Best Autofiction Podcasts (2025)

1
Allie Rowbottom Shares Her Writing & Publishing Processes for "Jello Girls" and "Aesthetica" 1:08:41

5h ago1:08:41

1:08:41

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Allie Rowbottom. Allie is the author of the memoir/family history/cultural commentary Jello Girls, which I love, and the new novel Aesthetica, whi…

1
The Odyssey, part 2: Failsons and deadbeat dads 1:37:51

3h ago1:37:51

1:37:51

This week we finally shut up about translations and get into some juicy themes and character analysis. Telemachus: why is he such a dweeb compared to his dad? Rich argues that he's doing the best he can growing up with an absent father. The others are less sympathetic. Odysseus: is his paranoid murderous rampage justified? what are his singular her…

1
Constructing Identities with SJ Sindu 34:32

2h ago34:32

34:32

On this week’s episode Bethanne sits down with author S.J. Sindu to discuss gender queerness and the importance of defining such a term, especially in the political environment of today. SJ’s newest book, Tall Water will be released in August of 2025 by HarperCollins. Should Revolutionary Road be kicked to the curb? Or should Richard Yates’ book be…

1
Hannah Howard on How Her Food Memoirs Became So Much More 53:47

7d ago53:47

53:47

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Hannah Howard, author of two food memoirs, Feast: True Love in and Out of the Kitchen and Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family, that transcend the …

1
Living in History with Lauren Francis-Sharma 32:06

5d ago32:06

32:06

In this episode of the Book Maven: A Literary Revue, Bethanne Patrick sits down with Lauren Francis-Sharma to talk about the intense nature of covering hearings on apartheid practices in South Africa and translating those experiences to her new book Casualties of Truth. This week we put Albert Camus’s The Stranger to the test. In this installment o…

1
The Story Behind the Story: How Nicole Maggi’s Latest Novel “A Murder in Zion” Came to Be 13:13

9d ago13:13

13:13

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Nicole Maggi, who joins me to share the origin story of her latest novel, A Murder in Zion, which hits shelves tomorrow! Inspired by a docuseries …

1
Christopher Bollen's Last Resort 32:44

12d ago32:44

32:44

Season two is in full throttle now and we cannot wait to keep spoiling you listeners! In this episode of the Book Maven: A Literary Revue, Bethanne Patrick sits down with Christopher Bollen to talk about writing characters of all ages and grounding them with location and setting. King Lear is discussed in this week’s Pop! Goes the Culture, and all …

1
Emily Wilson's The Odyssey, part 1: Bronze age perversion 1:10:36

19d ago1:10:36

1:10:36

WOKE classics professor DESTROYED by three random guys who've never read homer before!!! just kidding we love it. Wilson translation discourse: is she really importing her feminist beliefs into the text? has she stripped the grandeur out to take 'complicated' Odysseus down a peg? what are the connotations of sluts and slaves? is the fancy language …

1
How Bassey Ikpi Did the Magic with “I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying” 1:02:38

16d ago1:02:38

1:02:38

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Bassey Ikpi, author of I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying, one of my all-time favorite books. She grew up thinking authors were magicians, but i…

1
Finding Truth in Memories with Jay Baron Nicorvo 33:25

19d ago33:25

33:25

Welcome back to season two! In this episode of the Book Maven: A Literary Revue, Bethanne Patrick sits down with Jay Baron Nicorvo to discuss accessing trauma while writing, differing points of view of traumatic events, and how our brain sorts through traumatic experiences. Bethanne touches on the highly anticipated Catcher in the Rye in this week’…

1
From Query Hell to Big Five Book Deal: Emily J. Smith on Her Path to Publication with "Nothing Serious" 19:12

23d ago19:12

19:12

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Emily J. Smith, author of Nothing Serious. Follow Emily on Instagram @emjsmith and Bluesky @emjsmith.bsky.social. The Bleeders is hosted by Courtn…

1
Everyday Ethics in Stories with Alexander McCall Smith 31:16

26d ago31:16

31:16

Season two starts now! In this premiere episode of the second season of the Book Maven: A Literary Revue, Bethanne Patrick sits down with Alexander McCall Smith to discuss his philosophical female protagonists and writing multiple series at once. Here's a fun fact: Bethanne watched the 1981 TV production of Brideshead Revisited on three different c…

1
Nikolai Gogol: Cutting your nose to spite the faceless bureaucracy 38:40

29d ago38:40

38:40

"For how could the nose, which had been on his face but yesterday, and able then neither to drive nor to walk independently, now be going about in uniform?" We take a break from reading novels and take a quick nose dive into Gogol's famous 1830s short story, talking absurdity, bureaucracy, and Russian wives. Status and bureaucracies: The most strai…

