Writers on Writing
167 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 38 ratingsWriters on Writing is a weekly podcast hosted by author Barbara DeMarco Barrett and co-host Marrie Stone, on the art and business of writing. More on the show, writers, and writing is at www.writers-on-writing.com.
Use this archive to search for an episode or to browse the episode history.
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Episodes
Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow
December 08, 2020 16:02 - 70 MBAmor Towles, author of A Gentleman in Moscow and The Rules of Civility, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about his novels, short stories, and the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: Nov. 25, 2020) Musical intro, outro, and interludes by Travis Barrett. You can find him on Spotify and Soundcloud.
Nicole Krauss on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
December 04, 2020 18:22 - 38.4 MBNicole Krauss may be best known for her novels, which include Man Walks into a Room, History of Love, Forest Dark, and Great House. But several of her short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, the Atlantic, and elsewhere. For the first time, she's published a collection of her stories and joins Marrie Stone to talk about them. To Be a Man explores issues of gender in its many forms—parenthood, childhood, romantic partnerships, and friendships. The men in her...
Phil Klay on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
November 27, 2020 19:11 - 36.1 MBIn 2014, Phil Klay shocked the literary world with his National Book Award winning visceral short story collection, Redeployment,a multi-dimensional account of the Iraq war based on his four years of service there. Six years later he’s returned with his debut novel, Missionaries, a sensitive and meticulously researched exploration of America’s involvement in foreign wars (notably Columbia, Afghanistan, and Iraq). Following four main characters—two Americans and two Columbians—the nove...
Merrill Markoe on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
November 22, 2020 03:38 - 69.8 MBMerrill Markoe, author of the graphic memoir, We Saw Scenery, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing. They laugh a lot, too. Download audio. Musical intro, outro, and interludes by Travis Barrett. Find more of his music on Spotify. (Broadcast date: Nov. 11, 2020)
Sharon Harrigan on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
November 13, 2020 18:49 - 35.9 MBTrained young as a poet, Sharon Harrigan came later in life to the novel and the memoir. Her debut novel, Half, emerged from an award-winning short story. Sharon joins Marrie Stone to talk about the novel, as well as her circuitous writing path, getting an MFA later in life, and finding the confidence to play with an unconventional point of view. She shares a wealth of writing advice she's received along the way, the advantages of publishing with a university press, and how she discovered th...
Novelist Shari La Pena on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
November 09, 2020 19:51 - 26.9 MBNovelist and writer of domestic thrillers, Shari La Pena, author of The End of Her, discusses her latest novel with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. Download audio. This show is a straight-to-podcast interview. Musical intro and outro by Travis Barrett. Find him on Spotify.
Memoirist Nick Flynn on Writers on Writing
November 06, 2020 19:24 - 68.7 MBNick Flynn, author of This is the Night Our House Will Catch Fire, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about his new memoir, and the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: October 14, 2020) Musical intro and outro by Travis Barrett. Find him on Spotify.
Rumaan Alam on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
November 03, 2020 15:53 - 38.8 MBRumaan Alam’slatest 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 e...
Jess Walter, author of The Cold Millions, on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
October 28, 2020 16:28 - 38.3 MBNovelist 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 Ston...
Jody Forrester & Lucie Britsch on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
October 24, 2020 14:29 - 68.7 MBMemoirist 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. Download audio. (Broadcast date: September 30, 2020)
Novelist John Boyne on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
October 21, 2020 17:31 - 68.7 MBNovelist 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. Download audio. (Broadcast date: September 16, 2020)
Novelist John Boyne on Writers on Writing
October 21, 2020 16:50Novelist 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. Download audio. (Broadcast date: Sept. 16, 2020) Musical intro, outro, and interludes by Travis Barrett. Find more of his music on Spotify.
Stepanie Kent & Logan Smalley, Co-Creators of "The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book," on Writers on Writing — KUCI-FM
October 18, 2020 13:46 - 36.5 MBWhile 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 l...
