Paul Bradley Carr, 1414 Degrees

FromWriters on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers

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Paul Bradley Carr, 1414 Degrees

FromWriters on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers

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Length:

50 minutes

Released:

Nov 1, 2022

Format:

Podcast episode

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Paul Bradley Carr, author of the new novel 1414 Degrees, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about his new novel, writing in multiple POVs, the crossover from nonfiction to fiction, opening a bookstore, and so much more.

Released:

Nov 1, 2022

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

A weekly podcast hosted by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone on the art and business of writing.

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Novelist Jeffrey Fleishman: Jeffrey Fleishman, author of the brand new novel, Good Night, Forever (Blackstone), and Barbara DeMarco-Barrett talk about setting your book where you live, side characters, crime fiction and social issues, and so much more.  Download audio.   Jeff Fleishman is foreign and national editor at the Los Angeles Times. Previously, he was a senior writer on film, art and culture. A 2002 Nieman fellow at Harvard University, Fleishman was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in feature writing. A longtime foreign correspondent, he served as bureau chief for The Times in Cairo and Berlin, and was previously based in Rome for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has been a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting and a finalist for the Center for Public Integrity’s Award for Outstanding International Investigative Reporting. He is the author of three novels: “My Detective,” “Shadow Man” and “Promised Virgins: A Novel of Jihad.”  (Recorded on April 27, by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Memoirist Tad Friend: Memoirist Tad Friend, author of In the Early Times, and Barbara DeMarco-Barrett discuss getting to the truth in memoir, what to do when you're asked to record your own audio book (and don't want to), revision, backstory vs. front story, and so much more. Tad Friend has been a New Yorker staff writer since 1998. An excerpt of this book was published in an April issue, which is when we became aware of the memoir and knew we had to have Tad on the show.  Download audio.  (Recorded via Zoom on July 7, 2022)  Music and sound design by Travis Barrett. More typewriter music on Spotify: Just My Type Consider becoming a Patreon supporter. Now that we're no longer at the station, it's a bit more complicated producing shows so every donation helps more than you know. Here's the link.  Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Liska Jacobs, author of The Pink Hotel: Novelist Liska Jacobs, author of The Pink Hotel (FSG), talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about influences, first drafts, bloglines, synopses, and the art, craft, and business of writing.Liska Jacobs is also author of Catalina and The Worst Kind of Worst. She holds an MFA from the University of California, Riverside. Her essays and fiction have appears in The Rumpus, Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, the Millions, and The Hairpin, among other publications. The Pink Hotel is her third novel. Download audio.  (Recorded on September 27, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Visit our Patreon page to become a supporter here. There are perks! Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.barbarademarcobarrett.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Eric Nguyen, author of "Things We Lost to the Water": Eric Nguyen's debut novel, Things We Lost to the Water, was one of President Obama's favorite books of 2021. It's recently out in paperback. Eric joined Marrie Stone to talk about understanding his own history through the lens of fiction, how he came to know his characters, writing about a well-known city in a new light, how bilingualism serves his fiction, and so much more. If you're a regular listener or like this episode, check out our new Patreon page, where we offer weekly writing tips and prompts, as well as other goodies for our listeners. Thanks for listening! Download audio.   (Recorded on June 24, 2022)    Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Novelist, Steve Almond, All the Secrets of the World: Steve Almond, author of All the Secrets of the World (Zando, 2022) joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss his new novel and why he wanted to write a social novel, how it took him five tries to get it right, and much more on the process of writing. Steve is the author of twelve books of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His recent books include William Stoner and the Battle for the Inner Life, which is about reading and writing and the struggle to pay attention to our lives, and Bad Stories, a literary investigation of the 2016 election. For four years, Steve hosted the New York Times Dear Sugars podcast with Cheryl Strayed. His short stories have been anthologized widely, in the Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best American Erotica, and Best American Mysteries series. His new book is a novel called All the Secre by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Novelist Julie Clark: Julie Clark, author of the new novel, The Lies I Tell, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about how she found her way to the domestic thriller genre, why she finds female con artists fascinating, her revision process, how she finds time to teach full-time and get her writing done, and so much more.  Julie Clark is the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight. It has earned starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal, and the New York Times has called it “thoroughly absorbing.” It’s been named an Indie Next Pick, a Library Reads Pick, and a Best Book of 2020 by Amazon Editors and Apple Books. Her debut, The Ones We Choose, was published in 2018 and has been optioned for television by Lionsgate. She lives in Los Angeles with her two sons and a golden doodle with poor impulse control. Download audio.    (Recorded in June, 2022)  Support the show on Patr by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Debut crime writer Dwyer Murphy, author of "An Honest Living": Dwyer Murphy is the editor-in-chief of CrimeReads, Literary Hub‘s crime fiction vertical and a popular destination for thriller readers. A former litigator, Murphy is the author of the debut novel An Honest Living (publishing on July 26, 2022 by Viking).  Murphy joins Marrie Stone to talk about writing crime fiction and what he's learned about crime writing in his years working in the industry. He gives insights into New York in the early 2000s and setting a novel before the social media and technology boom. He also talks about creating recurring characters, how to maintain suspense, and other aspects of creating compelling crime fiction.  For additional writing tips, prompts, and perks, visit our Patreon page here. Download audio.   (Recorded on July 7, 2022) (Broadcast date: July 18, 2022)  Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.m by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Memoirist Isaac Fitzgerald, author of "Dirtbag, Massachusetts": Isaac Fitzgerald, author of the new memoir, Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing his memoir. Fitzgerald is the New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts. He appears frequently on The Today Show and is also the author of the bestselling children's book How to Be a  Pirate as well as the co-author of Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them and Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos (winner of an IACP Award). His writing has appear in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, The Guardian, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and numerous other publications. He lives in Brooklyn. Download audio.   (Recorded on July 15, 2022 via Zoom) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett  Support the show on Patreon. Marrie and I appreciate every dollar. Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.p by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Literary agent Jennie Dunham: Jennie Dunham has been a literary agent in New York, New York since May 1992. In August 2000 she founded Dunham Literary, Inc. She represents literary fiction and non-fiction for adults and children. Her clients have had both critical and commercial success. Books she has represented have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller lists and her clients have won numerous awards including: New York Times Best Illustrated Book, The Schneider Family Award, Boston Globe Horn Book Honor, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist. She has been a member of AALA (American Association of Literary Agents, formerly AAR) since 1993. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Anthropology and .has a master's degree in Social Work from New York University (although now she only practices with characters on the page).For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
38 min listen
