QWERTY: A Podcast for Writers on How to Live the Writing Life
220 episodes - English - Latest episode: 12 days ago - ★★★★★ - 78 ratingsWelcome to Qwerty, the podcast for writers on how to live the writing life. Host Marion Roach Smith interviews the best writers in all genres to discover their process. Qwerty is by, about and for writers and explores the real challenges of writing and the steps anyone can take to become a better storyteller. Listen in for writing tips, publishing advice and encouragement on how to live the writing life.
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Episodes
Ep. 124 Margaret Juhae Lee
June 28, 2024 04:00 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBMargaret Juhae Lee has been been published in The Nation, Newsday, Elle, ARTnews, The Advocate, The Progressive and most recently in The Rumpus and Ploughshares Blog. She received a Bunting Fellowship from Harvard University and a Korean Studies Fellowship from the Korean Foundation in support of research for her recently published book, book, Starry Field: A Memoir of Lost History, published by Melville House. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly...
Ep. 123 Lissa Soep
June 14, 2024 04:00 - 30 minutes - 28 MBLissa Soep knows how to reanimate the voices of the dead, and she is here to teach you how to get those voices into your memoir writing. She is a senior editor for audio at Vox Media and special projects producer and senior scholar-in-residence at YR Media. She has a PhD from Stanford, where she studied education, social theory, and linguistic anthropology with leading Bakhtin scholars. She lives in San Francisco. Lissa has co-led teams honored with Peabody, Murrow, Kennedy, IRE, Gracie and ...
Ep. 122 Alicia D. Williams
May 31, 2024 04:00 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBStoryteller, actor and award-winning author, Alicia D. Williams is on The Qwerty Podcast to talk about her new book, Mid Air, illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff and just published by Atheneum. Her book, Genesis Begins Again received the Newberry and Kirkus Prize honors, and was a William C. Morris Award finalist and won the Coretta Scott King- John Steptoe Award for New Talent. She is also the author of the picture books, Jump at the Sun and The Talk. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by t...
Ep. 121 Michael Jamin
May 17, 2024 04:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBMichael Jamin is an Emmy-nominated screenwriter who has been writing for television since 1996, and whose credits include Just Shoot Me, King of the Hill, Beavis & Butthead, Wilfred, Out of Practice, and Rules of Engagement. He’s also served as Executive Producer/Showrunner on Glenn Martin DDS, Maron, and Rhett & Link’s Buddy System. If you are interested in how to write book-length memoir in essays, his new book will show you how, one essay at a time. It's called, A Paper Orchestra, and is...
Ep. 120 Janet Skeslian Charles
May 03, 2024 04:00 - 27 minutes - 25.1 MBJanet Skeslien Charles is a New York Times and international bestselling author whose work has been translated into 37 languages. Her shorter work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Sydney Morning Herald, and Montana Noir. Her 2021 novel, The Paris Library, became an instant New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today bestseller upon release. Originally from Montana, she lives in Paris and has just released Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade, published by Atria. Listen in and read along as w...
Ep. 119 Hal Schrieve
April 19, 2024 04:00 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBHal Schrieve is the author of the 2019 book, Out of Salem, selected for the National Book Award Long List for Young People’s Literature. Hal works as a children’s librarian at the New York Public Library. As a librarian, Hal has written educator guides to other queer books for children and teens. Hal has had poetry in Vetch magazine, and is featured in Stacked Deck Press’s 2018 trans comics anthology We’re Still Here. Hal writes queer fiction for young people and writes comics and zines. Hal...
Ep. 118 Suzette Mullen
April 05, 2024 04:00 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBSuzette Mullen is the author of the new memoir, The Only Way Through is Out, just out from the University of Wisconsin Press. She is the founder of Your Story Finder, where she provides nonfiction book coaching. In 2021, she published a Tiny Love Story in The New York Times that was the seed that became her new book. Listen as she and host Marion Roach Smith discuss how to go from a short piece of memoir to a book, and so much more. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir...
Ep. 117 Kevin Baker
March 22, 2024 04:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBAuthor, historian, essayist, bestselling novelist and commentator Kevin Baker has just published part one of his long-awaited two-part look into baseball and the city that formed it and was formed by it. Called The New York Game: Baseball and The Rise of a New City (Knopf, 2024), this was a labor of love from a super fan of both the city and the game. In our interview on the Qwerty podcast, we discuss the sport, the city and how a historian does his work. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you...
