Bookwild

By Kate Hergott, Bookwild Collective

On Tuesdays, Kate Hergott talks with authors about their books and writing processes.

On Fridays, Kate talks with multiple co-host Bookstagrammers and BookTubers about a variety of bookish topics.... more

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FAQs about Bookwild:

How many episodes does Bookwild have?

The podcast currently has 399 episodes available.

Bookwild episodes:

May 23, 2026 All Our Thoughts About Good People by Patmeena Sabit with Erin Ashley
This week, Erin Ashley is back, and we dive into all our thoughts and reactions to Patmenna Sabit's stunning debut novel Good People! THIS IS A SPOILER EPISODE.
Check Out Author Social Media Packages
Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon
Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Other Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

...more
1h 8min
May 19, 2026Palestinian Joy, Stand-Up Comedy and Secret Family History: Sara Hamdan's What Will People Think
This week, I talk with Sara Hamdan about her journey from finance and journalism into fiction, and how writing What Will People Think became a way to explore identity, belonging, family history, and the freedom to define yourself outside of expectations. Through conversations about comedy, Palestinian representation, women’s choices, historical memory, and the many forms of love, the episode explores how fiction can create connection and make complex experiences feel deeply human.
Listen to hear about:
How moving from finance into journalism—and eventually fiction—helped her discover storytelling as both a craft and a way to explore her own family history and identity.

Why stand-up comedy became central to the novel, including Sara’s real-life experience taking comedy classes to overcome public speaking anxiety and how humor can deliver difficult truths with softness.

Code-switching, compartmentalizing identity, and the pressure many women feel to justify life choices—while emphasizing the importance of autonomy and becoming comfortable showing up as your full self.

Fiction as a way to preserve cultural memory and show everyday life beyond headlines, using family stories, historical detail, and personal experiences to create empathy.
Check Out Author Social Media Packages
Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon
Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Other Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
...more
51min
May 12, 2026Vietnam Vets, Addiction and Deserved Justice: Karen E Osborne's Justice for Emerson
This week, I talk with return guest Karen E. Osborne about her newest mystery Justice for Emerson!
Listen to hear about:
How Karen approached a dual-timeline mystery that blends a present-day murder investigation with the long emotional aftermath of the Vietnam War, addiction, race, and trauma.

How Karen’s research process is deeply people-centered—drawing from her husband’s Vietnam experiences, veterans, recovering addicts, and sensitivity readers to create emotionally authentic characters without judgment.

How she crafted her protagonist: a widowed nonprofit CEO balancing grief, self-doubt, romance, family tension, and danger while unraveling a conspiracy.

The way survival—through volunteering, recovery, or writing—gives meaning and accountability can help people endure trauma, addiction, and reinvention.

Karen's approach to writing, creativity, discipline, and timing, and how small daily habits (like 15 minutes a day) can build a creative life.
Check Out Author Social Media Packages
Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon
Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Other Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
...more
58min
May 12, 2026Haunted Houses and the Horrors of Domestic Motherhood: Aimee Pokwatka's Accumulation
This week, I talk with Aimee Poktwatka about her hew horror book Accumulation!
Listen to hear about:
Aimee's unconventional path to becoming an author—from anthropology and veterinary work to creative writing—and how curiosity has shaped her storytelling.

How Accumulation was inspired by Aimee’s real 18th-century home, a creepy doll her husband found in the yard, and her fascination with haunted house stories as metaphors for domestic life.

How the novel blends haunted house horror, psychological suspense, and social commentary to examine motherhood, invisible labor, and the slow erosion of self.

Aimee's “inefficient” writing process—heavy outlining followed by intuitive drafting—and how revision uncovers deeper emotional truths.

Why horror, especially domestic and psychological horror, can uniquely explore trauma, gender roles, and the unsettling transformation of everyday spaces into something terrifying.
Check Out Author Social Media Packages
Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon
Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Other Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
...more
36min
May 08, 2026Kara Confer and Emily Hone Are Getting Introverts to Go Out: The Wild Geese Event Staff
This week, you get to meet the book girlies who I haven't been able to stop talking about! Kara Confer and Emily Hone are the event team at Wild Geese Bookshop, and they are bringing some incredible authors to Indiana. Hear about how they have evolved into their current positions, some book event BTS, starting their podcast Fill Your Cup, and books that define their reading tastes!
Books Kara Mentioned
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies — Deesha Philyaw

The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman — Deesha Philyaw

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead — Emily Austin

Remarkably Bright Creatures — Shelby Van Pelt

Done and Dusted — Lyla Sage
Books Emily Mentioned
The Hunger Games series — Suzanne Collins

