NWP Radio

The Write Time with Songwriter/Storyteller Rob Rokicki and Educator Kevin Hodgson

Rob Rokicki is an NYC-based artist and educator. He wrote the music, lyrics, and co-orchestrated the Broadway show, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (book by Joe Tracz); nominated for a Lortel, Off-Broadway Alliance, and three Drama Desk Awards. His graphic novel/musical, Monstersongs (National Alliance for Musical Theatre official selection), is played internationally and is being developed as a VR game. He’s a two-time Larson Award finalist, an alum of the BMI Workshop, and a...

Experiments in Reflection: A Conversation with Leticia Britos Cavagnaro

Today we visit with Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, author of Experiments in Reflection. Leticia is a developmental biologist turned design educator, who has been a part of Stanford University’s d.school since 2006. She co-founded and co-directs the University Innovation Fellows program, impacting students and educators worldwide. Leticia’s work integrates emerging technologies in creative methods to foster self-directed and responsible future shapers.

Monarch: A Conversation with Poet Heather Bourbeau

Heather Bourbeau’s award-winning poetry and fiction have appeared in The Irish Times, The Kenyon Review, Meridian, and The Stockholm Review of Literature. She has been featured on KALW and the San Francisco Public Library’s Poem of the Day, and her writings are part of the Special Collections at the James Joyce Library, University College Dublin. Her collection Some Days The Bird is a poetry conversation with the Irish-Australian poet Anne Casey (Beltway Editions, 2022). Her latest collectio...

Getting Schooled On Resistance: a Conversation with Cindy Urbanski

Join us for a conversation with Cindy Urbanski, PhD, author of Getting Schooled on Resistance: An Exploration of Clashing Narratives in Urban School Reform. Urbanski has worked with writing and writers in some capacity for 30 years. Currently her projects consist of making space for stories in the world that have formerly been untold and/or underrepresented.  Through her degree in K-12 Urban Literacy, work with the National Writing Project, her teaching at the 6-12 level as well as the unde...

The Write Time with Author Jennifer Baker and Educator Lauren Donovan

Jennifer Baker is a publishing professional of 20 years, the creator/host of the Minorities in Publishing podcast, a faculty member of the MFA program in Creative Nonfiction at Bay Path University, and a writing consultant at Baruch College. Formerly a contributing editor to Electric Literature, she received a 2017 NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship and a Queens Council on the Arts New Work Grant for Nonfiction Literature. Her essay "What We Aren't (or the Ongoing Divide)" was listed as a Notable Essay i...

The Write Time with Author Patricia Park and Educator Joanna Dalton

Patricia Park is a tenured professor of creative writing at American University, a Fulbright Scholar in Creative Arts, an Edith Wharton Writer-in-Residence, and a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow. She is the author of the YA novel, Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim, and the adult novel, Re Jane, a retelling of Jane Eyre named New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, winner of an American Library Association Award, an NPR Fresh Air pick, and others. She’s written for the Ne...

Costco A-Z: A Visit with the Authors, David and Susan Schwartz

Join us for an engaging discussion featuring David and Susan Schwartz, authors of The Joy of Costco: A Treasure Hunt from A-Z. We'll be diving into their writing process and exploring why Costco holds a special place in their hearts. It's a great opportunity to learn more about the book and gain insights into their unique perspective on Costco and their creative journey.

Civics for the World to Come

Civics for the World to Come is a call to action, encouraging us all to reimagine our roles as educators and shift the purpose of schooling together. Providing a framework with suggestions for dialogue along with case studies from the classroom, this book is offered as a resource for teachers to start this journey, pragmatically but urgently. Listen to this NWP Radio interview with Drs. Nicole Mirra and Antero Garcia about their new book, Civics for the World to Come: Committing to Democracy...

The Write Time with Gholdy Muhammad and Stacey Joy

Dr. Muhammad is an Associate Professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and she has previously served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, school district administrator, curriculum director, and school board president. She studies Black historical excellence in education, intending to reframe curriculum and instruction today. Dr. Muhammad’s scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals and books. She has also received numerous natio...

The Write Time with Don P. Hooper and Abimbola Cole Kai-Lewis

This episode of The Write Time features Don P. Hooper, a writer and filmmaker of Jamaican heritage (and a programmer in a former life). His short story “Got Me a Jet Pack” is part of the New York Times bestselling anthology Black Boy Joy. His directing work has been featured in the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, the NY TV Film Festival (award winner), the New York City Horror Film Festival, the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival (award winner), and more. He does voice...

