By Courtney Balestier
A podcast about why and how we write.
Heather Clark is the author of Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, a 2021 Pulitzer Prize finalist now out in paperback from Knopf. She and Courtney discuss how biography is like archeology, the "hysterical woman writer"...
Kristen Arnett's latest novel, WITH TEETH, is out now from Riverhead. In this conversation from 2019, she and Courtney talk about queer writing beyond the coming-out narrative, creating supportive frameworks for getting the work done, and, of course, taxidermy. In the bonus...
Elissa's new essay collection, White Magic, is out now from Tin House. She and Courtney discuss reckoning with your past selves, time loops, and giving up control over the process. We also discuss one of Courtney's and the book’s favorite subjects:...
In this conversation from 2018, Courtney and Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers, discuss complicating the notions of motherhood, why working on your characters is working on yourself, and keeping the faith through seven years of novel drafts. Learn more about...
Dantiel W. Moniz's debut collection, Milk Blood Heat, is out now from Grove Atlantic. She and Courtney discuss not protecting your characters, the inextricableness of place and identity, and deciding to take your writing seriously. In the bonus segment, Dantiel talks...
Lauren Oyler's debut novel, FAKE ACCOUNTS, is out now from Catapult. She and Courtney discuss social media, autofiction, and our various efforts to be understood online and on the page. In the bonus segment, Lauren talks about how she approaches her...
R.O. Kwon is the co-editor, with Garth Greenwell, of KINK, a new anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire, BDSM, and interests across the sexual spectrum. She is also the author of THE INCENDIARIES. In this episode from...
Matthew's latest book is Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping. He and Courtney discuss what's wrong with the way we talk about our work, how we can do better, and the most ill-used terms in craft...
Mateo Askaripour's debut novel, Black Buck, is out now. He and Courtney talk about the intimacy of first-person POV, managing plausibility, and what we learn from the novels we don’t sell. (NOTE: There are some Black Buck plot spoilers between...
Danielle Evans' latest book is The Office of Historical Corrections, out now from Riverhead Books. She and Courtney talk about flipping received narratives, reckoning with the past, and the relationship between a work's active and emotional plots. In today's bonus...
Simon Han's debut novel is Nights When Nothing Happened, out now from Riverhead Books. He and Courtney discuss the tricky label of universality, turning a short story into a novel, and how writing is like the Fast & Furious franchise. In...
Anne Helen Petersen's latest book is Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation. She and Courtney talk about the difficulty behind advice about "doing what you love," what freelance writing careers look like now, and how she synthesizes research...
Deesha Philyaw's fiction debut, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, is a National Book Award finalist. She and Courtney talk about creating complex characters, writing Black women, and staying true to your vision even in the face of rejection. In today's...
Originally airing on November 8, 2017, Courtney and Celeste Ng—author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You—do a deep dive into process: what makes a good beginning, finding the voice, reverse outlining and more. They also discuss...
Garth Greenwell is the author of What Belongs to You and Cleanness, and a 2020 Guggenheim fellow. In 2017, he and Courtney talked about being a poet novelist, the language of desire, and why he writes first drafts by hand. Learn...
Courtney and Wayétu Moore, author of She Would Be King, discuss diasporic literature, the trouble with magical realism, and how to preserve your relationship with your craft. Wayétu's latest book is the memoir The Dragons, The Giant, The Women. (original...
Genevieve Hudson's debut novel, BOYS OF ALABAMA, is out now from Liveright. They and Courtney talk about developing complicated characters, writing the supernatural, and exploring "capital-T truth" in fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What in your creative process are you ready to say goodbye to? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Carter Sickels latest novel, THE PRETTIEST STAR, is out now from Hub City Press. He and Courtney talk about activist art, writing poignancy without sentimentality, and documenting queer rural narratives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the second quarantine call-in episode, writers with new releases share their favorite moments from a very different kind of book tour than they’d expected. Plus they shout out the new releases they’re reading! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
On being with our surroundings—and our creative work—in a new way during quarantine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Elizabeth Acevedo's latest book, the novel-in-verse CLAP WHEN YOU LAND, is out now from Quill Tree Books. She and Courtney talk about creating character while working in verse, discovering the container that each story needs, and the "secret projects" she...
A minisode update and a call out to writers with new and forthcoming releases to call in with your quarantine book release stories!
C Pam Zhang's debut novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold, is out now. She talks with Courtney about writing a book for the characters in it, capturing nuanced performances of gender, and reinventing the myth of the American...
Writers should be great at solitude, right? I’m not. Today I'm talking about how isolation is forcing me to confront that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Emma Copley Eisenberg's first book, The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia, was released in January. She and Courtney discuss the complicated nature of truth and how she wrote a complex narrative that weaves...
I'm reading excerpts from the diary of one of my literary idols, Virginia Woolf, that resonate with our current moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to this experimental episode of WMFA, featuring messages from writers around the country about how they’re handling creative life in quarantine. Let me know if you liked this episode—I might do more as this surreal reality continues! Learn more about...
A check-in during unstable times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Courtney Maum's most recent book is the indispensable writers' guide Before and After the Book Deal. She and Courtney talk about navigating everything from contracts to marketing to what to pack on book tour. They also talk about Courtney's latest...
On the last episode of the season, I'm reflecting on gratitude for our work, and how often (or rarely) we feel it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Alexander Chee's latest book is the essay collection How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. He and Courtney discuss the process of becoming real to yourself, staying accountable to the work, and how to keep a novel journal. Learn more about your...
Building containers for creative freedom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jami Attenberg's latest novel, All This Could Be Yours, is out now from HMH Books. She and Courtney discuss writing family narratives, identifying and playing to your strengths, and keeping the work fun for the reader. Learn more about your ad...
Are we acting for our future selves? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Brian Allen Carr's novel Opioid, Indiana is out now from Soho Books. He and Courtney discuss finding a character's voice, writing fast, and why he loves writing prompts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The important piece of writing advice that finally sunk in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How good are you at letting yourself (and your work) just be? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Poet and essayist Mary Ruefle's new collection, Dunce, was just long-listed for the National Book Award. She and Courtney discuss boredom, uncertainty, and letting go of expectations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Keeping ourselves connected in the solitary work of writing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
R.O. Kwon's novel THE INCENDIARIES was one of last year's biggest debuts, and it was 8 years in the making. We talk about keeping faith in the writing process, holding characters at a distance, and thinking not just about who...
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's a special crossover episode with Olivia and Meghan from Marginally Podcast! We talk about defining your own identity as a writer, our works in progress, and how we make writing and podcasting sustainable. Learn more about your ad choices....
What do you need—and how do you figure out what you need anyway? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Author Michael Parker's latest novel, Prairie Fever, follows the fraught relationship of two sisters in early 1900s Oklahoma. He and Courtney talk about writing crackling dialogue, how he thinks about plot, and growing into your creative practice. Learn more about your...
What aspect of your creative life needs a new narrative? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Appalachian poet Savannah Sipple wrote her piercing debut collection, WWJD and Other Poems, during a period in which she was also coming out of the closet. She and Courtney talk about the long journey of claiming her voice and finding...
What kale, checks, and writing have in common. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Queer fiction writer Kristen Arnett wrote her debut novel, the eccentric and darkly hilarious Mostly Dead Things, while working full-time as a librarian. We talk about the framework she developed to keep writing, and why she wanted to write a...
Why it's helpful to check in with our whys—plus a special request. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
