Lifewriting: Write for Your Life!

Steve and Tananarive talk to debut novelist Zakiya Dalila Harris about her New York Times bestselling novel THE OTHER BLACK GIRL - now also a critically acclaimed series on Hulu! She reveals how a rare Black co-worker's refusal to return "The Nod" led her to write her satirical thriller about a Black woman working at a publishing house...and the secrets of her Black co-worker. She also talks about having a seat at the table to help develop the series and how she stays centered. 

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This week, Steve and Tananarive celebrate the end of the WGA strike! The power of unions, why the strike worked, and how the WGA's win affects not only other writers but all workers facing unfair working conditions. They also talk about going back to work: meeting with an executive overseeing an adaptation of one of Tananarive's most popular books! 

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Steve and Tananarive follow up their Secrets to Writing Great Horror episode with new tips on writing great science fiction! What's the difference between science fiction and fantasy? What are their tips for science fiction writers? They discuss their own work and science fiction greats like Ray Bradbury and Octavia E. Butler. Perfect for writers or fans! 

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In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to Bram Stoker Award winner Stephen Graham Jones about his new book, DON'T FEAR THE REAPER, with the first Indigenous Final Girl, Jade Daniels. He shares his writing process, his love for slashers, his exploration of father-son relationships in his stories, and how his own personal promise to an elk he hunted gave birth to his bestselling novel The Only Good Indians. 

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Hilliard Guess, host of the hit podcast "Screenwriters' Rant Room," joins Steve and Tananarive to talk about where things stand with the WGA strike after more than 100 days, power dynamics in Hollywood, and his stress-coping tools to overcome his insecurities to become a screenwriter, producer and director. 

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In this episode, pioneering science fiction author Steven Barnes and American Book Award winner Tananarive Due (your hosts!) break down the secrets to writing great horror: how to bring the scares and why strong characters matter so much in horror. 

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In 2023, horror writer Gabino Iglesias, who is Puerto Rican, became the first Latino writer to win a Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel for THE DEVIL TAKES YOU HOME. Steve and Tananarive talk to Gabino about how his struggles with unemployment and losing his health insurance during COVID inspired him to finish his award-winning, why he loves horror, and what he's doing next! 

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Steve and Tananarive talk to New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo (Ninth House, Hell Bent, Shadow and Bone) on her incredible career: from jobs she didn't like to publishing her first book at 37 to getting her work adapted for Netflix...and beyond! Also tips for writers and how she keeps herself balanced. 

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In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to their friend Nalo Hopkinson, the award-winning Afrofuturist author of novels like SKIN FOLK, MIDNIGHT ROBBER and BROWN GIRL IN THE RING, named a Damon Knight Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2020. She talks about overcoming homelessness, her journey in the arts, and transitioning to comics with Neil Gaiman. Also, how she copes with stress and uncertainty. 

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In this episode, Steve and Tananarive celebrate their 25th anniversary! They also break down how to make characters "pop" and how writers can use character-building tools to make themselves the heroes and heroines of their own stories to create better lives. (Also: a human wrote this, not Artificial Intelligence. So you know it's mostly accurate. Mostly.) 

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