Short Story Author Susan Buttenwieser on Writers On Writing, KUCI-FM
October 15, 2020 03:00 - 28.6 MBDebut 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 revisi...
Literary Thriller Co-Authors Smith Henderson & Jon Marc Smith on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
October 11, 2020 21:32 - 42.6 MBAs 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 operative...
Eric Weiner on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
October 07, 2020 21:41 - 35.9 MBTo 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...
Novelist Deborah Gaal on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
September 29, 2020 23:32 - 36 MBDeborah 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 wr...
Caroline Leavitt on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
September 25, 2020 19:26 - 40.3 MBNew 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 discu...
Novelist Ivy Pochoda, These Women, on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM in Southern California
September 11, 2020 18:22 - 69.8 MBIvy Pochoda, author of the novel, These Women, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about writing a serial killer novel from the victims' point of view. Ivy began as a literary fiction writer and her writing continues to be literary, but it's also categorized as crime fiction. She talks about that as well as the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: Sept. 2, 2020)
Novelist Sue Miller on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
September 10, 2020 01:22 - 41.7 MBSue 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 abou...
Poet and Essayist Sebastian Matthews on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
September 03, 2020 15:02 - 45.3 MBIn 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. Sebastia...
Novelist Scott Spencer
August 29, 2020 14:07 - 69.4 MBScott Spencer, author of An Ocean Without a Shore, discusses his new book, and the art, craft, and business of writing, with host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. 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
August 26, 2020 23:42 - 36.6 MBWhen 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 contr...
Margot Livesey on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
August 14, 2020 14:58 - 40.1 MBNovelist 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 conversati...
Novelist Ottessa Moshfegh, Death in Her Hands
August 05, 2020 17:58 - 65.2 MBOttessa Moshfegh, author of the new novel, Death in Her Hands, joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: August 5, 2020) The intro and outro music is by Travis Barrett. Find more of his work on Spotify!
Lucie Britsch, author of the novel SAD JANET
August 04, 2020 16:12British novelist Lucie Britsch, author of Sad Janet, talks about writing her debut novel with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. Download audio. (Recorded in July 2020)
Megha Majumdar on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
July 31, 2020 00:20 - 12.5 MBMegha Mejumdar joins Marrie Stone to talk about her debut novel, A Burning. Set in modern day India and told from three distinct points of view, the novel tackles complicated issues of class, justice, the power of social media, and so much more. Megha talks about her childhood, growing up in India. She also shares her experiences as both writer and editor (she's an associate editor at Catapult). She stresses the importance of keeping creative work private, how to render whole lives with sm...
Poet Kim Dower on KUCI-FM
July 22, 2020 23:52 - 69.9 MBPoet and former West Hollywood Poet Laureate Kim Dower, author Sleeping on Tyrone Power's Grave, and three other books of poetry, returns to the show to talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing poetry. Download audio. (Broadcast date: July 21, 2020)
Crossing Borders with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Lisa Brackman, Kathy Krevat
July 20, 2020 18:25 - 67.8 MBThis is our first straight-to-podcast show. Crossing Borders, published by Down and Out books and sponsored by Sisters in Crime, San Diego Chapter, includes my story, "Pool Fishing," and a story by guest Kathy Krevat. Joining us is one of the anthology's editors, Lisa Brackman. We'll discuss the anthology, read from our stories, and talk about the art, craft, and business of crime writing. Download audio. (Recording date: July 17, 2020)
Debra Jo Immergut on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
July 17, 2020 23:44 - 42.3 MBNovelist and short story writer Debra Jo Immergut joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest book, You Again. Debra shares her path in and out of writing, the advantages of age, and what life experiences brought to bear on her fiction. She also has wonderful advice for writers, including the importance of a strong premise, how to plot, research, the long art of revision, and much more. As an added bonus, authors are now asked to provide a favorite writing prompt or exercise. Debra suggests,...