The Write Time with Write Out, Featuring Nikki Grimes, Willeena Booker, and Maryann Zujewski

NWP’s The Write Time will “Write Out” this month by welcoming poet and author Nikki Grimes discussing her new children’s book, A Walk in the Woods. She is interviewed by elementary school teacher and poet Willeena Booker and Park Ranger Maryann Zujewski. New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2022 CSK Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the ALAN Award for significant contributions to young adult literature, the Children's Literature Legacy Medal, an...

Intersections Of Poetry, Prose, and Place: A Visit with Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument

Write Out, a program of the National Writing Project and the National Park Service, welcomes the poet-Ranger team of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument: Alabama State Poet Laureate Ashley Jones, Magic City Festival Earth Poet Nabila Lovelace, and Park Ranger Kat Gardiner. They share their work with youth and other community members exploring the intersections of poetry, prose, and place. Related links/resources: Podcast - Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument (U.S. National ...

The Write Time with Meghan Wilson Duff and Kate Dickerson

Don’t miss this episode of The Write Time featuring Kate Dickerson, executive director of the Maine Discovery Museum, interviewing Meghan Wilson Duff, about their children’s book, How Are You, Verity? in which Verity, a neurodivergent child with a love for sea creatures, interacts with neighbors to discover the true meaning behind greetings and salutations. Like many authors interviewed on The Write Time, Duff says they wanted to make the book they wish they’d had when they were a child. The...

The Write Time with Author/Activist Luma Mufleh and Educators Jessica Baldizon and William King

Luma Mufleh is an activist, twice-published author, entrepreneur, coach, and thought leader in refugee and English Language Learner Education. As an asylee, as well as daughter and granddaughter of Syrian refugees, Luma continues to draw on her personal experiences to fuel her passion for empowering refugees and immigrant children through education. In 2006, she founded Fugees Family, the only network of schools in the U.S. dedicated to refugee and immigrant education. Luma’s work is not onl...

Literacies Before Technologies

In this NWP Radio episode we are joined by Troy Hicks and Jill Runstrom of the Chippewa River Writing Project as they discuss their new book Literacies Before Technologies: Making Digital Tools Matter for Middle Grades Learners. In this book, recently published by NCTE as part of their Principles in Practice series, Jill and Troy—alongside several other colleagues—share their classroom practices as they inquiry into the Beliefs for Integrating Technology into the English Language Arts Classr...

Inner Realms Journey

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Aaron Pyne, creator of Inner Realms Journey, a fantasy-themed adventure game in which  participants embark on a series of audio-guided meditative experiences. If you can imagine the place where role-playing games, meditation, and mindfulness meet for fun and learning, you might be close to Inner Realms Journey. Come hear all about it.

The Write Time with Author Janae Marks, Educator Terri Fredrick, and Tesla

Janae Marks is the New York Times bestselling author of middle-grade novels, From the Desk of Zoe Washington, A Soft Place to Land, and On Air with Zoe Washington. She has an MFA in Writing for Children from The New School, and lives in Connecticut with her husband, daughter, and miniature schnauzer named Cookie. Terri Fredrick is a Professor of English and Writing Center Director at Eastern Illinois University. She is also the director of the Eastern Illinois Writing Project. She and her d...

The Write Time with Author Nikki Grimes and Educator Barrett Rosser

New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2022 CSK Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the ALAN Award for significant contributions to young adult literature, the Children's Literature Legacy Medal, and the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. The author of Coretta Scott King Award-winner Bronx Masquerade, her most recent titles include the YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults title Between the Lines, companion to Bronx Masquerade. Ms. Grime...

Protecting Ourselves, and Our Most Vulnerable Students, with Words

In this episode, Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr., the 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, talks about his experiences advocating for Black, brown, and LGBTQ students in often hostile education environments. Carver talks about the difficulties minoritized students and teachers are facing as well as some of the ways teachers and students can resist and attempt to protect their students in this atmosphere, drawing on his own experiences and those of other teachers. He will also share some works ...

The Write Time with Author Ralph Fletcher and Educator Tracey Flores

Ralph Fletcher, a member of the NWP Writers Council, has been a long-time mentor to teachers and young writers and has helped generations of teachers understand the importance of letting go and trusting their writers. Ralph Fletcher has written over fifty books for writing teachers and young readers including Joy Write, Nonfiction Craft Lessons, What a Writer Needs, Focus Lessons: How Photography Enhances the Teaching of Writing, and The Writing Teacher’s Companion. His most recent books ar...

