Vermont author, educator, environmentalist, and Co-founder of 350.org and Th!rd Act Bill McKibben, in a conversation about his 2022 memoir, The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened (Henry Holt & Co). This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously offered b…

Vermont Author Nathaniel Ian Miller in a conversation about his novel, The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven (Little Brown). This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously offered by my guest, Nathaniel Ian Miller, who recently heard someone extoll the virtues of writing about one’s work. Nathaniel commented that he liked this idea, and that he would lik…

Award-winning Vermont Author Brad Kessler in conversation about his 2021 novel, North (Overlook Press). One review of Brad Kessler’s work, a blurb by the author Chris Abani, mentions the way that Brad lets his characters’ dignity lead the story. I love this observation, and have been thinking a lot about it. This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to …

British Author Caroline Lea, whose new novel is PrizeWomen (Harper Perennial). This week's Write the Book Prompt was suggested by my guest, Caroline Lea. It's an assignment she sometimes gives to her students. Go somewhere you wouldn't normally go, and write about it. (Don’t get arrested, she says. Or if you do, don’t blame her!) Her students have …

An interview from 2015 (with our old music!) with literary agent Emily Forland, of the Brandt Hochman Agency in New York. This week’s Write The Book Prompt is to write about a season you are not presently experiencing. Is it warm where you are? Write about the cold. Is spring coming on? Write about the fall. Work from memory, as much as you can, an…

Vermont Author Annie Seyler, whose debut novel is The Wisdom of Winter (Atmosphere Press). This week's Write the Book Prompt was generously offered by my guest, Annie Seyler. Identify a moment from your childhood that shaped you somehow and write it out as a scene, but with a different ending or outcome than the way you lived it. Good luck with you…

Olena Kharchenko and Michael Sampson, co-authors The Story of Ukraine (Brown Books Kids). We have two Write the Book Prompts this week. Michael Sampson offered one that seemed rather dark, so he turned it on its head and offered another that’s more upbeat. First, describe a nightmare you’ve had, including setting and details that explain why it is …

Award-winning science writer and journalist Jessica Nordell, author of The End of Bias: A Beginning (Metropolitan). This week's Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Jessica Nordell, who points out that observing our own bias can be a challenge. She suggests considering, What would you write if you could be certain that you ha…

Fall 2022 Green Mountain Book Festival panel on Mysteries and Thrillers, moderated by Rachel Carter and featuring authors Miciah Bay Gault, Margot Harrison, Sarah Stewart Taylor, and Sarah Strohmeyer. This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to play two truths and a lie with a few writing friends. Think of the three scary stories to tell: two that are …

Vermont Author Erika Nichols-Frazer, speaking about her new memoir, Feed Me: A Story of Food, Love and Mental Illness (Casper Press). This week's Write the Book Prompt was generously offered by my guest, Erika Nichols-Frazer. Feed Me is all about memories and food. Think of a food that holds some emotional significance: a pie you used to bake with …

Vermont Author Andrew Liptak, whose recent book is Cosplay: A History: The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life (Saga Press). This week’s first Write the Book Prompt won’t surprise you, if you listened to the interview. Dress in costume and write about the person you see yourself representing. If you have a costume tha…

Fall 2022 Green Mountain Book Festival panel on Nonfiction, moderated by Shelagh and featuring authors Brian Michael Murphy, Sandra Matthews, Jessica Nordell, and Erik Shonstrom. This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to try your hand at writing a nonfiction essay about something that has lately been on your mind: perhaps a news item, a weather event…

An interview from the archives with cancer survivor, yoga teacher and author Tari Prinster. We discuss her 2014 book Yoga for Cancer: A Guide to Managing Side Effects, Boosting Immunity, and Improving Recovery for Cancer Survivors (Healing Arts Press). This week’s Write The Book Prompt is to spend five-to-ten minutes focusing on your breathing befo…

Our second NaNoWriMo check-in of the month is a conversation with Vermont Author Reina Pennington, military history expert and former Norwich University Professor. This week's second Write the Book Prompt comes from Reina Pennington, who suggests writing with the same implement that your character might have written with. Not all the time, but at l…

Vermont Poet and Publisher Samantha Kolber, of Rootstock Publishing. One of this week's Write the Book Prompts comes from Samantha Kolber, who suggests writing for seven minutes without stopping. Put your pen to the page or your fingers to the keys, and have at it for seven minutes straight. Samantha loves this exercise and finds she comes up with …

Angela Palm moderates this Fall 2022 Green Mountain Book Festival panel on Memoir, featuring fellow Vermont Authors Jay Parini, Brett Ann Stanciu, and former Governor Madeleine May Kunin. This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to write a short memoir containing three things: the story of how you came to have your name, a recent dream you’ve had, and …

Local author and professor Dr. Millicent Eidson, who writes a series of novels concerning the work of fictional CDC veterinarian Dr. Maya Maguire. A regular NaNoWriMo participant, Millie spoke with me live on WBTV-LP about that experience. This Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Dr. Millicent Eidson, who reminds us that con…