Brian O'Hare on his debut story collection, "Surrender": A former U.S. Marine Corps officer and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Brian O'Hare's debut story collection Surrender brings war to life. These 17 interconnected stories explore manhood through the lens of fatherhood, football culture, the military, war, and more. Brian joins Marrie Stone to talk about the art, craft, and business of fiction. He shares how training as an actor influenced his writing, the "architects and gardeners" in fiction, the importance of writing contests and creating a niche for yourself, how to market your work and so much more. For more information on "Writers on Writing" and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page. by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
67 min listen
Lisa Cupolo, author of Have Mercy on Us: The youngest of six children, Lisa Cupolo grew up in the Honeymoon Capital of the World: Niagara Falls, Canada. At thirteen, she was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, and spent much of her teens and twenties battling illness. She has spoken about how this trial was actually one of the blessings of her life, because it led her to writing. She learned to escape, creating stories when reality got difficult, and she imagined herself living the lives of her characters, and in the real world, she became an observer. Always a spiritual seeker, Lisa has a BA in philosophy from The University of Western Ontario. In her second year, her single mother put a second mortgage on their suburban home so Lisa could study in Nice, France. That changed everything. She spent the next decade in Europe and her health improved dramatically. She completed a graduate degree in Portrait Photography from The London Institute in England and worked a stint as by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
50 min listen
Azar Nafisi, author of Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times: When Reading Lolita in Tehran was published 20 years ago, Azar Nafisi had only lived in the United States for six years. Since then, she has watched the subtle and not-so-subtle signs of totalitarianism take root in America. Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times is Nafisi’s latest book. It’s an epistolary piece written to her father about the writers who Nafisi believe inform what our country, and world, are facing. From Plato to Baldwin, Atwood to Coates, Nafisi draws parallels between the treatment of women in Iran and the treatment of African Americans in the U.S. Since its release last March, the book has grown only more relevant with the Dobbs decision, the attack on Rushdie, the rising protests in her home country of Iran. Nafisi joins Marrie Stone to talk about her decision to write this book. She discusses why governments are so threatened by writers, by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
62 min listen
Monique Roffey, author of "The Mermaid of Black Conch": Monique Roffey is the author of six works of fiction and the 2012 memoir, With the Kisses of His Mouth. The British-Tobagonian author's latest book, The Mermaid of Black Conch, was released by a small press during the height of the 2020 pandemic. But, much like Roffey's outcast mermaid, the novel is enjoying a second life, winning prestigious awards, getting picked up by Knopf in the United States, and garnering praise in the press. Roffey joins Marrie Stone to talk about the novel's unlikely journey, from her decision to launch a crowdfunding campaign in 2019 to the book's ultimate award-winning success. She also discusses writing compelling sex scenes, how Jungian analysis changed the trajectory of her writing, using television-style treatments for her manuscripts, why she needs 20 strong scenes before she begins writing, and so much more.   For more information about the show, as well as additional writing tips, promp by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Novelist Susan Straight, Mecca: Susan Straight, author of the novel, Mecca, which Michael Connelly called "a masterpiece," talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her new novel and how it came to be. Susan Straight was born in Riverside, CA, and still lives there with her family. She’s passionate about home, California, the Santa Ana River, the foothills and the deserts, and has been writing about southern California and the inland area for forty years. From her kitchen window, she can see the hospital where she was born, which her three daughters find kind of hilarious and pathetic; most days, she walks her dog Angel beside the Santa Ana River as she has since childhood, and then past the classrooms at Riverside City College, where she wrote her first short story, at 16, which is also kind of hilarious, but hopeful. She has written about the people of California for her new memoir, In the Country of Women, based on women’s stories told for five generations to Straight and her da by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Maggie Ginsberg, author of Still True: Maggie Ginsberg, author of the new novel Still True, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her debut novel, writing in multiple POVs, the crossover from nonfiction to fiction, and so much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. (Recorded in November 2022) Host: Barbara DeMarco-BarrettCo-Host: Marrie StoneMusic and sound design: Travis Barrett by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
61 min listen
Novelist Anthony Marra, author of "Mercury Pictures Presents": Anthony Marra is the New York Times bestselling author of The Tsar of Love and Techno and A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, longlisted for the National Book Award. He joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest novel, Mercury Pictures Presents, and how a book he began over eight years ago suddenly took on new and unsettling relevance in today's America.  Marra shares his struggles with writing this book, managing a large cast of characters and an enormous amount of research, as well as some general writing advice for novelists. He stresses the importance of filling your notebook with questions, reading broadly, writing daily and more.  If you find this or other interviews useful, consider supporting the show on Patreon.   Download audio. (Recorded on September 8, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: h by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Novelist Erica Ferencik, Girl in Ice: Erica Ferencik, author of Girl in Ice, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her new novel, creatures that can freeze and thaw out alive, why she's a plotter, writing the book she wished existed, and more.  Erica Ferencik is an award-winning novelist who writes adventure novels featuring women who brave not only internal struggles but face extreme challenges in their environment: remote forests, steaming jungles, and desolated ice scapes. To research GIRL IN ICE, (Scout Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster), she explored the desolate iceberg-packed fjords of Greenland. Download audio.  (Recorded in June 2022)  Music and sound design by Travis Barrett  Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com Visit our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/writersonwriting by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Novelist Jacinda Townsend, Mother Country: Jacinda Townsend, author of the novel Mother Country (Graywolf), and Barbara DeMarco-Barrett discuss her new book and the setting of Morocco, alternating POVs, slavery, writing with the senses, and more.  During her Fulbright year, on a layover in Morocco, Jacinda discovered the city of Marrakech and fell in love. Later that same year, on a trip to Northern Mali, she also first witnessed modern-day slavery: that incident inspired the research that eventually took her to Mauritania, where she met with escaped slaves and anti-slavery activists and began the work that would become her newly published novel, Mother Country (Graywolf, 2022).  Mother Country is told in the voices of an American woman struggling with infertility who kidnaps a young Moroccan girl, and the young mother, escaped from Mauritanian slavery, who loses her. Jacinda is also the author of Saint Monkey (Norton, 2014), which is set in by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Celeste Ng, Our Missing Hearts: Novelist Celeste Ng, author of Our Missing Hearts and Barbara DeMarco-Barrett discuss her latest novel (NYT review, 10/2/22). They talk about world building, developing characters, reading for writers, and much more.  Celeste Ng is the author of three novels, Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere, and Our Missing Hearts. Celeste grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Shaker Heights, Ohio. She graduated from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan (now the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan).  Her fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, and many other publications, and she is a recipient of the Pushcart Prize, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other honors. Download audio.   (Recorded on 9/23/2022)  Music and sound design by Travis Barrett  We are now on Patreon! by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Jess Walter, author of collection "The Angel of Rome": Novelist and short story writer Jess Walter joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest collection, The Angel of Rome. Jess is the author of seven novels (including The Cold Millions and Beautiful Ruins), two collections of short stories, and a non-fiction book. He is the recipient of the Edgar Allan Poe Award (Citizen Vance), and was a finalist for the National Book Award (The Zero). Walter talks about assembling the collection, choosing these 12 thematic stories out of 40 or 50 choices. He discusses effective humor, the difference between sentiment and sentimentality, and how to avoid cliches and stereotypes. He also talks about his ability to access elderly characters, writing a Gen X collection while not identifying completely with Gen X, and so much more. For more information about Jess Walter, upcoming events, and more visit his website here.  We also invite you to check out our new Patreon page, where we offer weekly wr by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Alexis Schaitkin, author of "Elsewhere": Alexis Schaitkin joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest novel, Elsewhere (to be published by Celadon on June 28, 2022).  The speculative fiction story explores the perils and pleasures of motherhood, how mothers judge one another, how women can often disappear into motherhood — and into aging — and how sometimes they can find themselves again. The setting is evocative and the issues are profound. Schaitkin shares several backstories behind the novel, including the inspiration for this hauting fictional village, her many attempts to find her way into the story, how she let go of her expectations for the novel, and how she once again managed a large cast of characters. For novelists, there's mounds of advice for character development and structure. For speculative fiction writers, there are insights for creating effective rules for your world. For Schaitkin's fans, there's fun backstories on how she constructs her novels and the themes s by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Novelist Antoine Wilson, Mouth to Mouth: Novelist Antoine Wilson, author of Mouth to Mouth, and Barbara DeMarco-Barrett discuss setting, plotting, creating characters, ironic endings, and more. About Mouth to Mouth, one of Barack Obama's favorite books of 2022, Kirkus said, "A deliciously nasty morality play in the guise of a thriller."  Download audio.   (Recorded on August 18, 2022)  Music and sound design by Travis Barrett  Support the show on Patreon.  Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
George Saunders on his latest collection, "Liberation Day": George Saunders joins Marrie to talk about his latest collection of stories (and first collection since Tenth of December in 2013). The nine stories in Liberation Day contain his signature humor and compassion, broken characters and strange landscapes. Time Magazine calls Saunders "the best short-story writer in English." He spends the hour sharing a bit of his process.In addition to breaking down several of these stories and sharing their backstory and inspiration, Saunders talks about using the whole page, including elegant line and word spacing techniques, to render syntax and dialect for his characters. He discusses how his engineering background helps him as a writer, how to trust your intuition, and so much more. If you find this or other interviews useful, consider supporting the show on Patreon.   Download audio. (Recorded on October 3, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: w by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Melissa Chadburn, author of “A Tiny Upward Shove”: Melissa Chadburn’s debut novel, A Tiny Upward Shove, is part serial killer thriller, part magical realism folklore, part love story, part coming of age story, and fully riveting. Its narrator is an aswang—otherwise known as a Philippine shapeshifter, a ghoul, a spinstress, a vampire, a soul-sucker with a proboscis. Over a decade in the making, Chadburn’s novel contains beautifully unique prose and haunting imagery. She joins Marrie to talk about it. Along the way, they talk about how Chadburn struggled with structure, and how real-life serial killer William Pickton provided it. They talk about the different shapes novels can take, including Jane Allison’s Meander, Spiral, Explode and Ursula Le Guin’s The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction. They talk about the power of lists in fiction, how to engage in the writerly art of witnessing, and Lynda Barry’s What It Is. They discuss writing sex and violence, including the best advice Chadburn rece by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
62 min listen
V.V. Ganeshananthan, author of “Brotherless Night”: Writers use language with intention. So when V.V. (Sugi) Ganeshananthan’s Brotherless Night uses the word “terrorist” six times on the first page of a novel about the Sri Lankan civil war, and incorporates the second person, the reader understands they’re as much active participant as passive observer in the book. Sugi joins Marrie Stone to talk about the novel’s origin and why she initially didn’t have the “chops” to write it. She talks about her own relationship with Sri Lanka and the research that went into rendering this period of history to life. Writers may find interest in Sugi’s decision to write in the first (and second) person; the power of writing in the subjunctive; how to describe a foreign time and place (with its particular dishes and unfamiliar names) without being overly explanatory; how Sugi deals with difficult writing challenges the same way she deals with going to the dentist; finding trusted readers; and more. Su by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
59 min listen
Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, editor of “Our Red Book”: Menstruation is a strangely taboo topic in our culture. Back in the 1970s and 80s, teenagers read Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and Our Bodies, Ourselves under their covers with a flashlight. Girls were largely left to figure things out for themselves or confide in each other in their quest to discover what was normal. After hearing a harrowing coming-of-age story from her great aunt, Rachel Kauder Nalebuff started gathering stories about menstruation in her family that had never been told. What began as an oral history project quickly snowballed. Our Red Book (Simon & Schuster, 2022) takes us through stories of first periods, last periods, missing periods, and everything about bleeding that people wish they had been told. Rachel joins Marrie Stone to talk about publishing her first anthology (My Little Red Book, 2009) when she was a college freshman and how a high school English teacher gave her the confidence of her convictions by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
57 min listen
Paul Bradley Carr, 1414 Degrees: Paul Bradley Carr, author of the new novel 1414 Degrees, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about his new novel, writing in multiple POVs, the crossover from nonfiction to fiction, opening a bookstore, and so much more. by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
50 min listen
Memoirist Amy Turner, author of "On the Ledge": In 1957, when Amy Turner was four years old, her father stepped out onto the ledge of his high-rise hotel room and threatened to jump. More than 50 years later, Turner faced her own near-death experience when she was struck by a truck in a pedestrian crosswalk. Those two incidents, happening over half a century apart, led Turner to understand the legacy of anxiety and depression she inherited from her family, and the role of trauma in forming her identity. Turner joined Marrie Stone to talk about her memoir, On the Ledge, as well as coming to writing later in life, how being an attorney impacted her writing, and how she knew when it was time to publish this book. Turner shares the struggles she had with structure, knowing what material to cut, and how to deal with time gaps in her story. She also discusses choosing She Writes Press (a small press who publishes women writers), foregoing the need for an agent, marketing her memoir and choos by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
20 min listen
Jordan Harper, author of EVERYBODY KNOWS: Jordan Harper, the Edgar-Award winning author of She Rides Shotgun and Love and Other Wounds, has been an ad man, a rock critic, and a writer and producer for television. He was born and raised in Missouri and now lives in Los Angeles. His new novel is Everybody Knows. On the show we talked about his path to crime fiction, the Los Angeles setting, beginning and ending, and renting a room at the famed Chateau Marmont to write the first chapter. This interview was done on Zoom on Sunday, Feb 26, 2023 for Sisters in Crime Orange County. If you’d prefer watching, Barbara’s YouTube channel (Barbara DeMarco-Barrett) or Sisters in Crime Orange County. For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit the show’s Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. (Recorded on February 26, 2023, for Sisters in Crime Orange County.) Host: Barbara DeMarco-BarrettCo-Host: Marrie StoneMusic and sound design: Travis Ba by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
54 min listen
Novelists Erica Ferencik & Aaron Phillip Clark: Erica Ferencik, author of Girl in Ice, and Aaron Phillip Clark, author of Blue like Me, join me at Sisters in Crime Orange County to talk about their new novels as well as the art, craft, and business of writing. If you’d like to watch the panel we did on Zoom, visit YouTube. For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. (Recorded in November 2022) Host: Barbara DeMarco-BarrettCo-Host: Marrie StoneMusic and sound design: Travis Barrett by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
62 min listen

