From debut authors to Pulitzer Prize winners, Writers on Writing tackles a little of everything — novels, short stories, memoir, poetry, and more, as well as interviews with agents and publishers.

Unlike other shows dedicated to discussing books, we focus on the art, craft, and business of writing. Writers appreciate the opportunity to talk about the artistic elements of their job — the thousands of decisions that must be made to produce a manuscript. There’s no aspect of craft, creativity, and publishing we don’t explore.

We’ve hosted well over 1,500 authors on the show including Elizabeth Strout, S.A. Cosby, Ann Patchett, Amor Towles, and George Saunders. Expert advice from some of the industry’s top writers allows us to offer a show that’s been called “your own personal MFA program” (with no financial strain).

Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
Host: Marrie Stone

Music and sound editing by Travis Barrett

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EPISODES

(2001 - present)

Nicole Nelson 5/7/15 Nicole Nelson 5/7/15

Mary Norris and Christie Watson

Mary Norris, author of Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, talks to Nicole Nelson about how being so focused on the details because of her copy-editing job made her appreciate the work of her editor for this book in helping her craft chapters with a beginning, middle and end; what it's like to be in charge of the "comma shaker" at The New Yorker; and how knowing the grammar behind the use of "me" in some contexts can, between her and us, help writers make the correct choice. Then Christie Watson, author of Where Women are Kings, joins the show to talk about how she discovered the voice of her main character, Elijah, how the novel changed as she worked through nearly a dozen drafts, and how important it is for writers to silence their inner critic and keep on writing.

Download audio.

(Broadcast date: May 6, 2015)