George Saunders on his latest collection, "Liberation Day"

Please read and/or listen to the following special announcement about the "Writers on Writing" podcast, as it has moved. As you likely know, for the past several months, "Writers on Writing" has been experiencing trouble with our Apple and Amazon podcast platforms. Ironically, the problem stems from how long we've been podcasting the show. When we originally began podcasting in 2005, the technology for podcasters was still primitive and new. Since then, it has evolved significantly and we've been forced to change platforms. Unfortunately, so far, Apple and Amazon have been unable to move our subscribers over to the new platform. Rest assured, we've been posting shows on Mondays as usual, but they're now showing on a new "Writers on Writing" podcast. Please consider resubscribing at our new site. It’s entirely free, as always. Search for “Writers on Writing” with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone. You’ll notice a slightly updated new logo, which includes  a radio tower beaming out its circular signal to the left of the “Writers on Writing” title with the pen. You’ll know you have the correct show when you see recently posted episodes. If you’re experiencing any difficulties, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] or [email protected]. Our new website is www.writers-on-writing.com. Thanks again for your ongoing support of the show. We value your listenership. Happy holidays! @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:#0563C1; mso-themecolor:hyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;}a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:#954F72; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSectiDownload audio.

Paul Bradley Carr, author of the new novel 1414 Degrees, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about his new novel, writing in multiple POVs, the crossover from nonfiction to fiction, opening a bookstore, and so much more. Download audio. (Recorded in October 2022) Find us on our Patreon page.Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

Novelist Liska Jacobs, author of The Pink Hotel (FSG), talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about influences, first drafts, bloglines, synopses, and the art, craft, and business of writing.Liska Jacobs is also author of Catalina and The Worst Kind of Worst. She holds an MFA from the University of California, Riverside. Her essays and fiction have appears in The Rumpus, Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, the Millions, and The Hairpin, among other publications. The Pink Hotel is her third novel. Download audio.  (Recorded on September 27, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Visit our Patreon page to become a supporter here. There are perks!Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

George Saunders joins Marrie to talk about his latest collection of stories (and first collection since Tenth of December in 2013). The nine stories in Liberation Day contain his signature humor and compassion, broken characters and strange landscapes. Time Magazine calls Saunders "the best short-story writer in English." He spends the hour sharing a bit of his process.In addition to breaking down several of these stories and sharing their backstory and inspiration, Saunders talks about using the whole page, including elegant line and word spacing techniques, to render syntax and dialect for his characters. He discusses how his engineering background helps him as a writer, how to trust your intuition, and so much more.If you find this or other interviews useful, consider supporting the show on Patreon.   Download audio. (Recorded on October 3, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

Novelist Celeste Ng, author of Our Missing Hearts and Barbara DeMarco-Barrett discuss her latest novel (NYT review, 10/2/22). They talk about world building, developing characters, reading for writers, and much more. Celeste Ng is the author of three novels, Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere, and Our Missing Hearts. Celeste grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Shaker Heights, Ohio. She graduated from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan (now the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan).  Her fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, and many other publications, and she is a recipient of the Pushcart Prize, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other honors. Download audio.  (Recorded on 9/23/2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett We are now on Patreon! If you've gleaned useful tidbits over the years--24 years we've been broadcasting the show--consider becoming a supporter. Visit Patreon.com/writersonwriting Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

Literary agent Lori Galvin of Aevitas Creative Management represents both adult fiction (especially women's fiction and crime fiction) and non-fiction (memoir, food writing, and cookbooks). A few of her clients include Hannah Kirshner's Water, Wood, and Wild Things (Viking '21), Cambria Brockman's Tell Me Everything (Ballantine '19), and Wanda M. Morris's All Her Little Secrets (Morrow '21). Some projects have been optioned by A24 and Netflix.Galvin joins Marrie to talk about changes in the publishing industry, what she looks for in effective query letters, the importance of the first five pages, the dos and don'ts of finding an agent, what you can do to improve your chances of finding a good match with an agent, and so much more. If you find this or other interviews useful, consider supporting the show on Patreon.    Download audio.  (Recorded on September 21, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

Novelist Antoine Wilson, author of Mouth to Mouth, and Barbara DeMarco-Barrett discuss setting, plotting, creating characters, ironic endings, and more. About Mouth to Mouth, one of Barack Obama's favorite books of 2022, Kirkus said, "A deliciously nasty morality play in the guise of a thriller." Download audio.  (Recorded on August 18, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Support the show on Patreon. Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

Anthony Marra is the New York Times bestselling author of The Tsar of Love and Techno and A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, longlisted for the National Book Award. He joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest novel, Mercury Pictures Presents, and how a book he began over eight years ago suddenly took on new and unsettling relevance in today's America. Marra shares his struggles with writing this book, managing a large cast of characters and an enormous amount of research, as well as some general writing advice for novelists. He stresses the importance of filling your notebook with questions, reading broadly, writing daily and more. If you find this or other interviews useful, consider supporting the show on Patreon.   Download audio. (Recorded on September 8, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

Isaac Fitzgerald, author of the new memoir, Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing his memoir.Fitzgerald is the New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts. He appears frequently on The Today Show and is also the author of the bestselling children's book How to Be a  Pirate as well as the co-author of Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them and Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos (winner of an IACP Award). His writing has appear in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, The Guardian, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and numerous other publications. He lives in Brooklyn.Download audio.  (Recorded on July 15, 2022 via Zoom) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Support the show on Patreon. Marrie and I appreciate every dollar. Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com

In 1957, when Amy Turner was four years old, her father stepped out onto the ledge of his high-rise hotel room and threatened to jump. More than 50 years later, Turner faced her own near-death experience when she was struck by a truck in a pedestrian crosswalk. Those two incidents, happening over half a century apart, led Turner to understand the legacy of anxiety and depression she inherited from her family, and the role of trauma in forming her identity.Turner joined Marrie Stone to talk about her memoir, On the Ledge, as well as coming to writing later in life, how being an attorney impacted her writing, and how she knew when it was time to publish this book. Turner shares the struggles she had with structure, knowing what material to cut, and how to deal with time gaps in her story. She also discusses choosing She Writes Press (a small press who publishes women writers), foregoing the need for an agent, marketing her memoir and choosing a publicist.  For more information about the show, as well as additional writing tips, prompts, and perks, visit our Patreon page here. Download audio.  (Recorded on August 27, 2022)(Broadcast date: August 29, 2022) Music and sound design by Travis Barrett Barbara DeMarco-Barrett: www.penonfire.com Marrie Stone: www.marriestone.com Travis Barrett: https://travisbarrett.mykajabi.com