The Write Mind

In today’s episode, Professor Joe O’Connel speaks with Author Erika Krouse about obsessions, writing, and living a creative life. Erika Krouse is the author of four books of fiction and nonfiction, including her new collection of short stories, Save Me, Stranger, which won the 2006 Joyce Carol Oates Prize, awarded by New Literary Project, and was longlisted for The Story Prize. Erika is a two-time...

For this episode, 2025 Balcones Prize in Nonfiction Winner Ben Miller joins ACC Creative Writing Professor Ysella Fulton-Slavin for a conversation about the winning book, the importance of spaces like ACC that protect creative energy, writing as possibility, and writing when nothing else feels useful. Chapters (00:00:04) - The Right Mind (00:01:52) - Ben Miller at Creative Writing Class (00:08:27)...

For this episode, Screenwriting Professor Luke Garza welcomes filmmaker Andrew Bujalski to an in-class conversation. Andrew Bujalksi has written and directed seven feature films. He types 89 words per minute. His brief bio doesn't begin to cover the breadth of his experience. Andrew talks about a little known film program at Harvard, being the Godfather of Mumblecore, screenwriting structure, and...

For this episode we were joined in class and online by Lauren D. Woods, a writer whose collection The Great Grown-up Game of Make Believe is tearing up the awards circuit. We were very fortunate to have her. Lauren talks to us about evolving definitions of success, writing groups and community, her own writing habits and rituals, and how to talk about the hard things through fiction. Please enjoy...

We are joined by Stephen Graham Jones and Paul Tremblay, two top-tier voices in horror. We discuss the ways horror transforms characters and readers, how horror sits in literary conversations, balancing writing with the obligations of our lives, and early-career writing advice Chapters (00:00:04) - The Right Mind (00:03:30) - Stephen King on His Horror Films (00:07:50) - Where Does Identity Come F...