Live radio interview with Roseanne Montillo, author of Deliberate Cruelty (Atria Books). Roseanne Montillo was kind enough to offer a Write the Book Prompt during our conversation. Keep a journal, recording both the trivial and mundane observations, but also details about your travels, your memories, your interpretation of favorite books. Good luck…

Author Thomas H. McNeely, whose new collection is Pictures of the Shark: Stories (Texas Review Press). This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Thomas H. McNeely, and it is drawn from our conversation. We talked about the objects that writers bring into stories, and the power that objects can hold. This week, consider…

Writer, speaker and storyteller Gareth Higgins, author of how not to be afraid: Seven Ways to Live When Everything Seems Terrifying (Broadleaf Books). Gareth Higgins was kind enough to allow me to share one of the invitations in his book, how not to be afraid, as this week’s Write the Book Prompt. The invitation is shared in full at the end of the …

Vermont author and poet Rebecca Valley, author of the chapbook The Salvageman, whose new book is Curious Cases: True Crime for Kids - Hijinks, Heists, Mysteries and More (Bloom Books for Young Readers). This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Rebecca Valley. Let a main character or a community about which you are wri…

An interview from the archives with veteran Boston Globe Reporter Stephen Kurkjian, author of Master Thieves, the story of the the largest art theft in history, published by PublicAffairs. This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to write 300 words about a theft that goes wrong in some way. The stolen items could involve art, jewels, people, pets, or e…

The editors of Vermont Almanac discuss their work. A recording of a Green Mountain Book Festival panel discussion featuring Virginia Barlow, Dave Mance III, and Patrick White. This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to write about an insect or arachnid. We aren’t all as focused on insects as Virginia Barlow, but they are vital. This is a quote from th…

Guest Interviewer Kim MacQueen speaks with John Killacky, author of Because Art, and Mark Redmond, author of Called, both published by Onion River Press. Last week the Green Mountain Book Festival came to Burlington and it was a fantastic event! I'm on the board. As the festival plans for next year, we'd love to hear ideas for panels. So your Write…

Writer, editor and photographer Kimberly Garrett Brown, whose new book is Cora's Kitchen (Inanna Publications). This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to consider an unlikely friendship. Who are the individuals and why would a friendship between them be unexpected? How do they meet? Are they in the same town, on vacation, at a rest area, in a nursing…

A new interview with Vermont author Doug Wilhelm about his nonfiction book, Catalysts for Change: How Nonprofits and a Foundation Are Helping Shape Vermont's Future (Rootstock). This week’s Write the Book Prompt was kindly suggested by my guest, Doug Wilhelm, who thinks about stories all the time. Find one observation: something you’ve overhead or …

Two interviews from the archives - with our old music! - with Vermont author and editor Angela Palm and Vermont poet Malisa Garlieb. Angela Palm's collection Riverine: A Memoir from Anywhere but Here won the Graywolf nonfiction award, was an Oprah.com pick for "Powerful Memoirs by Powerful Women," an Indie Next List pick, and A Kirkus Best Book in …

Vermont Poet Daniel Lusk, who's new collection is Every Slow Thing (Kelsay Books). This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to consider what Daniel calls his “farthings,” tiny Zen-like poems that share wit, irony, natural beauty, and wisdom. Here are a few of his, kindly shared with us: Sepals - As if priests were magpies and souls were shiny objects. …

New York Times bestselling author Fiona Barton, whose new novel is Local Gone Missing (Berkley). This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to write about an altercation between someone who lives full time in a small town and a visitor, seasonal homeowner, or tourist. What sets them off and what preceded the incident for each of them? How does the full-t…

An interview from the archives (with our old music!) with Vermont poet and UVM Professor Stephen Cramer. We discussed his book From the Hip: A Concise History of Hip Hop (in sonnets). Since that time, Stephen has published a number of other books. His latest collection, The Disintegration Loops, "attempts to uncover the music within the world's dis…

A new interview with the author Mohsin Hamid, whose latest novel is The Last White Man (Riverhead). This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to write about a drastic change in a character’s life - even something unlikely or impossible - that changes their world in some way, bringing both difficulty and relief. Good luck with your work in the coming wee…

Vermont poet Laura Budofsky Wisniewski, the author of Sanctuary, Vermont (Orison). This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Laura Budofsky Wisniewski. Set a timer and start writing. Do not stop. Even if you have to occasionally write the same word over and over until the next word comes, keep it up. When the timer goe…

Vermont photographer and writer across genres Shanta Lee Gander, whose debut poetry collection, Ghettoclaustrophobia: Dreamin of Mama While Trying to Speak Woman in Woke Tongues (Diode Editions), won the Vermont Book Award for Poetry in 2021. This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Shanta Lee Gander, who mentioned he…

