in 1985. The most recent, Tackle!, went on sale last year, when Jilly was 86 (proving you never have to retire from writing, and nor should you).
The series is a period piece from a time that I actually lived through (blimey, I really am from the past now), and is a magnificent dive into the music, sensibilities and fashion of the era. Fun fact: Jilly’s 80s dinner party menu would be champagne and coq au vin. Arf.
The cast is soap-operatic in its breadth and talent, featuring David Tennant as Lord Tony Baddingham (questionable morals meets laser-focused media despot), Aiden Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer (who knew we needed an 80s Danny Dyer in our lives and that he would be most attractive as a middle-aged electronics mogul), Victoria Smurfit, Emily Atack (who is Barbara Windsor, Stephanie Beacham and Hattie Jacques all wrapped up in one gorgeous package), Nafessa Williams (please note the bows on her evening dresses, they are copious and big), Claire Rushbrook, Oliver Chris, Maggie Steed, Bella Maclean and Alex Hassell, as the rogue charmer Rupert Campbell-Black (questionable morals meets square-jawed villainy).
I stand in awe of the costume and production design. Anytime you go to an 80s fancy dress party these days, it’s all bright pink neon tulle tu-tus. Temu have a lot to answer for because 80s fashion was never like that. It was arch, conspicuous, showy and structured. They got it so right on Rivals.
The look of the show was overseen by director Elliot Hegarty, who is the son of John Hegarty, one of the founders of the 1980s powerhouse ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty. The exquisite costume design comes courtesy of industry supremo Ray Holman, who also worked on Doctor Who and Fleabag.
Here’s an interview with them from Esquire. One major consideration they shared is that the clothes had to be able to come off easily. Ha. I tell you, this show is a hoot!
There’s a wonderful scene at an awards gala where Emily Atack wears what can only be described as a gold lamé fever dream. It’s a sight to behold.
I dipped in and out of Dame Jilly’s books as a teen and enjoyed them, although since Rivals hit the small screen I‘ve discovered just how passionate some of my friends are about them. They can literally reel off the entire plotlines of Rivals, Riders, Polo and more. It’s very impressive.
This season depicts just half of the Rivals book - boo! - but also hurrah because season two has already been commissioned.
Until then, we’ve got a newsletter more packed than Rupert’s y-fronts today, so let’s get on with it.
AUNTY IS CALLING!
Quills at the ready!
The BBC open their submission window for scripts this Tuesday.
It’s one of their yearly Open Calls for writers so anyone can submit and you have until December 3 to do so.
Here’s some blurb. “Our Open Call is not a competition but a means by which the BBC seeks out the best writing talent. We look for writers with the strongest potential to be developed and produced for BBC broadcast. You could be new to writing or new to the BBC but equally, you may be a playwright looking to write for TV, or you’ve written for radio drama and would like to try your hand at writing for CBBC. We understand that carving a career as a writer takes time and that each writer’s development needs will be different.”
Get stuck in. I am. I’m sending a script that’s been languishing in a drawer for a while. I’ve dusted it off and added giant bows. Metaphorically speaking of course.
ACTION STATIONS!
Faber has introduced the Action! Prize to encourage thrilling, cinematic adventure stories, developed in partnership with Eddie Gamarra, who The TEN interviewed earlier this year.
The initiative responds to a National Literacy Trust finding that children's reading enjoyment is at its lowest in nearly 20 years, with many, especially boys, struggling to find engaging books.
“We are all alarmed at the falling number of children reading for pleasure,” said Faber publisher Leah Thaxton.
The prize is open to non-agented writers in the UK and US, with three publishing contracts available. First prize comes with a £12,000 advance, followed by £9,000 and £6,000 advances for the second and third prizes.
Submissions should feature a diverse cast, targeting readers from ages 7 to 14 and up, with entries including a 5,000-word excerpt and 500-word synopsis. Fiction and graphic novels are eligible.
Find out more here. And congrats to Eddie!
TELL ME LIES
Just for the hell of it, here’s a really great interview with Stevie Nicks for Rolling Stone magazine, by Angie Martoccio.
TOWN BUT NOT OUT
I do love a podcast and tear through them at a rate of knots, usually as I’m getting my steps in. Aside from the all the political pods I’ve been consuming recently (that’s the only mention of that today), I love deep dives and shows that offer good value.
So I was intrigued to find The Town, with Matthew Beloni, who covers entertainment news and the inner workings of Hollywood. Give it a go. I enjoyed this episode and the one about SNL but he posts weekly so there’s a lot of topics to choose from.
COVER JUNKIE
I used to give a uni lecture on magazine covers. They can be glorious, inspiring and thought-provoking. And sometimes they change the world.
Because of that, I love the Dutch Instagram account Cover Junkie. Curated by Jaap Biemans, he shares images from around the world; there’s something compelling, not just about the artistry, but also the world view of magazine covers.
Since we started in the 80’s, above is one of the most memorable magazine covers of that era.
FASHION FORWARD
Just for the hell of it part deux, here’s an excellent interview by Meaghan Garvey for Chicago Mag, with Law Roach, the man responsible for styling Zendaya.
THE WORLD’S MOST MYSTERIOUS BOOK
Any Voynich Manuscript fans here?
Okay, so this is a fifteenth century manuscript that has yet to be successfully decoded.
The Atlantic dig into it in this piece by Ariel Saber, because apparently this 500-year-old mystery may soon be unlocked.
You can listen to the article too but this is an engrossing deep dive that will leave you feeling smarter.
NECKS LEVEL THANK YOU
Thank you to Steven Short, who gave me a shout out in his guest newsletter for The International Magazine Centre recently. Not for The TEN but for my other Substack, The Third Shoebox, where I write about later life reinvention.
Discover more about Steven here, or visit his Substack.
A QUANTUM OF GONZO
Adam Hay-Nicholls has made me interested in cars because of headlines like the one below. Throw Ian Fleming and Hunter S. Thompson into a cocktail shaker and out pours Adam. He’s a fantastic writer, so give him a follow.
BLACK BOOKS
The Black List has long been known for it’s support of unproduced screenplays, and a couple of mine were hosted on the site for a while.
They site is now branching out into the world of unpublished novels, which if it can do for books what it did for unproduced screenplays, could be very interesting indeed.
Writers will be able to showcase completed novels on blcklst.com, pay for feedback from their readers and submit manuscripts to various programmes.
A WEE COMPETITION
The Edinburgh Short Story Awards is now open for submissions. Don’t panic, you have until February to get your shiz together but this competition, which is run by the Scottish Arts Trust, has a first prize of £3,000. You will also see your work published in the Edinburgh Anthology. Crime writer Chris Brookmyre is one of the judges. Find out more here.
AND ALMOST FINALLY…
As if anyone needs an excuse to visit the Cotswolds, the wonderful Kerry Parnell explains on her Substack, The British Travel List, where to go if you want to have a Rivals-inspired weekend.
AND FINALLY FINALLY…
This is beyond niche but it made me laugh like the proverbial drain.
If, within the Venn diagram of your life, Espresso singer Sabrina Carpenter brushes up against the genius that is Alan Bennett, you’ll love this from comedian Rhiannon Shaw.
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Very much warmed to Rivals after the first couple of episodes. Especially Danny Dyer and Katherine Parkinson! And you're right, they did get '80s clothes right, though I felt like they weren't quite as accurate with the hair.
Thanks for the lively/useful round-up, Lisa.
Rivals may be the only thing that gets me through this week alive. Adore all of it and thank you for the good news about S2!