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The Conversation

Factual: Life Stories

Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

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The Conversation: Ghostwriters for hire

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Michelle Burford and Ellen Bandu-Aaku

19/07/2021 GMT

Ghostwriters for hire

BBC World Service - The Conversation, Ghostwriters for hire

Michelle Burford and Ellen Banda-Aaku on celebrity memoirs and collaborative writing

Michelle Burford and Ellen Banda-Aaku write memoirs and autobiographies for other people. They tell Kim Chakanetsa about capturing the ‘voice’ and essence of their clients.

Some people live the most amazing lives but aren't always the best at putting those experiences into words. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two ghostwriters about collaborative writing - what do they enjoy about telling someone else's story?

Michelle Burford is a celebrity memoir collaborator who’s written for hugely successful women like Cicely Tyson, Alicia Keys and Simone Biles. Having carved out a niche writing with famous Black women she’s also collaborated on the traumatic memoir of Michelle Knight, kidnapped and held captive by Ariel Castro in Cleveland, Ohio for ten years – and TV carpenter, Clint Harp.

Ellen Banda-Aaku is an author from Zambia. She's written award winning books for children and adults and took up ghostwriting to bring in a steady income. She writes for StoryTerrace - a paid-for service which helps people write their autobiographies. This has included a woman smuggled out of Iran, another who left an abusive marriage and a man jailed in Somalia who later dedicated his life to humanitarian aid.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

IMAGE DETAILS
(L) Michelle Burford, credit Meg Rybicki 
(R) Ellen Banda-Aaku, courtesy Ellen Banda-Aaku

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