Best Mary Robinette Kowal Podcasts (2024)

1
19.37: A Close Reading on Tension: Movement and Resolution 21:27

1d ago21:27

21:27

Today, we’re using music as an entry-point for tension. Howard introduces us to the power of the half-step, and other musical metaphors that can help you to incorporate tension in a new way to your writing. And then DongWon updates the metaphor with an electronic dance music analogy. We also dive into questions you can ask as you weave tension into…

1
Episode 636-With Peter F. Hamilton 52:35

3d ago52:35

52:35

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Peter F. Hamilton, author of Exodus: The Archimedes Engine. About Exodus: The Archimedes Engine: In a past age, humanity fled a dying Earth in massive ark ships. These searched the galaxy to find a new home. Then one fleet found Centauri, a dense cluster of stars teeming with habitable planets. Now, thousands of…

1
19.36: A Close Reading on Tension: Narrative vs. Contextual 26:41

5d ago26:41

26:41

Today, we’re talking about the tension that is actually happening on the page, and the contextual tension is what the reader is bringing to the table. Ring Shout lives in a place of contextual tension and we are excited to dive into how you can use both types of tension in your own writing. Your readers will always bring their own context to your w…

1
19.35: A Close Reading on Tension: An Overview and Why Ring Shout 18:53

12d ago18:53

18:53

Compared to This is How You Lose The Time War, which we read earlier this year, Ring Shout deals with a very real world. This discordance, where authors make their audience uncomfortable by creating things that shouldn’t go together, is part of the power of this novella, and part of the reason we chose to dive into tension! Our favorite metaphor ab…

1
19.34: Grants and Fellowships 28:52

23d ago28:52

28:52

Today we have a wildcard episode for you! We are talking about all the different ways you can sustain your writing career. Our host, Erin Roberts, has done an incredible job of applying for grants, fellowships, and residencies. So, we put her on the spot and got her to dole out advice and insights to help you sustain and develop your writing. Thing…

1
Episode 635-With Stephanie Wrobel 49:14

27d ago49:14

49:14

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Stephanie Wrobel, author of THE HITCHCOCK HOTEL. About THE HITCHCOCK HOTEL: Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round…

1
19.33: Workshops and Retreats 29:55

27d ago29:55

29:55

Today we’re taking a break from our Close Reading Series to discuss writing workshops and retreats! We dive into how to find and prepare to attend a workshop or a retreat and what to think about for organizing your own. Thing of the Week: Solo RPGs! (Strider Mode, Star Trek Adventures, Mythic Game Master) Homework: Go find 3 writing retreats you ar…

1
Episode 634-With Ken Liu 1:01:16

1M ago1:01:16

1:01:16

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Ken Liu, translator of Laozi’s Dao De Jing. About Laozi’s Dao De Jing: Laozi’s Dao De Jing was written around 400 BC by a compassionate soul in a world torn by hatred and ambition, dominated by those that yearned for apocalyptic confrontations and prized ideology over experience. By speaking out against the clev…

1
19.32: An Interview on Character with CL Clark 33:08

1M ago33:08

33:08

We sat down with CL Clark to talk about character—specifically, how they build different POV characters in the compressed space of a short story. We dive into plot processing (a tool CL Clark has learned from Mary Robinette!), how to specify the stakes of your world, and how to build distinct characters. Thing of the Week: Reasons Not To Worry: How…

1
Episode 633-With Elaine Gallagher 47:19

1M ago47:19

47:19

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Unexploded Remnants, author of Elaine Gallagher. About Unexploded Remnants: Alice is the last human. Street-smart and bad-ass. After discovering what appears to be an A.I. personality in an antique data core, Alice decides to locate its home somewhere in the stargate network. At the very least, she wants to lay …

