Best Indie Author Diaries Podcasts (2024)

1
Jo Hamya, author of THE HYPOCRITE 1:03:15

11h ago1:03:15

1:03:15

Jo Hamya was born in London in 1997 where she now lives. After living in Miami for a few years, she completed an English degree at King’s College London and a MSt in contemporary literature and culture at Oxford University. There, she divided her research between updating twentieth-century cultural theory into twenty-first-century digital contexts,…

1
In a Lonely Place w/ Isaac Butler 1:16:23

3d ago1:16:23

1:16:23

The 1947 Dorothy Hughes novel In a Lonely Place is considered a hallmark of the noir genre, and also something of a feminist reimagining of those genre's tropes. We're joined by Isaac Butler (author of The Method: How the 20th Century Learned to Act) to talk about some of the book's narrative tricks, including an unreliable third-person narrator, a…

1
Sarah Weinman on The Blunderer 59:41

9d ago59:41

59:41

We're back! This episode kicks off a new season of the podcast, and this one's all about noir. In our first installment, guest Sarah Weinman (author of Scoundrel, and The Real Lolita) joins us to discuss a Patricia Highsmith novel, The Blunderer, about a rather hapless man who, despite not actually killing his wife, manages to convince nearly every…

1
Zoe Whittall, author of WILD FAILURE 58:18

9d ago58:18

58:18

Zoe Whittall is a Canadian poet, novelist, and TV writer. She has published five novels including The Fake, The Spectacular, The Best Kind of People which is being adapted for film by Sarah Polley, the Lambda-winning Holding Still for as Long as Possible, and her debut, Bottle Rocket Hearts. She has film and TV credits on the Baroness von Sketch Sh…

1
Jean Hanff Korelitz, author of THE SEQUEL 50:52

17d ago50:52

50:52

Jean Hanff Korelitz is the author of nine novels including The Latecomer and The Plot (both in development for limited series), You Should Have Known (adapted as HBO’s 2020 limited series, The Undoing, by David E. Kelley and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant) and Admission (basis for the 2013 film starring Tina Fey). The Plot was featured on Th…

1
Jonathan Lethem, author of BROOKLYN CRIME NOVEL 54:26

23d ago54:26

54:26

Jonathan Lethem is one of the smartest, riskiest, and most experimental writers working in crime fiction today. He writes about crime not only like a fiction writer with all that propulsive page turning thrill, but also like a sociologist, a psychologist, a historian and a philosopher. That might never have been truer of his work than his latest, B…

1
Jenna Satterthwaite, literary agent and author of MADE FOR YOU 1:01:58

1M ago1:01:58

1:01:58

Jenna Satterthwaite was born in the Midwest, grew up in Spain, lived briefly in France, and now lives in Chicago with her husband and three kids. Jenna studied classical guitar at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Zaragoza and earned her BAs in English Lit and French at Indiana University. Once upon a time, Jenna moonlighted as a singer-so…

1
Alice Hoffman, author of WHEN WE FLEW AWAY: A NOVEL OF ANNE FRANK BEFORE THE DIARY 57:14

1M ago57:14

57:14

Alice Hoffman is the author of more than 40 books, including novels, YA fiction, middle grade and children’s books, short stories and nonfiction. Perhaps best known for her 1995 novel Practical Magic, which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name, many of her works fall into the genre of magic realism and contain elements of magic, irony, and …

1
Special show with hybrid and indie authors 1:24:29

2M ago1:24:29

1:24:29

This week we’re talking with four hybrid/self-published authors. Christine Amoroso spent the first decade of her professional career as an accountant. In 1997 she chased a childhood dream and began a career in elementary education, first as a teacher and then a principal. In 2014 she started a blog, Bare Naked in Public, writing personal narratives…

1
Elizabeth Strout, author of TELL ME EVERYTHING 59:57

2M ago59:57

59:57

Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel, Tell Me Everything, brings together her whole cast of characters to Crosby, Maine. Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton finally meet. Lucy continues her intense friendship with Bob Burgess. And, along the way, there’s a murder investigation, separations, and struggles with addiction. The book asks the big questions — wh…