Heather Young on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
July 10, 2020 20:56 - 65.5 MBHeather Young, author of The Distant Dead, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing a crime novel. Download audio (Broadcast date: July 8, 2020)
Poet Jane Hirshfield on Writers on Writing
July 03, 2020 17:22 - 67.6 MBJane Hirshfield talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her new volume of poetry, Ledger. Download audio. (Broadcast date: June 24, 2020) Intro and outro music by Travis Barrett. Find more of his work on Spotify and YouTube.
David James Poissant on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
July 02, 2020 15:39 - 41.3 MBShort story author and novelist David James Poissant joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest book, Lake Life, which will be released on July 7, 2020. Jamie shares how a story from his collection, The Heaven of Animals, evolved into this novel; how chapter 11 eventually became chapter 1; tackling challenging points of view (and those characters he feels unqualified to tackle); the importance of place and setting; and so much more. Download audio. (Broadcast date: July 1, 2020)
Comedy TV Writer & Essayist Kari Lizer on "Writers on Writing," KUCI-FM
June 18, 2020 05:26 - 27.5 MBActor, writer, and producer Kari Lizer joins Marrie Stone to talk about her hilarious collection, Aren't You Forgetting Someone: Essays From My Mid-Life Revenge. Kari was the co-executive producer of Will & Grace, and the creator of the CBS sitcom, The New Adventures of Old Christine. She talks about how writing for television and screenplays helped her in this essay collection, her path into writing, the importance of the revision process, the use of humor during dark days, the difference be...
Lydia Millet on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
June 08, 2020 17:25 - 27.4 MBLydia Millet joins Marrie Stone for the hour to talk about her latest novel, A Children's Bible. She talks about how she conquered her plot problems, managing a big cast of characters, how the novel spoke to the quarantine into which it was released, and much more. Download audio. (Broadcast date: June 3, 2020)
Courtney Maum on Writers on Writing
May 31, 2020 17:13 - 62.1 MBCourtney Maum, author of Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer's Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book (Catapult), talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. Intro and outro music by Travis Barrett. Find him on Spotify and YouTube. (Broadcast date: May 27, 2020)
Gish Jen on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
May 25, 2020 15:13 - 27.4 MBGish Jen, author of The Resisters, joins Marrie Stone for the hour to talk baseball, knitting, artificial intelligence, and the role of the fiction writer in today's world. She shares her wit, her wisdom, and writing advice. Download audio. (Broadcast date: May 20, 2020)
Novelist S.M. Hulse, Eden Mine
May 19, 2020 14:53 - 57.9 MBNovelist S.M. Hulse, author of Eden Mine, joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about the art, craft, and business of writing--and why she uses initials instead of her first name. Download audio. (Broadcast date: May 11, 2020) Intro and outdo created by Travis Barrett. Find his music on Spotify and his videos on YouTube.
Carolyn Forché on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
May 06, 2020 18:28 - 26.9 MBPoet, teacher, and activist Carolyn Forché has witnessed, thought about, and put into poetry some of the most devastating events of 20th-century world history. An articulate defender of her own aims as well as the larger goals of poetry, Forché is perhaps best known for coining the term “poetry of witness.” Her memoir about her time in El Salvador, What You Have Heard Is True, was a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award in nonfiction. Carolyn joins Marrie Stone to talk about In the ...
Elizabeth Wetmore on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
April 29, 2020 18:26 - 27.5 MBDebut novelist Elizabeth Wetmore joins Marrie Stone for the hour to talk about her novel, Valentine. On the morning after Valentine's Day, 1976, a 14-year old Hispanic girl turns up on the doorstep of a ranch house outside Odessa, Texas after being brutally raped in the oilfields. What follows is the portrait of a Texas oil town—with all its complexity, racism, and heartbreak—as told by seven of the town's women. Elizabeth talks about the book's origins, bringing this town to life, and t...
