Podcasts about mighty blaze

"Comedy writers learn early on that we have a high degree of anonymity," writes podcast guest Alan Zweibel in his memoir Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier. "Our words are spoken publicly by others who often have famous faces. Or by unknown people on their way to having famous faces." As one of the founding writers on Saturday Night Live, Alan's words were given voice by a cast of virtual unknowns, all on their way to becoming famous faces, eventually earning worldwide acclaim as some of the most iconic comic performers of their generation. Over the course of his 50-year career, he has penned jokes for dozens of Borscht Belt comedians and written for some of SNL's most memorable characters (such as Gilda Radner's "Roseanne Rosannadanna," John Belushi's "Samurai," and Garrett Morris's "Chico Escuela"), and helped to craft SNL producer Lorne Michaels's now-legendary appeal to invite the Beatles to appear on the show for the standard artist fee of $3,000.  Alan is the recipient of five Emmy Awards for his work in television, which in addition to SNL also includes "It's Garry Shandling's Show" (which he co-created and produced), "The Late Show with David Letterman," and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." He is the author of 11 books, including the 2006 Thurber Prize-winning novel The Other Shulman, and Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner—A Sort of Romantic Comedy, and six off-Broadway plays. He also collaborated with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award-winning play "700 Sundays," and with Martin Short on his Broadway hit "Fame Becomes Me," and co-wrote the screenplays for the films "Dragnet," "North," "The Story of Us," and "Here Today." He joins us on the podcast to reflect on a singular career as one of our leading comedy writers and humorists—and a wickedly funny body of work that has earned him an honorary Ph.D. from the State University of New York, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Writers Guild of America, East.  Learn more about Alan Zweibel: Website Facebook Instagram Bluesky Please support the sponsors who support our show: John Kasich's Heaven Help Us (now available for pre-order) Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

My *everything* talk with Adam Ross, discussing his hit literary novel Playworld. Along with *everything* (we covered a lot of ground) we also chatted about (1) Safetyism v. Adventure in raising kids today, (2) the origin and theory behind his beautifully warm opening paragraph, and (3) his love/hate relationship with being compared to that other writer of precocious New York City kids, J.D. Salinger. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone.

My interview with NYPL Young Lion/5-Under-35 debut author Alexander Sammartino, on his novel Last Acts. We discussed: (1) the search for transcendence and "leaving your body" via literature; (2) father & son stories; and (3) unchecked Samuel Beckett fandom. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone.

How much does ego play a role in the art and craft of a book collaborator? That's a question at the heart of this conversation with #1 New York Times best-selling ghostwriter Rachel Holtzman, co-author of more than 60 books on topics ranging from wellness and spirituality, to cooking and entertaining, including collaborations with such celebrated personalities as Shaquille O'Neal, Alicia Silverstone, Robin Quivers, and Christine Quinn. Prior to her work as a self-described “book doula,” Rachel was an editor at Penguin Books and ELLE magazine, before a detour to culinary school and a short stint in the kitchen at New York's Gramercy Tavern helped to launch her career as an in-demand cookbook co-author and recipe tester and developer. “We're climbing inside the minds or the lives of our clients in order to produce something that is really of them,” she reflects, “while also leaving behind a pretty big footprint of our own, because it is of us as well. We're not ChatGPT.” Rachel joins us at a busy time on the collaboration front, as she celebrates the publication of four new titles this month—Tahini Baby, a collection of “veg-forward” Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-inspired recipes, written with television food personality Edin Grinshpan; The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook, featuring seasonal recipes from celebrity chef and style curator Meredith Hayden; Living in Wisdom, a guide to peak living, from wellness educator Devi Brown; and, Playful by Design, a parenting primer on nurturing independent play, from Myriam Sandler, creator and founder of the Mothercould lifestyle platform. Learn more about Rachel Holtzman: Website Instagram Books Please support the sponsors who support our show: John Kasich's Heaven Help Us (now available for pre-order) Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Adam Ross's second novel, Playworld, is one of the best-reviewed books of the year. A story “dipped in molten nostalgia and flecked with love and sadness,” according to The Washington Post, it was hailed immediately upon publication by The Los Angeles Times as “extraordinary” and by The New York Times as “a gorgeous cat's cradle of a book.” He is also the author of a previous novel, Mr. Peanut, which was selected as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Economist, and the story collection Ladies and Gentlemen, which featured a story entitled “In the Basement,” a finalist for the BBC International Story Prize. Adam has been the Mary Ellen von der Heyden fellow in fiction at the American Academy in Berlin, and a Hodder Fellow for Fiction at Princeton University. His non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Daily Beast, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and other publications. Since 2017, he has been the editor of The Sewanee Review, the oldest, continuously published literary quarterly in the United States. He joins us to discuss his remarkable new novel, and the collaborative aspects of his work as one of our most acclaimed editors and novelists. Learn more about Adam Ross and the topics discussed in the episode: Adam Ross' Instagram Adam Ross' Facebook U.S. Center for Safesport Anthony Quinn's One Man Tango Please support the sponsors who support our show: John Kasich's Heaven Help Us (now available for pre-order) Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

My talk with National Book Award-winner Colum McCann, discussing his latest novel, Twist. We explored, (1) the underwater garden hose-sized tubes that (rather vulnerably) carry all the world's information; (2) how writers ought to feel in the age of AI writing (hint: undaunted!); and (3) how the current age of political strife will likely generate powerful new art. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone.