1
Patricia Engel, author of THE FARAWAY WORLD (stories) 49:15

2M ago49:15

49:15

Patricia Engel is the author of five books including the newest collection of short stories, The Faraway World; Infinite Country, a New York Times Bestseller and Reese's Book Club pick; The Veins of the Ocean, winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize; It’s Not Love, It’s Just Paris, winner of the International Latino Book Award; and Vida, a finali…

1
Ben Shattuck, author of THE HISTORY OF SOUND 1:06:42

2M ago1:06:42

1:06:42

Ben Shattuck is the author of Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, which was a New Yorker Best Book of 2022, a Wall Street Journal Best Book of Spring, and the New York Times Best Book of Summer. His latest is The History of Sound, a collection of 12 stories told as duets or couplets, with two stories talking to each other. He joins …

1
Sarah Pearse, author of THE WILDS 56:35

3M ago56:35

56:35

Sarah Pearse lives by the sea in South Devon with her husband and two daughters. After moving to Switzerland in her twenties, she spent every spare moment exploring the mountains in the Swiss Alpine town of Crans Montana, the dramatic setting that inspired her debut novel, The Sanatorium, a Reese Witherspoon Bookclub Pick. The Retreat, her second n…

1
Julia Phillips, author of BEAR 58:36

3M ago58:36

58:36

Julia Phillips is the author of the National Book Award finalist and NYT Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year debut Disappearing Earth. Her latest is Bear, out and available by Hogarth. She joins Marrie to talk about it, as well as the power of fairytales and using that structure in your work. She talks about working in a close third point of vi…

1
Flynn Berry, author of TRUST HER 53:34

3M ago53:34

53:34

Flynn Berry is author of Trust Her. Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of Under the Harrow, winner of the 2017 Edgar Award for Best First Novel; A Double Life, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice; and Northern Spy, a Reese’s Book Club pick that was named one of the ten best thrillers of 2021 by The New York Times and The Washin…

1
Kimberly McCreight, author of LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER 1:00:47

3M ago1:00:47

1:00:47

New York Times bestseller Kimberly McCreight is the author of eight novels, including A Good Marriage, Friends Like These and Reconstructing Amelia. She’s also the author of the New York Times bestselling young adult trilogy The Outliers. Several of her novels have been optioned for the screen. Her latest is Like Mother, Like Daughter. She joins Ma…

1
Jill Ciment, author of the memoir, CONSENT 1:01:07

3M ago1:01:07

1:01:07

Jill Ciment is the author of the collection of short stories and novellas, Small Claims; the novels The Law of Falling Bodies, Teeth of the Dog, The Tattoo Artist, Heroic Measures, Act of God, The Body in Question; and the memoirs, Half a Life and Consent. She has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, among them a National Endowment for…

1
Teddy Wayne, author of THE WINNER 53:00

3M ago53:00

53:00

Teddy Wayne is the author of the novels The Winner, The Great Man Theory, Apartment, Loner, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine, and Kapitoil. He is the winner of a Whiting Writers’ Award and an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship as well as a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award, PEN/Bingham Prize, and Dayton Literary Peace Prize. A former columnis…

1
Kevin Barry, author of THE HEART IN WINTER 1:00:39

4M ago1:00:39

1:00:39

Kevin Barry is the author of four novels — Night Boat to Tangier, Beatlebone, City of Bohane (which was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize) and, most recently, The Heart in Winter. He’s also the author of three short story collections, including That Old Country Music. The Heart in Winter was 25 years in the making. Unlike his other works, the st…

1
Dawn Tripp, author of the novel JACKIE 1:05:48

4M ago1:05:48

1:05:48

(This podcast was recorded live on June 22, 2024 at Arvida Book Co in Tustin, California.) Dawn Tripp is the author of the novel Georgia, a national bestseller. She is the author of three previous novels: Game of Secrets, Moon Tide, and The Season of Open Water, which won the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction. Her poems and essays have appeared …