Ep. 116 Ani Gjika
March 08, 2024 05:00 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBAuthor, essayist, poet and activist Ani Gjika is an Albanian-born poet, literary translator, writer, and author of Bread on Running Waters (Fenway Press, 2013). A finalist for the 2011 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize and 2011 May Sarton New Hampshire Book Prize, she moved to the US at age 18 and earned an MA in English at Simmons College and an MFA in poetry at Boston University. Her honors include awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, English PEN, the Robert Pinsky Glo...
Ep. 115 Meg Kissinger
February 16, 2024 05:00 - 27 minutes - 25 MBWriter and author Meg Kissinger spent more than two decades traveling across the country to report on America’s mental health system for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A Pulitzer Prize finalist, she has won two George Polk Awards, the Robert F. Kennedy Award, awards from Investigative Reporters and Editors, and two National Journalism Awards. Kissinger teaches investigative reporting at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and was a visiting professor at DePauw University, he...
Ep. 114 Taylor Brorby
February 09, 2024 05:00 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBWriter, essayist, speaker and activist Taylor Brorby is the author of Boys and Oil, Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land, a NYT Editors’ Choice published in 2022 by Liveright, a division of W.W. Norton. He is also the author of Crude: Poems, Coming Alive: Action and Civil Disobedience, and he is the co-editor of Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, LitHub, Orion Magazine, The Arkansas International, South...
Ep. 113 Felice Cohen
January 26, 2024 05:00 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBKnown nationally and internationally as the woman who lived in one of the world’s smallest apartments, Felice Cohen is the award-winning author of the bestselling books Half In: A Coming-of-Age Memoir of Forbidden Love, 90 Lessons for Living Large in 90 Square Feet (...or More) (inspired by the YouTube video of her tiny NYC studio with over 25 million views) and What Papa Told Me, about her grandfather’s life before, during and after the Holocaust. Felice has been featured on Good Morning Am...
Ep. 112 Kate Cohen
January 12, 2024 05:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBWashington Post contributing columnist and author Kate Cohen writes about American culture. Her new book, We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (and Maybe You Should Too), is just out. Listen in as we discuss her book, writing about faith and the loss of it, and so much more. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, ...
Ep. 111 Joanna Penn
December 29, 2023 05:00 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBMega-bestselling author Joanna Penn, whose 40 books span several genres, has now written a memoir after making three separate solo pilgrimage walks. The walks and this new book, Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways, allowed her to define for herself her personal definition of being a seeker. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the bookThe Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what...
Ep. 110 Kristin Jarvis Adams
December 15, 2023 05:00 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBWhen writer, author and advocate Kristin Jarvis Adams pitched a potential publisher on her book, she began with a sentence so startling that it made the publisher ask her to breakfast. The book that followed was full of such sentences. This is a conversation about an unlikely book on an nearly impossible topic to sell that worked. Be inspired by her tale. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-S...
Ep. 109 Virginia Sole-Smith
November 24, 2023 05:00 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBWriter, author and advocate Virginia Sole-Smith knows how to write into other's biases, and she writes right into them, giving us new language while she explores diet culture, anti-fat bias, feminism and health. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free n...
Ep. 108 Allison K. Williams
November 10, 2023 05:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBAllison K. Williams utilized her years as what she calls an "unkind editor" to write and publish her fine book, Seven Drafts: Self-Edit like a Pro from Page to Book, which she discusses here on the Qwerty podcast. This skillfully constructed book breaks down the process of writing and self-editing into seven definitive drafts – the vomit draft, the story draft, the Character draft, the technical draft, the personal copyedit, the friend read and the editor read. Listen in and learn. The QWE...
Ep. 107 Kerri Maher
October 27, 2023 04:00 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBKerri Maher knows how to choose topics to write about. The author of the USA Today bestseller, The Paris Bookseller, is back with one of the most compelling topics of our time. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 106 Matt Mendez
October 13, 2023 04:00 - 33 minutes - 31 MBMatt Mendez is the author of Barely Missing Everything, his debut novel, and the short story collection Twitching Heart. He writes from places that have been traiditonally ignored and brings his perspective to his work. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 105 Roxan Mcdonald
September 29, 2023 04:00 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBhttps://www.spiritual-af.com/ https://www.resourceforwriters.com/
Ep. 104 Alice Carriere
September 15, 2023 04:00 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBAlice Carriere has written a dynamic debut memoir from her unconventional, big downtown New York life. Raised in the art scene, she is practically burdened with great, vivid material, including a supporting cast of celebrity artists, actors and infuencers. How to write a memoir from a vivid, troubled upbringing? Like this. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Li...
