Writers on Writing

Colette Sartor, author of the short story collection, Once Removed (University of Georgia Press) talks about the art, craft, and business of writing with host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. Download audio. Intro and outro by Travis Barrett. Find more by him on Spotify and YouTube. (Broadcast date: March 11, 2020)

Novelist and Associate Editor of One Story literary magazine Ann Napolitano joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest novel, Dear Edward. Ann talks about the importance of each writer paying attention to their unique perspective on the world, how an illness in her college years helped her find her story, how working as an editor aids her writing, her new approach to novel writing, and how Dear Edward came about. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: March 18, 2020)

Colum McCann's latest, Apeirogon, is inspired by the real-life relationship between two men — Bassam Aramin (a Palestinian) and Rami Elhanan (an Israeli)—both of whom lost young daughters in the Middle East conflict. Part nonfiction, part imagination, the book weaves history, science, music, art, nature, and politics to bring depth and complexity to these characters' lives and their girls' deaths. McCann joins Marrie Stone to talk about the novel, its complex structure, how he uses subconscious associations to create texture and depth, his literary obsessions, using real life people to spin his fiction, and much more. Download audio.   (Broadcast date: March 4, 2020)

Memoirist Christina Adams talks with host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about her new memoir, Camel Crazy, published by New World Library. They discuss camel milk, autism, and the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: Feb. 26, 2020

Novelists Jenny Offill, author of Weather, and Lily King, author of Writers & Lovers talk with host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: Feb. 12, 2020) Note: We've been having trouble with our iTunes podcast. Subscribe to Stitcher. The show is still posting to Stitcher. Or just come back here to the archive, writersonwriting.blogspot.com. You can also email us at penonfire at earthlink dot net. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Debut novelist Alexis Schaitkin joins Marrie Stone for the full hour to talk about Saint X. Alexis unveils the inspiration behind the story, and how her curiosity about tourism and the tension between tourists and locals drives her characters. She shares her exhaustive research process, her insights into writing from the perspective of other cultures, and finding culturally sensitive readers. Alexis also reveals former professor Deborah Eisenberg's lens through which she evaluates effective writing, as well as a unique twist on the old writing adage about "killing your darlings." It's a rich hour full of wonderful insights.  Download audio.  (Broadcast date: February 19, 2020)

Alexander Weinstein, author of the 2016 dystopian short story collection Children of the New World, returns to talk with Marrie Stone about his latest collection, Universal Love. In the near-distant future—one where technology has taken the next predictable steps—characters reckon with what it means to love, to kill, to be intimate, and to be human in an age when they're wholly invested in inhabiting a digital world. Fans of Black Mirror will love this collection. In addition to sharing the inspiration and backstories behind many of the pieces, Alexander shares mounds of writing wisdom and advice. Download audio. (Broadcast date: January 29, 2020)

Foreign correspondent and filmmaker William Wheeler is the author of State of War: MS-13 and El Salvador’s World of Violence. He’s also the producer of the Showtime documentary “The Trade” and the Emmy nominated film, “Who Shot the Sheriff,” about the Cold War assassination attempt on Bob Marley. Bill joins Marrie Stone for the full hour to talk about his reporting on MS-13 and the life of a journalist in general. He shares his insights on putting together a compelling, well-researched, and impartial story, the future of journalism, how the industry has changed, and more. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: February 5, 2020)

Literary agent, Danielle Svetcov, also author of Parked, and crime writer Matt Coyle, author of Lost Tomorrows, talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about agenting and writing. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: Jan. 15, 2020) We like to hear from our listeners. Email penonfire at earthlink dot net.

Short story author Julie Zuckerman, author of The Book of Jeremiah, joins Marrie Stone to share her novel in stories. Julie talks about drawing inspiration and structure from Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kittridge, how she structured the collection and the stories within, working with a small press (Press 53), and how a simple writing prompt unlocked Jeremiah Gerstler's complex character. In the second half, Annalee Newitz joins to talk about their latest novel, The Future of Another Timeline. They talk about how their science background feeds their fiction, what fiction can accomplish that nonfiction cannot, dealing with the complexities of time travel, and much more. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: January 22, 2020)