1
Joyce Maynard, author of HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN 1:01:54

4M ago1:01:54

1:01:54

Joyce Maynard has been publishing since she was 13 years old. She first came to national attention with the publication of her New York Times cover story, “An Eighteen Year Old Looks Back on Life,” in 1972, when she was a freshman at Yale. Since then, she has published 20 books, including the New York Times bestselling novel, Labor Day and To Die F…

1
Literary agent Dani Segelbaum 52:57

4M ago52:57

52:57

Dani Segelbaum began her publishing career as an editorial assistant at HarperCollins Publishers, focusing primarily on highly designed non-fiction titles. She ‘s worked as a literary assistant at New Leaf Literary & Media, working with established and debut authors. Dani joined Arc Literary in 2024 after three years at the Carol Mann Agency. Born …

1
Dave Housley on Bridget Jones's Diary 1:12:46

4M ago1:12:46

1:12:46

In the final episode of our "marriage plot" season, we welcome fan favorite Dave Housley (author, most recently, of The Other Ones, and founding editor of Barrelhouse Magazine) to talk about a book that updated the 19th-century marriage plot novel for the 1990s: Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary. Dave had seen the movie version of the novel mu…

1
Curtis Sittenfeld, author of ROMANTIC COMEDY 1:01:53

5M ago1:01:53

1:01:53

Curtis Sittenfeld is the bestselling author of seven novels and one collection of short stories. Her books have been on many “Best Books of the Year” lists, optioned for television and film, and translated into 30 languages. Romantic Comedy is her latest. It was picked for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club in 2023 and it’s now out in paperback. She joi…

1
Lucas Mann on The Marriage Plot 1:16:39

5M ago1:16:39

1:16:39

We couldn't do a season on "the marriage plot" in literature without reading the Jeffrey Eugenides novel that's literally titled The Marriage Plot. Guest Lucas Mann (author, most recently, of the essay collected Attachments, and co-owner of Riffraff Bookstore and Bar in Providence, Rhode Island) joins us to discuss Eugenides' novel, which contains …

1
Tracy Sierra, author of NIGHTWATCHING 55:18

5M ago55:18

55:18

Tracy Sierra was born and raised in the Colorado mountains. She is an attorney who currently lives in New England in an antique colonial-era home complete with its own secret room. When not writing, she spends time with her husband and two children. Nightwatching is her debut novel and was the Spring pick of the Jimmy Fallon Book Club. Tracy joins …

1
Beth Ann Fennelly on How to Stay Married 1:12:53

5M ago1:12:53

1:12:53

Poet and novelist Beth Ann Fennelly (Heating & Cooling, The Tilted World) joins us to talk about an unconventional love story, Harrison Scott Key's How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told. We talk about learning life lessons from memoirs, how to write about difficult relationships--especially when you're still in them--and Beth An…

1
Ann Leary, author of I’VE TRIED BEING NICE 1:00:46

5M ago1:00:46

1:00:46

Ann Leary has led an extraordinary life. Married for over 30 years to actor and comedian Denis Leary, Ann has walked red carpets, partied with stars, and traveled the world, all while sustaining her own rich career in writing. But she’s also relatable to the everywoman. She’s struggled with alcoholism. Struggled in her marriage. Struggled with her …

1
Curtis Sittenfeld on Alice Munro 1:23:25

5M ago1:23:25

1:23:25

We continue our "marriage plot" season with guest Curtis Sittenfeld (Prep, American Wife, Romantic Comedy) who talks us through one of her favorite Alice Munro stories, why she admires it, and how it's influenced her own work. Plus: Are trains romantic? Is some writing trying too hard to be sexy? And what's the ideal bathroom situation for a marria…

1
Roxana Robinson, author of LEAVING 1:00:12

5M ago1:00:12

1:00:12

Roxana Robinson is the author of eleven books—seven novels, three collections of short stories, and the biography of Georgia O’Keeffe. Four of these were chosen as New York Times Notable Books, two as New York Times Editors’ Choices. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Best American Short Stories, The Southampton Rev…

