The Novel Workshop

The Novel Workshop

By Alonzo Vereen & Esther Ifesinachi OkonkwoArtsBooksFiction
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The Novel Workshop episodes

  • The Netanyahus

    In this, our season finale, we discuss what happens when a novel's emotional question goes unanswered. (A hint: Esther becomes quite the unhappy camper.)

    38 min
  • The Swimmers
    In this episode, we tackle the big one—what separates a novel from a collection of short stories? Is the difference significant or nonexistent?
    48 min
  • Oh William!

    In this month's episode, we discuss the constraints of reliability and whether a narrator (especially a first-person narrator) can ever be trusthworthy. "It's all quite strange to me," says Alonzo.

    49 min
  • Harlem Shuffle

    Esther and Alonzo finally disagree. "Whitehead has divided this house." Whose interpretation is right? Check out this month's sprawling episode—On Beauty, Fences, and "Sonny's Blues" are all discussed—to find out.

    54 min
  • The Four Winds
    This week, we discuss narrative pacing and the subtle art of wonder.

    Special thanks to the Library of Congress:

    Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin migrant workers collection (AFC 1985/001), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

     

    57 min
  • The Midnight Library
    In this episode, we discuss the tension that can arise when a text fails to distinguish its protagonist's level of intelligence from its author's earned wisdom.
    48 min

About The Novel Workshop

From the publisher's feed

The Novel Workshop is a monthly podcast that presents long-form criticism of contemporary fiction. If you're into that kind of heady stuff, join us!