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)
Memoirist Nick Flynn on Writers on Writing
Rumaan Alam on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
Rumaan Alam’s latest novel, Leave the World Behind, became a finalist for the National Book Award before it was even released. Exploring themes of race, class, climate change, gender politics, geopolitical turmoil, and more—all under the sunny guise of a summer vacation on Long Island—Alam’s novel begins as one kind of story and soon turns into another.
Alam joins Marrie Stone to talk about the book, his unconventional path to becoming a novelist, and about writing the white American experience as an Indian man. He shares how Twitter helped him write the novel, how an editor’s insights made him rethink the novel’s point of view, and the many books that helped him along the way (including Stephen King’s Pet Sematary). There’s mounds of wonderful advice for writers, and fantastic backstory for avid readers.
(Broadcast date: November 4, 2020)
(Record date: October 30, 2020)
Jess Walter, author of The Cold Millions, on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
Novelist Jess Walter has never left his hometown—the Spokane Valley in eastern Washington—where his grandfather (also Jess Walter) landed in the 1930s as a train-hopping, itinerant worker. Inspired by the places around him, an old 1911 postcard, generational stories passed down, and the sense of history repeating, Walter has spun a sweeping saga whose themes of class, wealth, corruption, and public protests—all set more than a century ago—still ring true today.
Walter joins Marrie Stone to discuss The Cold Millions. He talks about how disparate ideas cling together like falling snowflakes and, by the time they land, create multidimensional stories. He talks about the moment when research becomes so ingrained that he’s able to make the leap into fiction without remembering what’s real and what’s invented. He talks about the shape of stories, how this novel looks like a river in his mind, with moments of rapid movement and other quiet periods of stillness. For historical fiction readers, Walter fans, and writers interested in craft, there’s something for everyone in Walter’s conversation.
(Broadcast date: October 21, 2020)
(Record date: September 8, 2020)
Jody Forrester & Lucie Britsch on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
Memoirist Jody Forrester, author of Guns Under the Bed and novelist Lucie Britsch, author of Sad Janet join Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss the art, craft, and business of writing.
(Broadcast date: September 30, 2020)
Novelist John Boyne on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
Novelist John Boyne, A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom and Heart's Invisible Furies, joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss the art, craft, and business of writing.
(Broadcast date: September 16, 2020)
Stepanie Kent & Logan Smalley, Co-Creators of "The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book," on Writers on Writing — KUCI-FM
While sharing a drink at a literary pub in New York, Steph Kent & Logan Smalley mused about their favorite first lines in novels. Settling on Moby Dick's notorious "Call Me Ishmael," they wondered what would happen if Ishmael had a phone number that book lovers could call. It didn't take long for Ishmael to have his own number. Voicemails began pouring in from around the country as callers shared their most memorable reading experiences, favorite titles, books that changed and shaped their lives, and even one special copy of Beloved that cost a friendship.
Steph and Logan join Marrie Stone to talk about The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book, which includes not only their favorite voicemail messages about books and authors, but interviews with independent bookstores around the United States, literary museums, author grave sites, and so much more. They talk about how the idea began, and how it grew. They share some of their favorite stories, and how the project is still evolving.
They invite you to call Ishmael at (774) 325-0503 to share your own reading experiences or listen to the experiences of others. Visit their website for more information, or follow them on Instagram and Twitter.
(Record date: October 12, 2020)
Short Story Author Susan Buttenwieser on Writers On Writing, KUCI-FM
Debut author Susan Buttenwieser joins Marrie Stone to talk about her collection, We Were Lucky With the Rain. Named one of Poets & Writers 5 Debut Authors Over 50, Susan shares fantastic advice for writers publishing without agents. She discusses how to seek out strategic literary journals for publication, the advantages of small presses (and Four Way Books in particular), and knowing when to let your work go.
She also provides insights into how to shape an effective short story, her revision process, her attraction to adolescent narrators, and much more.
Finally, Susan talks about her work in women's prisons, helping those silenced voices tell their stories.
