Sally Magnusson on Myth, Memory & Finding Your Voice

HYFYV Podcast: Episode 3

Episode artwork for episode 3 of the How You Find Your Voice Podcast

In this episode of How You Find Your Voice, I’m joined by novelist and broadcaster Sally Magnusson to talk about mythology, memory, and the slow, courageous unfolding of a creative life.

Sally’s latest novel, The Shapeshifter’s Daughter, reimagines Hel, the Norse ruler of the underworld, not as a monster, but as a complex, feeling, searching figure. We talk about why the Norse goddesses have so often been sidelined, how myth reflects our deepest fears about death and loss, and why retelling these stories from the inside matters.

Our conversation also turns to memory, both personal and cultural, and to storytelling as a form of survival. Sally reflects on growing up surrounded by stories, her years in journalism and broadcasting, and what it took to trust her imagination and begin writing fiction in her sixties.

This episode is about creative permission and about recognising that your voice changes as you do. It explores how lived experience does not diminish creativity, but deepens it.

Listen to the episode here.