An interview from the archives with novelist and story writer J. Robert Lennon. We discussed his story collection, See You in Paradise, published by Graywolf Press. Last year he published two more books with Graywolf, a novel called Subdivision and a story collection, Let Me Think. This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to write a paragraph about a m…

An interview from the archives with award winning writer, educator and translator Wendy Call. This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to choose one of the following sentences, and translate it into a language of your own design. Tomorrow morning, as the sun shines up and over the eastern wall of your house, you will awaken to a gift of joy. He ran thr…

An interview with Pulitzer-Prize winning author Jennifer Egan about her new novel The Candy House (Scribner). This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Jennifer Egan—an exercise she assigns her students that she says has been helpful. Imagine yourself in a physical place, such as a room that you know well from an earli…

An interview with 2019 Quill Prose Prize winner, Carlos Allende, about his novel, Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love (Red Hen Press). This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest Carlos Allende. Create a character that does something reprehensible or immoral. The person can be anyone: from a child who broke the rules to a seri…

Author Jori Lewis, whose debut nonfiction book is Slaves for Peanuts (The New Press). This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Jori Lewis. If you’re working on something and it’s not moving along well, try changing the perspective. And in doing this, keep in mind the way one focuses a camera: focus in, pull out. Good …

An interview from the archives with bestselling author Meg Wolitzer, about her novel for young adults, Belzhar (Dutton Books for Young Readers). One of her latest projects is hosting Selected Shorts at New York's Symphony Space, hosted by Public Radio International. Seedlings, soil, compost, fertilizer. It’s gardening season. This week’s Write the …

This month, the words of celebrated Vermont poet David Budbill take center stage in Sutras for a Suffering World, a concert featuring Vermont and New York artists and music by composers William Parker, Erik Nielsen, and Evan Premo. I spoke with Vermont artists Lois Eby and Nadine Budbill, wife and daughter of the late David Budbill, about these con…

Vermont Author Jennifer McMahon, whose new novel is The Children on the Hill (Simon & Schuster). Jennifer's recent reads include: The Fervor, by Alma Katsu My Heart Is a Chainsaw, by Stephen Graham Jones This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Jennifer McMahon, who sent me this note: At its heart, The Children on the…

Melanie Finn, winner of the Vermont Book Award in Fiction 2021, and author of The Hare (Two Dollar Radio). Melanie's favorite recent reads include: Empireland, by Sathnam SangheraOn The Black Hill, by Bruce ChatwinOrlando, by Virginia Woolf This week's Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, Melanie Finn, who recommends starting…

Kurt Johnson and his daughter, Ellie Johnson, who have collaborated on a new novel titled The Barrens: A Novel of Love and Death in the Canadian Arctic (Arcade). This week I have two Write the Book Prompts to offer, thanks to the generosity of my guests. Kurt Johnson suggests writing a paragraph the beginning and end of which you know ahead of time…

Maya Rodale, best-selling and award-winning author of funny feminist historical fiction and romance. Her latest novel is Mad Girls of New York (Berkley). This week’s Write the Book Prompt was suggested by my guest, Maya Rodale, who said it was inspired by our conversation. Take this scenario and write it forward: She was in a rush to get downtown–t…

Michelle Huneven's latest is Search, a funny novel about a congregational search committee, told as a memoir with recipes (Penguin). This week’s Write the Book Prompt comes from Michelle Huneven’s book, Search. It’s one that the search committee is offered when they begin working with the consultant named Helen: IMAGINE YOUR LIFE AS A MOVIE THAT YO…

An interview from the archives - complete with the old music! - with Robert Boswell, award-winning author of seven novels, including Tumbledown (Graywolf Press). Robert Boswell published a book on craft in 2008, The Half-Known World. In this book, he details how important it is for writers to give themselves over to what he calls the "half-known wo…

An interview from the archives with Jacqueline Woodson, about her National Book Award winning memoir-in-verse, Brown Girl Dreaming (Nancy Paulsen Books). Have you ever tried to write a story in verse? Not necessarily a long story. Maybe an anecdote you would share with a friend about something that happened to you on a random Monday afternoon. This…

Mark Wish and Elizabeth Coffey, editors of a new anthology: Coolest American Stories 2022 (Coolest Stories Press). This year marked the inaugural publication of the book, which will come out each January. This week’s Write the Book Prompt is actually a publishing prompt (because we all know how hard it is to send out work once we've written it). Po…

A conversation from the archives with the author Vikram Chandra about his nonfiction book, Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty (Graywolf Press). This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to include a few (let's say three) of the following items together in a story, scene, poem, or essay: a dock fender for a boat the bow of a violin a le…

An interview from the archives with local author and Queen City Ghostwalk Guide Thea Lewis about her book Haunted Inns and Ghostly Getaways of Vermont, published by The History Press. This week’s Write the Book Prompt is to imagine a creepy scenario that has always frightened you. Maybe it has to do with going down into a basement, or up into an at…