“Sometimes our own stories get snatched from us, hidden in darkness for years,” writes podcast guest Salwa Emerson, “until it's time to reclaim them.” Salwa is well-known to publishers as an author, editor and ghostwriter, specializing in memoirs, thought-leadership books, and book proposals. To hear her clients tell it, she has a way of bringing those stories out of hiding and into the light. She has collaborated with world-renowned chefs, professional athletes, reality television personalities, Oscar-winning actors, and Pulitzer Prize winners. Before turning to ghostwriting, she worked on the other side of the desk, for publishers such as St. Martin's Press and DK Publishing. Her most recent publication—The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future, written with environmentalist Benji Backer—was hailed by former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger prior to publication as “an essential read that shows how protecting our natural resources and advancing America's national interests are mutually reinforcing goals.” Join us as Salwa shares her thoughts on helping to find an author's “voice”, the three clauses all ghostwriters should have in their contracts, and the best ways to engage with readers, fellow writers and potential clients. Learn more about Salwa Emerson: Website LinkedIn Please support the sponsors who support our show: John Kasich's Heaven Help Us (now available for pre-order) Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

My fresh convo on with Ron Currie re his latest novel, the family crime saga, The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne. We discussed: (1) creating existentialist heroes, (2) eats-nails-for-breakfast French Canadian female mobsters, and (3) how leading an authentic life as the highest virtue in a world of fading meaning. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone.

“My job was to dance so well that it didn't matter who favored me or why.” That's a line from the compelling new memoir by world-renowned ballerina Joy Womack, “as told to” podcast guest Elizabeth Shockman. Together, in (dare we say it?) balletic prose, the two recount Womack's storied career as the first American woman to dance under contract for the Bolshoi Ballet Theater in Moscow. “The dancers beside me were tired, pale after months of clouded winter skies,” they write in Behind the Red Velvet Curtain: An American Ballerina in Russia. “They bent and bowed, their bodies corded with muscle, like sallow stalagmites that had mushroomed off the floor of a cave.” Womack's story offers a first-hand glimpse of the cutthroat world of ballet, complete with acts of violence and intrigue, tales of eating disorders and body shaming, and profiles of legendary Bolshoi coaches who encouraged obsessive devotion and imposed their uncompromising standards on their young charges. And yet beneath the ugliness of graft and competition, the author's love of dance and her appreciation for the place ballet holds in Russian culture fairly leap off the page, as she reflects on the intersection of art and politics and exposes the shadowy underbelly of the world of professional ballet. First-time collaborator Elizabeth Shockman is a public radio journalist based in Minnesota. Her work has been featured on National Public Radio, Public Radio International, Minnesota Public Radio, and the BBC. She has previously written for Reuters, The Moscow Times, and other publications. She first met Joy Womack on assignment for Reuters in Moscow and spent over a dozen years collaborating with her on this book. (Yes, Elizabeth agrees, that's a very long time to work on one project, but as she shares in this episode of As Told To: The Ghostwriting Podcast, it sometimes happens that life and career take center stage, both for an author and her subject, as memoir waits in the wings.) Learn more about Elizabeth Shockman: Instagram Twitter BlueSky Joy Womack Instagram Joy Womack Facebook  Please support the sponsors who support our show: John Kasich's Heaven Help Us (now available for pre-order) Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

David Peisner is a freelance journalist and ghostwriter/collaborator based in Atlanta. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, New York, Esquire, Playboy, and other publications. His first book collaboration—with “Steve-O,” the legendary co-star of the legendarily out there MTV reality series “Jackass”—grew out of a magazine assignment, taking Peisner on a sidelong career turn he hadn't anticipated. “If you are only going to buy one book this year about an alcoholic, self-abusive, vegan, pyromaniac ex-circus clown with a talent for vomiting on command and stapling his scrotum to his leg, make sure this is the one,” he wrote upon the book's publication. That book, Professional Idiot, became a New York Times best-seller, and led to a follow-up title, A Hard Kick in the Nuts, and a string of ghostwriting projects that helped to supplement Peisner's income as a freelance newspaper and magazine writer. Curiously, those two Steve-O books made headlines in December 2024, when they surfaced on the Goodreads account of suspected “CEO Killer” Luigi Mangione, charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson—a connection that put Peisner's work in an unexpected sliver of spotlight. It also brought his collaborative work to the attention of the similarly-named host of this here podcast, resulting in this conversation. Join us for a reflection on what it takes to build a career as a freelance journalist, and how to walk the fine line between writing about a celebrity subject and writing for a celebrity subject. Learn more about David Peisner: Website BlueSky Twitter Threads Homey Don't Play That! – The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution “Devil With a Cause” (05/19/24 Rolling Stone profile of Kid Rock) Please support the sponsors who support our show: John Kasich's Heaven Help Us (now available for pre-order) Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Unpacking storytelling with Callan Wink, who's out with a new novel, Beartooth. Topics: (1) reinventing the heist novel, (2) life in the *real* Yellowstone (as opposed to Kevin Costner's TV version) and (3) the pros and cons of living the writers' life far from the Brooklyn literary/publishing scene. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone.

My chat with Eric Puchner about his incredible Oprah's Book Club pick Dream State. We discussed (1) writing the "good old fashioned" novel, (2) writing the "big little" emotional moment on which stories often turn, and (3) whether you should write as if everyone you know is dead. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone.

“We all have to figure out our own ways to carve out our own creativity,” says New York Times best-selling ghostwriter Cynthia DiTiberio about finding time to do her own writing alongside her collaborative work. “Not that our creativity doesn't go into our ghostwritten books, but you can't claim it in the same way.” Cynthia knows what it takes to create a successful book. She started her publishing career as a senior editor at HarperCollins, where she worked with a number of authors, including NIH director Francis Collins and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Jeffrey Marx. From there she went on to co-author a number of best-selling books with a variety of well-known personalities, including Emmy-nominated actress and producer Roma Downey; author-turned-political activist Marianne Williamson; and business strategist and motivational speaker Tony Robbins. She currently writes the Substack newsletter “The Mother Lode,” and is the former publisher of Literary Mama, and her work has appeared in Scary Mommy, The Lily, Mutha Magazine and The Voices Project. Learn more about Cynthia DiTiberio: Website Instagram LinkedIn Box of Butterflies Napkin Notes Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

My interview with Presumed Innocent author Scott Turow, on his latest novel, Presumed Guilty. Topics included, (1) The creative freedom that comes when authors realize they can't write like their heroes; (2) the advice Scott gave to Gillian Flynn, when she was on the rocket ship to literary fame, and (3) as a former President of the Authors Guild, his take on the threat AI poses to writers. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone.

