First Draft with Sarah Enni

Amy Spalding--whose most recent novel, THE SUMMER OF JORDI PEREZ (AND THE BEST BURGER IN LOS ANGELES), is out today!--talks about the experience of changing publishers, how book promo is becoming more like movie promo, finding a story by combining ideas, and having more queer rom-coms.

Alex R. Kahler, author of RUNEBINDER and its sequel, RUNEBREAKER (out in November) the CIRQUE DES IMMORTALES series, THE PALE QUEEN series, the RAVENBORN series, and forthcoming middle grade book, THE COLLECTOR. Alex talks about the burden of taking your work with you, reimagining previous work, the freelance lifestyle, and getting off social media.

Farrah Penn, debut author of Twelve Steps to Normal, on not loving learning how to read, almost giving up on her book after her father passed, and the injustice of having a trailer full of your things stolen in Arizona.

Tomi Adeyemi, debut author of Children of Blood and Bone, on thinking she hated reading and writing, spite creativity, and how fantasy helped protect her from the raw pain in her book.

Lianne Oelke, debut author of NICE TRY, JANE SINNER (out now!) talks about rewriting her diary, the life-changing impact of good beta readers, and writing YA in Canada.

Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles (out now!) talks about her teacup obsession, the hell that is Act II Part II, and revision versus Revision.

Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer, screenwriters with their debut young adult novel, LAYOVER, out now!, on being housecats, blurring the line between best friends and collaborators, their annual “corporate retreat” road trip, and complementing each other emotionally through the editing process.

Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings, co-authors of the New York Times bestselling sci-fi novel ZENITH, talk about battling dyslexia/ADD and chronic fatigue, why Lindsay dedicates every book she writes to her father, thinking that writers were cyborgs and/or holograms, deciding to co-write over text, and leaving the subject of their book up to a Twitter poll (but then ignoring it).

John August—screenwriter known for Go, Big Fish, and more, and host of the Scriptnotes podcast—on his debut middle grade adventure novel, ARLO FINCH IN THE VALLEY OF FIRE (out Feb. 6!). John talks about the tricks authors have that screenwriters don’t, what made him think of recording his entire process of writing, selling, and debuting ARLO, the shadow of Harry Potter over all MG, and podcasting as an American art form.

Jasmine Guillory, debut author of The Wedding Date (out Jan. 30!), on being an extroverted writer, using the notes app to take the pressure off starting a new book, the importance of stillness, and how romance novels can instruct us about affirmative consent.

Sarah Tarkoff, debut author of SINLESS (out now!), talks about writing for TV and movies, made-up religions, the Dunning Kruger graph, and being inspired to start writing a novel by a nine-year-old.

A very special episode where I give podcasting tips and answer some questions, Kayla Olson and Courtney Summers join to give book recommendations, and authors Michelle Schusterman, Alison Cherry, and Lindsay Ribar discuss co-writing, selling, and editing their YA novel, The Pros of Cons.

Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender and author of Rebel Genius and its sequel, Warrior Genius, on being obsessed with 50s art, how Avatar was pitched perfectly wrong, writing art as magic, and starting to write by hand.

Ben Acker, co-creator and writer for The Thrilling Adventure Hour, and writer for TV, comic books, and a series of Star Wars middle grade novels, including Star Wars: Join the Resistance. Ben and I talk about giving himself his first job, how a ukulele solo got him a gig writing at Marvel, and shares the definitions of art that he can’t shake.

Stephanie Sabol, Executive Director, Brand Management at Penguin Young Readers, talks about The Penguin Hotline, and writer friends share their most recommended books.