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Jill McCorkle, author of “Old Crimes”: Jill McCorkle is the author of seven novels, two which came out on the same day in 1984 and, her most recent, Hieroglyphics, to great acclaim. Five of her books have been named New York Times notable books and four of her stories have appeared in Best American Short Stories. Her essay, “Cuss Time,” originally published in The American Scholar, was selected for Best American Essays. Jill has published five collections of short stories. Her latest, that she discusses today with Marrie Stone, is Old Crimes. This conversation parses through several of these stories, using them as examples to discuss point of view choices, how to manage time in fiction, how to balance backstory, how to incorporate humor into difficult material, how you can get your stories to talk to each other in a collection, and so much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and extra writing perks, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. S by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
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Ivy Pochoda, author of SING HER DOWN: Ivy Pochoda is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Wonder Valley, Visitation Street, and These Women, a The New York Times best thriller of 2020. These Women was a finalist for The Los Angeles Times Book Prize, The Edgar Award, California Book Award, The Macavity Award, and the International Thriller Writers Award. Wonder Valley won the 2018 Strand Critics Award for Best Novel and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and France’s Le Grand Prix de Litterature Americaine. Visitation Street won the Prix Page America in France. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times and The Los Angeles Review of Books. She teaches creative writing at the Studio 526 Skid Row. Ivy’s latest novel, Sing Her Down, was nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize. (This show was recorded prior to the awards on Friday April 19. Fingers crossed that Sing Her Down is a winner.) Prior conversations by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
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Steve Almond, author of “Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow”: Steve Almond is the author of twelve books of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. You can check those out here. His recent books include the novel All the Secrets of the World, which has been optioned for television by 20th Century Fox, and William Stoner and the Battle for the Inner Life. For four years, Steve hosted the New York Times Dear Sugars podcast with his pal Cheryl Strayed. He is the recipient of a 2022 NEA grant in fiction, and his short stories have been anthologized in the Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best American Erotica, and Best American Mysteries series. He also publishes crazy, DIY books. His latest is Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories. He joins Marrie Stone to talk about it, including what this book adds to the conversation of craft. Steve also shares several of the books h by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
66 min listen
Hannah Sward, author of STRIP: Hannah Sward, daughter of the late poet Robert Sward, is the award-winning author of Strip, her debut memoir. Hannah has appeared on NBC CA Live, C-SPAN BookTV, dozens of podcasts, and panels, and has published essays in the Los Angeles Times, HuffPost (forthcoming), Arts & Letters, and more. Hannah lives in Los Angeles where she is working on her next book. Hannah joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about voice, what to do about family members concerned with what you’re writing, or have written, writing short chapters, tools, getting personal, and much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and extra writing perks, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. Support the show by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. We’ve stocked it with titles from our guests, as well as some of our personal favorites. You’ll support independent bookstores and our show by purchasing through the store. Finally, on Spotify by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
68 min listen
Katherine Heiny, author of “Games and Rituals”: Katherine Heiny has traveled one of the more interesting and bonkers roads into publishing we’ve heard in a while. She was published by The New Yorker at the incredible age of 25. Praised as a prodigy, her work appeared in an anthology alongside Alice Munro, Raymond Carver and Ann Beattie. And then she disappeared. She popped back up two decades later when she published her first story collection, Single, Carefree, Mellow – followed by two novels, Early Morning Riser and Standard Deviation, and now she’s back with another story collection. In those intervening years, she married a former spy, wrote 25 young adult books under a pen name, and emerged the hilarious and gut-punching writer she is today. Games & Rituals came out last year. Katherine joins Marrie Stone to talk about the collection, what writing YA brought to her fiction, the situation versus the story and finding the aboutness of your story, what the short story form allows her by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
61 min listen
Literary agent Madeline Ticknor: Madeline is an agent and assistant at Janklow & Nesbit looking for fiction that bridges the gap between commercial and literary, upmarket thrillers and grounded speculative stories that explore the ideas of family and home, and queer stories. She's also looking for select narrative nonfiction. Madeline began her agenting career in 2018 as an intern at Curtis Brown, and soon after began working as an assistant at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency. In 2021, she joined Writers House as an agent associate and in 2022 Madeline joined Janklow & Nesbit Associates where she works with senior agent PJ Mark and is actively building her own list. A graduate of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, Madeline now lives in Brooklyn. Prior to publishing, she worked in a children's library, at a few different advertising agencies, and as a barista in coffee shops around NYC. Madeline joined Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss the dreaded novel synopsis and how age by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
55 min listen
Téa Obreht, author of “The Morningside”: Téa Obreht is the international bestselling author of The Tiger’s Wife, which won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award when she was only 25. Her second novel, Inland, was an instant bestseller, won the Southwest Book Award, and was a finalist for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Téa’s latest is The Morningside, out later this month by Random House. It has all her signature magical realism elements alongside exploring big contemporary issues like climate change and immigration, all spun around some compelling mysterious figures living in an evocative place. Téa joins Marrie Stone to talk about finding her characters, constructing her setting, and settling on her structure and point of view. They also talk about how to weave non-POV character’s backstory into a first-person narrative, her color-coded system of keeping track of her symbols, prologues, and her advice to writers just entering the field. For more inf by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
63 min listen