Next Generation Genres with Jessica Early

How can we remix writing instruction to invite students to write across a range of genres? How might a genre framework for teaching writing support students in writing for specific audiences and purpose? Listen to this NWP Radio interview to hear Dr. Jessica Singer Early talk about her new book Next Generation Genres: Teaching Writing for Civic and Academic Engagement.

How do we support young people to tell the truth/make a difference?

Join us for a conversation about our educational WHY and how we can support students to become their best selves. We’ll be talking with portrait artist Robert Shetterly, and educators Connie Carter and Richard Koch. Related Links from the Show Americans Who Tell the Truth The Mindful Writing Workshop

Object Lessons with Amanda Parrish Morgan

NWP Radio host Tanya Baker visits with author, educator, and NWP Writers Council member Amanda Parrish Morgan. Amanda shares about her writing/teaching life and how her book Strollers came to be.

The Write Time with Educator-Authors Tonya Perry, Katy Smith, and Steve Zemelman

All of us in education can find opportunities to interrupt the status quo that allows inequities to go unchallenged. In Teaching for Racial Equity: Becoming Interrupters, authors Tonya Perry, Steven Zemelman, and Katy Smith show us the way. In this episode of The Write Time, listen to the authors talk about the making and use of this professional text. Tonya B. Perry is the director of the Red Mountain Writing Project in Birmingham, Alabama. She also is the vice provost of Miles College, a ...

The Write Time with Author Yohuru Williams and Educator Joe Anson

Dr. Yohuru Williams is a distinguished University Chair, Professor of History, and the founding Director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas. He received his Ph.D. from Howard University in 1998 and is the author and editor of several books including Rethinking the Black Freedom Movement and Black Power/White Politics: Civil Rights, Black Power, and Black Panthers in New Haven. Dr. Williams has appeared on a variety of local and national radio and television pro...

The Write Time with Author Sonya Huber and Educator Michelle Caruso Walker

Sonya Huber is the author of seven books, including the new guide, Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto, and the award-winning essay collection on chronic pain, Pain Woman Takes Your Keys and Other Essays from a Nervous System. Her other books include Supremely Tiny Acts: A Memoir in a Day, Opa Nobody, Cover Me: A Health Insurance Memoir, and The Backwards Research Guide for Writers. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, and other outlets. She teaches at Fai...

The Write Time with Educators Rose Brock, Jill Stedronsky, and Author James Ponti

Rose Brock, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Library Science at Sam Houston State University, is a veteran educator and advocate for using audiobooks as a tool for literacy and is the cofounder of the national literacy initiative Guys Listen, a part of the Guys Read literacy national program. Dr. Brock was awarded the Siddie Joe Johnson Award for Outstanding Service to Youth by the Texas Library Association and is cofounder of NTTBF, the North Texas Teen Book Festival. She is...

The Write Time with Authors Mayra Cuevas, Marie Marquardt, and Educator Bryn Orum

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Mayra Cuevas is the author of the teen novels Does My Body Offend You? and Salty, Bitter, Sweet. Her short story Resilient was published as part of the anthology FORESHADOW. Mayra is an award-winning producer for CNN and co-founder of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival. She keeps her sanity by practicing Buddhist meditation. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, her two stepsons, their fluffy cat and a very loud Chihuahua. Marie Marquardt is author of YA novels...

The Write Time with Author Gordon Korman and Educator Allison Fallon

Gordon Korman introduces himself as a regular guy who just happened to write 100 books for kids and adolescent readers. Born in Montreal in October of 1963, his writing career began in the seventh grade when he took English with his track coach. Then, he was challenged to write every day for more than four months and he finished his first novel, This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall! With his mother as his typist, he sent it to Scholastic and just like that, Korman was published as a fre...

The Good Asian with Pornsak Pichetshote

Join NWP Radio for a visit with author and NWP Writers Council member Pornsak Pichetshote. Pichetshote was a Thai-American rising star editor at DC’s Vertigo imprint where he worked on such comics perennials as The Sandman and Swamp Thing. His books have been nominated for dozens of Eisner awards—be it the award-winning Daytripper, the New York Times bestseller The Unwritten, or critical darlings like Sweet Tooth and Unknown Soldier. He left Vertigo to become an executive in DC Entertainment...

