Mary Norris and Christie Watson

Mary Norris, author of Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, talks to Nicole Nelson about how being so focused on the details because of her copy-editing job made her appreciate the work of her editor for this book in helping her craft chapters with a beginning, middle and end; what it's like to be in charge of the "comma shaker" at The New Yorker; and how knowing the grammar behind the use of "me" in some contexts can, between her and us, help writers make the correct choice. Then Christie Watson, author of Where Women are Kings, joins the show to talk about how she discovered the voice of her main character, Elijah, how the novel changed as she worked through nearly a dozen drafts, and how important it is for writers to silence their inner critic and keep on writing.

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(Broadcast date: May 6, 2015)

Beth Kephart talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about memoir

Beth Kephart, author of Handling the Truth (Gotham), talks about writing memoir. She's the author of five memoirs, is a National Book Award Finalist, and a moving writer.  If anyone knows about the memoir form, it's Beth.

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(Broadcast date: Oct. 16, 2013)

Jacob Rubin and Angela Flournoy

Jacob Rubin , author of the novel The Poser, talks to Nicole Nelson about the value of re-reading, how his protagonist Giovanni emerged from his work on a short story, and the comfort of rituals when writing (and in life). Then Angela Flournoy, author of The Turner House, discusses finding the right first chapter, how studying The Brothers Karamazov helped her map the story of her novel, and the importance of submitting to--and not resisting--the revision process.

Angela and Barbara DeMarci-Barrett will be at the LA Times Festival of Books. 
Angela's panel is Sunday, April 19 at 3:30 (Fiction: The Past in Our Present Hoffman Hall )
Barbara DeMarco-Barrett will moderate Fiction: Perfectly Flawed Sunday, 12:30 p.m., Annenberg Auditorium.

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(Broadcast date: April 15, 2015)

Pulitzer prize winning poet Stephen Dunn

Pulitzer prize winning poet Stephen Dunn, author of Lines of Defense, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about crafting poems, including writing from your own POV or using a persona, revision, the best training for a poet, and more.

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(Broadcast date: April 8, 2014)

John Burley and Kelly Link talk with Marrie Stone

Marrie Stone interviews novelist John Burley, author of The Forgetting Place.  Dr. Burley discusses creating an authentic setting, managing suspense, creating compelling characters, and more.  In the second half, Kelly Link discusses her short story collection, Get In Trouble.  She discusses her draw to the fantastical, titling stories, what makes a compelling story, endings, and more.

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(Broadcast date: March 4, 2015)

Jill Alexander Essbaum and Michele Young-Stone on Writers on Writing

Poet and debut novelist Jill Alexander Essbaum, author of Hausfrau, joins co-host Nicole Nelson to talk about the importance of the small Swiss town setting for her story and her protagonist Anna, how the worst times in our lives are probably the most important, and how a love of words unites her work in poetry and fiction. Then author Michele Young-Stone talks about her latest novel, Above Us Only Sky, balancing research when writing a novel, exploring the concept of "home" in her work, and approaching the page with confidence.

Jill will be at the LA Times Festival of Books; her panel is Sunday, April 19 at 12:30 (Conversation 2042).

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(Broadcast date: April 1, 2015)

Jincy Willett on Writers on Writing with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Jincy Willett, author of Amy Falls Down and The Writing Class, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about voice, story, writing humor, and alter egos.

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 (Broadcast date: March 25, 2015)

Matt Sumell and Elisa Albert on Writers on Writing

Matt Sumell, author of Making Nice talks to co-cost Nicole Nelson about leveraging humor as a coping mechanism, trusting his gut, and using what hurts. Then novelist Elisa Albert, author of After Birth, about the usefulness of keeping a notebook, what her revision process looks like, and having faith that the ending will emerge.
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(Broadcast date: March 11, 2015)

Christopher Noxon and Tara Ison

Christopher Noxon, author, journalist, and illustrator, is the author of Plus One.  He speaks with Marrie Stone about mining details of personal life for fiction, writing routines, and more.  In the second half, Tara Ison talks about her essay collection Reeling Through Life: How I Learned to Live, Love and Die at the Movies.

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 (Broadcast date: January 28, 2015)

Maureen Corrigan and Stewart O'Nan on Writers on Writing

Maureen Corrigan, author and NPR book critic, talks to co-host Nicole Nelson about her latest book, So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came To Be And Why It Endures, as well as what some of Fitzgerald's revisions left behind in earlier drafts of the novel, the importance of water imagery in the book, and her experience retracing some of the author's steps. In the second half, Stewart O'Nan discusses his latest novel West of Sunset, which fictionalizes the last chapter of Fitzgerald's life, the Hollywood years. He talks about coming late to appreciate Fitzgerald himself, what kind of research was required to immerse himself in the world of Hollywood in the late 1930s, and how his experience writing narrative nonfiction helped create a world that served both history and his character.

