The Writer Shed

Writer Shed Podcast host David W. Berner has written several memoirs, one named a Book of the Year by the Chicago Writers Association. Others have won numerous other awards. He also taught writing at the university level and currently teaches memoir classes at Gotham Writers of New York. In this podcast, by popular demand, listeners have asked David to give a short, simple introductory lesson on the ways of a memoir. Are you thinking about writing one? This is the podcast to listen to. 

The Beat Museum in San Francisco has been on the road for several months carrying with it the spirit of The Beats into towns all over America on this 100th anniversary year of Jack Kerouac's birth. Jerry joins Writer Shed Podcast host David W. Berner from Kerouac's hometown. 

Women write. And women read. And this should be celebrated. But do we have to compartmentalize art? Doesn't saying this is a "woman's book" limit our artistic scope? Author and member of the Women's Fiction Writers Association, Maggie Smith joins Writer Shed Podcast host David w. Berner to discuss women's writing and the act of categorizing art. 

Chicago has a Literary Hall of Fame. Why? What's its purpose? Why is this important? The founder of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, Donald Evans has the answers to these questions and they are far deeper than simply honoring great writers. He joins Writer Shed Podcast host David W. Berner to talk about it.

What do writers do to accomplish their work? In essence, what is their process? Write on a typewriter or longhand? Write at night? Early morning? Outline? Seat of pants? Three writers—Anne Terpstra, Floyd Sullivan, and Christine DeSmet—join Writer Shed Podcast host David w. Berner to discuss their process and offer suggestions to authors of all skills about how writers get their work done. 

Can writing be an act of mindfulness? If you consider it as a process of mediative practice, it certainly can. But how do you do it? Where do you begin? Writer and educator Lauren Krauze is the author of an article in Tricycle about writing and mindfulness, and speaks with The Writer Shed host David W. Berner on how to use writing as a way to find your way. 

We all know people who say, "I don't read." Are the numbers of readers dwindling? To better to know than the proprietor of an indy bookstore. The Writer Shed host David W. Berner checks in with Arlan Hess, the former educator and now owner of City Books in Pittsburgh, PA. She should have the answers, right?  

Lisa Cordileone and Brian Plocharczyk are successful and talented voiceover artists who know more than a thing or two about producing and performing audiobooks. They join Writer Shed Podcast host David W. Berner to talk about how authors and small publishers can produce their work in audio. 

When do you say, "That's not for me?" Writing coach and Medium writer Akshay Gajria thinks more would-be writers should know what they're really getting into when they take on the work of writing a manuscript. The writing process takes time, perseverance, and commitment beyond what most are willing to accept. And then, too, there's all that collateral damage. Akshay joins Writer Shed Podcast host David W. Berner on this edition.

Leland Cheuk has quite a story to tell. He has not only authored the collection LETTERS FROM DINOSAURS, and the novels THE MISADVENTURES OF SULLIVER PONG  and NO GOOD VERY BAD ASIAN , he also runs the small indie press  7.13 BOOKS , a publishing entity that gets its name from one of the most difficult times in Leland's  life. He has a lot to say about independent publishing, the literary world in America, and what makes for a good story. Leland joins Writer Shed Podcast host David W. Berner for a conversation about it all.