From debut authors to Pulitzer Prize winners, Writers on Writing tackles a little of everything — novels, short stories, memoir, poetry, and more, as well as interviews with agents and publishers.

Unlike other shows dedicated to discussing books, we focus on the art, craft, and business of writing. Writers appreciate the opportunity to talk about the artistic elements of their job — the thousands of decisions that must be made to produce a manuscript. There’s no aspect of craft, creativity, and publishing we don’t explore.

We’ve hosted well over 1,500 authors on the show including Elizabeth Strout, S.A. Cosby, Ann Patchett, Amor Towles, and George Saunders. Expert advice from some of the industry’s top writers allows us to offer a show that’s been called “your own personal MFA program” (with no financial strain).

Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
Host: Marrie Stone

Music and sound editing by Travis Barrett

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

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EPISODES

(2001 - present)

Nicole Nelson Nicole Nelson

Nicole Mones and Sue William Silverman


Nicole Nelson speaks with Nicole Mones, about her new novel Night in Shanghai, and about research,  incorporating history in fiction, and the importance of living a full life as a writer. During the second half, memoirist Sue William Silverman, discusses her third memoir The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew, sharing how she, through digging deep, found the metaphor for her identity search.

Download audio (Mones) 

Download audio (Silverman)

(Broadcast date: March 12, 2014)
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Nicole Nelson Nicole Nelson

Molly Antopol and Cindy Chupack


Nicole Nelson speaks with Molly Antopol, named one of 5 under 35 by the National Book Foundation, about her new collection of stories The Unamericans, and about using autobiography as an inspiration for fiction. During the second half, Golden Globe award-winning television writer Cindy Chupack, who wrote for HBO's Sex and the City for five years, discusses the art of essay writing and her new comic memoir, The Longest Date: Life as a Wife.

Download audio for Antopol

Download audio for Chupack

(Broadcast date: February 12, 2014)
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Nicole Nelson Nicole Nelson

Lara Vapnyar and Kirstin Chen on Writers on Writing


Guest host Nicole Nelson interviews novelists Lara Vapnyar, The Scent of Pine, and Kirstin Chen, Soy Sauce for Beginners.

(Note: The beginning of the Vapnyar interview has some minor bumps due to a technical issue, but the rest is fine.)

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(Broadcast date: January 15, 2014)
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Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Ed Valentine and Graeme Simsion on Writers on Writing

Ed Valentine, who recently won a Daytime Emmy for Children’s TV Writing for Sesame Street, and Graeme Simsion, with his debut novel The Rosie Project optioned to Sony Pictures, talk with guest host Nicole Nelson on this episode of Writers on Writing.

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(Broadcast date: Dec. 18, 2013)
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Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

An Evening with Memoirists Claire Bidwell Smith, Dinah Lenney and James Brown at the Pen on Fire Speaker Series.

This podcast was recorded in May 2012 at the Pen on Fire Speaker Series in Corona del Mar, CA. The panel is comprised of Claire Bidwell Smith, Dinah Lenney, and James Brown, moderated by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. If you'd like news about upcoming speaker series event, visit penonfire.com/speakerseries.

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 (Broadcast date: May 12, 2012)
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Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Memoirist Beverly Donofrio visits Writers on Writing

Memoirist Beverly Donofrio, author of Astonished, Riding in Cars with Boys, and Looking for Mary came on the show to primarily discuss her latest, Astonished. One highlight: When an editor bought Riding in Cars with Boys, she visited him in his office. He started talking to her about her memoir, but she said no, no, she had written a novel.  "I can't sell a novel," he said.  "I can sell a memoir." Donofrio hemmed and hawed a lil bit, then said, Well, okay, I didn't make anything up. 

Donofrio is a memoirist through and through.  Very entertaining, especially difficult to do when telling a story about being raped after 50 and the journey it led her on.

Download audio.


 (Broadcast date: Sept. 18, 2013)
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