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(Broadcast date: February 25, 2015)

Maggie Shipstead & Lily King

Novelist Maggie Shipstead, author of Astonish Me, talks with Marrie Stone about the competitive world of ballet, MFA programs, and the importance of place in fiction.  In the second half, Lily King talks about her novel, Euphoria, how to fictionalize true stories, the endings of novels, and how to give strong characters profound weaknesses.

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(Broadcast date: January 14, 2015)

Tatjana Soli and Erin Harris on Writers on Writing

Tatjana Soli, author of The Last Good Paradise, talks to Nicole Nelson about the importance of setting in developing a novel, the art of revision, and the writing benefits of a good hike. Then Erin Harris, NYC agent with Folio Lit talks about what kind of work she represents, what catches her eye in a query, and what agents want to see in those all-important first pages.

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[Note: In the Harris interview, there are a couple of very brief phone line blips that resolve quickly.]

(Broadcast date: February 11, 2015)

Miranda July and Adam Langer on Writers on Writing

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett talks with novelists Miranda July, author of The First Bad Man and Adam Langer, author of The Salinger Contract about first drafts, revision, metafiction, and more.

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(Broadcast date: Feb. 4, 2015)

Literary Agent Jane Dystel on Writers on Writing

Literary Agent Jane Dystel, founder and president of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, joins Marrie Stone to talk about what makes an effective agent, what to look for in an agent, how to query an agent, what's selling and what's not, how the industry has changed, the importance of platform, how ebooks are saving fiction, and more. 

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(Broadcast date: January 7, 2015)

Meghan Daum and Siri Hustvedt with Nicole Nelson

Meghan Daum, author of The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion, talks with co-host Nicole Nelson about the advantages of going unseen in Los Angeles, her favorite essayists, and writing with humor--including, and perhaps especially--while talking about serious and upsetting things. 

Then novelist Siri Hustvedt, author of The Blazing World, discusses the crucial work of an author to find the emotional truth, the potential benefits of automatic writing, and starting a novel with only a glimmer or "smell" for the story.

Her PEN America workshop is titled "Why One Story and Not Another."

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(Broadcast date: January 21, 2015)

Assaf Gavron & Chris Baty on Writers on Writing

Israeli novelist Assaf Gavron joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest novel, The Hilltop.  In the second half, Chris Baty, founder of National Novel Writing Month, talks about his book No Plot, No Problem. 

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(Broadcast date: December 17, 2014)

Lisa Cron, Wired for Story, on Writers on Writing

Lisa Cron author of Wired for Story, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about hooking the reader from the start, regardless of genre.

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(Broadcast date: Dec. 31, 2014

Kim Fay with Marrie Stone and Steven Pinker with Nicole Nelson

Kim Fay, Edgar Award Finalist and author of The Map of Lost Memories talks to Marrie Stone about her passion for Southeast Asia, sustaining momentum over fourteen years of work on a project, and the value of belonging to a writing group.

Then cognitive scientist and author of the new book The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century Steven Pinker talks to Nicole Nelson about the importance of using examples in non-fiction, the shortcomings and value of the green wiggly line in MS Word, and how he earned his rank as one of the journal Science's top 50 stars of Twitter.

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(Broadcast date: December 10, 2014)

Miriam Toews and Josh Kornbluth with Nicole Nelson

Miriam Toews talks to Nicole Nelson about her new book ALL MY PUNY SORROWS. She talks about writing the hard stuff, gaining control over life through writing, and the importance of bleeding on the page. Then monologuist Josh Kornbluth talks about his influences, how he develops a show, and the comedic gold in failure. His current monologue-in-progress is Reports from the Zen Hospice: Improvs, which will run Thursdays at 8 p.m. at the Berkeley Marsh through the end of December.

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(Broadcast date: December 3, 2014)

Azar Nafisi & Lydia Millet

Azar Nafisi, bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books, joins Marrie Stone to talk about the importance of fiction and how it's a guardian of memory, what is unique about American fiction, and the necessity for a public discourse about literature.

In the second half, Lydia Millet joins to talk about her latest novel, Mermaids in Paradise.  She discusses inspiration, landscape, and how connecting two disparate concepts in fiction can lead to intriguing plot lines.

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(Broadcast date: November 19, 2014)