My conversation with The New Yorker fiction editor of 20+ years, Deborah Treisman. Topics included: the "egoless" midwifery of editing; common traits among the famous writers she's known (obsessiveness and dedication are hallmarks); and anecdotes of the late David Foster Wallace. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone.

We're taking a bit of a pivot here at the podcast factory with this one, pinching from the season-opening episode of Writer's Bone, our flagship podcast at the Writer's Bone Podcast Network.  “As Told To” producer and Writer's Bone host and founder Daniel Ford featured a conversation with the writing team of Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, co-creators of the enchantingly poignant HBO series “Somebody Somewhere,” starring actress/comedian Bridget Everett—a conversation that brushed up against so many relatable aspects of collaborative writing that we decided to rebroadcast it (to re-podcast it?) here.  “Somebody Somewhere” ended its three-season run in December, shortly after the creators sat with Daniel Ford to discuss the series—hailed by The Los Angeles Times as “epic television”—and we were charmed by their conversation, inviting listeners behind the scenes to reflect on how the show came about, and the singular place it now holds in the annals of bittersweet television.    Paul Thureen is a founder and co-Artistic Director of The Debate Society, a Brooklyn-based theater company.  He received an OBIE Award for his performance in the company's Blood Play. Hannah Bos, also a founder and co-founder of the company, received a Drama Desk Award for her performance in the Signature Theater Company's production of Will Eno's The Open House. Together, they have written for “Mozart in the Jungle” and “High Maintenance,” and developed pilots for HBO, FOX, Amazon and Paramount.  “This has been a dream come true,” Hannah reflected on the duo's “Somebody Somewhere” run as the series came to a close. “It was a dream that they made the pilot. It was a dream that they made the first season, the second season, the third season. And it was a dream that we made it with really fun, good people. So I hope we can do it again.” Paul's reflections were a little less…well, reflective, as he shared what it was like to write for a group of midwestern-ish characters who weren't used to talking about their feelings. “If it gets a little too real,” he said, of the pain and heartache that could often be found at the show's core, “then you have to make a fart joke.”  Indeed.  Learn more about Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen: “Somebody, Somewhere” Season Three Trailer Hannah Bos Website Paul Thureen Instagram The Debate Society Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

“The work that we do is actually very difficult to detach from when you're writing in somebody's voice,” notes veteran collaborator Laura Morton on the emotional connection she often feels when channeling her clients' stories.   Laura comes by this observation honestly, after spending more than thirty years helping to tell other people's stories.  In that time, she has written more than 60 books, including 22 New York Times bestsellers. Her most recent bestseller Fire in the Hole: The Untold Story of My Traumatic Life and Explosive Success, written with GoDaddy and PXG Golf founder Bob Parsons—was a publication of Lasega Books, her own imprint at Forefront Books, an innovative independent publisher.   Over the years, Laura has worked with a wide range of celebrities, entrepreneurs and innovators, including Joan Lunden, Al Roker, Jennifer Hudson, Susan Lucci, Melissa Etheridge, Justin Bieber, Danica Patrick, John Maxwell, Glenn Stearns, and the Jonas Brothers.   Laura is also the writer, co-director, and producer of the award-winning 2022 documentary “Anxious Nation,” exploring the age of anxiety and depression, and a leading mental health advocate and workshop facilitator.     Join us for a wide-ranging conversation on the changing face of publishing, as Laura reflects on her long career as one of the industry's leading storytellers, and on her recent shift from ghostwriter to “mission-driven” publisher, helping to build a platform for her collaborative clients and other authors looking to land their stories on America's bookshelf.   Learn more about Laura Morton: Website Lasega Books Forefront Books Facebook Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

He's one of the most influential and beloved voice in the book world, and we're so thrilled to welcome him to A Mighty Blaze! In this episode, AMB cofounder and NYT bestselling author Caroline Leavitt talks with THE Jordy himself about his background, his unique lifestyle, and his *other* job in acquisitions at Universal Studios. Hosted by Trisha Blanchet

“You'd be amazed at how far you can get in life having no idea what the subjunctive mood is,” writes Benjamin Dreyer, retired managing editor and copy chief of the Random House division of Penguin Random House. “As if it's not bad enough that English has rules, it also has moods.” Yes, it does. Happily, the mood of the room for writers in Benjamin's good hands as a copyeditor was cheerful and patient and winning… and, for the most part, grammatically correct. Over the course of his 30+ years in publishing, he helped to shepherd the work of writers such as Michael Chabon, Edmund Morris, Suzan-Lori Parks, E.L. Doctorow, Elizabeth Strout, and Shirley Jackson into print. Somewhere in there, he also found time to write a book of his own: The New York Times best-selling stylebook Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style—a “brilliant, pithy, incandescently intelligent book [that] is to contemporary writing what Geoffrey Chaucer's poetry was to medieval English,” according to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham, another Random House author who benefited from our guest's unseen hand.   Join us as Benjamin reflects on the collaborative role of the copyeditor in the publishing process, on the joys of creative footnoting, on the particularly lovely frustration of working with Isabella Rossellini, on a writer's lifetime allotment of exclamation points, and the excesses to be pruned from phrases like “assless chaps,” “slightly ajar,” and “passing fad.”   (Note the ever-popular serial comma in the previous sentence, and the expenditure of one of those allotted exclamation points in this parenthetical aside!)   Learn more about Benjamin Dreyer:  Website Blue Sky Facebook Instagram Substack Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

