Best National Novel Writing Month Podcasts (2024)

1
The Art of Intimacy, featuring Stacey D’Erasmo 49:26

4d ago49:26

49:26

This week Write-minded reaches broadly into the topic of intimacy to explore its many permutations—not just romantic, but innocuous, violent, collective, and more. Guest Stacey D’Erasmo invites us to consider intimacy in writing, how we do it, how we feel it as readers, and also to consider acts of intimacy, like an older actress showing her authen…

1
The State of the Book Review, featuring John McMurtrie 42:00

11d ago42:00

42:00

This week’s guest is John McMurtrie, the esteemed former editor of the San Francisco Chronicle’s book review section. Join us as we explore the transition of book reviews from traditional media like TV and radio to online outlets like Amazon and Goodreads. His is an interesting take about how things were and how things are, along with insight about…

1
Social Responsibility in Fiction, featuring Naomi Kanakia 46:41

18d ago46:41

46:41

What does it really mean to consider your own social responsibility as a fiction writer? Guest Naomi Kanakia confronted that very question as she considered her modeling as a trans author writing YA books for teens. What if hers was the first book a genderqueer or trans kid ever read? What did she owe her reader? These are some of the questions at …

1
Getting Real About Book Publishing, featuring Kathleen Schmidt 46:49

25d ago46:49

46:49

Strap on your seatbelts ’cause we’re going for a ride—into the wild world of book publishing. Guest Kathleen Schmidt is a leading voice in publishing. Her popular Substack, Publishing Confidential, is a go-to source for tell-it-like-it-is realities about the industry and what authors can and should expect. We talk shop this week, touching upon auth…

1
The Big Familia of Writing Inspiration, featuring Tomas Moniz 39:52

1M ago39:52

39:52

An episode about friendship, writing about friendship, and how friendship influences our writing lives. As a community-minded podcast, Write-minded has often touched upon the importance of a broader net of friendship on our writing. This week we get a bit more specific with guest Tomas Moniz, who’s written a new book about male friendship and whose…

1
Other People’s Words, featuring Lissa Soep 46:23

1M ago46:23

46:23

This week’s Write-minded show examines the nuanced and deep exploration at the heart of guest Lissa Soep’s new book, Other People’s Words. A consideration of the ways others’ voices echo in our own, her book and this episode shows us a kaleidoscope of how we conjure and recycle and tap into the words of others. There’s much to unpack here, too, fro…

1
Light-hearted Writing During Heavy-hearted Times, featuring Neely Tubati-Alexander 35:14

2M ago35:14

35:14

Ready for a reprieve? Join Brooke and Grant and this week’s guest, Neely Tubati-Alexander, for a conversation about whether romance and rom-com writers are having more fun. We dive into questions of the success of the genre, what publishers are looking for, and how a writer gets into romance writing in the first place. A light-hearted episode in ce…

1
Strategies for Writing About Childhood Trauma, featuring Javier Zamora 40:23

2M ago40:23

40:23

This week Write-minded wades into the important topic of writing about childhood trauma. Trauma is at the heart of many of our stories, whether you’re writing coming-of-age or only touching upon childhood stories in the context of specific memoir scenes (or raw material for fiction). Javier’s memoir, Solito, is a stunning book about his nine-week j…

1
Recovering from the Stigma of a "Failed" First Novel, featuring Ethel Rohan 49:06

2M ago49:06

49:06

It's important to learn from the challenges of a failed book rather than allowing it to define your career. The publishing industry can be harsh and unforgiving to writers in this situation. Unforgiving as in agents abandoning the writer or publishers turning away future work, not because of its quality, but because of the one book that didn’t sell…

1
Journeying into Writerly Aesthetic, featuring K-Ming Chang 45:24

2M ago45:24

45:24

A fun episode about aesthetic, language, and paying attention to style and taste in writing. This week’s guest K-Ming Chang talks about disorientation as a style, language as something that lives in the body, and hating plot. This is a playful interview that focuses on the experiential and reminds us that we all have an existential position on our …

1
Breaking Into Ghostwriting and Work-for-Hire Writing, featuring Aubre Andrus 35:35

2M ago35:35

35:35

Ghostwriting and work-for-hire are great ways to break into the publishing industry and to make a living as a writer. Guest Aubre Andrus shows us a side of the writing and publishing business that can seem a bit elusive. And more and more writers are taking on work for hire projects due to mass media layoffs and greater transparency by celebrities …

1
How Stories Get Carried Through the Generations and in Our Bones, featuring Ingrid Rojas Contreras 55:30

3M ago55:30

55:30

This week’s Write-minded floats into the magical and surreal world of Ingrid Rojas Contreras, who talks about her new memoir, The Man Who Could Move Clouds, about her curandera-storytelling mother and their shared history of amnesia, and about why to her magical realism is just realism. Grant and Brooke consider what gets passed down to us from our…

1
Get Into Your Writing Using All the Senses, featuring Janet Fitch 57:21

3M ago57:21

57:21

In this gorgeous, sensualistic, tactile, provocative episode of Write-minded, we explore the senses with Janet Fitch of White Oleander fame. In this interview, Janet takes us on a tour through the senses, making the point that our language is impoverished and we can—and must—do more to become more sophisticated observers on the page. This is an epi…

1
How to Be Self-Revealing in Memoir When You're Not In Real Life, featuring Dr. Brian H. Williams 43:25

3M ago43:25

43:25

This week's episode moves beyond inspiring and into the territory of important, essential, and recommended listening—and reading. Guest Dr. Brian H. Williams, author of the debut memoir, The Bodies Keep Coming, joins us to talk about his experience as a trauma surgeon, and what being on the hospital frontlines can teach us about racial inequities i…

