What makes good writing? We still don’t know.

Creative writing tutor Greg Mosse, author Sue Eckstein, editor of Books Quarterly Ed Wood, literary agent Hannah Westland and Myriad Editions’ fiction editor Vicky Blunden touched very briefly on why some fiction is great (a strong voice, being immersed in the story), and instead opted to spend an hour engaged in mildly interesting but ultimately empty musings on the nature of publishing.

We discovered that authors, agents and publishers love books above all other art forms, that writing is hard work and getting published is too, that the best advice on offer is to keep on going, even if it’s tough, and that creative writing courses have both up and down sides.

Discussions about the emergence of the e-book revealed a publishing industry fearfully protecting its corner and, as disappointingly neolithic as the music industry, refusing to acknowledge that if the consumer wants the product in a digital format then, since most people don’t want to be criminals, providing it in a digital format will necessarily lessen the tide of piracy.

Greg Mosse was a charismatic and thoughtful host, combining an astonishing back catalogue of fiction stored in his brain with an affable and inquisitive manner, but overall the content was sadly weightless, with far too many disappointed mutters overheard on the way out.