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, Google, or your favorite podcast app.

.

EPISODES

(2001 - present)

Marrie Marrie

Catherine Banner and Kelly Corrigan on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Marrie Stone is joined by Catherine Banner, author of House at the Edge of Night. Catherine discusses the art of structure, how introducing a fairy tale to the beginning of each section grounded the book, inhabiting characters very different from herself, and writing as an outside (from the perspective of both time and place).

In the second half, Kelly Corrigan discusses her latest, Tell Me More: Stories About the 12 Hardest Things I'm Learning to Say. Corrigan talks about several of those hard things, the need to re-write something 42 times to make it appear easy and seamless, the importance of details and the tines of a fork, and much more great wisdom and advice.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: February 14, 2018)

PLEASE NOTE: Catherine Banner's interview cuts off a bit early due to technical difficulties.
Read More
Marrie Marrie

Dean Koontz and Patrick Nathan on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz joins Marrie Stone to talk about his Kindle in Motion book, Ricochet Joe. He also shares mounds of writing advice about finding ideas, the importance of character in a thriller, the role of dialogue, and much more.

In the second half, debut novelist Patrick Nathan joins to share his novel, Some Hell. He talks about the long journey of novel writing, character development, revision, and more.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: January 17, 2018)
Read More
Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Peter Heller on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM, with B. DeMarco-Barrett

Novelist Peter Heller, author of The Dog Stars, The Painter, and Celine talks with Writers on Writing show host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the crossover from a journalism and poetry to fiction, starting with a first sentence, writing in cafes wearing Bose headphones listening to the SimplyRain app, and listening to your characters, and so very much more.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: Feb. 21, 2018)
Read More
Marrie Marrie

Attica Locke and Janet Buttenweiser

Marrie Stone talks with novelist Attica Locke, author of Bluebird, Bluebird, about capturing a familiar place from a distance, her decision to break her own rule and write about a cop, inhabiting uncomfortable points of view, and how her book became a much different book in the age of Donal Trump (even though she never changed a word).

In the second half, Janet Buttenweiser joins to talk about her memoir Guts. In addition to sharing her personal story, Janet talks about crafting a compelling narrative from life events, the emotional distance required to write objectively, finding the metaphors in real-life events, and much more.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: January 31, 2018)
Read More
Marrie Marrie

Kathleen Sharp on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM in Irvine

Journalist and nonfiction author Kathleen Sharp joins Marrie for the entire hour to talk about all things nonfiction. Finding the stories, interviewing the subjects, shaping mounds of information into a cohesive narrative, research processes, and more. Kathleen is an award-winning journalist and an accomplished speaker. Her works include Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood, Blood Medicine, Stalking the Beast, and more.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: January 3, 2018)
Read More
Marrie Marrie

Maud Casey and Edwidge Danticat

Maud Casey (The Art of Mystery) and Edwidge Danticat (The Art of Death) join Marrie to talk about Graywolf Press's "Art Of" series. They provide insights into craft, process and the techniques they incorporate when writing their own fiction. Maud discusses a number of ways to create a sense of mystery in your characters, imagery, structure and more. Edwidge discusses how to find new ways in an ancient topic.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: December 13, 2017)
Read More
Marrie Marrie

Caitlin Rother on Writing True Crime on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Journalist and true crime author Caitlin Rother joins Marrie Stone for the entire hour to give a mini-course on writing true crime and narrative nonfiction. She talks about the necessary elements she looks for when choosing a subject, interview techniques, research and investigation tools, organizing her materials, creating a compelling narrative, and more.

Caitlin is the author of a dozen books, a writing coach, teacher and investigative journalist. She can be found both on FaceBook and her website: http://caitlinrother.com/.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: November 29, 2017)
Read More
Marrie Marrie

Jeffrey Eugenides on his Novels and the Short Story Form on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Jeffrey Eugenides joins Marrie Stone for the entire hour to discuss his short story collection, Fresh Complaint. The stories were written over several decades. Jeffrey talks about revisiting old work, a story's inspiration, how the story form is more difficult from the novel, how writing helped him deal with his mother's dementia, one mistake new writers are making that's got him worried, and much more.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: October 25, 2017)

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed on this program do not reflect those of KUCI, its management, or the UC Board of Regents. For more information on this talk show, or other talk shows, visit our website at www.kuci.org.
Read More
Marrie Marrie

Nathan Englander and Alisyn Camerota on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM in Irvine

Novelist and short story writer Nathan Englander joins Marrie to talk about his latest "turducken" of a novel, Dinner at the Center of the Earth. They chat about humor, how the personal becomes universal, the benefits of writing as an ex-pat, and how to write intentional chaos.

In the second half, CNN correspondent and novelist Alisyn Camerota joins to talk about her debut, Amanda Wakes Up. She talks about writing what you know, how she did (or did not) predict the 2016 election, her thoughts on how journalism has changed, and the magic of writing 5 minutes a day.

Download audio. 

(Broadcast date: September 20, 2017)
Read More
Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Mystery author Wendy Corsi Staub on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM in Irvine, CA

Wendy Corsi Staub, mystery author with more than 75 books to her credit, talks with B. DeMarco-Barrett about writing mystery and suspense fiction, and her path to becoming a NYT bestselling author. Staub will be a keynote presenter at Ladies of Intrigue, sponsored by the Orange County chapter of Sisters in Crime, on Oct. 1, 2017. More info here.

 Download audio.

(Broadcast date: Sept. 13, 2017)
Read More
Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Novelists Don Winslow and Janelle Brown, on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Don Winslow, author of The Force, and Janelle Brown, author of Watch Me Disappear join Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about their latest novels. Don talks about a writer's job and his pathway to publication, and Janelle talks about how Watch Me Disappear began as a story about a dysfunctional family and turned into a suspense novel about a mother who disappears.

Janelle will be a guest at the Pen on Fire Speaker Series & Salon's final 2017 gathering on Tues. Sept 12. Click here for more information and to register.

Download audio.

 (Broadcast date: August 30, 2017)
Read More