Novelists Nina Revoyr and Katherine Taylor

Novelists Nina Revoyr, author of LOST CANYON, and Katherine Taylor, author of VALLEY FEVER, talk with Barbara about having patience as a writer, writing hundreds of pages and discarding them, finding the voice of the novel and more.

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(Broadcast date: Nov. 11, 2015)

Lauren Groff and Garth Risk Hallberg on Writers on Writing

Lauren Groff, author of the National Book Award-nominated novel, Fates and Furies, talks to Nicole Nelson about how she came to realize she was writing one book, and not two, about the tale of a marriage. She also discusses her approach to tackling plot, and the importance of staying with your work. In the second half, debut novelist Garth Risk Hallberg, author of City on Fire, talks about being drawn to the Victorian novel, the art of bringing chapters to a close, and how when something isn't working it means that either you shouldn't do it, or you should do more of it.

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(Broadcast date: November 4, 2015)

Barry Yourgrau and Sasha Abramsky

Barry Yourgrau, author of Mess: One Man’s Struggle to Clean Up His House and His Act with Nicole Nelson about "writing short"in the distractible age of the Internet, grinding your mind until you get to the place where things flow, and how even as a confessional writer of fiction, when that mask is removed and he is telling his own story, he found writing a memoir scary.

Then Sasha Abramsky, author of The House of Twenty Thousand Books talks about how telling this personal story was different from his other journalistic projects, how he came upon the structure for the book, and  the importance of letting your guard down, having confidence to take chances with the language and ultimately working to put your personal stamp on your writing.

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(Broadcast date: October 14 2015)

Michelle Huneven and Tracy Daugherty on Writers on Writing

Michelle Huneven, author of Off Course and Tracy Daugherty, author of the Last Love Song, a biography of Joan Didion, talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about their new books and the art and business of writing.

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(Broadcast date: Oct 7, 2015)

Karen Joy Fowler & Bonnie Jo Campbell

Karen Joy Fowler talks with Marrie Stone about the re-release of her short story collection, Black Glass: Short Fictions.  She discusses her pull toward science fiction, how her interests have changed, and why she believes the sibling relationship is one of the most compelling.

In the second half, Bonnie Jo Campbell introduces her latest collection, Mothers, Tell Your Daughters.   How did the title story come to be?  What is her pull toward bleak landscapes?  How long is too long to work on a short story?  When does she abandon a project?  (The answers may surprise you.)

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 (Broadcast date: September 23, 2015)

Jillian Lauren and Jonathan Galassi

Barbara talks with memoirist Jillian Lauren, author of Everything You Ever Wanted. 
During the second half, Nicole Nelson talks to Jonathan Galassi, President and Publisher of FSG and debut novelist, about his new book Muse.

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(Broadcast date: September 30, 2015)

Jillian will be a featured author at the Pen on Fire Speaker Series and Salon in Corona del Mar on October 13. 

Carol Higgins Clark and Daniel James Brown

Mystery darling Carol Higgins Clark joins Marrie Stone to talk about compelling characters for a series, generating new ideas, the structure of the genre, and drawing from real life in her writing.

Carol is a keynote speaker at the OC Sisters in Crime, Ladies of Intrigue event on Saturday, October 3rd, 2015 in Huntington Beach.  More information can be found here.

In the second half, Daniel James Brown discusses adapting his narrative nonfiction book Boys in the Boat for young audiences.  He talks about writing in the aftermath of success, what was required for the adaptation, why the book resonated with a wide audience, and his process for organizing vast amounts of research.

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(Broadcast date: September 9, 2015)

Gail Godwin and Parnaz Foroutan on Writers on Writing

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett talks with Gail Godwin, novelist and memoirist, about her new memoir Publishing, and the changes she's seen in the industry, being a student in Kurt Vonnegut's workshop, and working with the same agent for 50 years. Then debut novelist Parnaz Foroutan, author of The Girl from the Garden, talks with Nicole Nelson about why she used an unreliable narrator, the responsibility that comes with telling a story inspired by family history, and the benefits of "talking to your demons"while writing, and letting them guide you to the good stuff.

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(Broadcast date: September 16, 2015)

Andrew Roe and Rebecca Makkai

Andrew Roe, author of Miracle Girl, joins co-host Marrie Stone to talk about generating ideas for material, writing from various points of view, and the importance of mentors.  In the second half, Rebecca Makkai returns to the show to talk about her short story collection, Music for Wartime.

