Ledger: A Writing Podcast
27 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 4 ratingsLedger is a podcast about the craft of writing, from novels to non-fiction to computer code!
Stories are an essential part of life. We need them so we seek them out in every way possible. Ledger features interviews with writers across formats and genres to focus on the craft itself, the thoughts and actions that led to stories being written.
How do writers deliver the words from their heads and out into the world for others to find? Give the show a listen!
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Episodes
024: Ken Lowery
March 03, 2024 01:47 - 1 hour - 54.6 MBKen Lowery is a tabletop roll-playing game (TTRPG) writer most well-known for writing the fantastic game VOID 1680 AM. He stopped by Ledger to discuss his journey in starting Bannerless Games and the process of writing VOID as well as other games like Lighthouse At the End of the World and Hell Grinders. We chat about the community aspect of VOID 1680 AM, including how he actually has his own AM radio broadcaster from which he broadcasts player creations, plus the perceptions (and some hesi...
023: Brian Allen Carr
January 15, 2024 18:15 - 1 hour - 54.6 MBBrian Allen Carr is a novelist originally from Texas, author of the books Sip; Opioid, Indiana, and his newest book, Bad Foundations, which is out via Clash Books as of January 23, 2024. It is a peek into a hidden and ignored world beneath the feet of midwesterners, a world that literally supports their entire lives. The narrator is a man named Cook, someone who will essentially become a coworker to readers as they open this book. Brian chats with Ledger about the importance of setting, ho...
022: David Connor
August 01, 2023 13:00 - 53 minutes - 51.1 MBDebut novelist David Connor joins me to chat about his book Oh God, the Sun Goes which is out TODAY, August 1st, 2023 from Melville House. Although this is his first novel he has in fact always been writing, which we talk about for sure. He has an undergrad degree in neuroscience and during that time in school he took a writing workshop with Maggie Nelson. Things changed after that. Also, what’s becoming a touchstone for the show, he mentions the genesis of his novel came out in a few sent...
021: Brock Swinson
July 06, 2023 18:10 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBBrock Swinson is the author of Ink By the Barrel: Secrets from Prolific Writers which is available now at BrockSwinson.com. He's also a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, a marketing copywriter, the host of the Creative Principles podcast, and currently is creating a docuseries titled Daredevil Society. He stopped by to chat about what prolific means for him as well as for writing in general, what it's like to ghost write, whether he writes every day or if you need to (the BI...
020: Albert Wendland
June 13, 2023 17:39 - 59 minutes - 52.8 MBAlbert Wendland is the author of three sci-fi novels and a poetry collection, all featuring his character Mykol (pronounced "Michael") Ranglen as a universe-exploring poet adventurer. His newest novel is "Haunted Stars" and is available now from Dog Star Books. Apart from the poetry collection - which features poems written by Ranglen - the books are adventures colored by Golden Age sci-fi yearnings but with a noir sensibility added in. You wonder who to trust. You wonder what the next disc...
019: Lor Gislason
May 26, 2023 17:39 - 50 minutes - 50.8 MBLor Gislason is the author of Inside Out, a goopy gross horror adventure out now from DarkLit Press. They are also the editor of the anthology Bound In Flesh from Ghoulish Books, an author of non-fiction horror reviews and appreciation, and are currently writing more entertaining body horror filled with memorably gross scenes and stories. Lor stopped by to talk about their writing journey, the dreams that led to Inside Out gooping onto the page, as well as what their writing routine looks l...
018: Emily Marie Passos Duffy
May 01, 2023 20:29 - 52 minutes - 50.6 MBEmily Marie Passos Duffy is the author of the poetry collection Hemorrhaging Want & Water, out now from Perennial Press and available on Perennial Press.com. It’s hard to beat the publisher’s description of the book, which describes it as "Pastoral city smut for bad girls with big hearts.” If you’re looking for poetry that travels the globe but also hops across the borders of genre and form then you might really dig this. Emily and I chatted about connective thematic tissue between poems, a...
017: James Spooner
March 21, 2023 16:56 - 1 hour - 66.7 MBJames Spooner is the author of The High Desert out now from Harper Collins, available here - https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-high-desert-james-spooner?variant=40828374777890 Set in the late eighties and starring James as a teenager discovering punk rock and as the book's synopsis says, "Mixed race, acutely aware of his Blackness, James doesn't know where he fits until he meets Ty, a young Black punk who introduces him to the school outsiders—skaters, unhappy young rebels, caught ...