1
Writing a Revealing Book About Your Day Job: Andrew Bomback on "Doctor" 7:14

1M ago7:14

7:14

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Andrew Bomback, author of Doctor and Long Days, Short Years: A Cultural History of Modern Parenting. Follow Andrew on Instagram @andrewbomback and…

1
Writing LA’s Juicy History & Publishing Without an Agent with Paul Haddad 1:17:56

1M ago1:17:56

1:17:56

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Paul Haddad, generously sharing the research, writing, and publishing process for his latest book Inventing Paradise, which explores the history o…

1
Frances Badalamenti on Her Freeing Evolution from Memoir to Autofiction 7:26

1M ago7:26

7:26

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Frances Badalamenti, author of Many Seasons, I Don't Blame You, and Salad Days. Follow Frances on Instagram @franbad and connect via her website f…

1
How to Write a Novel with Author Matt Bell & His Craft Book "Refuse to Be Done" 44:43

2M ago44:43

44:43

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Matt Bell, who wrote his novel-writing craft book Refuse to Be Done between drafts of his latest novel Appleseed, and perhaps both books were the …

1
Blood Meridian, part 2: It's time for some game theory 1:54:16

2M ago1:54:16

1:54:16

"He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die." Wrapping up the second half of our discussion on Cormac McCarthy's 1985 classic, in which various chickens come home to roost. The Glanton gang's downfall: on the run from the Sonoran cavalry, mercy killings, greed and symbolism of coins, the takeover of the ferry…

1
Samantha Mann on How the Beloved "Putting Out" Prologue Came to Be 7:05

2M ago7:05

7:05

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Samantha Mann, author of Putting Out: Essays on Otherness and editor of the anthology I Feel Love: Notes on Queer Joy. Follow Samantha on Instagra…

1
From Podcast to Book: Cara McGoogan on Adapting "Bed of Lies" into "Blood Farm" 1:03:33

2M ago1:03:33

1:03:33

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Cara McGoogan, host of Bed of Lies and author of Blood Farm. Follow Cara on Instagram and X/Twitter @cjmcgoogan. The Bleeders is hosted by Courtne…

1
Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, part 1: A legion of horribles 1:42:39

2M ago1:42:39

1:42:39

Hell aint half full. Hear me. Ye carry war of a madman's making onto a foreign land. Yell wake more than the dogs. Rich is a big McCarthy head. For Benny and Cam, it's their first taste, and we're going straight to the top shelf: the 1985 epic historical novel Blood Meridian; or, The Evening Redness in the West. In this discussion we cover the firs…

1
How to Make 2025 Your Best Writing Year 9:36

3M ago9:36

9:36

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's episode features advice from Halley Sutton, Hannah Howard, Bridgette Bianca, Shelby Hinte, Chelsea Martin, Emmy Olea, and Elle Nash. The Bleeders is hosted…

1
The Best Rejection I Ever Got with Laura Cathcart Robbins 5:20

3M ago5:20

5:20

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Laura Cathcart Robbins, author of Stash: My Life in Hiding. Follow Laura on Instagram @lauracathcartrobbins and Twitter @TheOnlyOnePodc1. >>> Watc…

1
DYEL Christmas party: The most beloved and hated books of 2024 1:22:45

3M ago1:22:45

1:22:45

A bit of festive fun looking back on the year that was. Which books have stayed with us? Which were forgettable? What was the best reading/watching we did outside of book club? What did we learn about podcasting? Are we gonna keep posting this stuff in public? and MORE CHAPTERS (00:00:00) festive chit chat (00:07:35) Revealing our favourite books o…

1
How to Write Erotica with Rachel Kramer Bussel 13:32

3M ago13:32

13:32

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Rachel Kramer Bussell, author of How to Write Erotica and editor of over 70 anthologies of erotica. Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachelkramerbussel…

1
The Moviegoer: In which we escape a deep existential malaise 1:04:55

3M ago1:04:55

1:04:55

A paradox: how can an author—say, Walker Percy—get the reader to care about a protagonist—say, Binx Bolling—who is stuck in a malaise and doesn't himself particularly care about anything? A corollary: how can a book club have an engaging discussion when they don't particularly care about said book and said protagonist? Honestly you might as well sk…

1
Zachary Zane on the Book Proposal for "Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto" & How He Built His Writer Platform 8:13

3M ago8:13

8:13

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Zachary Zane, author of Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto. Follow Zachary on Instagram @zacharyzane_ and Twitter @ZacharyZane_. >>> Watch the full i…