Leading from the Jumpseat

Join us for this episode of NWP Radio in which we will talk to Peter Docker, former member of the Royal Air Force, about his new book Leading from the Jumpseat.

The Write Time with Author Rachel Ignotofsky and Educator Bryan Ripley Crandall

Rachel Ignotofsky is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, based in Santa Barbara. She grew up in New Jersey on a healthy diet of cartoons and pudding and graduated from Tyler School of Art in 2011. Her work is inspired by history and science. She believes that illustration is a powerful tool that can make learning exciting. She has a passion for taking dense information and making it fun and accessible. Rachel hopes to use her work to spread her message about scientific liter...

Design for Belonging

Join us for this episode of NWP Radio in which we talk to Susie Wise about her new book Design for Belonging, a Stanford d.school guide. In her book, Susie talks about what it means to belong and some of the contexts, or moments, that can be designed using particular levers like space, role, ritual, and groupings. The Design for Belonging website also includes toolkits and resources to get started, wherever you are.

#queercomposing: A Virtual Open Summer Institute Focused on Composing the Multiplicities of Our Experiences

This summer, teachers are invited to join together with scholars, artists, and authors to strengthen writing and multimodal composing practices in a virtual, open institute co-sponsored by three MIchigan Writing Project sites. This NWP Radio show invited facilitators to describe how they will support participants in coming together to create brave spaces in writing instruction that centers writing and composing models at the intersections of queer, BIPOC, and feminist voices; that center int...

Get Your Ducks in a Rowe

Interested in what writing looks and feels like outside of school in those professions that depend on writing like marketing or public relations? Join us for this conversation about writing in the work-a-day worlds marketing and business with Jim Rowe, author of Get Your Ducks in a Rowe. Rowe, who has worked, coached, and supported writers in these fields talks about what kind of support writers need when their goals are clarity and brevity.

The Write Time with Authors Gilly Segal, Kimberly Jones, and Educator Charline Barger

Gilly Segal grew up in Florida, and graduated from Hebrew University, and finally decided to call Decatur, Georgia home. By day, she’s the chief legal officer of an advertising agency. By night, she is a caped crusader! No, just kidding (she wishes). Her real not-so-secret identity is author. She’s been writing in one form or another since she wrote her first young adult novel–a Sunfire YA romance fanfic–typed out on an electric typewriter. Although she will confess it was titled CLAUDIA, sh...

The Write Time with Sarah J. Donovan, Kristin Bartley Lenz, Stacey Lorinn Joy, and Jayné Penn

Sarah J. Donovan, PhD, is a former junior English language arts teacher of fifteen years and an Assistant Professor of Secondary English Education at Oklahoma State University. She wrote Genocide Literature in Middle and Secondary Classrooms (2016) and the young adult novel, Alone Together (2018). Dr. Donovan was the Books in Review columnist for The ALAN Review (2019) and served as a state representative and board member for The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE (ALAN). She hos...

The Write Time with Educator Stephanie Renee Toliver and Author Natasha Bowen

Natasha Bowen is a writer, a teacher, and a mother of three children. She is of Nigerian and Welsh descent and lives in Cambridge, England, where she grew up. Natasha studied English and creative writing at Bath Spa University before moving to East London, where she taught for nearly ten years. Her debut book Skin of the Sea was inspired by her passion for mermaids and African history. She is obsessed with Japanese and German stationery and spends stupid amounts on notebooks, which she then ...

The Write Time with Educator Fredeisha Harper Darrington and Author Renée Watson

Renée Watson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, educator, and community activist. Her young adult novel, Piecing Me Together (Bloomsbury, 2017) received a Coretta Scott King Award and Newbery Honor. Her children's picture books and novels for teens have received several awards and international recognition. Her poetry and fiction centers around the experiences of Black girls and women, and explores themes of home, identity, and the intersections of race, class, and gender. One of R...

Write Time with Peter Kahn, Natalie Richardson, Christian "Rich Robbins" Robinson, and Poet t.l. sanders

For over twenty years, Peter Kahn has been fortunate to employ the power of poetry to help give voice to those previously unheard. He has been a high school teacher at Oak Park/River Forest High School in Chicago since 1994 and has recently also taught at Roosevelt University. Peter was commended in the National Poetry Competition 2009 and 2017. He is a founding member of Malika’s Kitchen and co-founder of the London Teenage Poetry Slam. Peter holds an MA in English Education from The Ohio S...