(Record date: October 8, 2020)
Literary Thriller Co-Authors Smith Henderson & Jon Marc Smith on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
As Smith Henderson and Jon Marc Smith prove, not all novelists are loners. The two decided to collaborate while partaking of a few substances at Tim O'Brien's wedding back in the early 2000s. Fifteen years, one screenplay, and two books later their first novel, Make Them Cry, debuted in September.
This literary joyride through a Mexican drug cartel has a rich cast of characters—a compromised DEA agent, a bookish sicario, a cartel fugitive, crooked cops, CIA agents, former military operatives and more, each with fascinating backstories and motivations.
Smith Henderson (author of Fourth of July Creek) and Jon Marc Smith join Marrie Stone to talk about how the book came to be, the extensive research it required, the intricacies of how their collaboration works, why they had to throw the first draft of the novel away and begin again, the importance of routine, and so much more. They also share that mind-bending story of Tim O'Brien's wedding.
(Record date: October 6, 2020)
Eric Weiner on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
To many of us, it might feel like the world has lost its way. The very nature of truth seems up for grabs. Eric Weiner returns readers to the teachings of both the ancient and modern philosophers. How do we know what we know? How do we get out of bed each morning? How should we fight? How do we cope? How can we show kindness? How to age and, finally, how to die.
Weiner, a former NPR foreign correspondent and prolific travel writer, joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest book, The Socrates Express: In Search of LIfe Lessons from Dead Philosophers. They hash through philosophy, philosophers, and how old wisdom applies to your daily life and your writing life. Their conversation touches on stoicism, the nature of knowledge and wisdom, the benefits of aging, and how to remain creative in a noise-filled world. It’s also filled with insights for writers: the advantages of walking, the simplicity of making lists, the benefits of aging, and more.
(Broadcast date: October 7, 2020)
(Recording date: September 24, 2020)
Novelist Deborah Gaal on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
Deborah Gaal, author of The Dream Stitcher, joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest novel, Synchronicities on the Avenue of the Saints. While watching a family member struggle with bipolar disorder after exhausting all remedies offered by western medicine, Gaal discovered another way to interpret the condition. This became the foundation for her second novel.
She talks about the role of magical realism in her everyday life, and how she incorporates some mystical aspects into her own writing practice. Gaal also shares the process that went behind her decision to self publish, how her first novel went on to receive various awards and recognition, and how her background in corporate America, as well as the theater, informs her writing.
(Recording date: September 29, 2020)
Caroline Leavitt on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Caroline Leavitt, who has penned 12 published novels to date, joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest, With or Without You. She also talks about the many important lessons she’s learned about writing along the way (often the hard way).
Hear how “Humans of New York” inspires her characters’ looks, how her own demons creep into her novels, and why she invests so much time and energy in promoting the work of other writers. She also discusses the importance of John Truby's Anatomy of a Story and its impact on her work. Listeners can contact Marrie Stone to access Caroline's private worksheets for story structure and plotting their own novels. Visit Marrie's website for more information on how to contact her for those documents.
(Broadcast date: September 23, 2020)
Novelist Ivy Pochoda, These Women, on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM in Southern California
Novelist Sue Miller on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
Sue Miller is the bestselling author of While I Was Gone (an Oprah Book Club selection), The Distinguished Guest, For Love, Family Pictures (nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award), Inventing the Abbotts, and The Good Mother (a major motion picture starring Diane Keaton and Liam Neeson). She joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest novel, Monogamy.
Miller's skill at depicting marriage, domestic intimacies, grief, and loss are well known in the literary world. She talks about her inspirations, recurring themes across her novels, the role of memory and recovered memories in her work, and much more. She also provides significant craft advice for writers, including the benefits of writing her novels in longhand, how to work with minor characters, keeping deceased characters alive on the page, and much more.