016: Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson
February 21, 2023 12:00 - 56 minutes - 51.2 MBJustice Warriors Vol. 1 is out NOW from Ahoy Comics and available wherever books are sold. Buy it from your local bookstore or comic shop! It's a wild satire, disgusting but delightfully so – it’s one of the most unique comics on the shelves. How did these two storytellers get together? How did Matt Bors decide to step away from political cartooning to cowrite this story about a cop made out of poop with Ben Clarkson, an experienced artist and storyteller in painting, illustration, and anim...
015: Daniel Joshua Rubin
February 15, 2023 20:15 - 1 hour - 61.9 MBAuthor of 27 Essential Principles of Story Daniel Joshua Rubin joined me for Ledger to chat about his book, writing in general and so much more. He's written for the stage, for TV, screenplays and new media, and now this "here's why" book about writing. We discuss why book blurbs work, how important knowing yourself is to writing, battling our inner critics, and even sort of dead low-level mobsters and how their existence can help you. Visit Daniel online at www.danieljoshuarubin.com and w...
014: Bella Poynton
February 05, 2023 17:43 - 1 hour - 64.3 MBBella Poynton is a playwright, director, actor, and theatre scholar. She's the director of the Playwrights’ Wing at First Look Buffalo Theatre Company in Buffalo, NY; literary manager for Post-Industrial Productions and is also the director of Queen City Playwrights, Buffalo’s new play development workshop for career playwrights in Western New York. Her plays have been featured in The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2019, The Best American Short Plays 2018-2019, and The Weirdest Plays of 2020. We...
013: Max Booth III
November 23, 2022 14:38 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBMax Booth III is the publisher of Ghoulish Books and the author of novels such as Maggots Screaming and Touch the Night, along with his forthcoming collection Abnormal Statistics. We discuss the importance of the word "punk" in the sub-genre splatterpunk, the personal nature of his story "Indiana Death Song," and why exactly we feel the need to not only write, but to release the stories out into the world, plus a whole lot more. You can find Ghoulish Books and Max at https://linktr.ee/ghouli...
012: Stephanie M. Wytovich
November 07, 2022 14:46 - 1 hour - 55.2 MBStephanie M. Wytovich is the editor of Writing Poetry In the Dark, a collection of essays about poetry, creativity, and writing in general. She is the poetry editor for Raw Dog Screaming Press, a college professor, and an author of poetry and prose fiction. You can find her work at StephanieMWytovich.com or stephaniewytovich.blogspot.com. Is literally everything poetry? Why do we associate "bad poetry" with the entire artform of poetry? How does editing guide all she does and how did she ar...
011: EV Knight
September 24, 2022 17:37 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBEV Knight is the author of The Fourth Whore, which won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel, and Three Days In the Pink Tower out now from Creature Publishing. Why do writers bury themselves under guilt? Are writers in fact the weirdest people currently living? How many drafts of a story does she normally create? What was it like to go from writing The Fourth Whore to accepting a Bram Stoker Award for it? We cover all this and more! Make sure you visit EVKnightA...
Bookstores to Visit: Bucket O’ Blood
July 16, 2022 17:29 - 7 minutes - 7.55 MBBucket O' Blood is located in Chicago, IL at 3182 N Elston Ave and is filled with horror, sci-fi/fantasy, and welcoming vibes. They sell records, movies, and used/new books and are an essential destination for anyone wanting to buy a story or two that will take them on an adventure. You can find them online here: https://www.bucketoblood.com/ Please visit austinRwilson.com/Ledger to see photos of Bucket O' Blood as well as my recent bookhaul! If you visit the shop let me know, and especial...
010: Brenda Tolian
June 23, 2022 14:56 - 1 hour - 54.3 MBBlood Mountain, by this episode's guest Brenda Tolian is "A mosaic of mountain songs that penetrate all the way to the beating, blood heart." That's what Josh Malerman says. Brenda Tolian talks about her relationship to Colorado, the importance of telling its stories from indigenous perspectives, why the Bible is actually like really scary, and so much more! Make sure you visit Raw Dog Screaming Press to pick up a copy of Blood Mountain, right here: https://rawdogscreaming.com/books/blood-...
009: Jessica McHugh
June 11, 2022 20:28 - 1 hour - 55.8 MB"A cosmic horror exploration of sisterhood and feminine rage." That's how Jessica McHugh describes her next book of blackout poetry based on the classic Little Women. It will be published from Apokrupha, which is also the publisher of her book A Complex Accident of Life. We discuss two novels she has coming out in 2022 from Ghoulish Books. The first book, Rabbits In the Garden is a reprint coming out in August 2022. Its sequel, Hares In the Hedgerow is a "crazy, cult horror [and] a big love...