This episode originally aired June 20, 2023 First-time author David Jacks, a veteran video editor and music supervisor, ran into legendary music producer Peter Asher at a Santa Monica taco joint in 2003 and asked if he could interview him. Jacks, a long-time admirer of the man said to be the inspiration for Mike Myers' “shagadelic” Austin Powers character, who first came to prominence as one-half of the hit-making British pop vocal duo Peter and Gordon and would go on to produce generation-defining albums for artists such as James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, and Diana Ross, immediately asked Asher if he would sit for an interview.  The aspiring journalist thought he might use the interview as the basis for an article in a music magazine, but the two-time Grammy-winning Producer of the Year didn't think anyone would want to read it. Nevertheless, that first interview led to another… and another… and on and on. Over the next two decades, the two continued to talk, while Jacks lined up interviews with hundreds of musicians and record industry professionals who had worked with Asher over the years, eventually leading to the publication of Peter Asher: A Life in Music, the first book-length account of the producer's life and career.  Join us for a two-part conversation with author and subject, as Asher reflects on a book he never thought anyone would be interested in reading, and Jacks shares what it was like to tease out the story of a shape-shifting pioneer—“a fascinating music business anomaly,” according to The New York Times, who could never quite understand what all the fuss was about.   Learn more about our guests:  Read The New York Times profile of Peter Asher, timed to coincide with the publication of the David Jacks book. Read Peter Asher: A Life in Music Read Peter Asher's The Beatles from A to Zed, based on the author's popular Sirius XM radio show on The Beatles Channel. Peter Asher on Instagram David Jacks website Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters/ASJA “Andy Awards” Guidelines Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Here at the podcast factory, we're thrilled to welcome back novelist, translator, collaborator and cultural critic Seth Rogoff to talk about his new novel—a thrilling and unsettling coda to Franz Kafka's unfinished masterwork The Castle. Seth joined us in Season 2 (Ep. #35) to talk about the also thrilling and decidedly unconventional memoir he helped to write with ESPN basketball analyst and former NBA star Kendrick Perkins, The Education of Kendrick Perkins, which took a critical look at racism in America, and in professional sports, and sounded a call for justice and social change—a book hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “a well-balanced blend of activism and memoir.”  In that first interview, we talked a little bit about Seth's work as a noted Kafka translator, and we're picking up that conversation here, as Seth celebrates the publication of The Castle—“a palimpsestic fever dream” of a novel, according to another noted Kafka translator, Ross Benjamin.  (Go ahead and look up palimpsestic—we'll wait.)  In this follow-up conversation, we talk with Seth about the collaborative nature of translation, the state of contemporary memoir, and the never-ending search to find meaningful stories in the life and work of others.  Learn more about Seth Rogoff: Website BlueSky Threads Twitter Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters/ASJA “Andy Awards” Guidelines Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

The author of THE HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, TOWNIE, THE GARDEN OF LAST DAYS, GONE SO LONG, and so many more stopped by A Mighty Blaze to talk with fellow NYT bestselling author Jenna Blum about his newest beloved novel, SUCH KINDNESS. Hosted by Trisha Blanchet

My discussion with one of the towering literary and spiritual writers of our time, translator Stephen Mitchell. We dug into his insights and process in a career translating everything from the Tao Te Ching to The Iliad to The Bible to the Bhagavad Gita. I've read more of Mitchell's words than any other writer. In many ways I've been preparing my whole life for this interview. A meaningful one. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone.

My interview with Einstein's Dreams author Alan Lightman. His latest is The Miraculous From The Material, a beautiful book which pairs stunning nature photos with brief essays which explain the science behind everything from Saturn's rings to soap bubbles. Topics included (1) spirituality for the scientific-minded; (2) Alan's most powerful and personal spiritual experience; and (3) how Salman Rushdie quietly and unexpectedly helped launch Alan's career when he was an unknown debut. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

Caroline Leavitt, the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen novels, most recently Days of Wonder, A finalist for the Midatlantic Fiction Prize and longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Literary Prize. Caroline is also the co-founder of A Mighty Blaze and a book critic for People Magazine. Find out more at www.carolineleavitt.com Caroline joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about writing the end of the book before the beginning, how understanding story structure changed everything for her, using real settings as well as making them up, writing in dual points of view, character arcs, covers, and more. For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. Listen to past interviews on our website. If you'd like to support the show and indie bookstores, consider buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. We've stocked it with titles from our guests, as well as some of our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you'll find to an album's worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at writersonwritingpodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners! (Recorded on November 15, 2024)  Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Host: Marrie Stone Music and sound editing: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)

“In general, magazine profiles are to biographies as inland lakes are to oceans,” writes the late entertainment journalist and ghostwriter Bill Zehme in The New York Times best-selling Carson the Magnificent. “Far less sprawling and easier to navigate.”   This is true—and readers need look no further than Zehme's latest (and last) book, completed posthumously, for confirmation. Zehme, who collaborated on memoirs with Jay Leno and Regis Philbin and was a frequent contributor to Esquire, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Vanity Fair, worked on his Carson biography for over a decade, before a cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatments halted his progress. When he died in 2023, The New York Times cited “Carson the Magnificent” in his obit as one of the entertainment world's “great unfinished biographies.”  Enter podcast guest Mike Thomas, Bill Zehme's former research assistant and longtime friend, who was tapped to complete the project, which was an immediate New York Times best-seller upon its publication last month. “Everything I needed (and so much more) was there, somewhere, stashed in long-unopened binders and torn envelopes and dusty bins,” Mike Thomas writes of this collaboration. “It was mostly a matter of sifting through the stockpile, extracting and sorting the relevant material and reaching out to a handful of Bill's sources, all of whom were eager to help, for further illumination. But I've never lost sight of the fact that, despite my contributions, this is Bill's book.” The book, Mike says, has been a blessing, gifting him the chance to keep connected to a close pal with whom he can no longer communicate directly—a mentor who cheered him on during his own career as arts and entertainment features writer at the Chicago Sun-Times, as a regular contributor to Chicago magazine, and as the author of two critically-acclaimed books of his own—The Second City Unscripted and You Might Remember Me: The Life and Times of Phil Hartman. Learn more about Mike Thomas: Instagram Threads Grantland profile of Jan Hooks Mentioned on the show:  The Bob Book, by Bill Zehme and ATT guest David Rensin Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters/ASJA “Andy Awards” Guidelines Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