Grant Faulkner, author of THE ART OF BREVITY: Grant Faulkner, the former Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the co-founder of 100 Word Story, and the co-host of the podcast, Write-minded. His essays on creativity have been published in The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Literary Hub, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer. His stories have appeared in The Southwest Review, and The Gettysburg Review, and he has been anthologized in collections such as Norton’s New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction, Flash Fiction America, Best Small Fictions, and Best Microfiction. His new book is The Art of Brevity, published by the University of New Mexico Press. Grant joins Barbara Demarco-Barrett to talk about The Art of Brevity and why writing good flash fiction can be difficult to get right, the role of dialogue in flash, what you want to leave a reader with at the end of a story, how writing flash fiction influences his longer prose, the most common mistake he encounters i by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
49 min listen
Mona Simpson, author of “Commitment”: Mona Simpson is the bestselling author of seven novels including Anywhere But Here, The Lost Father, A Regular Guy, Off Keck Road, My Hollywood, Casebook and, most recently, Commitment. Mona studied poetry at Berkley. She got her MFA from Columbia. During grad school, she published her first short stories in Ploughshares, The Iowa Review and Mademoiselle. She worked as an editor at The Paris Review for five years. She also teaches at UCLA. She knows the industry from several angles and has worked in it for decades. She joins Marrie Stone to talk about Commitment and writing multiple point-of-view novels. They talk about maintaining momentum in a novel’s middle, bringing bygone eras back to life, breathing life into your characters, playing the role of psychologist as writer, the role of research and much more. In many ways, Commitment might be considered a “what-if” novel. Some aspects bear resemblance to Mona’s life and other aspects are very diff by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
60 min listen
Literary agent CeCe Lyra: CeCe Lyra, a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, represents adult fiction and nonfiction. She is especially looking for clients with whom she can build fruitful, lasting relationships. CeCe believes that stories are empathy-generating machines capable of healing, connecting, and enacting true change. As a mixed-race Latinx immigrant, CeCe understands the power of seeing oneself reflected in books, hence her passion for championing under or misrepresented voices and narratives. She is also the co-host of the popular podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, which has over two million downloads. CeCe joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about query letters, conversations writers should have with prospective agents, interpreting rejection letters, how much of a submission an agent will read before they stop, googling writers, mistakes writers make, and much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and extra writing perks, visit our Patreon pa by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
57 min listen
Louise Kennedy, author of “Trespasses” and “The End of the World is a Cul De Sac”: Louise Kennedy may not have been a name you’d heard five years ago. Since 2021, she’s had both a debut novel and a collection of short stories published. Trespasses was named a Best Book of the Year by the Washington Post and shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her story collection The End of the World is a Cul De Sac came out to great acclaim. Louise spent 30 years working as a chef and didn’t come to writing until her 50s. She grew up Catholic on the outskirts of Belfast in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. A bomb detonated in front of her grandmother during a walk to the bank, resulting in several hundred stitches. The pub that her grandfather ran suffered two bombing attempts. After the second one, they moved to Ireland where she still lives today. She joins Marrie Stone to talk about both books, her approaches to short stories versus novels, what coming to writing later in l by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
53 min listen
Andrew Ewell, author of SET FOR LIFE: Andrew Ewell, the author of the new novel, Set for Life. He’s received fellowships from Yaddo, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and VCCA France. His stories and essays have appeared in Salon, the Chattahoochee Review, Five Chapters, and TriQuarterly, among others. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Boston University and taught creative writing at numerous other universities before writing Set for Life. Andrew joined Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss autofiction, unnamed protagonists, unlikeable characters—a popular topic these days, keeping track of characters and plot, writing about academia, endings, and much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and extra writing perks, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. You can also support the show by buying books at our new bookstore on bookshop.org. We’ve stocked it with titles from our guests, as well as some of our personal favorites. By pur by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
58 min listen
Kristin Hannah, author of “The Women”: Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale. She also authored the NYT bestsellers The Great Alone, The Four Winds and, most recently, The Women, which shares the largely untold tales of women in the Vietnam War who served in the nursing corp. Warner Brothers already acquired the film rights even before the book’s release. (An interview with Kristin regarding The Great Alone can be found here.) Kristin joins Marrie Stone to talk about The Women and why it took more than 20 years before she felt ready to tackle this topic. She talks about her approach to writing trauma and war without overwhelming the reader, and why writing about Vietnam was so different from writing about WWII. She also discusses what goes into researching a book like this and how she knows when she’s done enough. In addition to other writing advice, Kristin shares how Breaking Bad and by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
56 min listen
Literary agent Emma Dries: Literary agent Emma Dries is a writer and editor, and an agent at Triangle House Literary, where she represents literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, and academic crossover, with a special interest in climate writing. She began her career in editorial, working with bestselling and award winning authors at Alfred A. Knopf, Doubleday, Ecco, and Flatiron Books. She has a BA in History from the University of Chicago and an MFA in Fiction from Johns Hopkins, where she also taught undergraduate fiction and poetry. Her writing has been published in Lit Hub, Bookforum, Outside and Dwell and she was the finalist for the Boston Review 2021 Aura Estrada Short Story Contest. Emma joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about about unlikeable characters in fiction, query letters, MFAs, when you know a manuscript is ready to send out, ageism, a conversation you should have with an agent before signing, and much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and extra wr by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
65 min listen
Hisham Matar, author of “My Friends”: Pulitzer Prize winning author Hisham Matar’s debut novel, In the Country of Men, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and The Guardian First Book Award and won numerous international prizes. His prize-winning memoir, The Return, published in 2016, received the 2017 Pulitzer Prize. It was one of The New York Times' top 10 books of the year. He’s also the author of Anatomy of a Disappearance and A Month in Siena, which was named One of the Best Books of the Year in 2019 by The Washington Post and Evening Standard. My Friends is his latest. The New York Times recently said of it, “Readers encountering Matar for the first time will find in My Friends a masterly literary meditation on his lifelong themes. For those who already know his work, the effect is amplified tenfold. In the dark house Matar continues to explore, the rooms are full of echoes: The further in you go, the louder they get.” Matar joins Marrie Stone to talk about these lifelong pre by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
