WorkWhile

In this Bonus Episode, Sam and Stacy go over all the things that have happend since the podcast first came out! And...a lot of things have happened! This episode was recorded in April, 2025. Also, dear listener--we have some really exciting news! On multiple fronts! First thing: Buckle up for another round in the slog y'all, because we will be back at it again for Season 2, which will be coming ou...

In this Slog Notes episode, Sam and Stacy talk about what they learned from their conversation with Sayantani, how Sam has found success incorporating Sayantani's writing advice, and why the #therapy is working. This episode was recorded January, 2024.   Also, dear listener--this is the last episode of Season 1! We hope you enjoyed this podcast as much as we enjoyed making it. Thank you for listen...

Sayantani Dasgupta, author of Women Who Misbehave , talks to Sam and Stacy about writing her first short story, working as an editor at a publishing house, moving to the U.S. to pursue an MFA, and why reading about a character smashing a mirror always makes Sayantani wonder whose job it is to clean it up. Sayantani is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina,...

In this Slog Notes episode, Sam and Stacy talk about what they learned from their conversation with Daniel, how Stacy is thinking about the definition of success during this stage of her creative practice, and Sam's sci-fi writing revelation. And! Stacy discovers the title of the sexy paranormal romance novel she needs to write. This episode was recorded November, 2023.   Links . . . WorkWhile web...

Daniel Orozco, author of Orientation, talks to Sam and Stacy about temp jobs, being mesmerized by the Scholastic book fair, the highs and lows of sending out his work earlier in his career, and how a healthy sense of boredom is an essential part of his creative practice. Daniel is Associate Professor Emeritus in the English Department at the University of Idaho.   You can buy Orientation directly...

In this Slog Notes episode, Sam and Stacy talk about what they learned from their conversation with Mike, their wardrobe goals and deadlift goals, Sam's ups and downs from her experiences at Lit Camp and Community of Writers, and Stacy's thoughts about being an emerging writer at midlife. This episode was recorded July, 2023.   Links . . . WorkWhile website   WorkWhile Instagram   WorkWhile Facebo...

In Part 2 of Sam and Stacy's conversation with Michael McGriff, he talks about his choice to be unguarded instead of hiding behind his own pyrotechnics in  Eternal Sentences , how his writing process has changed since becoming a parent, and why it's important to keep reading all the books that give you the most meaning when the world is saying "no" to your work. Mike serves as Associate Professor...

On this Slog Notes episode, Sam and Stacy talk about what they learned from their conversation with Mike, Sam's two writing wins, Stacy's event in Moscow where she wrote poems on the fly for townspeople, and why writing an artistic statement made Sam have a giant meltdown. This episode was recorded in June, 2023.   Links . . . WorkWhile website   WorkWhile Instagram   WorkWhile Facebook   Stacy's...

Michael McGriff, author of Eternal Sentences,  which was selected as the winner of the Miller Williams Poetry Prize from University of Arkansas, talks to Sam and Stacy about his childhood in rural Oregon, finding inspiration in Pablo Neruda's surreal imagery as a young poet, and why the language of logging is the language of his imagination. Mike serves as Associate Professor and Co-Director of th...

On this inaugural Slog Notes episode, Sam and Stacy talk about what they learned from their conversation with Oscar, how they're currently balancing their sloggy activities with their corporate jobs, personal rejections, stealing poems from seven-year-olds, and why two bathrobes are always better than one. This episode was recorded in March, 2023.   Links . . . WorkWhile website   WorkWhile Instag...

Oscar Oswald, author of Irredenta from Nightboat Books, talks to Sam and Stacy about experimental poetry, the pastoral, and how growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, informed how he writes about place. When he isn't at work on his poetry or submission spreadsheets of doom, Oscar is employed as an instructor in the English Department at the University of Idaho.   Learn more about Oscar's work at his...

WorkWhile is a podcast run by us, Sam Burns and Stacy Boe Miller. The two of us have done all kinds of work in our lives--office jobs, parenting, raft guiding--while also trying to be writers. And we're not only trying to fit in writing, but as emerging writers, we're also submitting our writing to journals as well as trying to apply for opportunities that will help us move forward with our writin...