The OwlCrate Podcast

A most replayed moment from our episode, "Long Live Sarah Rees Brennan", Sarah and Jordan talk politics, author expertise, and why the people writing about faeries fucking each other probably shouldn’t be your first stop for foreign policy. Plus: Sarah accidentally asks the President of Ireland what he does for a living.

Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard joins us to chat about the current YA landscape and upcoming projects! Did someone say Murder Quartet?! 👀 We explore how different titles find different audiences depending on the area, especially YA in the US vs in the UK. Then, Suze shares what’s filling her cup when she’s not writing. You might be surprised by the answer! Plus,...

Get ready for Mark Oshiro’s lore drop! We get the inside scoop on everything from creating in the Star Wars IP to co-writing with the iconic Rick Riordan, and even working as a music journalist. 👀 Mark shares what it’s like to have your work and personal life entangled and the importance of congratulating yourself on your accomplishments. 🏆 Plus, our most unhinged round of rapid fire questions y...

We go way back with New York Times and award-winning author Daniel José Older to learn what it’s like to create in the Star Wars IP after growing up loving it. 🤩 From asking the universe for what you want to knowing when and where to put your energy, Daniel shares the big moments of his career. And with those big moments, how he found the power to radically live in the moment and deal with what’s...

We nerd out with #1 New York Times and international bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp on storytelling from novels, to comics, and even video games. ✨ Marieke walks us through graphic novel script writing and the magic of seeing artists breathe life into your words. Plus, how she fills her cup creatively outside of work with other graphic novels and video games! 🎮 Then, we explore the nuance an...

New York Times bestselling and award winning author, Suzanne Young makes us swoon over Italian villas and reminds us of the importance of community in this week’s episode of The OwlCrate Podcast. Suzanne shares details about the writing retreats she hosts in Italy and the inspiration that comes out of them. From beautiful villa tours to all night dance parties, we’re ready to join her! 🇮🇹 Then we...

Join us with bestselling and award-winning author Zoraida Córdova as we explore the evolution of her career. ⭐️ Zoraida takes us back to her own debut and explains how she balanced career expectations with the realities of the industry. Plus, she shares some updates on the authors she debuted with. Did they switch genres? Are they still writing? 👀 Then, we chat about writing in the era of social...

This week we dive into the deep end with New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Samira Ahmed! We chat about how the stories we read as kids stay with us and shape how we interact with the world. And Samira tells us how her love of sci-fi and speculative fiction from an early age has continued to influence her as a reader and a writer. Her fascination with the what ifs and fierce chara...

On this week’s episode of The OwlCrate Podcast, we chat with USA Today bestselling author S.A. Barnes, but you might know her as Stacey Kade. We go way back to discuss the stories and experiences that shaped us, from the sci-fi adventures of Star Trek to the incomparable romantic tension of The X-Files. 👽 Then, we explore where the love of writing and consuming horror comes from. Is it about cont...

This week on The OwlCrate Podcast, we’re asking the big questions and who better to help us answer them than New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Gayle Forman. What drives us to contemporary or fantasy stories? What happens during and after death? How can a singular moment have the power to shape our lives? How do you finish a story that tackles such big questions? We explore the ne...

This week, we connect with the official watcher of Cardan Greenbriar’s tail, aka the bestselling and award-winning author Sarah Rees Brennan. She dishes on the chaotic trials of dating and writing from hilarious encounters to magical stories. ✨ We step through the portal to see how Sarah confronts death, makes mistakes, and writes complicated, captivating women. She opens up about how trying, fai...

This week we’re chatting with New York Times bestselling romantasy author Brigid Kemmerer! 💖 We explore the need for a YA reset as the genre shifts back to focusing more on getting teenagers to read. Then, we talk about Brigid’s recent jump from YA to Adult including the reasons behind it and the challenges she’s navigating in those spaces. Brigid shares her reflections on writing as both a busin...

Join us as we sit down with New York Times bestselling author and YA dystopian icon Veronica Roth to discuss her career trajectory over 15 years. We explore the continued interest in dystopian stories as it relates to our reality and ourselves. From Divergent’s debut and propulsive rise to the making of the movies and the public’s reception, we talk about it all. Veronica shares some of her own re...