1
Family tragedy, invisible groups, and naked wiccans with Luis Alberto Urrea 28:22

3M ago28:22

28:22

Literary critic and memoirist Bethanne Patrick sits down with author Luis Alberto Urrea to discuss writing family in fiction. Luis is a multi-genre talent, having published pieces in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. “The magic of words” is something he fully believes in, and what it means for him to have a platform is discussed. Our #FridayReads ar…

1
How to Promote Your Book with Eleanor C. Whitney 20:24

4M ago20:24

20:24

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today's guest is Eleanor C. Whitney, author of Promote Your Book, Riot Woman, and Quit Your Day Job. Follow Eleanor on Instagram and X/Twitter @killerfemme and che…

1
Subverting the Marriage Plot with Louis Bayard 25:31

4M ago25:31

25:31

Literary critic and memoirist Bethanne Patrick sits down with author Louis Bayard to discuss “the marriage plot” and his eleven novels. They talk about writing from an unfamiliar point of view and pushing yourself as a writer. His newest book, The Wilds, released September of this year by Algonquin Books. The Friday readers tweeted about Humanly Po…

1
Always Learning with Dolen Perkins-Valdez 27:29

4M ago27:29

27:29

Book critic and memoirist Bethanne Patrick sits down with author Dolen Perkins-Valdez to discuss teaching the writing process. Chair of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation Board of Directors, Valdez’s latest novel, Happy Land, comes out this April with Penguin Random House. This week’s Canon or Can It subject is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Before w…

1
Banned books: Vladimir Nabokov's infamous Lolita 1:24:42

4M ago1:24:42

1:24:42

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul... You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style.” Nabokov had a lot of trouble getting anyone to publish a story about a grown man falling in love with a 12 year old. After multiple bans and scandals, Lolita caught fire in America, and is now considered perhaps his greatest …

1
Location Inspiration with Angie Kim 29:50

4M ago29:50

29:50

I sat down with Angie Kim this week to discuss getting inspiration from your location, isolation, and community. Happiness Falls, a Good Morning America Book Club pick, was published in August 2023 by Random House. This week, our Friday readers are buzzing about Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, Autopsy of a Boring Wife by Marie-Renée…

1
Names Have Power: Tope Folarin on Autofiction 24:01

4M ago24:01

24:01

Tope Folarin joins me to talk about the importance of a name, double-consciousness, and different kinds of privilege. Tope’s book A Particular Kind of Black Man was published by Simon & Schuster in 2019. Our Friday readers are devouring Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell, Like Mother Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight, By the Lake of Sleeping Children b…

1
Setting as a Character with Kay Chronister 29:49

5M ago29:49

29:49

Kay Chronister joins me to talk about bogs and how environments influence a novel, Gothic vs horror elements, and physically experiencing a setting as part of the writing process. Kay’s novel, The Bog Wife, was published earlier this month by Counterpoint LLC. This week our Friday Readers are glowing about Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo, Th…

1
Karl Ove Knausgaard's My Struggle: Autofiction and autofellation 43:36

5M ago43:36

43:36

These days every bestselling author writes novels about how their dad was too strict and they got bullied for bringing stinky indian food to school etc. But Karl Ove Knausgaard walked so millennial narcissists could run. This week we get absorbed in part 1 of his epic six-part autobiographical novel My Struggle, published in 2009. The big central q…

1
Writing as Therapy with Jessica Hendry Nelson 26:54

5M ago26:54

26:54

Jessica Hendry Nelson joins me to talk about memoir vs. creative nonfiction, ownership over a story, and therapeutic outlets in writing. Jessica’s novel, Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief, came out in September of 2023 with The University of Georgia Press. In Pop! Goes the Culture, I discuss manmade monsters in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Poo…

1
Mother Is a Form of Magic with Johanna Copeland 29:52

5M ago29:52

29:52

Johanna Copeland joins Bethanne Patrick to talk about finding community post pandemic and creation in the time of motherhood. Johanna’s novel, Our Kind of Game, came out this summer with HarperCollins. She is a former corporate attorney and fellow northern Virginia resident. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about guilt, shame, a…

1
Ted Chiang's Understand: Intelligence explosions and AI doom 1:22:53

5M ago1:22:53

1:22:53

Yeah, it's big brain time. This week we're reading 'Understand' from Ted Chiang's 2002 collection Stories of Your Life and Others. what is the ceiling on human intelligence? can we jooce it up? did Chiang inspire the whole AI doomer movement? would superintelligence beings have to annihilate each other instead of cooperating? Do we buy the orthogon…