This episode originally aired on Feb. 14, 2023 “I moved on to the next thing I was going to write,” says the noted dramatist and television writer Winnie Holzman, recalling the cancellation of her critically-acclaimed series “My So-Called Life,” after just one season. “That's what we do as writers.  We move on to the next thing.”  Indeed. In Winnie Holzman's case, one of those “next things” turned out to be the book for the hit Broadway musical “Wicked,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz—one of the longest running shows in Broadway history. The collaboration earned her a prestigious Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, as well as a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical. Prior to her Emmy-nominated work on “My So-Called Life,” which she created for executive producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, Winnie wrote several scripts for the Zwick-Herskovitz drama “Thirtysomething,” and she would go on to serve as executive producer of “Roadies,” created by Cameron Crowe, and as co-creator of the series “Huge,” with her daughter Savannah Dooley.  Join us as Winnie reflects on her wickedly successful career writing for the stage and the small screen, the many ways writers measure their successes, and the give-and-take that has fueled her collaborations with some of the most creative minds in theater and television. Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters/ASJA “Andy Awards” Guidelines Ritani Jewelers Chelsea Devantez's I Shouldn't Be Telling You This Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog  Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Hal Donaldson's faith-based humanitarian organization Convoy of Hope is a magnificent agent of change.  In partnership with local churches, businesses, civic organizations, and government agencies, the organization is deeply committed to healing the world in all its broken places, through children's feeding initiatives, community outreach and disaster response.    Convoy of Hope currently feeds more than 571,000 children worldwide each day—and has served more than 250 million people in total since Hal, together with his brothers and friends, started the organization in 1994. It's the 35th largest charity on the latest Forbes “100 Largest U.S. Charities” list. So what does all of this have to do with ghostwriting?  Well, before launching Convoy of Hope, Hal started out as a journalist and ghostwriter. Early on in his career, on a ghostwriting assignment in Calcutta, he had the opportunity to interview Mother Teresa, who turned the tables on their interview and asked the young journalist what he was doing to repair the world. Hal had no answer, but when he returned to the United States a short while later, he rallied his friends and family and began donating goods and supplies to communities in need.  As the organization has grown, Hal has continued to write. He's just out with his latest collaboration, What Really Matters: How to Care for Yourself and Serve a Hurting World, written in collaboration with his daughter Lindsay Donaldson-Kring.  Join us for an inspiring conversation on what really matters, as Hal Donaldson reflects on the good works that continue to flow from the first strokes of his pen.  Learn more about Hal Donaldson: Website Convoy of Hope Website Convoy of Hope Facebook Convoy of Hope Instagram Convoy of Hope Threads Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters/ASJA “Andy Awards” Guidelines Ritani Jewelers Chelsea Devantez's I Shouldn't Be Telling You This Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog  Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Join Ocean House owner and author Deborah Goodrich Royce for a conversation with bestselling authors Hank Phillippi Ryan and Carola Lovering as they discuss their new novels One Wrong Word (Phillipi Ryan) and Bye, Baby (Lovering). Hank Phillippi Ryan is the USA Today bestselling author of thirteen award-winning novels of suspense. National reviews have called her a “master at crafting suspenseful mysteries” and “a superb and gifted storyteller.” Her novel, THE HOUSE GUEST, received a starred review from Library Journal, calling it “Binge-worhty.” The rave review from Publishers Weekly says “Ryan is a master of suspense.” Her work has resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in refunds and restitution for victims and consumers. She's been a radio reporter, a legislative aide in the United States Senate and an editorial assistant at Rolling Stone Magazine, working with Hunter S. Thompson, Richard Avedon and Richard Goodwin. Hank is a founding teacher at Mystery Writers of America University and served as 2013 president of national Sisters in Crime. She blogs at Jungle Red Writers and Career Authors. She is a co-host at FIRST CHAPTER FUN and a founder and co-host of THE BACK ROOM, and the host of A Mighty Mystery on A Mighty Blaze. Carola Lovering is the author of the novels Tell Me Lies, Too Good to Be True, and Can't Look Away. She attended Colorado College, and her work has appeared in New York Magazine, W Magazine, Marie Claire, National Geographic, Outside, and Yoga Journal, among other publications. Her novel, Tell Me Lies, is now a drama series on Hulu. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two young children. For more information about Hank Phillipi Ryan, visit hankphillippiryan.com. For more information about Carola Lovering, visit carolalovering.com. For details on Deborah Goodrich Royce and the Ocean House Author Series, visit deborahgoodrichroyce.com  

My chat with New York Times-bestselling “recovering productivity geek” Oliver Burkeman, on how to re-program your brain so you can live a life of meaning. Topics included (1) finding self-worth outside of one's productivity output; (2) helpful ways to think about huge issues one can't control (elections, global warming); and (3) how (oddly) admitting that it's impossible to change is often the moment when real change begins. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

You know him, you love him. And now, you can read his book! Our very own Thoughtful Bro host Mark Cecil celebrates the release of his debut novel, BUNYAN AND HENRY; OR THE BEAUTIFUL DESTINY with fellow author and A Mighty Blaze cofounder Jenna Blum. It's a Thoughtful Bro takeover you won't want to miss! Hosted by Trisha Blanchet

What does it take to help channel one of the most singular voices in rap in an entirely new medium? Join us as we chat with novelist and screenwriter Aaron Philip Clark, co-author of the just-published thriller The Accomplice, written in collaboration with rapper and entertainment mogul Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.    Aaron is perhaps best known for his International Thriller Writers Award-nominated crime fiction series featuring Detective Trevor Finnegan (Blue Like Me, Under Color of Law), as well as for his standalone novels.     His first book with 50 Cent introduces readers to Nia Adams, a New York-born, Texas-bred detective who always dreamed of becoming a Texas Ranger, who sets off on the tail of a hardened Vietnam vet bad guy who steals the secrets of the rich and powerful.    In addition to writing fiction and screenplays, Aaron teaches creative writing at UCLA Extension, and he collaborates with a variety of public figures and luminaries.    Learn more about Aaron Philip Clark: Website Facebook Instagram 50 Cent Instagram G-Unit Film & Television Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters/ASJA “Andy Awards” Guidelines Ritani Jewelers Chelsea Devantez's I Shouldn't Be Telling You This Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog  Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Millions of fans are celebrating the release of yet another wonderful book, SOMEHOW: THOUGHTS ON LOVE, from beloved author Anne Lamott. Anne visited A Mighty Blaze to examine the tough questions about recovery, self-care, hard times, and joyful spirituality with AMB's Mary O'Malley. Hosted by Trisha Blanchet