Ep. 103 Michele Cushatt
July 21, 2023 04:00 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBHow to write memoir from the middle of the mess? Perhaps the expert on this is author Michele Cushatt, whose books from Zondervan, provide readers with the guidance to read and live through life's complications. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 102 Dave Pelzer
July 07, 2023 04:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBDave Pelzer, bestselling author of A Child Called It and Qwerty podcast host Marion Roach Smith talk about writing from a place of helping others. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 101 Lamya H
June 23, 2023 04:00 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBHow to write an anonymous memoir with Lamya H, author of Hijab Butch Blues. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 100 Robin Schepper
June 02, 2023 04:00 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBHow to write a braided memoir? Author Robin Schepper and host Marion Roach Smith take on the topic of the braided memoir in this episode of The Qwerty podcast. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 99 Elizabeth Rau
May 19, 2023 04:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBJournalist and essaying Elizabeth Rau speaks with host Marion Roach Smith about the power of the personal essay, how to write from everyday life, and how to publish an essay collection in this episode of The Qwerty Podcast. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 98 Jennifer De Leon: A Podcast for Writers on How to Live the Writing Life
May 05, 2023 04:00 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBOn this episode of The Qwerty podcast, the award-winning Young Adult writer, Jennifer De Leon, discusses how to make a writing career by writing what you know Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 97 Rona Maynard
April 21, 2023 04:00 - 30 minutes - 28 MBHow to write dog memoir. Writer and author Rona Maynard talks with Qwerty podcast host Marion Roach Smith about her new book, Starter Dog. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 96 Julie Zickefoose
April 07, 2023 04:00 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBNaturalist, writer, author, illustrator and wildlife rehabilitator, Julie Zickefoose, speaks with Qwerty podcast host Marion Roach Smith about writing from nature. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 95 Rebecca Fogg
March 24, 2023 04:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBMemoirist Rebecca Fogg speaks with Qwerty opdcast host Marion Roach Smith about writing a first memoir and the lessons learned when writing from trauma. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 94 Heinz Insu Fenkl
March 10, 2023 05:00 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBAuthor, translator and professor Heinz Insu Fenkl and host Marion Roach Smith talk about writing from one's own life story and the writing tools available from being an outsider. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 93 Iris Smyles
February 24, 2023 05:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBAuthor, essayist and humorist Iris Smyles and host Marion Roach Smith discuss how to write funny in this latest episode of the Qwerty podcast. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 92 Scott Keyser: A Podcast for Writers on How to Life the Writing Life
February 10, 2023 05:00 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBAuthor Scott Keyser and host Marion Roach Smith discuss the great art of rhetoric on this episode of The Qwerty podcast. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 91 Shirley Showalter
December 30, 2022 05:00 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBAuthor, opinion writer , essayist and speaker Shirley Showalter talks about how to write memoir with host Marion Roach Smith in this episode of the Qwerty podcast, a podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 91 Shirley Showalter: A Podcast for Writers on How to Live the Writing Life
December 30, 2022 05:00 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBAuthor, opinion writer, essayist and speaker Shirley Showalter talks about how to write memoir with host Marion Roach Smith in this episode of the Qwerty podcast, a podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 90 Joanne Tubbs Kelly
December 16, 2022 05:00 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBFirst time author Joanne Tubbs Kelly talks with host Marion Roach Smith on how to write the book you want to read. Listen in as they discuss Kelly's memoir, Walking Him Home: Helping my Husband Die with Dignity, just out from She Writes Press. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 90 Joanne Tubbs Kelly: A Podcast for Writers on How to Live the Writing Life
December 16, 2022 05:00 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBFirst time author Joanne Tubbs Kelly talks with host Marion Roach Smith on how to write the book you want to read. Listen in as they discuss Kelly's memoir, Walking Him Home: Helping my Husband Die with Dignity, just out from She Writes Press. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.
