On Monday 13th April 2026, the panel listed below talked about the saggy middle of a novel. The recording is at the end of this page.
- Historical fantasy novelist and short story author BB Elsin
- Crime; science-fiction; fantasy author David Wake
- Crime/thriller novelist Jill Todd
- Suspense thriller novelist, poet and children’s author Karl W Newton
- Children’s author, speaker and beekeeper! Meriet Duncan
- Crime/women’s novelist and non-fiction author and Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen with an ‘E’ (host)
We talked about what the middle of a novel should look like, how to avoid a ‘saggy’ middle, what to do if you find yourself with one (or without a middle!), whether genre affects the middle of novels, published novels that feel like they still have a saggy middle… and anything else we could think of.
These are free events but we’re raising money for local book-related charities and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.