Writers on Writing

Short story writer Deborah Eisenberg, author of Your Duck is My Duck, joins Marrie for the hour to talk about writing, aging, smoking, and life. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: June 12, 2019)

Stewart O'Nan joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest novel, Henry, Himself. He gives a mini-MFA lecture on character development, the creation of conflict by creating character clusters, and taking your character out into the world with you each day to understand their POV.  Tara Conklin joins in the second half to discuss her novel, The Last Romantics. Among many things, she discusses playing with first person omniscient point of view, moving a narrative across space and time, and how reader feedback led the novel in a new direction. Download audio. (Broadcast date: June 5, 2019)

Poet and professor Patty Seyburn joins Marrie Stone for the full hour to talk about her latest collection, Threshold Delivery. She discusses ways to make poetry more accessible and her favorite contemporary poets. She talks about the ways a poem can gather momentum, how rhythm and language can lead a poem in new directions, how reading across disciplines and mining those disciplines for their own peculiar language feeds her work, and much more. The interview references a promise to include some of Patty's writing exercises for poets and writers. For a link to those exercises, click here. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: May 29, 2019)

Leland de la Durantaye, author of Hannah versus the Tree talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about writing his debut novel (though not the first one he wrote), about patience, and language. Not to be missed. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: May 22, 2019)

New York City literary agent Claire Roberts talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about books, publishing, trends, self-published books, and more, on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM, broadcast from the University of California, Irvine campus. Download audio. (Broadcast date: May 15, 2019)

Sigrid Nunez, author of the 2018 National Book Award winning novel The Friend, joins Marrie Stone to talk about enduring themes across her work, her trepidation about writing about a writer, and her general wisdom about the writing process, learning the craft, the role of talent, teaching, and the importance of reading wide and deep. In the second half, Amanda Marbais discusses her debut short story collection, Claiming a Body. She shares her arduous revision process (confessing that stories often undergo between 25 and 40 revisions), and assembling a collection versus publishing individual stories. Amanda dissects one of her pieces—from original kernel of inspiration to the final revision. She discusses dialogue, the importance of reading your work aloud, and her propensity towards gallows humor. Download audio. (Broadcast date: May 8, 2019)

Katya Apekina, author of The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish, and Amy Hempel, author of Sing to It talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: May 1, 2019)

Novelist Lydia Fitzpatrick joins Marrie Stone to talk about her debut novel, Lights All Night Long. Lydia shares her connection to Russia, how she approached the ominous task of research, the importance of photographs and Google Maps in her work, and her thoughts about structure and narrative tension. She also shares her writing advice about "the wall of shame" and how deconstructing other people's novels helped her own work. In the second half, Kim Magowan joins to talk about her short story collection, Undoing. Kim discusses the usefulness of putting constraints around her work, her thoughts about linked stories, and the elegant way she assembled her collection. She also talks about overcoming her fears to send work out, the role of contests for flash and short story writers, and the importance of independent presses. Download audio. (Broadcast date: April 24, 2019)

Benjamin Dreyer, author of Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, talks with host Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about exclamation points, comma splices, and an assortment of matters concerning grammar and punctuation. Download audio. (Broadcast date: April 17, 2019)

Debut novelist Melissa Duclos joins Marrie Stone to talk about her novel, Besotted. Melissa shares her nearly 15 year journey with her novel, her decision to break up with it, and her discovery of small, independent presses. She also talks about the novel's unique point of view, first person omniscient. You can learn more about Melissa and her newsletter at her website. In the second half, Kim Dower joins to discuss her fourth collection, Sunbathing on Tyrone Power's Grave. In honor of National Poetry Month, Kim reads a few poems about her late father, talks about their origin, recurring themes throughout her collections, the accessibility of her work, and the subconscious influences at play. She also shares helpful advice for aspiring poets. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: April 10, 2019)

Memoirist Meredith May, author of The Honey Bus: A memoir of Loss, Courage, and a Girl Saved by Bees (Park Row Books/Harper Collins) talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: April 3, 2019)

Alex Michaelides, author of the debut literary thriller The Silent Patient, joins Marrie Stone to talk about his journey from screenwriting to novels and how the two feed each other. He discusses taking walks in the park—like his character—as a form of method writing. He discusses how Agatha Christie influenced his work, discovering his characters, keeping a diary as a way of giving his silent character a voice, and more. In the second half, Amy Meyerson joins to talk about her novel, The Bookshop of Yesterdays.  She shares the origin story behind the book, learning the intimate and amazing things people tuck inside of books to later be found. She talks about weaving together clues based on significant novels, and more. Download audio. (Broadcast date: March 13, 2019)

Lisa Gornick, author of The Peacock Feast, joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest sweeping novel. She talks about the braiding together of three story-lines; researching historical figures while ensuring the research never feels didactic to the reader; managing vast amounts of time and complex story-lines, etc. In the second half, debut novelist Julie Clark joins to talk about The Ones We Choose. She talks about writing a novel while working full-time as a teacher and raising two children on her own. She shares the contest that led her to her agent, and her path to publication. And she discusses how the explosion of reproductive technologies have led to some unintended ethical consequences. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: March 27, 2019)

Steven Rowley, author of The Editor, and Abby Geni, author of The Wildlands, talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about the art, craft, and business of writing. Download audio. (Broadcast date: March 20, 2019) If you're in Orange County, California, on May 14, come to Lido Village Books where Steven Rowley will talk further with Barbara about his book. More at penonfire.com.

Historical fiction writer Pam Jenoff joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest novel, The Lost Girls of Paris. In an interview full of craft advice for writers, Pam shares her tips for research, structure, voice, inspiration and more. In the second half, Soniah Kamal joins to talk about her debut novel, Unmarriageable. Soniah shares her origin story as a writer, how her background in acting serves her fiction, transposing a classic novel, cultural appropriation and more.  Download audio.  (Broadcast date: February 20, 2019)