Ep. 89 Lisa Lucca
December 02, 2022 05:00 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBIn episode 89 of The Qwerty Podcast, author Lisa Lucca and host Marion Roach Smith take on the tricky topic of writing about our past while living in the present. Many decisions go into how to characterize ourselves, our family, the times and more as we look from here back to there, especially when viewed through the lens of changing cultural norms. In 1974, when the author's father came out as gay, the family blew apart. Looking back, now with the eyes of a devoted ally, Lisa Lucca talks ab...
Ep. 89 Lisa Lucca: A Podcast for Writers on How to Live the Writing Life
December 02, 2022 05:00 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBIn episode 89 of The Qwerty Podcast, author Lisa Lucca and host Marion Roach Smith take on the tricky topic of writing about our past while living in the present. Many decisions go into how to characterize ourselves, our family, the times and more as we look from here back to there, especially when viewed through the lens of changing cultural norms. In 1974, when the author's father came out as gay, the family blew apart. Looking back, now with the eyes of a devoted ally, Lisa Lucca talks ab...
Ep. 88 Amy Biancolli
November 18, 2022 05:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBIn this episode of The Qwerty podcast, we discuss how to write memoir about loss and grief with Amy Biancolli, author of two memoirs on that topic. Amy is a staff writer for Mad in America, an online site that takes on global mental health. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own ...
Ep. 88 Amy Biancolli: A Podcast for Writers on How to Live the Writing Life
November 18, 2022 05:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBIn this episode of The Qwerty podcast, we discuss how to write memoir about loss and grief with Amy Biancolli, author of two memoirs on that topic. Amy is a staff writer for Mad in America, an online site that takes on global mental health. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own jo...
Ep. 87 Shayla Raquel: A Podcast for Writers on How to Live the Writing Life
November 04, 2022 04:00 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MBHow and when should writers and authors promote themselves? Author branding maven Shayla Raquel walks us through everything you need to know about author branding in this episode of The Qwerty podcast. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life.
Ep. 87 Shayla Raquel
November 04, 2022 04:00 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MBHow and when should writers and authors promote themselves? Author branding maven Shayla Raquel walks us through everything you need to know about author branding in this episode of The Qwerty podcast. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life.
Ep. 86 Beth Lapides
October 21, 2022 04:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBFounder of UnCabaret and author of the audiobook So You Need to Decide, Beth and QWERTY podcast host Marion Roach Smith discuss the format of writing and recording an audiobook. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life.
Ep. 86 Beth Lapides: A Podcast for Writers on How to Live the Writing Life
October 21, 2022 04:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBFounder of UnCabaret and author of the audiobook So You Need to Decide, Beth and QWERTY podcast host Marion Roach Smith discuss the format of writing and recording an audiobook. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life.
Ep. 85 Martha Anne Toll: A Podcast for Writers on How to Live the Writing Life
October 07, 2022 04:00 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBNovelist, book reviewer and essayist Martha Anne Toll is on episode 85 of The Qwerty podcast to discuss writing fiction from the large themes of life. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. https://marionroach.com/
Ep. 85 Martha Anne Toll
October 07, 2022 04:00 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBNovelist, book reviewer and essayist Martha Anne Toll is on episode 85 of The Qwerty podcast to discuss writing fiction from the large themes of life. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. https://marionroach.com/
Ep. 84 Zoe Sivak: A Podcast for Writers on How to Live the Writing Life
September 23, 2022 04:00 - 29 minutes - 27 MBDebut novelist Zoe Sivak is on episode 84 of The Qwerty podcast with host Marion Roach Smith to discuss restoring diversity to historical narratives. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. https://marionroach.com/
Ep. 84 Zoe Sivak
September 23, 2022 04:00 - 29 minutes - 27 MBDebut novelist Zoe Sivak is on episode 84 of The Qwerty podcast with host Marion Roach Smith to discuss restoring diversity to historical narratives. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. https://marionroach.com/
Ep. 83 Carolyn Sloan
August 19, 2022 04:00 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBWriter, composer, musician and performer Carolyn Sloan is on episode 83 of the Qwerty podcast to talk about how to live the creative life with host Marion Roach Smith. Qwerty is the podcast by, for and about writers. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. https://marionroach.com/