Episode 4

Claire Lynch on hidden histories

Published on: 5th November, 2025

Claire Lynch is on the podcast this week talking about her incredible debut novel A Family Matter, the story of a family torn apart and the decades of silence that follows. This is Claire's second time on the podcast - we spoke way back in 2021 about her memoir Small: On Motherhoods.

Claire talks with me about when she first discovered how lesbian mothers had access to their children forcibly removed by court order well into the 1990s in the UK and her decision to explore this heartbreaking recent history in fiction. Claire talks about the varied reception the book has had across different regions facing differing political climates, as well as her recent decision to leave her job as a professor of literature and creative writing and write full time.

Links

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch

Small: On Motherhoods by Claire Lynch

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About the Podcast

Not Too Busy To Write
Writing amongst life's many other demands
Penny Wincer is not too busy to write. Except of course, sometimes she is too busy to write as much as she would like. Join Penny as she has conversations with other writers about writing, publishing and creativity whilst juggling all the demands on them such as motherhood, caring and other paid work.

Penny Wincer is the author of two narrative non-fiction books, Tender and Home Matters and a non-fiction writing coach. She's an Australian and long-term resident of London, a mother of two teenagers, an unpaid carer and always attempting to get just a little more writing done.

About your host

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Penny Wincer

Penny Wincer is the author of Tender: The Imperfect Art of Caring (Hodder, June 2020) and is a single parent to two kids, one of whom is disabled. She is also a non-fiction book coach and an Australian and long-term resident of London. She’s currently writing her second non-fiction book and working her first novel.