61 min listen
Melissa Broder, author of DEATH VALLEY: Melissa Broder is the author of the novels, Death Valley, Milk Fed, and The Pisces, the essay collection So Sad Today, and five poetry collections, including Superdoom. Her books are translated in ten languages. She has written for the New York Times, Elle.com, and New York Magazine’s The Cut. She lives in Los Angeles.Melissa chats with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her new novel, Death Valley. She talks about how when the first line came to her, she put aside what she was working on because she knew this was the book she needed to focus on. They discuss making tragedy funny, the Best Western hotel chain, magic cacti, process, plotting, and externalizing the internal life of characters. For more information on Writers on Writing and extra writing perks, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. We also have an affiliate bookstore on bookshop.org. We’ve stocked it with titles from our guests, as well as some of our o by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
48 min listen
Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of “The Waters”: Bonnie Jo Campbell, known as the “master of rural noir,” is the author of eight books. Her story collection, American Salvage, was a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction. Her 2011 novel, Once Upon a River, was made into a film in 2020. In this episode, Bonnie chats with Marrie Stone about her highly anticipated novel The Waters, which comes out next week. It’s Bonnie’s first novel in over a decade and it’s already receiving rave reviews. The Waters follows three generations of women in the swamplands of Michigan. Herbalist Hermine “Herself” Zook is the matriarch and the area’s healer, homeopath, or witch, depending on the way the town looks at her. Meet Hermine (played by Bonnie’s mother) here. Bonnie talks about the architecture of this novel, and how she struggled to find something beyond the traditional three-act structure. She shares her discovery of Sharon Blackie, and the realizatio by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
61 min listen
Kathleen Schmidt, Publishing Confidential: Kathleen Schmidt, founder and CEO of Kathleen Schmidt Public Relations, has experience in all aspects of the industry, including as a publicist, literary agent, acquisitions editor, and ghostwriter. Her career encompasses 30 years of creating and directing impactful and strategic global media, marketing, and branding campaigns for politicians, A-List celebrities, athletes, and high-profile personalities. To date, she has worked on 50 New York Times bestsellers, and her clients have continuously appeared in top-tier national print, broadcast, and radio outlets such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, Vogue, Elle, Financial Times, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Sirius XM. Kathleen writes the Publishing Confidential Substack. Kathleen joined Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss what sells books, blurbs, brands, Substack, book clubs, and more. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. We’re also excited to announce the opening of our new bookstore by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
66 min listen
Lisa Gornick, author of “Ana Turns”: Lisa Gornick has been hailed by NPR as “one of the most perceptive, compassionate writers of fiction in America…immensely talented and brave.” She is the author of four previous novels—most recently The Peacock Feast and Louisa Meets Bear. In this episode, Lisa chats with Marrie Stone about her latest novel, Ana Turns. Ana is turning 60, which is cause for reflection on her sexless marriage, her 7-year affair, her worries about her only child who’s doing some reflecting of their own, her arguably cruel and emotionally unavailable mother, and much more. In addition to unpacking how Lisa rendered these characters and their chorus of voices, they chat about how to manage time and backstory in a novel, dealing with contemporary issues in sensitive ways, thoughts on sensitivity readers (with a brief reference to Ian McEwan’s thoughts on the same), and weaving in subplots, among other topics. Lisa also shares some psychotherapeutic wisdom from her days as by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
59 min listen
Literary Agent Matthew Carnicelli: Matthew Carnicelli is the president of Carnicelli Literary Management, located in New York City and the Hudson Valley. He represents bestselling and award-winning authors publishing books in the areas of history, current events, sports, business, memoir, biography, health, literary fiction, and graphic novels. Since becoming an agent in 2004, he has focused on helping leading thinkers, journalists, academics, and others with exceptional stories or messages develop clear and original book ideas and partnering them with the best editors and publishers for their books. Matthew is a graduate of Washington University, with a B.A. in English literature and political science, and received an M.A. from the University of Toronto in English literature. He has taught college-level nonfiction writing and is a frequent guest on various writing and publishing-industry panels. Matthew joined Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about what he’s looking for, comps, query l by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
59 min listen
Jayne Anne Phillips, author of “Night Watch”: Jayne Anne Phillips’s first book of stories, Black Tickets (published in 1979 when she was only 26), won the prestigious Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Featured in Newsweek, Raymond Carver pronounced Black Tickets “stories unlike any in our literature…a crooked beauty” and established Jayne Anne as a writer “in love with the American language.” She was praised by Nadine Gordimer as “the best short story writer since Eudora Welty” and Black Tickets has since become a classic of the short story genre. Since then, she’s written an additional collection of short stories and six novels. Her latest, Night Watch, was longlisted for the National Book Award. It’s considered part of a trilogy of war novels alongside Machine Dreams (about Vietnam) and Lark and Termite (about Korea). Others include Quiet Dell, Shelter, and Mother Kind. All of these works have garnered prizes, praise and by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
55 min listen
Literary agent Mark Tavani: Mark Tavani started his publishing career in 2000 with Ballantine Books and spent more than 23 years with Penguin Random House, Bantam, Del Rey, and G.P. Putnam's Sons. He edited bestsellers and award-winners across numerous categories of fiction and nonfiction, including books by Jim Abbott, Steve Berry, C.J. Box, Justin Cronin, Clive and Dirk Cussler, Jeffery Deaver, Lisa Gardner, Jack McCallum, Lisa Scottoline, Bill Simmons, and R.L. Stine. He recently joined the David Black Literary Agency, where he represents both fiction and nonfiction. Mark has a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He is an adjunct professor with NYU's School of Professional Studies and lives with his wife, his daughters, and a headstrong dog in Rutherford, New Jersey. Mark Tavani joined Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about what he’s looking for, the dreaded comps, the category of bookclub fiction, submitting memoir, ageism in publishing (or not), why MFAs by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
67 min listen