008: Tim Waggoner
May 18, 2022 20:51 - 1 hour - 84 MBTerror and delight circle one another in the darkness and Bram Stoker Award-winning author Tim Waggoner is there to guide them directly into your heart. Over the course of more than 50 novels, seven collections, and 20 media tie-in novels Tim has scared, shocked, and entertained readers with his tales of horror. Another thing he's done is teach, both in a classroom and on the page. His non-fiction book Writing In the Dark won the 2020 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement In Non-Fictio...
007: Keely Shinners
May 02, 2022 13:31 - 53 minutes - 69.9 MBWhat is the journey like from idea to a published book for a first-time author? Keely Shinners chatted with Ledger about their book How To Build a Home for the End of the World, out now from Perennial Press. Keely discusses the five-year process for writing their first novel, who did those eye-catching sketches in the inside covers of the book, and the "deferred gratification" of writing a novel. Aside from longform fiction, Keely writes short fiction, essays, and is also an art critic. The...
006: Daniel Kraus
March 23, 2022 15:25 - 1 hour - 93.1 MBDaniel Kraus, author of The Ghost That Ate Us (out in July 2022 from Raw Dog Screaming Press), The Living Dead, Bent Heavens, Trollhunters, and The Shape of Water stopped by Ledger! His newest book is the tale of a poltergeist in a fast-food restaurant, written as a true-crime tale. We discussed how he had to reverse engineer characters/story for that novel, his general writing schedule, whether he's afraid of anything at all, and how George A. Romero is one of his favorite artists of all t...
005: Tommy Dean
February 05, 2022 19:51 - 1 hour - 107 MBTommy Dean writes and edits flash fiction and also teaches creative writing courses that focus on flash fiction as well as writing in general. He stopped by Ledger to talk about flash - which are usually stories of 1,000 words or less - including Hollow, a collection of his work out through Alternating Current Press. What does success look like for a writer? Is writing flash easier than writing long-form fiction? How does Tommy write and edit his own work (including how those processes are a...
004: Robin Sloan
January 15, 2022 18:05 - 1 hour - 100 MBRobin Sloan’s first novel, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, was a New York Times Best Seller, translated into more than twenty languages. His latest novel, Sourdough, was published in 2017. With his partner Kathryn Tomajan, Robin produces California extra virgin olive oil under the label Fat Gold. He lives in Oakland and works out of the Murray Street Media Lab, down by the railroad tracks. Mr. Sloan stopped by Ledger to talk about computer coding, the ways it intersects with fiction/novel...
003: Alec Nevala-Lee
December 12, 2021 18:24 - 1 hour - 87.5 MBAlec Nevala-Lee is the author of "Astounding," a group biography of John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and L. Ron Hubbard. He's written three novels, a lot of short stories, and has published non-fiction in the New York Times and the L.A. Times. Alec stopped by to chat about sci-fi as a genre, that famous quote about the "Golden Age" of sci-fi being 12, how long it took him to write this book (plus his forthcoming bio on Buckminster Fuller), and the relationship between a w...
Ledger - 002: Erika Swyler
November 20, 2021 18:02 - 1 hour - 54.5 MBAuthor Erika Swyler has written two novels, The Book of Speculation and Light From Other Stars, and has received starred reviews from both Booklist and Kirkus. She chats with Ledger about her writing process, the reasons she bristles at certain points of view in stories, her super-secret softcore erotica novel (shhhh), and which videogames she loves. Thank you so much to Erika for being the first interview on Ledger. Visit her website at erikaswyler.com to subscribe to her newsletter and st...
002: Erika Swyler
November 20, 2021 18:02 - 1 hour - 54.5 MBAuthor Erika Swyler has written two novels, The Book of Speculation and Light From Other Stars, and has received starred reviews from both Booklist and Kirkus. She chats with Ledger about her writing process, the reasons she bristles at certain points of view in stories, her super-secret softcore erotica novel (shhhh), and which videogames she loves. Thank you so much to Erika for being the first interview on Ledger. Visit her website at erikaswyler.com to subscribe to her newsletter and st...
Ledger - 001: How Do You Start?
October 24, 2021 21:01 - 7 minutes - 6.39 MBThe first episode of Ledger is here! It's a writing podcast that will be 95% interviews with a sprinkling of news from the publishing world as well as about my own projects. Go to @LedgerBooks or @AustinRwilson on Twitter to comment on the show or click on Contact over on austinRwilson.com. Let's talk about writing!
001: How Do You Start?
October 24, 2021 21:01 - 7 minutes - 6.39 MBThe first episode of Ledger is here! It's a writing podcast that will be 95% interviews with a sprinkling of news from the publishing world as well as about my own projects. Go to @Ledger_Podcast or @AustinRwilson on Twitter to comment on the show or click on Contact over on austinRwilson.com. Let's talk about writing!