1
19.31: A Close Reading on Character: Tying it All Together 24:04

2M ago24:04

24:04

Today, we’re taking a higher view on the techniques we’ve been talking about over the last four episodes and focusing on how you can use our takeaways in your own writing. We’ll go over our final thoughts on C.L. Clark’s short stories (until next week’s episode, when we interview them!). We’ll also try to summarize the lessons we've learned from Cl…

1
[DD] Recorded back when Mur still had a Gallbladder 43:37

1M ago43:37

43:37

"If you, you know, give ten writers an idea, you get eleven different books." - Ursula Transcript (This post went live for supporters on July 30, 2024. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon or Substack!) In this episode of Ditch Diggers, Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon dive into the gritty realities of the w…

1
Episode 632-With Hana Lee 48:51

2M ago48:51

48:51

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Hana Lee, author of ROAD TO RUIN. About ROAD TO RUIN: Jin-Lu has the most dangerous job in the wasteland. She’s a magebike courier, one of the few who venture outside the domed cities on motorcycles powered by magic. Every day, she braves the wasteland’s dangers—deadly storms, roving marauders, and territorial b…

1
19.30: A Close Reading on Character: Agency vs. Choices 23:03

2M ago23:03

23:03

We have a theory that we want to work through on today’s episode: agency is the ability to take action, whereas choices are more about the interior life of the character. We use Mary Robinette’s talking cat, try-fail cycles, and C.L. Clark’s Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home in order to exam…

1
Episode 631-With Mary Robinette Kowal 39:49

2M ago39:49

39:49

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Mary Robinette Kowal, author of Silent Spaces. About Silent Spaces: Silent Spaces: Tales from the Lady Astronauts is a collection of 9 short stories in the Lady Astronaut Series written by Mary Robinette Kowal, including one written just for this collection. With this campaign the book will be available in print…

1
19.29: A Close Reading on Character: Barriers vs. Stakes 22:55

2M ago22:55

22:55

Our episode today focuses on C.L. Clark’s short story “You Perfect Broken Thing” for how the character's stakes shape the barriers facing her. We use this story to examine how to tell the difference between barriers versus stakes. We also examine how to do this in a compressed space– whether that’s a short story, a single scene, or a compressed tim…

1
Episode 630-With Lynne and Michael Damian Thomas from Uncanny Magazine 1:07:13

2M ago1:07:13

1:07:13

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Lynne and Michael Damian Thomas, Co-Publishers/Co-Editors-in-Chief of UNCANNY MAGAZINE. About Uncanny Magazine Year 11: This One Goes to ELEVEN: Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas have run Kickstarters for the seven-time Hugo Award-winning and 2024 Locus Award-winning Uncanny Magazine Years One, Two, Three,…

1
19.28: A Close Reading on Character: Internal vs External Identity 24:24

2M ago24:24

24:24

Today, we’re focusing on C.L. Clark’s “The Cook,” as we explore external and internal expression. We chose this story because it's a remarkably physical and touchable story with myriad sensory details. While the audience gets very little information about what Clark’s characters are thinking, you can still understand their internal landscapes by wh…

1
Episode 629-With Audrey Burges 51:22

2M ago51:22

51:22

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Audrey Burges, author of A House Like An Accordion. About A House Like An Accordion: Keryth Miller is disappearing. Between the growing distance from her husband, the demands of two teenage daughters, and an all-encompassing burnout, she sometimes feels herself fading away. Actual translucence, though—that’s new…

1
19.27: A Close Reading on Character: An Overview and Why We Chose C.L. Clark's Stories 23:45

3M ago23:45

23:45

Today we introduce our next close reading series—we’re focusing on character through the lens of three of C.L. Clark’s short stories: “You Perfect, Broken Thing,” “The Cook,” and “Your Eyes, My Beacon: Being an Account of Several Misadventures and How I Found My Way Home”. They are all hyperlinked above and available online for free through Uncanny…