With one of my oldest publishing friends, YA author Joe Moldover, discussing his latest novel Just Until. We unpacked: (1) writing about trauma, (2) whether you can really save another person, and (3), our most colorful insights re the publishing industry from a couple of young fellas just gettin in the game. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

“Lots of ambitious books announce themselves,” writes Lauren Christensen in The New York Times Book Review of podcast guest Betsy Lerner's debut novel Shred Sisters. “This one doesn't need to.” High praise for a first-time novelist, but that's not surprising considering Betsy's long and distinguished career as an editor and literary agent. A born storyteller (and, story-sharer), Betsy has helped to shape our literary landscape, as the guiding hand behind such cultural touchstones as Patti Smith's Just Kids and Elizabeth Wurtzel's Prozac Nation.  She's also earned her As Told To stripes as the co-author of The New York Times best-selling Visual Thinking, written in collaboration with Temple Grandin, in addition to writing several non-fiction books of her own, including the memoir The Bridge Ladies, and the writing guidebook The Forest for the Trees.   A recovering poet, Betsy received an MFA in poetry from Columbia University, where she was selected as one of PEN's Emerging Writers, before trading her pen for a red pencil and embarking on a heralded career as an editor.  With the publication of her first novel, longlisted prior to publication for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, Betsy kick-starts an exciting new chapter in her writing life, offering a rich, bittersweet tale of sisterhood, mental health, love and loss, and reminding us that it's never too late to become the artist you were always meant to be.   Learn more about Betsy Lerner: Website TikTok Facebook Twitter Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters/ASJA “Andy Awards” Guidelines Ritani Jewelers Chelsea Devantez's I Shouldn't Be Telling You This Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog  Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Over the course of her nearly forty-year career, singer-songwriter Jill Sobule has earned a singular spot in the American songbook. Best known for her breakout 1995 singles “Supermodel” (from the “Clueless” soundtrack) and “I Kissed a Girl” (which came out more than 10 years before the Katy Perry hit of the same name), her quirky, heartfelt, cheer-filled songs are difficult to categorize: she sings about the death penalty, anorexia, shoplifting, the French Resistance, LGBTQ issues and Mexican wrestling.  In another decade, Jon Pareles, the chief pop music critic of The New York Times, wrote that she stands “among the stellar New York singer-songwriters of the last decade”—high praise that has surely applied in all subsequent decades.      Jill's songs are enchanting, disarmingly funny and achingly poignant, and many of them are featured in her Drama Desk-nominated autobiographical musical "F*ck 7th Grade," which premiered at the Wild Project in NYC in 2022 and returns for a limited engagement in November 2024.  “We didn't have to create a story around these songs,” she says of the show, which she really, really hopes isn't dismissed as just another jukebox musical featuring songs from an artist's back catalogue. “These songs are my story. I just wrote a few more to fill out the narrative.” Jill joins us on the podcast to discuss her rich and varied career as one of the music industry's most uniquely collaborative artists. She's performed with musicians such as Neil Young, Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Cyndi Lauper, and Warren Zevon, and once released a concept album of original music with lyrics written by some of her favorite writers, including Jonathan Lethem, Rick Moody, Mary Jo Salter, Vendela Vida, and David Hajdu. She regularly tours with comedian/actress/author Julia Sweeney in their two-woman “Jill & Julia” show. Two highlights from the very many cool, pinch me-type moments that have stamped Jill Sobule's remarkable career: she inducted Neil Diamond into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, and she appeared as herself on an episode of “The Simpsons.”  So, you know, there's that.  Learn more about Jill Sobule: Website Patreon Instagram Threads Facebook Twitter Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Chelsea Devantez's I Shouldn't Be Telling You This Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog  Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

My interview with CJ Leede on her latest freshy-fresh horror novel American Rapture. We got into (1) America's puritan resistance to/capitalist obsession with sex, (2) how to find your authentic writing voice/genre, and (3) rescue dogs! Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