Can you believe it has been 50 years since the release of the first Star Wars book? So what better time to chat with some of the authors who have recently brought this universe to a wider audience? We met with three bestselling authors for this special episode: Zoraida Córdova, Mark Oshiro, and Daniel José Older to talk about what it’s like working within an iconic IP like Star Wars. We explore th...

This week we hold court with the Queen of Faerie, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author, Holly Black. 👑 We explore the beautiful strangeness of signing lines as well as the evolution of meeting readers throughout the years. With over thirty books published, Holly talks about the ebbs and flows of her career, the magic of taking chances, and the necessity of letting go. We chat about...

This week we go deep with award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi on philosophy, motherhood, and the myths that shape us. She shares some of the difficulties authors face in the age of the internet and how she learned to navigate them as a deep empath with an incredible love of humanity. 💖 And, we look back at Rosh’s early career and how being an OwlCrate author helped...

Join us for an intimate chat with the queen of YA historical fiction herself - award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author - Libba Bray. We dive deep into the life-saving magic of stories and the importance of building a community both in and out of work. But, we don’t stay serious the whole time! We discuss snacks vs social media, hilarious musical notions, and our current tv show obse...

Join us for a conversation with the incomparable mind behind the Grishaverse - and #1 New York Times bestselling author - Leigh Bardugo as we talk about what it means to protect the worlds you've built while building your own peace. We dig into the real work behind crafting stories. The gritty reality of editing, the strange and wonderful moments that come with meeting readers, and of course a...

Join us as we sit down with the legendary author of The Old Kingdom series, Garth Nix ! We go beyond how his writing and dreaming has changed in the years since we were first introduced to Sabriel . You'll find us chatting all about what's been and what may yet come and chat all about what on earth is YA even anyway? We also spill all about Garth's forthcoming 2026 sci-fi, Massif and 2...

Step into the shadows with this spooky season replay of OwlCrate-A-Con’s Here Be Monsters panel. From war and culture to the monsters both inside and at our borders, Shannon Chakraborty, S.K. Ali, and Sarah Mughal Rana explore the liminal space between human and monstrous. And we sure hope this discussion haunts you…

Join Cori, Jordan, and Sophie as they channel Belly and unleash their perfectly smutty book recs—the ones that lit up their first summers and scorched their TBRs. Stick around for their barely-filtered takes on recent bookish festival flops, plus a few messy confessions. From presenters to wandering as wide-eyed attendees, expect chaos, candor, and plenty of behind-the-scenes tea.

Join us as we sit down with the iconic Amie Kaufman to talk about series that stick - from the early days of YA sci-fi domination to the co-writing magic behind her latest release, Lady’s Knight with author Meagan Spooner. Together we unpack love, loyalty and what it really means to have your readers grow up with your books. Plus we dig into the parasocial pressures of being a public author, how c...

She’s back, baby (@ the 22:55 mark). Team OwlCrate’s Cori returns in her post-YouTube era to serve up some one-hit bookish wonders in her new series, Hidden Gems, with some hot takes and cool recs you didn’t know you needed. Then Jordan and Sophie sit down with game designer Jaysen Headley (aka Ezeekat) to unmask the chaos behind Stryx , OwlCrate’s very first board game. And trust us, it’s anythin...

Bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater ( The Raven Cycle , Call Down the Hawk ) joins us for an unfiltered conversation about creativity, chaos, and the art of letting go. From neurodivergence to navigating burnout, Maggie opens up about the rituals that keep her grounded, the realities of the publishing world, and why she’s no longer afraid to burn it all down and start again. This is not your typi...

Nesties and besties… the OwlCrate Podcast is officially BACK🎙🦉 We’re kicking things off with a true legend. Tamora Pierce joins us for an exclusive sit-down on the legacy of fantasy, how the industry has changed, and what today’s readers owe the books that raised them. Then? We get real. Jordan hosts Tara and Sophie for a no-holds-barred roundtable on fandom messiness, reader etiquette, cancel cu...