1
Peter Ho Davies on Ben Lerner's 10:04 1:22:03

5M ago1:22:03

1:22:03

Our "marriage plot" season continues, but with a twist: on this episode, novelist Peter Ho Davies introduces us to "the parent plot," which he argues is a contemporary successor to all those 19th-century novels about choosing a mate. For many, becoming a parent is not only one of life's biggest choices, but also a cultural marker of adult responsib…

1
Megan Miranda, author of DAUGHTER OF MINE 50:22

5M ago50:22

50:22

Megan Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls; The Perfect Stranger; The Last House Guest, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick; The Girl from Widow Hills; Such a Quiet Place; The Last to Vanish; and The Only Survivors. She has also written several books for young adults. She grew up in New Jersey, graduated from MIT…

1
A.J. Jacobs, author of THE YEAR OF LIVING CONSTITUTIONALLY 1:01:03

6M ago1:01:03

1:01:03

A.J. Jacobs is the author of nine books including the NYT bestsellers The Year of Living Biblically, The Know It All, Drop Dead Healthy, and The Puzzler. His latest, in the spirit of The Year of Living Biblically, is The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning. A.J. joins Marrie Stone to…

1
Tyrese Coleman on Outlander 1:19:17

6M ago1:19:17

1:19:17

Our season on "the marriage plot" continues, with author Tyrese Coleman (How to Sit) joining us to talk about the first book in the Outlander series, which is one of the most popular historical fantasy romance novels ever written. She tries to help us understand why people find it sexy, rather than tedious. We also talk about the book's relationshi…

1
Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of ONE WRONG WORD 1:00:33

6M ago1:00:33

1:00:33

Hank Phillippi Ryan is the USA Today bestselling author of 15 novels of suspense. She has won multiple prestigious awards for her crime fiction, including five Agathas, five Anthonys, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. She’s the on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, and has won 37 EMMYs, 14 Edward R. Murrow awards, and dozens o…

1
Catherine Nichols on The Tenant of Wildfell Hall 1:17:03

6M ago1:17:03

1:17:03

Our "marriage plot" season continues, with freelance writer and podcaster Catherine Nichols joining us to talk about the "least fun" Bronte sister, and her novel about what happens when you marry a drunken frat boy (or whatever the 19th-century equivalent of a frat was). Check out Catherine's podcast, Lit Century, in which she and author Sandra New…

1
Ela Lee, author of “Jaded” 52:51

6M ago52:51

52:51

Debut novelist Ela Lee is author of the breakout novel Jaded, published in the US by Simon and Schuster and in the UK by Vintage. Prior to becoming a novelist, Ela was a litigator who grew up in London. Ela joins Marrie Stone to talk about a lot of writerly topics, including writing about sexual violence and misogyny in the post #metoo movement, wr…

1
Adelle Waldman on Sense & Sensibility 1:15:01

6M ago1:15:01

1:15:01

We kick off our new, 8-episode season on "the marriage plot" in literature with guest Adelle Waldman (The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., Help Wanted) talking to us about one of her favorite authors, Jane Austen. You can learn more about Adelle and her books at her website: https://adellewaldman.com/ If you like the podcast, and want more of it in yo…

1
Alexander Sammartino, author of LAST ACTS 1:04:06

6M ago1:04:06

1:04:06

Alexander Sammartino was born in Rhode Island, grew up in Arizona, and now lives in Brooklyn. He received his MFA from Syracuse University. His debut novel, Last Acts, was published by Scribner in January and was selected as a New York Times’ Editors Choice. Last Acts has been described as “hilarious and wrenching,” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune,…

1
Jill McCorkle, author of “Old Crimes” 1:00:41

6M ago1:00:41

1:00:41

Jill McCorkle is the author of seven novels, two which came out on the same day in 1984 and, her most recent, Hieroglyphics, to great acclaim. Five of her books have been named New York Times notable books and four of her stories have appeared in Best American Short Stories. Her essay, “Cuss Time,” originally published in The American Scholar, was …

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