Nathan Hill, author of “Wellness”: Nathan Hill first came on the show in 2017 with his ¬best-selling debut novel, The Nix, which was named the #1 book of the year by Audible and Entertainment Weekly, and one of the year’s best books by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Slate, and many others. Wellness came out this year. It’s also a New York Times bestseller and was selected by Oprah Winfrey for her book club in September. Nathan joins Marrie Stone to talk about it, along with how his characters reveal themselves to him, how he manages time in a novel, how he weaves copious amounts of research into the narrative, how he plays with unconventional points of view, and much more. He also shares his thoughts on getting an MFA, how he found his agent, and his advice to aspiring novelists who feel stuck on the outside of the publishing industry. Along the way, the conversation references an article Nathan wrote for Oprah’s Magazine, “How to Write a Novel in 7 Easy Steps.” It’s fun by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
61 min listen
Matt Coyle, author of ODYSSEY’S END: Matt Coyle, author of the new novel, Odyssey’s End, is the author of the best-selling Rick Cahill crime novels. He knew he wanted to be a crime writer when he was 14 and his father gave him The Simple Art of Murder by Raymond Chandler. He graduated with a degree in English from University of California at Santa Barbara. His foray into crime fiction was delayed for 30 years as he spent time managing a restaurant, selling golf clubs for various golf companies, and in national sales for a sports licensing company. His tenth crime novel is Odyssey’s End. Matt lives in San Diego, where he’s at work at his next novel. Matt joined Barbara to talk about writing a series versus a standalone, being a pantser, how he keeps the tension going, writing about emotional experiences he hasn’t personally gone through, time locks, and much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
69 min listen
Literary Agent Susan Golomb: Back in the 80s, literary agent Susan Golomb plucked Jonathan Franzen’s manuscript from her slush pile. They’ve worked together ever since. She founded the Susan Golomb Literary Agency in 1988 with Franzen as her first client, and joined Writers House in 2015. Susan represents other notables such as Glen David Gold, William T. Vollmann, Rachel Kushner, Imbolo Mbue, Angie Kim, and Nell Zink. She joined me to talk about the state of publishing and how it’s changed, where A.I. is taking the industry, what she looks for in her clients, query letter dos and don’ts, why comp titles frustrate her, her feelings about MFAs, and much more. Along the way, we referenced two articles. The first, a recent New Yorker article about how changes in the publishing industry impact writers. And the second, an essay her client — Vauhini Vara — wrote about her own experiences with artificial intelligence. For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, vis by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
63 min listen
Memoirist Kim Foster, author of The Meth Lunches: Food and Longing in an American City: Kim Foster is the author of the memoir The Meth Lunches: Food and Longing in an American City. Kim is a James Beard Award-winning food writer who writes about people at the intersection of food and mental illness, family separation, poverty, addiction, trauma, and incarceration. You can read her work on her weekly newsletter on Substack and find her on Instagram. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband, David, their four kids, and many animals. Kim joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss hybrid publishing, surprises in writing her memoir, when she knew this would be a book, writing about food that isn’t pretty, learning to never write anyone off, and much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. We’re also excited to announce the opening of our new bookstore on bookshop.org. We’ve s by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
61 min listen
Literary Agent Betsy Amster: Betsy Amster is the principal agent of the Betsy Amster Literary Agency, which she opened in 1992. Located in Los Angeles, the agency handles publishing rights and all ancillary rights such as film, TV, audio, electronic, and foreign. They work with both first-time and established writers and represent literary fiction, upscale commercial women's fiction, voice-driven mysteries and thrillers, narrative nonfiction (especially by journalists), travelogues, memoirs (including graphic memoirs), social issues and trends, psychology, self-help, popular culture, women's issues, history & biography, lifestyle, careers, health and medicine, parenting, cooking and nutrition, gardening, and quirky gift books. Before opening the agency, Betsy spent ten years as an editor at Pantheon and Vintage and two years as editorial director of the Globe Pequot Press. She has been described in the Los Angeles Times as “a dogged prospector of literary talent” and celebrated in a pr by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
49 min listen
Clemence Michallon, author of THE QUIET TENANT: Clémence Michallon, author of The Quiet Tenant, was born and raised near Paris, France. She studied journalism at City, University of London, received a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, and has written for The Independent since 2018. Her essays and features cover true crime, celebrity, culture, and literature. She divides her time between New York City and Rhinebeck, New York. Clémence joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss how The Quiet Tenant began; multiple point of view; how she kept the tension ratcheted up throughout the novel; how it is that crime writers write dark stories yet often appear to be happy, perky people; revising; the crossover from journalism to fiction; and getting an agent. For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. We’re also excited to announce the opening of our new bookstore on bookshop. by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
62 min listen
Angie Kim, author of “Happiness Falls”: Angie Kim came to fiction in her 40s, after careers in both law and business, and some challenging years mothering three boys who each faced medical complications. Her debut novel, Miracle Creek, won the Edgar Award, the ITW Thriller Award, the Strand Critics’ Award and the Pinckley Prize, and was named one of the best books of the year by Time, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews and the “Today” show. Her second novel, Happiness Falls, came out in August by Hogarth. A NYT bestseller and Good Morning America Book Club pick, it will appeal to mystery and thriller lovers, philosophers, those active in the special needs and autism communities, and anyone who generally loves a thought-provoking and engaging read. Angie joins Marrie Stone to talk about. They discuss how both her childhood and her prior careers influence her fiction, how she used a combination of freewriting and her obsession with narrative architecture to structure this novel, how mys by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
61 min listen
David Ulin, author of THIRTEEN QUESTION METHOD: David L. Ulin is the author, most recently, of the novel, Thirteen Question Method. His other books include Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles, The Lost Art of Reading: Books and Resistance in a Troubled Time; and Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology, which won a California Book Award. For Library of America, he has edited Didion: The 1960s and 70s and Didion: The 1980s and 90s. David Ulin is the books editor of Alta and the former book editor and book critic of the Los Angeles Times. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Harper's, The Paris Review, and The Best American Essays 2020. The recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, and Ucross Foundation, as well as a COLA Individual Master Artist Grant from the City of Los Angeles. He is a Professor of English at the University of Southern California, where he edits the journal Air/Light. David Ulin joined Barbara DeM by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
56 min listen

