WMFA

What in your creative process are you ready to say goodbye to?

Carter Sickels latest novel, THE PRETTIEST STAR, is out now from Hub City Press. He and Courtney talk about activist art, writing poignancy without sentimentality, and documenting queer rural narratives.

In the second quarantine call-in episode, writers with new releases share their favorite moments from a very different kind of book tour than they’d expected. Plus they shout out the new releases they’re reading!

On being with our surroundings—and our creative work—in a new way during quarantine.

Elizabeth Acevedo's latest book, the novel-in-verse CLAP WHEN YOU LAND, is out now from Quill Tree Books. She and Courtney talk about creating character while working in verse, discovering the container that each story needs, and the "secret projects" she has as an author.

A minisode update and a call out to writers with new and forthcoming releases to call in with your quarantine book release stories!

C Pam Zhang's debut novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold, is out now. She talks with Courtney about writing a book for the characters in it, capturing nuanced performances of gender, and reinventing the myth of the American West.

Writers should be great at solitude, right? I’m not. Today I'm talking about how isolation is forcing me to confront that.

Emma Copley Eisenberg's first book, The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia, was released in January. She and Courtney discuss the complicated nature of truth and how she wrote a complex narrative that weaves first-person reportage with memoir.

I'm reading excerpts from the diary of one of my literary idols, Virginia Woolf, that resonate with our current moment.

Messages from writers around the country about creative life in quarantine.

A check-in during unstable times.

Courtney Maum's most recent book is the indispensable writers' guide Before and After the Book Deal. She and Courtney talk about navigating everything from contracts to marketing to what to pack on book tour. They also talk about Courtney's latest novel, Costalegre. In the Patreon bonus segment, Courtney talks about the advice she most wishes she'd received as a debut author.

On the last episode of the season, I'm reflecting on gratitude for our work, and how often (or rarely) we feel it.

Alexander Chee's latest book is the essay collection How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. He and Courtney discuss the process of becoming real to yourself, staying accountable to the work, and how to keep a novel journal.