1
[DD] Book Tours, TikTok, and Twitter Tantrums 37:59

3M ago37:59

37:59

"Being on BookTok will not give you a career if you don't have one. Do what makes you happy." - Ursula Transcript (This post went live for supporters on July 3, 2024. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon or Substack!) In this episode, Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon dive into the realities of book tours, th…

1
Episode 628-With Josh Malerman 58:12

3M ago58:12

58:12

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Josh Malerman, author of Incidents Around the House. About Incidents Around the House: To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?” When horrifying incidents around…

1
19.26: Bringing Falconry into Writing 27:49

3M ago27:49

27:49

Today we are joined by the incredible falconer Krista Hong Edwards. Krista was kind enough to take our hosts out with her falcons, and we had the most amazing time! Krista sat down with us to talk about falcons, literature, and much more. Check out our liner notes (below) for all of the texts we reference! Thing of the Week: Cher Ami and Major Whit…

1
[DD] Ursula Vernon Takes Over- New Beginnings and No More Cancer! 55:56

3M ago55:56

55:56

"If you want to make money, you have to think about it like a job."- Mur Transcript (This post went live for supporters on June 26, 2024. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon or Substack!) Welcome back to Ditch Diggers! In this episode, we kick things off with a fresh start and a new co-host. The mighty Mu…

1
Episode 627-With Peng Shepherd 46:20

3M ago46:20

46:20

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Peng Shepherd, author of ALL THIS AND MORE. About ALL THIS AND MORE: Meek, play-it-safe Marsh has just turned forty-five, and her life is in shambles. Her career is stagnant, her marriage has imploded, and her teenage daughter grows more distant by the day. Marsh is convinced she’s missed her chance at everythin…

1
19.25: From the Classroom to the Page 25:50

3M ago25:50

25:50

Learning is great, but how do you translate it into doing without getting overwhelmed? What is the difference between learning in the classroom and executing when you're on your own? Marshall, our incredible recording engineer, just finished an MFA program. Congrats, Marshall!! On today’s episode, we gril Marshall in order to understand his takeawa…

1
Episode 626-With Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam 50:31

3M ago50:31

50:31

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, author of GRIM ROOT. About GRIM ROOT: On the set of The Groom, a group of women must compete for the heart of Midwestern bachelor Tristan by spending a week in a haunted house. Divorcee Linda, resigned to her role as the show’s underdog, finds her resolve cracking when she begins to fall f…

1
19.24: An Interview on Worldbuilding with Arkady Martine 35:43

3M ago35:43

35:43

We've spent the last month talking about "A Memory Called Empire, and now, we are so excited to welcome the author, Arkady Martine, to the show! On today's episode, we talk with Arkady about the origins of her novel, and dive into how she navigated the dense and intricate world-building. Arkady gives us advice on what not to do, where to look for y…

1
Episode 625-With Sarah Pinsker

3M ago

—

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Sarah Pinsker, author of Haunt Sweet Home. About Haunt Sweet Home: When aimless twenty-something Mara lands a job as the night-shift production assistant on her cousin’s ghost hunting/home makeover reality TV show Haunt Sweet Home, she quickly determines her new role will require a healthy attitude toward duplic…

1
19.23: Tying It All Together (A Close Reading on Worldbuilding) 22:29

3M ago22:29

22:29

Today, the gang talks about their final thoughts on Martine’s “A Memory Called Empire.” We conclude with some lessons we’ve learned through analyzing her work, and we share our favorite bits! Thing of the Week: Pasión de las Pasiones Homework: Find a piece of world building that you love and come up with another way to use it in your work in progre…

1
19.22: Technology and Identity (A Close Reading on Worldbuilding) 26:02

4M ago26:02

26:02

The imago technology lies at the heart of this novel thematically and narratively. How does this technology create a world, delineate Mahit's culture from Teixcalaan, and ask enormous questions about identity and empire? Thing of the Week: “Rotten” (Documentary Series available on Netflix) Homework: Come up with three technological or magical appro…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Mary Robinette Kowal Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide