The Writer's Story

Kristin and Meredith talk with Lulu Miller about her new non-fiction book WHY FISH DON'T EXIST, about the power (and limits) of words, and how her work in radio (Radiolab and Invisibilia) influenced her project.

Kristin and Meredith talk about writing during a pandemic on this episode, and whether anyone is able to concentrate on their creative endeavors these dark days. They discuss tricks they use to jumpstart their rewrites, whether or not anyone will want to read a COVID-19 novel someday, and how important art is for all those quarantined inside their homes.

Meredith Cole interviews Clifford Garstang and Michael Zapata for a virtual version of their scheduled book panel at the Virginia Festival of the Book (canceled for coronavirus): Stories of Displacement: Fiction, Far from Home. They discuss their newest books and how their stories are about displacement, immigration and loss.

The Virginia Festival of the Book was canceled this year due to the coronavirus, so the Moseley critique group decided to make their publishing day panel "The Write Start" virtual! In this podcast, Deborah M. Prum, Jody Hobbs Hesler, BettyJoyce Nash and Meredith Cole critique the first 100 words of the 14 anonymous entries they received for the festival. They give the authors feedback on tone, genre, voice, word choice and more.

Find out how to support the Virginia Festival of the Book here.

Meredith and Kristin talk good writerly boosts from both accountability (feet to the fire) and vacation (feet in the ocean). Katrin Schumann joins them to discuss her novel, This Terrible Beauty, love in the midst of war, and how decent people can unintentionally wind up building an authoritarian state. 

Kristin and Meredith talk about New Year’s resolutions (pro and con) and rituals to start the writing year off right. Irène Mathieu, author and pediatrician, joins them to talk about poetry versus prose, having two demanding careers, and using sensitivity readers when writing about cultures and experiences not your own.

Kristin and Meredith talk about revising and first drafts, as well as the challenges of integrating political issues into their fiction. Their guest is Padma Venkatraman, award-winning author of The Bridge Home, a 2019 Global Read Aloud book, A Time to Dance, and Climbing the Stairs.

Kristin and Meredith talk about collaboration, and word count and rules for various genres. They interview the writing and podcasting duo Phillipa "Pip" Ballantine and Tee Morris about their writing journeys, steam punk, non-traditional publishing, and their writing partnership on various projects, including The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.

Kristin and Meredith talk about how fall has inspired them to be productive on their writing projects, and chat with Tara Laskowski, award-winning author of short stories and the novel One Night Gone.

Kristin and Meredith talk about writing and keeping a journal, and chat with J. Dana Trent, author of Dessert First and other non-fiction books on Christian meditation, Sabbath practice, and interfaith marriage.