Randy Kraft on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
April 16, 2020 14:49 - 28.4 MBRandy Kraft joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest short story collection, Rational Women. She talks about how she's staying productive during these unprecedented times, her pandemic reading list, and the biggest changes to her writing life in the past weeks. Randy also shares a number of fantastic insights into constructing a compelling short story, including the difference between a situation and a story, the importance of understanding place, her thoughts about white writers tackl...
Novelist Jill Ciment
April 12, 2020 14:39 - 60.3 MBNovelist Jill Ciment, author of The Body in Question and Heroic Measures (made into the film, Five Flights Up, with Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton) talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: March 11, 2020) Musical intro and outro by Travis Barrett. Find him on Spotify.
Colette Sartor on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
March 27, 2020 11:45 - 60.3 MBColette Sartor, author of the short story collection, Once Removed (University of Georgia Press) talks about the art, craft, and business of writing with host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. Download audio. Intro and outro by Travis Barrett. Find more by him on Spotify and YouTube. (Broadcast date: March 11, 2020)
Ann Napolitano on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
March 22, 2020 22:25 - 26.9 MBNovelist and Associate Editor of One Story literary magazine Ann Napolitano joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest novel, Dear Edward. Ann talks about the importance of each writer paying attention to their unique perspective on the world, how an illness in her college years helped her find her story, how working as an editor aids her writing, her new approach to novel writing, and how Dear Edward came about. Download audio. (Broadcast date: March 18, 2020)
Colum McCann on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
March 05, 2020 15:09 - 27.1 MBColum McCann's latest, Apeirogon, is inspired by the real-life relationship between two men — Bassam Aramin (a Palestinian) and Rami Elhanan (an Israeli)—both of whom lost young daughters in the Middle East conflict. Part nonfiction, part imagination, the book weaves history, science, music, art, nature, and politics to bring depth and complexity to these characters' lives and their girls' deaths. McCann joins Marrie Stone to talk about the novel, its complex structure, how he uses ...
Memoirist Christina Adams on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
March 04, 2020 01:48Memoirist Christina Adams talks with host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her new memoir, Camel Crazy, published by New World Library. They discuss camel milk, autism, and the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: Feb. 26, 2020
Jenny Offill & Lily King on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
February 29, 2020 01:24Novelists Jenny Offill, author of Weather, and Lily King, author of Writers & Lovers talk with host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: Feb. 12, 2020) Note: We've been having trouble with our iTunes podcast. Subscribe to Stitcher. The show is still posting to Stitcher. Or just come back here to the archive, writersonwriting.blogspot.com. You can also email us at penonfire at earthlink dot net. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Alexis Schaitkin on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
February 22, 2020 19:23Debut novelist Alexis Schaitkin joins Marrie Stone for the full hour to talk about Saint X. Alexis unveils the inspiration behind the story, and how her curiosity about tourism and the tension between tourists and locals drives her characters. She shares her exhaustive research process, her insights into writing from the perspective of other cultures, and finding culturally sensitive readers. Alexis also reveals former professor Deborah Eisenberg's lens through which she evaluates effective ...
Alexander Weinstein on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
February 13, 2020 15:24Alexander Weinstein, author of the 2016 dystopian short story collection Children of the New World, returns to talk with Marrie Stone about his latest collection, Universal Love. In the near-distant future—one where technology has taken the next predictable steps—characters reckon with what it means to love, to kill, to be intimate, and to be human in an age when they're wholly invested in inhabiting a digital world. Fans of Black Mirror will love this collection. In addition to sharing...
Freelance Journalist & Foreign Correspondent William Wheeler on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
February 11, 2020 18:45Foreign correspondent and filmmaker William Wheeler is the author of State of War: MS-13 and El Salvador’s World of Violence. He’s also the producer of the Showtime documentary “The Trade” and the Emmy nominated film, “Who Shot the Sheriff,” about the Cold War assassination attempt on Bob Marley. Bill joins Marrie Stone for the full hour to talk about his reporting on MS-13 and the life of a journalist in general. He shares his insights on putting together a compelling, well-researched,...