Tonight, Writers for Blue is offering a special opportunity to learn about writing your first pages. We'll have four award-winning authors, including myself, Aaron Hamburger, Nancy Johnson, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jayne Anne Phillips, workshopping seven first-page writing submissions in support of electing Kamala Harris, our first female president—and our 47th. We'll also hear about ways you might use your words in the upcoming election cycle, including how to write politically-charged topics, canvassing, and more, from writers Charles Coe, Rishi Reddi, Daphne Kalotay, Julia Rold, and Gish Jen.   All of these authors have donated their time, energy, and talents in support of this event. We're hoping you might follow suit and consider donating to our Writers for Blue campaign. Go to writersforblue.com to get started. And, if you're looking for specific links and resources mentioned during the event, see below.AUTHORS FEATURED:Charles Coe, author of five books of poetry and one novel, teaches in the Newport MFA writing program, and is renowned both as a writer and a performer; we are honored to have him speaking as well as kindly reading aloud our sample pages.Aaron Hamburger is author of four acclaimed books of fiction, winner of the Rome Prize and a 2023 Lambda Literary prize; his new novel HOTEL CUBA has been featured on NPR; Aaron does political activism with Swing Left and is on the faculty at Stonecoast MFA.Author of nine acclaimed books, most recently a ‘best book' choice by the Oprah Book Club, NPR and the New Yorker, Gish Jen writes about charged issues with humor and heart, as in her latest collection, THANK YOU, MR NIXON.Nancy Johnson's acclaimed debut novel THE KINDEST LIE, was a New York Times Editor's Choice and Indie Booksellers choice; Nancy's also an Emmy-nominated award-winning journalist as well as author of the forthcoming 2025 novel, PEOPLE OF MEANS.Daphne Kalotay is the author, most recently, of the story collection THE ARCHIVISTS, winner of the Grace Paley Prize, a Boston Authors Club “Notable Book” and long-listed for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize and Massachusetts Book Award. National bestselling author of NIGHT SWIM and WOMEN IN BED; Jessica Keener is the Co-Chair with Randy Susan Meyers and, from the start, the driving force of Writers for Blue.From the iconic story collection BLACK TICKETS through 6 more indelible books of fiction to her 2024 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, NIGHT WATCH Jayne Anne Phillips is—as Caroline Leavitt said on A Mighty Blaze—‘everyone's literary heroine.'Rishi Reddi is the PEN New England award winning author of KARMA AND OTHER STORIES and the novel PASSAGE WEST; when not writing, she is an environmental lawyer and lobbies for sound climate policy in her day-job. Julia Rold is a writer, playwright and Novel Incubator alum who has worked on political campaigns in Massachusetts, NH, NY, Florida, and her home state of Kentucky.LINKS TO RESOURCES:DIRECT LINK TO WritersForBlue DONATION PAGE.WRITERS FOR BLUE website: https://writersforblue.com/Our partners:WRITERS FOR DEMOCRATIC ACTION (WDA)A MIGHTY BLAZEMarkers for Democracy: https://markersfordemocracy.org/postcarding (get out the vote cards to Democratic voters. has a monthly writing bootcamp online)Swing Blue: https://swingbluealliance.org/ (coordinating with Working America on postcard campaign focused on Healthcare for independent voters in PA)VoteForward: https://votefwd.org/instructions (letter-writing you can download yourself. Excellent examples of positive, nonpartisan "let's go vote!" messages)More suggested messages (specifically for postcards to swing state voters), stats to support the effort, and ways to order postcards: https://turnoutpac.org/If folks are interested in supporting Dems in Arizona, Wednesday night at 7pm ET, my Swing Left group is hosting an Arizona Zoom Fundraiser. Sign up here. Door-to-door canvassing resources.Canvassing in NH:  https://www.mobilize.us/massdems/event/627702/Canvassing in PA: https://www.mobilize.us/2024pavictory/event/645465/https://www.31ststreet.org sends out weekly emails with canvassing, donating, phone banking, and letter writing opportunities. Sign up!One way of targeting critical races is to think about donating to Crimson Goes Blue. It's a Harvard group, but don't be put off by that! They do great research, and their record in giving to races that turned out to be super tight, and where money made the difference is impressive. Highly recommended! Here's a Slide with a lot of resources about door-to-door canvassing.  LISTS OF AND INFO ON BANNED BOOKS:https://socialjusticebooks.org/booklists/banned-books/SWING LEFT: VOLUNTEER IN A VARIETY OF WAYS— LETTER-WRITING, POST-CARDING, CANVASSING, PHONE-CALLING and MORE for DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT:PEN AMERICA, sponsoring many activities such as WRITING LETTERS to free political prisoners around the world and teaching writing in prisons; also programs addressing online abuse and misinformation:Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

“The task of writing is to take a character and put him up a tree and start throwing rocks at him,” notes novelist, screenwriter, comic book writer, and television showrunner J. Michael Straczynski. The two-time Hugo Award-winning author is perhaps best known as the creator of the television series “Babylon 5”, and as the screenwriter for the 2008 Oscar-nominated Clint Eastwood film “Changeling.” He is also the author of the Superman: Earth One” trilogy of graphic novels, and for many years he was the writer for Marvel Comics' “Thor,” “Fantastic Four,” and “The Amazing Spider-Man” series, as well as for DC's “Superman,” “Wonder Woman,” and “Before Watchmen” titles.     These days, Joe is spending most of his time throwing rocks on behalf of his late friend Harlan Ellison, the legendary writer of speculative fiction, who is having a bit of a moment more than six years after his death. As the executor of the Harlan Ellison estate, Joe has been the driving force behind the re-release of the first two installments of Ellison's landmark story collections Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions, which the author had always imagined as a trilogy. Now, thanks to Joe Straczynski's dedication, the long-awaited third installment of “the most significant and controversial Science Fiction collections of our time,” will finally see the light of day with the publication of The Last Dangerous Visions, due from Blackstone Publishing in October 2024. “Harlan was my friend, and I have an obligation to him to get his work where it needs to be, in front of a mainstream audience,” Joe reflects on a year that has also seen the publication of a new collection of Ellison's stories (Greatest Hits) as well as a novel of his own (The Glass Box).  Join us as we talk with J. Michael Straczynski on his influences as a writer, on the art and craft of storytelling in all its many forms, and on what it has meant to him to be able to breathe new life into the work of an artist hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “a twentieth-century Lewis Carroll.” Learn more about  J. Michael Straczynski: Website Facebook Instagram Twitter Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Chelsea Devantez's I Shouldn't Be Telling You This Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog  Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Best-selling author, investigative journalist, political commentator and memoirist Nancy French is a storyteller at heart. She's helped to write more than a dozen books, including five New York Times best-sellers, with a variety of collaborators from conservative politicians to Olympic athletes to reality television stars.  Her latest memoir—Ghosted: An American Story—was published in Spring 2024 to wide critical acclaim. CNN's Jake Tapper hailed the book prior to publication as “a great read for anyone trying to make sense of cultural whiplash over the last few years,” and went on to write that “Nancy French's journey from poverty-stricken mountains to a presidential campaign plane is a joy.”  Join us as we kick off Season 4 at the podcast factory with an insight-filled conversation on what it means to lend your voice to leaders who share your values, only to find yourself “ghosted” by a political establishment that seemed to want to punish you for your refusal to endorse the 2016 Republican Presidential nominee.    Learn more about Nancy French: Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Threads Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Chelsea Devantez's I Shouldn't Be Telling You This Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog  Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

For the premiere episode of Season 10, we're thrilled to welcome the amazing Anna Quindlen back to A Mighty Blaze! Anna was featured on the second episode EVER of the AMB Podcast, way back in Season 1. This time around, she's settled in to talk about her latest book, AFTER ANNIE, with AMB cofounder Caroline Leavitt. Hosted by Trisha Blanchet