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(Broadcast date: July 15, 2015)

Narrative nonfiction writer David Gessner, author of All the Wild that Remains and novelist Joshua Mohr, author of All This Life, discuss their books with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett.

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(Broadcast date: Sept. 5, 2015)

Julia Pierpont and Adam Johnson

Debut novelist Julia Pierpont, author of Among the Ten Thousand Things, joins Marrie Stone to talk about shifting points of view, new ways to approach old topics, and the virtue of MFAs.

In the second half, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and short story writer Adam Johnson discusses his latest collection, Fortune Smiles.  Adam talks about his quirky childhood, his hands-on research process, what drives his curiosities, and much more.

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(Broadcast date: August 19, 2015)

Novelists Lisa Glatt, author of The Nakeds and Victoria Patterson, author of The Little Brother, discuss their books with B. DeMarco-Barrett. Victoria Patterson will be at the Pen on Fire Speaker Series on Tues., Aug. 18, and Lisa Glatt will be at the Series on Sept. 8. Visit www.penonfire.com/speakerseries for more information and to register.

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(Broadcast date: August 12, 2015)

Lidia Yuknavitch and Louisa Hall

Co-host Nicole Nelson talks to Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Small Backs of Children, about exploring the fluidity of identity, the challenge and necessity of awareness of scripts in art and in life, and how she is influenced by photography and film. Then Louisa Hall, author of Speak, talks about creating a novel with the innovative structure combining court transcripts, a diary, letters, and a memoir, about finding the voice of Mary, the 17th-century young woman at the heart of the novel, and about postponing her poet's habit of cutting and perfecting when writing fiction.

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(Broadcast date: August 5, 2015)

Literary agent Felicia Eth on Writers on Writing with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Bay Area literary agent Felicia Eth joins author and host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett for an hour of conversation about the publishing industry and how to get an agent.

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 (Broadcast date: July 29, 2015)

Lisa Lutz and Emily Gould

Lisa Lutz, author of How to Start a Fire, joins co-host Nicole Nelson to talk about writing in multiple points of view, moving from screenplay writing to novel-writing, and also about being labeled with the category of "Women's Fiction." Her book was used as an example of how the label unacceptably labels fiction by and about women as a subcategory of the real thing in a column by the Chicago Tribune's John Warner. Then Emily Gould, author of Friendship, enters the conversation to discuss how exploring her own interiority as a blogger and essayist helped her develop compassion for her characters, how time is a luxury when revising, and also how finding a title (as well as naming a baby) is hard.

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(Broadcast date: July 22, 2015)

Ethan Rutherford and Barry Newman

Short story writer Ethan Rutherford, author of The Peripatetic Coffin and Other Stories, joins co-host Marrie Stone to discuss nerdy writer topics like commas and character names.  They also talk about titles, revision, and other elements of the short story.  In the second half, journalist Barry Newman joins to discuss News to Me: Finding and Writing Colorful Feature Stories.  Barry's experience in journalism is unparalleled.  He discusses what makes a compelling story, following your passions, and how the mundane can become the fascinating.

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 (Broadcast date: May 20, 2015)

Emily St. John Mandel and Diana Wagman on Writers on Writing

Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven and Diana Wagman, author of Life #6 join Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about their current novels, revision, social media, agents, and more.

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(Broadcast date: July 8, 2015

William Joyce and Dan Santat

In a special episode devoted to children's literature, Academy Award winner William Joyce joins co-host Marrie Stone to discuss his latest children's book-cum-memoir, Billy's Booger.  He talks about rejection, perseverance, creativity, and his advice to young writers.  In the second half, Caldecott Medal winner Dan Santat joins to discuss his award-winning book, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend.  He talks about the Caldecott process, inspiration, homage, and the balance of visuals against test in children's literature.

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(Broadcast date: June 24, 2015)

Dan Pope and John Mutter

Dan Pope, author of Housebreaking joins co-host Nicole Nelson to talk about the challenges of using shifting points of view with temporal overlaps, developing complex characters, and writing compelling dialogue. Then John Mutter, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Shelf Awareness, on the heels of that website's tenth birthday, explains the role of Shelf Awareness in the book-selling marketplace, shares the site's origin story, and talks about the process of deciding which books get reviewed and who reviews them.

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(Broadcast date: July 1, 2015)

Austin Bunn & Thomas Pierce

Short story writers Austin Bunn, The Brink, and Thomas Pierce, Hall of Small Mammals, join co-host Marrie Stone.  They discuss setting, character, titles, building the arc of a collection, and more.

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(Broadcast date: June 17, 2015)