Working class children's author and poet Oliver Sykes offers his words of wisdom for how people can break through the class ceiling and find their place in the world of the arts.

"Seeing myself on the page made me realise I could write and tell stories too – children like me could even be the main character – and it empowered me to start writing and telling stories of my own!"

"I think the biggest challenge is the current economic issues. Both businesses and people are struggling right now. This means business is quite quiet at the moment. In terms of overcoming it - watch this space."

Alex Wheatle MBE, award winning author and trailblazer for the Black British community, is not short of a story as he depicts his experience as an author within the UK and talks of how he chooses to evolve constantly as a creative.

This week on instaviews we will be interviewing Instagram poet and self-published author, J R Darbon. 

Self-publishing? It can seem a little overwhelming at first, but I've found success from it and wanted to share what I know with you! 

Kurt Vest talks us through his new book The First Dimension, and what impact Artificial Intelligence may already be having on our lives. 

Introducing Anne Welsh: entrepreneur, activist, author. 

With his first young adult novel, Run, Riot, having been recently released, author Nikesh Shukla takes some time to talk to Voice about his writing process, tackling diversity in publishing and having your voice heard.

I spoke to Nicole about her children’s book and why it’s important to talk about mental health from a young age

There has been lots of research into the links between creativity and mental illness; one discovery is that writers are most likely to be affected.

I attended a panel discussion with leading YA author Lisa Williamson (The Art of Being Normal), senior editor Vicky Blunden (Myriad editions) and Leicester-based author Bali Rai. The event was held in one of the University of Leicester's lecture theatres.