Authors Natashia Deón and Judith D. Schwartz with Nicole Nelson

Debut novelist Natashia Deón, author of Grace, talks to co-host Nicole Nelson about writing complex characters, letting readers laugh in tense situations, taking her story from a screenplay to a novel, and getting to a place of honesty.

In the second half, environmental journalist Judith D. Schwartz, author of Water in Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World talks about how highlighting hope is important when writing about climate change, how her career in journalism evolved, how technology has affected her reading life, and more.

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(Broadcast date: August 17, 2016)

Patrick Ryan and Ottessa Moshfegh

Short story writer and editor Patrick Ryan, author of The Dream Life of Astronauts, talks with Marrie Stone about the short story form, writing from the space of childhood, how being an editor impacts his writing, how stories reveal themselves over time, and more.

In the second half, Ottessa Moshfegh joins to talk about her novel, Eileen.  Moshfegh creates psychologically complex and challenging characters, and talks about her intense relationship with the people she creates, what fuels her, what satisfies her, and why her novel will leave a lasting and important impression.

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(Broadcast date: August 10, 2016)

Molly Antopol & Brad Watson

Short story writer Molly Antopol, author of The UnAmericans, returns to talk with Marrie Stone about craft, inspiration, family history, and the role of art and fiction in an uncertain and unstable world.

In the second half, Brad Watson joins to share his latest novel, Miss Jane.  He talks about the power of inhabiting another POV, writing from a different time and place, how relationships and intersections between characters can create powerful plot, and more.

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(Broadcast date: July 27, 2016)

Poetry Panel with Kim Dower, Dean Rader & Tess Taylor

Marrie Stone hosts a poetry panel with poets Kim Dower, Last Train to the Missing Planet; Tess Taylor, Work and Days; and Dean Rader, Self-Portrait as a Wikipedia Entry (forthcoming).

The panel discusses poetry as both fiction and nonfiction, why everyone should be reading poems, why you shouldn't be scared of poetry, what a good poem can do for your soul, how to teach poetry, and much more.

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(Broadcast date: June 1, 2016)

Novelists J.J. Amaworo Wilson and Edan Lepucki on with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Novelists JJ Amaworo Wilson, author of Damnificados, and Edan Lepucki, author of California, talk with author/host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about getting the setting just right, flashbacks, alternating points of view, keeping a journal, cliffhangers, sequels, and more.
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(Broadcast date: August 3, 2016)

Daniel Calvisi, author of Story Maps: TV Drama, and memoirist George Hodgman, author of Bettyville talk with Barbara about writing for TV and why if you want to be a screenwriter, TV is the way to go, while George talks about leaving NYC to move to Missouri, his hometown, to care for his mother. One of my favorite memoirs of all time.

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(Broadcast date: July 6, 2016)

Playwright Dan duling and scriptwriter William Rabkin

Dan Duling, playwright and scriptwriter (for the last 36 years) at Pageant of the Masters, Laguna Beach, and William Rabkin, author of Writing the Pilot.

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 (Broadcast date: July 20, 2016)

Rick Bass & Mary Roach

Short story legend Rick Bass joins co-host Marrie Stone to talk about his latest collection, For a Little While.  The conversation underscores how difficult it is to talk about the writing process, the elusive nature of good fiction, the feral qualities of the short story, and why most rules so often don't apply.

In the second half, the hilarious and irreverent science writer Mary Roach joins to talk about her latest, Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War.   She talks about keeping her voice and humor in the face of serious subject matter, the value of a strong editor, what makes a subject matter "Roach worthy," and more.

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(Broadcast date: June 29, 2016)

Zora O'Neill and Chris McCormick on with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

Travel writer and memoirist Zora O'Neill, author of All Strangers are Kin, and fiction writer Chris McCormick, author of the story collection Desert Boys talk with Barbara about--what else?--writing.

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 (Broadcast date: July 6, 2016)

Rebecca Schiff and Molly Prentiss with Nicole Nelson

Rebecca Schiff, author of The Bed Moved, talks to co-host Nicole Nelson about finding her voice, revision being the place where much of her characteristic sparseness and humor get sharpened, and her advice to write from a place of being excited rather than to be attached to what you have written.

In the second half, Molly Prentiss, author of Tuesday Nights in 1980, talks about the feelings of doubt that artists face, the conflicts in her story and how they evolved over time, and the value of coincidence in drama.

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(Broadcast date: June 22, 2016)