Write Now and Write On

In this conversation with Rebecca Harper, director of the Augusta University Writing Project and author of Write Now & Write On: 37 Strategies for Authentic Daily Writing in Every Content Area, we will discuss writing instruction, daily writing, writing across the curriculum, and her upcoming Deeper Dive in the Write Now Teacher Studio.

The Write Time with Author Laura Purdie Salas & Educator Lisa Lapina

Former teacher Laura Purdie Salas believes reading small picture books and poems can have a huge impact on your life. She has written more than 130 books for kids, including Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons (Kirkus Best Books and Parents Magazine Best Books of the Year), the Can Be… series (Bank Street Best Books, IRA Teachers’ Choice), and Bookspeak!: Poems About Books (Minnesota Book Award, NCTE Notable). Laura shares inspiration and practical tips with educators about poetry, nonfic...

The Write Time with Author Tiffany D. Jackson & Educator Delicia Greene

Tiffany D. Jackson is the New York Times Bestselling author of YA novels including the Coretta Scott King— John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning Monday’s Not Coming, the NAACP Image Award-nominated Allegedly, Let Me Hear A Rhyme, Grown, and her latest titles Blackout, White Smoke, and Santa in the City. She received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University, her master of arts in media studies from the New School, and has over a decade in TV/Film experience. The Brooklyn native is ...

Youth Media Beyond the Margins: An Invitation to Teach YR

Join colleagues from the Bay Area Writing Project as they learn alongside youth through a partnership with YRMedia called Teach YR. Through this partnership, teachers dig into the ways that youth media informs, mentors, and pairs with curricular design and the teaching of writing in their context and classrooms. This NWP Radio show will share inspirational media created by youth for public broadcast, explore the connected curriculum that has been created by teachers, and invite participation...

The Write Time with Author-Illustrator K-Fai Steele and Educator Heather Locke

K-Fai Steele is an author-illustrator who grew up in a house built in the 1700s with a printing press her father bought from a magician. She wrote and illustrated A Normal Pig and her latest book is All Eyes on Ozzy! She was a James Marshall Fellow at the University of Connecticut, a Brown Handler Writer in Residence at the San Francisco Public Library, and an Ezra Jack Keats/Kerlan Memorial Fellow at the University of Minnesota. Born in Charlton, Massachusetts, K-Fai now lives in Lausanne, ...

#writeout with Outdoor Afro

Join us for a creative Write Out broadcast led by leaders of Outdoor Afro, the nation’s leading cutting edge network that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. Outdoor Afro leader Leandra Taylor and National Park Ranger Alanna Smith will lead us in creating and customizing journals to use for nature and historic writing. Don’t miss this event, just in time for Write Out and the National Day of Writing. Write Out (#writeout) is a free two-week event, led by the ...

#writeout with Park for Every Classroom

Join us for a “behind the scenes” exclusive as we engage in the power of stories, storytelling, and writing with partners from the Park For Every Classroom project. Park for Every Classroom (PEC) is a National Park Service partnership program that includes a network of educators, partners, and Park Rangers that collaborate to engage communities in place-based learning. In this special Write Out broadcast, we will learn about the work of PEC while we are also taken behind the scenes with Park...

The Write Time with Author Carmen Oliver and Ranger Lessard

Carmen Oliver grew up in Manitoba, Canada, surrounded by lakes and prairie grass where she built tree forts, caught tadpoles, and sailed on homemade rafts. She is the author of the picture book series Bears Make the Best Buddies (Reading, Math, Writing, and Science) as well as the nonfiction picture book biography A Voice for the Spirit Bears: How One Boy Inspired Millions to Save a Rare Animal, a Junior Library Guild spring 2019 pick. She’s also the author of the forthcoming picture books T...

A Conversation with Julia Torres and Noah Waspe about #DisruptTexts

The Write Time with Author Varian Johnson and Educator Kim Tate

Varian Johnson is the author of several novels for children and young adults, including The Parker Inheritance, which won both Coretta Scott King Author Honor and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor awards; The Great Greene Heist, an ALA Notable Children’s book and Kirkus Reviews Best Book; and the graphic novel Twins, illustrated by Shannon Wright, an NPR Best Book. Varian was born in Florence, South Carolina, and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he received a BS in Civil Engineering. He...