1
Claire Messud on Writing Family 25:02

5M ago25:02

25:02

In this episode of The Book Maven: A Literary Revue, Bethanne Patrick sits down with Claire Messud to discuss her book, This Strange Eventful History, and the challenges that arise when writing about your kin, good and bad. So many readers love Jane Austen as an author unreservedly, and the same goes for Emma as a novel. But in today’s “Canon or Ca…

1
A.J. Jacobs on Living Constitutionally 33:36

5M ago33:36

33:36

In this premiere episode of The Book Maven: A Literary Revue, Bethanne Patrick sits down with AJ Jacobs to discuss his book, The Year of Living Constitutionally, and the dangers of living by potentially outdated texts. If there's a literary work that has been adapted into more forms than Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, well it must be Winnie the Pooh. B…

1
Introducing The Book Maven: A Literary Revue 1:46

6M ago1:46

1:46

Introducing The Book Maven: A Literary Revue. Hosted by Bethanne Patrick, who You may know online as @thebookmaven or as the author of a memoir called Life B and a book critic who’s been published in the LA Times, the Washington Post, and Oprah Daily, among others, the Book Maven: A Literary Revue is a variety show where we'll cover the canon and n…

1
Chekhov urself before u wreck-ov urself (The Little Trilogy) 1:44:33

6M ago1:44:33

1:44:33

This week we're reading three of Anton Chekhov's most beloved short stories: The Man in the Case, Gooseberries, and About Love (The Little Trilogy, 1898). We get a minor assist from George Saunders and his fantastic book A Swim in the Pond in the Rain but have no shortage of stuff to discuss. Talking big 5 personality traits, the degree to which pe…

1
The Five-Year Revision: Lexi Kent-Monning on Writing & Publishing Her Debut Novel "The Burden of Joy" 37:58

6M ago37:58

37:58

Today’s guest is Lexi Kent-Monning, who details the five-year journey of revising and submitting her debut novel, The Burden of Joy, which found its home at the small press Rejection Letters. In this episode, Lexi shares how she rediscovered her love of writing at age 33 and took her writing career into her own hands without an MFA. She also explai…

1
Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms: War and love 1:00:49

6M ago1:00:49

1:00:49

Hemingway's 1929 semi-autobiographical classic tackles two big timeless themes: love and war. Two out of three of us can relate to the first one, but war feels pretty alien to us. How would the boys do if they were conscripted? What made WWI so uniquely dispiriting? What is it about this novel that so faithfully captures the experience of war? We a…

1
The Origin Story of Jon Small's Debut & What He's Learned About Indie Publishing 40:16

7M ago40:16

40:16

This is Jon Small's second interview for The Bleeders podcast. In this episode, Jon delves into the creative process behind his debut book, Write About Now, which is based on his podcast and features inspiring origin stories from his guests. He shares the challenges of obtaining permissions, the decision to self-publish, and the common themes that …

1
Crime and Punishment finale: is Dostoevsky...overrated?? 1:31:50

7M ago1:31:50

1:31:50

Not too much plot to cover in parts 5 and 6; mostly we're hashing out our final thoughts on the book and Dostoevsky's legacy. First up is the controversial epilogue. The boys are not sure how believable Rodya's redemption is. It feels kinda cheap? Dostoevsky is not very good at character development but maybe it doesn't matter. Sonya is a perfectly…

1
Crime and Punishment, part 2: Three extraordinary men 1:09:10

7M ago1:09:10

1:09:10

we're just normal men. We're just innocent men! In parts 3 and 4 of Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1866 Crime and Punishment we get a lot more meat on Raskolnikov's 'extraordinary man' thesis. How does it overlap with the concept of the Übermensch in Nietzsche and Hegel? Are we too deeply steeped in Christian morality to become 'extraordinary' without destroy…

1
Crime and Punishment, part 1: Mister Schizo and the First Trad 1:27:10

8M ago1:27:10

1:27:10

Cracking into the first two parts of Dostoevsky's 1866 classic Crime and Punishment. The first surprising thing is that this is a conservative/reactionary book: it mocks the fancy new ideas of the youth, the spirit of revolution, naive utilitarianism, etc. Jordan Peterson laps this shit up. But did the moral panic over materialism hold up? Does mod…

1
Susanna Clarke's Piranesi: Gaslight gatekeep girlboss 1:25:36

8M ago1:25:36

1:25:36

The beauty of this book is immeasurable, and its kindness is infinite. We all love Susanna Clarke's 2012 metaphysical thriller, which feels like a mashup of Borges/C.S. Lewis/Gone Girl. Venture deeper into the labyrinth with us: Piranesi as amateur scientist: On indigenous knowledge, the dangers of naïve empiricism, achieving dominion over nature, …

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