“I have an awful lot to thank Epigram for!” – In Conversation with Epigram alumnus Holly Smale on turning Geek Girl into a hit Netflix show

By Sofia Webster, Co-Deputy Editor

Geek Girl, a well-loved and highly sought after book across school libraries, details the life of 16-year-old Harriet Manners in her journey of being scouted and eventually becoming a model as a teenager.

Holly Smale, the author of Geek Girl alongside subsequent books in the series, spoke with Epigram about the process of turning her book series into a TV show which was released earlier this summer, and how her experience as Deputy Editor of Epigram whilst at Bristol helped massively when pursuing a career as an author, and more recently, a screenwriter.

Speaking to Epigram on how the opportunity of a TV series came about, Smale noted the difficulty she faced alongside producer Jeff Norton for several years when trying to get the TV series picked up by a broadcaster, and even Netflix (who eventually broadcast the series) rejected the idea of a Geek Girl series three times prior to accepting the idea. Smale told Epigram that the experience taught her “what a bit of tenacity and bloody-mindedness can do, as well as genuine belief in your project.”

Smale served as co-Creator and Executive Producer on the show, and through this strived to ensure the ‘voice’ of the series remained true to the books. For Smale, this was most important when writing the lead character, Harriet Manners, who is neurodivergent alongside Smale herself, and have both had experiences in being scouted as teenage models. Speaking on writing for Harriet, Smale said she had “never written for screen before, so it was a joy to discover I loved it as much as I did.”

Bringing the show to life was filled with challenges albeit equally eye opening and humbling, and the entire process involved hundreds of people, named ‘a Geek army’ who Smale saw as “a magical group of people who genuinely loved the books and the whole concept.”  

Speaking to Epigram about the initial idea behind the Geek Girl book series, Smale shared that she’d recently finished a serious adult book which was receiving bouts of rejections, therefore feeling defeated. Smale said this led to her friend betting a drink that she couldn’t ‘write about her experience as a teen model’.

At first, Smale thought the idea seemed boring but quickly realised the story was less about modelling and more about “how it had felt to be a teenager who never really fit in, who was struggling with being different, and who desperately wanted a fairytale to change her life.” Ironically, Smale speaks of this experience writing about Harriet Manners as the fairytale that changed her life.

Writing for Epigram is a fantastic way to develop writing skills as well as confidence in writing whether that be in order to pursue a career in journalism, publishing or even writing on its own. Holly Smale's career is a fantastic example of how you can use student journalism to gain confidence through finding out what types of writing you most enjoy and use that to help navigate your career, as Smale did when she was Deputy Editor.

Smale worked as Deputy Editor alongside Kate Quilton, who was Editor-in-Chief (now a successful TV presenter) and believed this experience as pivotal in realising creative writing from column or opinion pieces was what she enjoyed more compared to writing features. Learning about this massively boosted confidence and reaffirmed that Smale could possibly do what she was aiming for.

For students hoping to follow in similar footsteps, Smale highlighted the importance of being tenacious and pushing through rejection. “You have to believe, even if other people don’t. Honestly, I don’t know many writers who haven’t had to keep going – even when they’re being told not to – so you really do need an indomitable spirit, a strong sense of who you are.”

“Putting my writing out for other people to read was not something I’d ever done before. Working for Epigram really allowed me to get over that hurdle, be less shy and/or precious with my work and essentially treat writing less as a hobby I hid and more like a real job, with deadlines and an ability to let go. I cannot emphasise enough how key that was to my writing journey. I have an awful lot to thank Epigram for!”

Featured Image courtesy of Holly Smale