Writer's Digest Presents

Many writers who feel comfortable writing fiction feel intimidated by experimenting with poetry. But the truth is, poetry can teach us so much about what works in our fiction.

When you hear "literary critic," what comes to mind? Book reviews? Literary deep dives? Discourse? Hot takes? Literary criticism has evolved over our long history of storytelling, and the role of the literary critic is both more broad and more nuanced than ever before.

In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," senior editor Michael Woodson chats with author and literary critic Grace Byron about defining literary criticism, if authors should pay attention to critics, how to break into literary criticism, and more.

When a real-life person inspires you to write a story, how do you

New York Times-bestselling author John Searles spent two decades as a top editor for Cosmopolitan magazine, first hired by Helen Gurley Brown—the editor-in-chief credited with revitalizing the dying title in the 1960s. In his time at the magazine, John would joke to Helen that he would one day write a book about her. Now he has with his new bestselling novel, Single Girls.

In this episode, John discusses the challenges of writing about real people, navigating switching genre lanes, honoring real people with fiction they would've loved, and more.

Book coaches offer a wide range of services that are catered to your personal needs as a writer. Maybe you need help brainstorming plot problems, or you need help with your query letter. Maybe you simply need someone to hold you accountable to get the words onto the page. Whatever the need is, book coaches are there to help you get the writing done and build you writing community.

In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," senior editor Michael Woodson is in conversation with author and editor Adrienne Westenfeld who shares all the behind-the-scenes information on what goes on in book coaching, how a writer knows if they should hire a book coach, and more.

Isabel Klee is best known for her work in fostering and rehabilitating dogs in New York City. As "Simon Sits" on social media, Klee chronicles the experience of caring for heartbroken animals and giving them a second chance at life. Now, with her #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, "Dogs, Boys, And Other Things I've Cried About," Klee is inviting readers into her personal orbit with stories of heartbreak and betrayal, of personal loss and times of growth, and the dogs that were there through it all.

In February, "Writer's Digest Presents" managing editor Moriah Richard and senior editor Michael Woodson discussed performing reading audits and what they can do for your reading life. In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents", editor-in-chief Amy Jones is talking about the importance of reading like a writer to benefit your writing life. But what does that mean—to read like a writer? For Amy and Michael, it means doing a deep dive into reading the kinds of books they'd like to be writing, what they can learn from them, how to incorporate a writing process that encourages failure, why writers should completely reject AI, and more.

Amazon's rise in dominion over the publishing industry is largely connected to the idea that convenience outweighs community—and independent bookstores across the country were shuttering in their wake. With the prevalence and rise of online shopping, there seemed to be no way to fight Amazon's power.

But publisher and writer Andy Hunter had a different take. What if you could fight the rise of Amazon while also helping support indie bookstores? That thought led to Bookshop.org, an online retailer that directly supports indie bookstores across the country.

In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," editor Michael Woodson sits down with Bookshop.org's CEO to discuss the importance of indie bookstores in culture, how COVID-19 changed the game for Bookshop, and more.

If you were to do a reading audit of the last year or two of reading, what would it look like? Do you spread your reading across various genres, or do you stick to just one or two? Conducting a reading audit can help notify which genres are missing from your TBR and which genres are surprise favorites for you—all of which helps with your writing.

In this episode of the Writer's Digest Presents podcast, managing editor Moriah Richard is in conversation with editor Michael Woodson about what conducting a reading audit did for her—how it revealed to her a new favorite sub-genre, how it has helped her writing, and more.

We spend so much of our writing time perfecting the beginnings of our stories that we might be neglecting the endings—and literary agents can tell. While it's vital to have a strong start to your manuscript to get an agent's attention, if you aren't able to carry that momentum through to the end, it can be the difference between getting representation and being told, "Thank you, but no."

In this episode of Writer's Digest Presents, editor Michael Woodson chats with literary agent Allegra Martschenko about how we can perfect our endings to help us land that book deal.

SEASON FINALE. With the new year right around the corner, it might be time to start thinking about your creativity in 2026. For writers, writing retreats offer uninterrupted time to focus on your craft, build your writerly community, and receive feedback from publishing experts.