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.

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EPISODES

(2001 - present)

Marrie Marrie

Erica Garza and Jennifer Haupt on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Erica Garza, author of the memoir Getting Off: One Woman's Journey Through Sex and Porn Addiction, talks with Marrie Stone about her reasons for writing the memoir, the incredible reception it has received since publication, and the obvious need to bring buried issues to light. She discusses how to tackle painful scenes, overcoming shame, where and how to begin one's story, and more.

In the second half, Jennifer Haupt joins to discuss her debut novel, In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills. She discusses thorny issues surrounding cultural appropriation, how her work in journalism impacted her work as a fiction writer, the importance of travel, the difficulties of writing a novel over the course of years, revision, and more.

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(Broadcast date: April 4, 2018)
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Marrie Marrie

Jasmin Darznik and Tara Westover on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Memoirist and novelist Jasmin Darznik joins Marrie Stone to talk about her novel, Song of a Captive Bird. She talks about her pull toward Iran, toward silenced women, poetry, and more. She discusses the difficult path she took to find the structure of her novel, research, point of view, and more.

In the second half, memoirist Tara Westover joins to talk about her debut memoir, Educated. Tara grew up in Idaho, under the care of a father who didn't trust the government. That meant no birth certificate, no medical care, and no school. Tara shares her journey to Harvard and Cambridge, and her journey to writing the memoir. She talks about teaching herself to write by using the New Yorker Fiction podcasts, discovering what her book was really about, and finding the embedded metaphors inside her life.

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(Broadcast date: March 21, 2018)
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Marrie Marrie

Dennis Palumbo and Veera Hiranandani on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Novelist, essayist and psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest Daniel Rinaldi thriller, Head Wounds. He discusses the role of technology in crime fiction, the ways in which crime fiction can reflect society, and the many challenges posed when writing brilliant characters. Dennis also shares his many words of wisdom to writers regarding teh creative process and challenges he sees from his therapist's chair.

In the second half, Veera Hiranandani joins to discuss her debut young adult novel, The Night Diary.  She talks about the pleasures and limitations from the diary format, writing from a distant place and distant time, teaching history without being didactic, and more.

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(Broadcast date: March 14, 2018)
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Marrie Marrie

John Freeman and Jensen Beach on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

Literary critic, writer and poet John Freeman joins Marrie to talk about his collection, Maps. John brings all his insights, wisdom and pitch-perfect ear to the discussion of poetry, and treats the listener with a few readings.

In the second half, Jensen Beach talks about his collection, Swallowed by the Cold.  These interlocking stories, set in Sweden, provide the groundwork for a discussion of setting, character,  pacing and plot in the short story form.

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(Broadcast date: November 1, 2017)
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Nicole Nelson Nicole Nelson

Leni Zumas on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM, with Nicole Nelson

Novelist Leni Zumas, author of Red Clockstalks to guest host Nicole Nelson about how attention to language can help foster authenticity, how she learned to put more pressure on story threads and "stick with the trouble," and how she developed a style that insists that readers "keep up."

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(Broadcast date: March 07, 2018)
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Marrie Marrie

Kristin Hannah discusses "The Great Alone" on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM

New York Times bestselling novelist Kristin Hannah joins Marrie Stone for the hour to discuss her latest novel, The Great Alone. Kristin shares her fascination with Alaska and living off the grid. She discusses writing dark characters and dark themes, against the backdrop of an oppressive setting. Kristin talks about writing in the aftermath of success, throwing away failed novels, creating suspense, and her long fascination with writing about strong women.

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(Broadcast date: February 28, 2018)
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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.

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(Broadcast date: February 14, 2018)

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

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(Broadcast date: January 17, 2018)
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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.

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(Broadcast date: Feb. 21, 2018)
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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.

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(Broadcast date: January 31, 2018)
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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.

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(Broadcast date: January 3, 2018)
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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.

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(Broadcast date: December 13, 2017)
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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/.

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(Broadcast date: November 29, 2017)
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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.

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(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.
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