Superfan — Jenny Tinghui Zhang

The Song of Achilles — Madeline Miller

Exquisite Things — Abdi Nazemian

A Good Vampire’s Guide to Blood and Boyfriends — Jamie D’Amato

The Strength of the Few — James Islington

The Poppy War — R.F. Kuang

Seek the Traitor’s Son — Veronica Roth

Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It — Brooke Averick
Check Out Author Social Media Packages
Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon
Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Other Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
...more
1h 3min
May 05, 2026Privilege, Payback, and Pay-to-Stay Prison: Elizabeth Rose Quinn's Payback
This week, I talk with repeat guest and friend Elizabeth Rose Quinn about her new, somewhat locked room thriller Payback!
Listen to hear us discuss:
Payback’s fascinating “weekend prison” premise and how it critiques privilege within the carceral system

Balancing social commentary with a genuinely fun, propulsive thriller

Crafting a large cast of distinct, memorable characters

The psychological implications of our current judicial and carceral systems

How Quinn's work as a therapist informs how she creates character arcs
Check Out Author Social Media Packages
Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon
Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Other Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
...more
1h 12min
May 01, 2026More Than Dragons & Spice: Bridget Howard's The Romantasy Lover's Journal
This week, MacKenzie Green and I talk with Bridget Howard about her new Romantasy Lovers' Journal.
Listen to hear about:
Bridget’s journey from book blogger to Bookstagram creator to marketing professional for publishers and authors

How romantasy evolved from YA and paranormal roots into today’s booming genre

Why romantasy, fantasy, and romance deserve the same literary analysis and cultural respect as “serious” fiction

The creation of the Romantasy Lover's Reading Journal and how it helps both seasoned readers and newcomers engage more deeply

Beginner-friendly romantasy recommendations, from gateway reads like ACOTAR to duologies and standalones
Check Out Author Social Media Packages
Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon
Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Other Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
...more
1h
May 01, 2026 Books that NEED Adaptations with Gare
This week, Gare and I talk about books we think deserve adaptations ASAP! Gare also brought a messy icebreaker to the episode.
Books We Talked About
Good People by Patmeena Sabit
The Anniversary by Alex Finlay
Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson
Secret Lives of Murderers Wives by Elizabeth Arnott
Into the Blue by Emma Brodie
Night Watcher by Stephanie Woolsoncroft
She Drinks the Light by Yasmin Angoe
Ours Is a Tale of Murder by Nora Murphy
The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Check Out Author Social Media Packages
Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon
Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Other Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

...more
59min
April 29, 2026Katharine Hepburn, Old Hollywood and Performed Authenticity: Priya Parmar's The Original
This week, I talk with Priya Parmar about The Original, her fictionalized portrait of Katharine Hepburn’s early life and Hollywood reinvention, diving into how academic rigor, obsessive research, and creative intuition shaped the book.
We discuss:
Priya’s transition from academic and PhD research into fiction writing—and how scholarship still shapes her creative process

The accidental Google rabbit hole that led her to Katharine Hepburn’s hidden early struggles

A fascinating look at 1930s Hollywood as a surprisingly progressive, image-conscious, and socially fluid ecosystem

Fame, performed authenticity, grief, reinvention, and how public myths are intentionally built

Behind-the-scenes insight into writing historical fiction about a real woman whose voice, image, and legacy are already iconic
Check Out Author Social Media Packages
Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon
Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Other Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
...more
43min
April 24, 2026Memoir Isn’t Dead (and Never Will Be) with Rachel Kramer Bussel
This week, I chat with Rachel Kramer Bussel—editor, essayist, and founder of Open Secrets Magazine—about a lifelong love of reading, writing and editing. Listen to hear about:
How memoirs allow readers to experience others' lives in highly personal ways

Rachel’s journey from editing 70+ erotica anthologies to building a personal essays literary magazine

How “ordinary” lives still make compelling, meaningful essays

The behind-the-scenes reality of running a submission-based publication

The emotional and ethical tightrope of writing about real people, relationships, and personal struggles
Rachel's "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to ban books" T-shirt
Books We Talked About
I'm Glad My Mom Died — Jennette McCurdy
King of Ashes — S. A. Cosby
Razorblade Tears — S. A. Cosby
Camouflage — Heather Sweeney
Hologram Boyfriends — Mike Albo
Somebody I Used to Know — Wendy Mitchell
Agorafabulous — Sara Benincasa
Actress of a Certain Age — Jeff Hiller
Do What Godmother Says — L. S. Stratton
Adult Braces — Lindy West
Strangers — Belle Burden
Famesick — Lena Dunham
Destroy this House – Amanda Uhle
Check Out Author Social Media Packages
Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon
Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack
Get Bookwild Merch
Follow @imbookwild on Instagram
Other Co-hosts On Instagram:
Gare Billings @gareindeedreads
Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland
Halley Sutton @halleysutton25
Brian Watson @readingwithbrian
MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba
...more
1h 45min

FAQs about Bookwild:

How many episodes does Bookwild have?

The podcast currently has 399 episodes available.

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