1
Hidden Stories, featuring Vanessa Chan 37:32

3M ago37:32

37:32

Hidden stories are at the heart of many a novel and memoir, driving writers, often from very young ages, toward exploration, uncovering, and the desire to seek for and know truths. Vanessa Chan’s new novel, The Storm We Made, is one such story, spawned by the unlikeliest of spies—a discontent mother and wife in 1930s British Malaya who, in becoming…

1
The Future of the Book, featuring Maja Thomas 49:58

4M ago49:58

49:58

Books were just books for hundreds of years, but in the past 20 years, we've experienced major shifts in how we read and write. Plus, we’re on the brink of another revolution with AI that will change what we know and think we know about book publishing. This week’s guest, Maja Thomas, is the Chief Innovation Officer at Hachette, and her job, essent…

1
The New Year's Un-resolution Show 19:15

4M ago19:15

19:15

Happy New Year! On this week’s Write-minded, Brooke and Grant take stock of last year’s resolutions and hold their own feet to the fire on what was cast out for resolutions, and what was accomplished (or not). We’re probing the resolution, therefore, as we head into 2024—assessing its pros and cons, musing about who we’d be without a goal, and cons…

1
BONUS: Christmas, Animal Crossing & Publishing With Charlotte Crouch 29:31

4M ago29:31

29:31

In today's podcast I sit down with marketing manager Charlotte Crouch to chat Christmas, Books, Animal Crossing & Publishing. Born out of The Frame Your World Company, the Creative Diaries Podcast is hosted by writer & creative Leanne MacDuff with a mission to support independent creatives & small businesses. Discover more at www.frameyourworldco.u…

1
The Subtle Art of Attunement and Its Bearing on Our Writing, featuring Baron Wormser 41:32

4M ago41:32

41:32

This week we’re slowing down, inviting listeners to contemplate another world both far and not far away from this one where there’s no electricity, no internet, no immediate access to all the information of the world at your fingertips. This was the world our guest Baron Wormser occupied for nearly twenty years, and the subject of his memoir, The R…

1
Post NaNoWriMo Tip: Note to Your Future Self 21:18

4M ago21:18

21:18

Do you want to make your future self the happiest writer in the world? Then leave yourself a note at the end of NaNoWriMo! Because listen, we get it. November is over and you've earned a break. But now is the best time to set your future self up for success. In this final episode of the season, hosts Kristina and Liz give tips for the best things t…

1
Finding and Building the Community That’s Right for You, with Alexa Bigwarfe 43:21

5M ago43:21

43:21

This week on Write-minded we’re coming back to a well-loved topic: Community! Only we’re tackling it from some new angles, like the notion that not every community will be the right community for you, and the fact that there are shadow sides to community, and how we and others behave in community. Guest Alexa Bigwarfe talks about her experience in …

1
The Higher Truth of Fiction, featuring Jamila Minnicks 40:34

5M ago40:34

40:34

Join Grant and Brooke this week for a conversation about truth—emotional truth, essential truth, truth as the core driver of all stories. Plus, they share how many words they wrote during November—not nearly as many as either had hoped. Guest Jamila Minnicks speaks about her new novel, Moonrise Over New Jessup, and its powerful protagonist, sense o…

1
The Best NaNoWriMo Merch & Winner Goodies 20:13

5M ago20:13

20:13

It's the LAST DAY of NaNoWriMo, which means... well, either you're already celebrating your win or you're still still furiously writing. Either way, we all know the best part of succeeding at NaNoWriMo (aside from the feeling of a job well done) is the WINNER GOODIES! In today's episode, your hosts Kristina & Liz take it a bit easy, discussing thei…

1
The Origin Story, featuring Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro 48:29

5M ago48:29

48:29

This week's guests are the coeditors (and contributors to) Letters to a Writer of Color. Listen in to hear the profound insights and inspirational origin story that led to Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro’s collaboration on their powerful anthology. Contributors to this collection include Kiese Laymon, Myriam Gurba, Madeleine Thien, Ingrid Rojas C…

1
How Do I END My Story?! 23:34

5M ago23:34

23:34

The end November approaches... and for some, that could mean getting to the end of your novel! But... what does that mean? How do you finish such a huge project? In today's episode, your hosts Kristina and Liz discuss some tips and strategies for ending strong, from resolution to twists to cliffhangers. Enjoy the show? Like this episode, give a thu…

1
Introduction to: The White Room (a tool for writers) 20:31

5M ago20:31

20:31

Have you ever been totally stuck on your writing project and had no idea what to do next? Maybe you need a trip to the white room! And just what is this mythical 'white room' you ask? In today's episode, hosts Liz and Kristina interview guest speaker Katrina Hamilton on what the white room is, how to use it a a writing tool, and all the ways it can…

1
One Sentence Leads to a Second Sentence: Pushing Through the Muddy Middle of NaNoWriMo, featuring Grant Faulkner and Brooke Warner 26:39

6M ago26:39

26:39

Pep Talk alert! Whether you’re writing a ton or writing a-none, this week’s episode is geared toward writers who are feeling the strain of the Muddy Middle. Grant and Brooke talk about strategies for staying on track and offer up encouragement for ways to keep with it—including how to break the wall. Brooke’s references to Esther Perel’s podcast ep…

1
How to Develop Your Writing Voice 23:58

6M ago23:58

23:58

What is "voice" when it comes to writing and how do you develop your own? Can it change over time, and do you need one at all? In this week's episode, hosts Kristina and Liz discuss why voice is important, define the difference between character voice and author voice, and share some of their favorite voice-y authors. Enjoy the show? Like this epis…

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National Novel Writing Month Podcasts

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