(Broadcast date: September 9, 2020)
Poet and Essayist Sebastian Matthews on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
In 2011, Sebastian Matthews and his family were in a devastating car accident. When Sebastian emerged from his recovery, several years later, the world had changed around him. Not only was he navigating the trauma of his accident, but the trauma his nation was now suffering.
Beyond Repair: Living in a Fractured State is a series of essays that attempt to make sense of Sebastian's experience living in the south as a white, liberal, middle-aged, middle income man in Trump's America. Sebastian confronts race, class, privilege, fatherhood, and his personal struggles with trauma and terror.
Sebastian's recommended writing exercise: Take a walk in a new neighborhood in your town/city. Take it slow, engage people, stop in a shop (even in these pandemic days). Then, when you get back to your own home, sit down and write about the experience. Try to capture what you saw, what you felt, and how your encounters played out.
(Recording Date: August 21, 2020)
Novelist Scott Spencer
Download audio.
(Broadcast date: Aug. 19, 2020)
Musical intro/outro by Travis Barrett. Find him on Spotify.
A Panel Discussion of "Alone Together: Love, Grief, & Comfort in the Time of Covid-19" on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
When the pandemic hit last March, Jennifer Haupt asked herself what she could do in its face to help her literary community. She put out a call to artists—essayists, poets, and authors—asking them to contribute their impressions. Seventy-six people answered her call and Alone Together: Love, Grief, & Comfort in the Time of Covid-19 was born. The artists contributed their work, and all proceeds of the book sales go to benefit BINC (Book Industry Charitable Foundation).
Editor and contributor Jennifer Haupt joins Marrie Stone, along with contributors Amber Flame, Robin Black, and Roberto Lovato, to talk about the collection. They discuss not only their own struggles to make artistic sense of this time, but their struggles with being artists of color and how their various backgrounds contributed to their work.
What emerges is a frank and sensitive discussion of race, class, and privilege in the time of Covid.
As a bonus, we're asking writers to contribute their favorite writing prompts and exercises. The following were recommended by this panel:
Robin Black: I like to ask students who their characters are when they aren't in the
story being written, when they aren't doing the things the author needs
them to do. I'll ask them to write a few pages of some other event in
the character's life, incorporating "out of character" facts about them;
a couple of neurotic habits the character has; unusual hobbies they
might have, and so on - characteristics that expand the humanity of the
character beyond the most stringent needs of the story. I am big these
days into going beyond the idea of "necessity" in fiction -
especially short fiction - and going for generosity instead.
Flame: I’ve been guiding groups with ekphrastic writing - looking or watching another piece of art and then using reaction/responses as a prompt. It’s a good way to get out of your head and personal experience while being in communion with other art forms.
Roberto Lovato: My main prompt is the conscious, daily reminder of my commitment to what I'm writing, its integrity, my need to sing and whatever virtuosity I can bring.
(Broadcast date: August 26, 2020)
Margot Livesey on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
Novelist Margot Livesey joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest, The Boy in the Field. She discusses the draw of writing a coming-of-age novel at this point in her career, her play with police procedurals, her personal connection to her character's quest to find his family of origin, and how she tackled those various points of view. She also talks about how characters off stage, and other minor characters, can motivate action and accelerate plot. This, and so much more, in the conversation.
Margot also contributes this writing prompt to spark your creativity:
One of my jobs, during my brief career as a deputy supermarket
manager, was to apprehend shoplifters. I was hopeless at this, in part
because most shoplifters were teenagers or senior citizens, and
they often stole trivial items.
(Broadcast date: August 12, 2020)
Novelist Ottessa Moshfegh, Death in Her Hands
The intro and outro music is by Travis Barrett. Find more of his work on Spotify!
Lucie Britsch, author of the novel SAD JANET
Megha Majumdar on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
As an added bonus, we're asking writers to offer up their favorite writing prompt or exercise. Megha suggests: Write a short story (or poem, or essay, or.....) which includes both something that makes you angry and something that brings you joy.
Follow Megha on Twitter @MeghaMaj / Instagram @megha.maj.