My glorious conversation with 2-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward, discussing her latest novel, Let Us Descend. Topics included: (1) gaining hope and strength by remembering what others have borne; (2) making invisible history visible; and (3) finding authorial authenticity through concrete specifics. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

Originally aired Dec. 6, 2022. Frank Santopadre is a veteran comedy writer and the longtime co-host of “Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast,” with the late, great Gilbert Gottfried. Prior to working with Gilbert, Frank helped to write jokes and supporting material for numerous awards shows (including the Daytime Emmys, the TV Land Awards, and the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize). He has also written comics for Bazooka Joe bubble gum, and mock ad copy, concepts, and character profiles for the Topps Company's popular Wacky Packs and Garbage Pail Kids trading cards series. Oh, and did we mention he also wrote for Mad and Cracked magazines? And the somewhat less zany The New York Times, The Washington Post, People, US Weekly, and Politico? Along the way, he has created comedy material for an eclectic line-up of celebrated personalities, including Bill Murray, Howard Stern, Sarah Silverman, Meryl Streep, Martin Short, and Ben Stiller, and briefly served as a staff writer on what he proudly calls “the worst sitcom in television history”—a forgettable show from the late ‘90s called “Lost on Earth,” hailed by The Los Angeles Times during its mercifully-brief run as “mirthless.” Join us for a somewhat more mirth-filled hour, as we talk about what it was like to help give voice to one of the most singular voices in the annals of American comedy—a joyful burden Frank kinda, sorta shared with podcast host Daniel Paisner, who collaborated with Gilbert Gottfried on his 2011 memoir Rubber Balls and Liquor. Learn more about Frank Santopadre, visit his official website, like his Facebook page, and follow him on Twitter.  Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Chelsea Devantez's I Shouldn't Be Telling You This Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog  Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

With Alison Espach, author of the instant bestseller The Wedding People.  We discussed (1) her long, unpredictable process of writing her hilarious, absurdist mega-hit, (2) how writing a great book is often about letting characters just be honest and forcing them “stay in the room,” and (3) truly the *best piece of writing advice* I've heard in a minute, which instantly helped me improve my own work in progress. You have to listen to find out what it is. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

An inspiring conversation with two-time Oprah Book Club pick David Wroblewski. His first novel, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, was a #1 New York Times best-seller, and now, 16 years later, he's back with his second novel, Familiaris.  We discussed (1) his writing process of overwriting, then pulling back (2) the unique ways novels seep into readers' lives, and (3) how writing, like computer programming, is ultimately about having “a conversation with the material.” Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

Join podcast host Daniel Paisner as he moderates the keynote panel discussion at the inaugural “Gathering of the Ghosts” ghostwriting conference earlier this year—an event jointly sponsored by Gotham Ghostwriters and the American Society of Journalists and Authors.   Dan is joined by music journalist Holly Gleason and former As Told To guests Seth Davis and Jodi Lipper for a spirited discussion on their ghostwriting journeys, and a reflection on the many ways authors and journalists are writing in collaboration.  Learn more about our guests: Follow Seth Daviss on X | Episode 61 Holly Gleason Website Jodi Lipper Website | Episode 28 Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Chelsea Devantez's I Shouldn't Be Telling You This Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog  Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Today, we get to hear from Mark Cecil whose debut novel, BUNYAN AND HENRY; OR, THE BEAUTIFUL DESTINY, was released in March. We'll be talking about ways in which an author can deliver deeply personal/private stories from secondary characters even while writing in 3rd person limited. Watch a recording here. The audio/video version is available for one week. Missed it? Check out the podcast version above or on your favorite podcast platform.To find Cecil's debut and many books by our authors, visit our Bookshop page. MARK CECIL is host of The Thoughtful Bro show, for which he conducts interviews with an eclectic roster of award-winning and breakout storytellers. Formerly a journalist for Reuters, he is Head of Strategy for literary social media startup A Mighty Blaze and has taught writing at Grub Street in Boston. Bunyan and Henry; Or, the Beautiful Destiny is his first book.By the way, Mark and myself are just a few of the hundreds of authors involved in WRITERS FOR BLUE. If you're interested in contributing, go here. Looking for a writing community? Join our Facebook page. credit: Janna Giacoppo This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

A masterclass on thriller writing with bestselling phenom T. J. Newman, whose third novel Worst Case Scenario, follows the terrifying story of what happens when an airplane crashes into a nuclear power plant. We discussed (1) how to keep creative hope alive, and when to move on, (2) how writing about the heroism in everyday people invites readers in, and (3) how mastering pace is critical to bestsellerdom. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

Hope Edelman is an author, ghostwriter, essayist, writing instructor and life coach. The through-line connecting much of her work, from the collaborations she's helped to write to her own best-selling memoirs, is the theme of parent-loss. “Navigating motherhood without your mom is like assembling a complex puzzle without the picture on the box,” she writes in a blog post on her website. She's been writing about the grief and loss in her own life since her best-selling 1994 memoir Motherless Daughters—a book she began as a graduate student at the University of Iowa, when she realized she was being called to write about her mother's death more than a decade earlier.  It's a calling that connects Hope to her ghostwriting clients as well. Her first collaboration, a dual memoir written with actors Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez—Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son—is informed by the death of Sheen's mother, when the actor was just 11 years old, while her current project, written with Owen Elliot-Kugell, the daughter of the late Cass Elliot—My Mama, Cass—finds its narrative drive in the sudden death of the author's mother, who died in her sleep in a London apartment nearly ten years after she shot to fame as a member of The Mamas & The Papas. The recipient of a Pushcart Prize for Creative Nonfiction, Hope has taught writing at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, the University of Iowa, and Antioch University-Los Angeles.  Join us for a compelling conversation on what it means to find a way to heal as you find your voice as a writer.    Learn more about Hope Edelman: Website Facebook Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Chelsea Devantez's I Shouldn't Be Telling You This Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog  Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Pumping Literary Fire straight in ya veins on my latest with Mateo Askaripour, discussing his new one, This Great Hemisphere.  Topics: (1) taking big risks after a bestseller (2) shaking up the publishing industry, and (3) helping people feel seen. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.