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The Martyrs of Thana: (Josh) In the early fourteenth century, four Franciscan friars set out for East Asia to preach the Gospel among the Mongols. In the city of Thana (modern Mumbai), however, they met their end after running afoul of the local administrators. We explore the... by Footnoting History
22 min listen
Lisa Cupolo, author of Have Mercy on Us: The youngest of six children, Lisa Cupolo grew up in the Honeymoon Capital of the World: Niagara Falls, Canada. At thirteen, she was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, and spent much of her teens and twenties battling illness. She has spoken about how this trial was actually one of the blessings of her life, because it led her to writing. She learned to escape, creating stories when reality got difficult, and she imagined herself living the lives of her characters, and in the real world, she became an observer. Always a spiritual seeker, Lisa has a BA in philosophy from The University of Western Ontario. In her second year, her single mother put a second mortgage on their suburban home so Lisa could study in Nice, France. That changed everything. She spent the next decade in Europe and her health improved dramatically. She completed a graduate degree in Portrait Photography from The London Institute in England and worked a stint as by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
50 min listen
Friday Morning Coffee: Flynn Berry, Author of Northern Spy: Flynn Berry, author of A Double Life and Under the Harrow, joins Daniel Ford on Friday Morning Coffee to chat about her latest novel . Caitlin Malcuit also discusses and why we can't lapse into complacency after this moment of accountability. To... by Writer's Bone
16 min listen
The Penguin Podcast's Best of the Booker: To celebrate this year’s upcoming Booker Prize nominations, we have delved back into the archives, and cherry-picked highlights from eight very special interviews. Hear about the inspirations, frustrations, and secrets behind the winners of the most pr... by The Penguin Podcast
30 min listen
Ep. 124 - Trust, with Hernan Diaz: Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Hernan Diaz takes on nothing less than American capitalism in his latest novel, Trust. by Book Dreams
28 min listen
Author Lauren Groff on the Trips That Have Inspired Her Books: We sit down with the award-winning author to chat about travel, creativity, and her latest novel, Matrix. by Women Who Travel | Condé Nast Traveler
23 min listen
The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich by Warfare
39 min listen
Book Club: Tana French’s ‘The Searcher’: Author Sarah Vowell and comedian Maeve Higgins visit the Nerdette Book Club for a spoiler-filled analysis of Tana French's plodding murder mystery, 'The Searcher.' Plus, we hear from you! by Nerdette
37 min listen
True Biz by The Readheads Book Club
86 min listen
Harlan Coben with Konnie Huq: Author Harlan Coben has over 70 million books in print across the world and his last 10 novels all debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. He joins Konnie Huq in the Penguin studio to talk about his latest book Don't Let Go an... by The Penguin Podcast
42 min listen
BONUS: Madeline Miller on Circe: Lucy Dallas is joined by Madeline Miller to discuss her new book, Circe. by The TLS Podcast
28 min listen
Zadie Smith & Adam Thirlwell: The Fraud/The Future Future by London Review Bookshop Podcast
61 min listen
Ep 07 — Morocco: Couscous, Camels, and the Kasbah: Morocco can seem like something conjured from a dream. The twisty alleys of its old-town medinas hold secrets around every corner. Its markets are infused with the aroma of spices and the lilting melodies of musicians, with jewel-colored leather and scar... by Strong Sense of Place
72 min listen
The Gunpowder Plot: On 5 November 1605, a plan to decapitate the British state was foiled when Guy Fawkes & nearly a ton of gunpowder were discovered in an undercroft beneath the House of Lords. Dan explains how & why the plot came about why it remains so important. by Dan Snow's History Hit
45 min listen
Inside The New York Times Book Review: Patrick Modiano’s ‘Suspended Sentences’ by The Book Review
32 min listen
Reading Like a Writer: Writer Craft Ep 52 We talk about why reading is important to writers and their Voice, how to be intentional in your reading, and improving reading habits. Retreat tickets: Patreon support: Erick: Valerie: by Writer Craft Podcast
44 min listen
Sarah Manguso, author of “Very Cold People”: Sarah Manguso is an essayist, memoirist, and now a novelist. She’s written eight books, including 300 Arguments and Ongoingness (links to interviews regarding those books can be found in our archives). Very Cold People is her debut novel. It’s an Amazon Editors’ Pick, a National Indie Bestseller, A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and was named a best book of the year by numerous publications. Manguso joins Marrie Stone to talk about her decision to write a novel. She discusses setting a book in her childhood town and creating a sense of place and atmosphere. She talks about writing violence as background instead of foreground, as well as writing about shame, class, mothering, and writing about large concepts in intimate and specific ways. Manguso comes to the podcast from the Miami Book Fair. For more information, visit their website here. For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon pa by Writers on Writing: A Weekly Podcast for Writers, Readers, & Book Lovers
59 min listen
Helen Fry, "Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars" (Yale UP, 2023): An interview with Helen Fry by New Books in Gender
51 min listen
Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice: This week John and Andy are joined by actor and d… by Backlisted
71 min listen
Everything I Never Told You: I once watched a woman miss her bus stop because she was utterly absorbed in this literary thriller. It's that good. **** One of my favorite library hacks is requesting new titles BEFORE their release date. And that’s why One Great Book patrons get bonus... by One Great Book
9 min listen
Joshua Ferris on A CALLING FOR CHARLIE BARNES: “I love it, when, as a reader, I am surprised by the way people behave, you know that you're aghast and shocked and standing back a little bit. And I love it even more when I'm writing it, when I have tapped into a sense that I'm not in control of... by Poured Over
32 min listen
Brenda Blethyn: Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Brenda Blethyn by Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010
34 min listen
Alice Winn on In Memoriam: From Tennyson to the Trenches: On this episode, we were joined by Alice Winn, author of the Hatchards Fiction Book of the Month, 'In Memoriam,' her highly-acclaimed debut. Beginning at the onset of WWI, Winn's novel follows lifelong friends Gaunt and Ellwood from the confines of... by The Hatchards Podcast
39 min listen

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Paul Bradley Carr, 1414 Degrees

Paul Bradley Carr, 1414 Degrees

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