The Conversation

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