I'm a Writer But

Today we talk with our boyfriend J. Robert Lennon (SUBDIVISION, LET ME THINK, Graywolf '21) about the joy in writing/creating/describing physical spaces; how the HELL he came up with the idea for SUBDIVISION; releasing a collection at the same time as a novel; what advice he has for writers first starting out; the ups and downs of a writer's career; and a lot more, because he is wonderful! Learn m...

Miranda Popkey (TOPICS OF CONVERSATION) joins us to chat about starting an MFA program having not written fiction before (!!!); working with form or idea over plot; the fear of writing sex scenes; working in the publishing industry; being mentored by Louise Gluck (!!!); and, more, but perhaps most importantly, Miranda's dog Dudley makes a special appearance!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Today we talk with Jennifer Berney (THE OTHER MOTHERS) about what it's like to have a memoir out in the world, leaving off a project during the pandemic and writing letters instead, "enjoying the turtle," how to be a shy writer, the historical novel she returns to again and again, and more!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex and Lindsay chat with Elle Nash (NUDES) about writing through the "brain fog" of early parenthood; writing about the body; creating safe spaces in order to access vulnerability while writing; creating/accessing boundaries when writing; working with her agent on crafting a book that will sell; and more! PS: our kids are cute.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Shannon McLeod (WHIMSY), author and high school teacher! Topics include: picking up a blueberry with your vagine; what is Shannon's submission process?; how do you pronounce "deluge"?!; Shannon's journey through two rounds of MFA rejections; her experience working with a shitty publisher; and more. Plus: Lindsay talks about her special nightstand box and Alex is an angel! Learn...

Today we talk to true luminary Catherine Nichols about her novel, which is based on Nijinsky's life and is an exploration of how someone could create something so powerful when they're not the one in power. If that hasn't blown your mind, then wait until you find out about all the research she did. Oh, still hemming and hawing? Get a load of this: Catherine wrote this book by writing every scene f...

In this ravioli of an episode, we talk with queer literary icons Kristen Arnett and Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya! Do they show each other their WiP? Which writer talks to herself while writing? Did you know you could make your own writer's retreat in which you scare the shit out of yourself? Are there "trends" in queer writing right now? Most importantly, what cocktails go with their writing? And so muc...

Today we chat with Adam O'Fallon Price (THE HOTEL NEVERSINK) on topics including: reading is terrifying; is The Hotel Neversink a novel in stories or is it something else?; what's it like being a "late bloomer" in the writing world?; "walking on the cliff of taste"; and so, so much more. Seriously we had a blast. Plus: Lindsay does a Robert Durst burp impression; Lindsay does a Micro Machines guy...

Today our guest is Michael Zapata (THE LOST BOOK OF ADANA MOREAU). Topics include: socialist librarians; New Orleans;  storytelling vs. writing; teaching: not for Alex; how serving your community feeds your writing and vice versa; Chicago's jewelers' row; guess how many times Lindsay says "Peloton"?; Alex watches the 1996 Stanley Cup and takes notes oh my God Alex is in crisis NONETHELESS he reads...

Today we talk with Erin Somers (STAY UP WITH HUGO BEST), author, mom, and industry scribe! Erin's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, American Short Fiction, Tin House, and elsewhere. She is a reporter for the publishing industry newsletter Publishers Lunch, and lives in Beacon, New York with her husband and daughter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Today we talk to Chelsea Martin (CACA DOLCE), writer, illustrator, and mother, about how reading is weird; writing before baby vs after baby; protecting new projects; PLUS: we invented the hottest new social media craze (it MIGHT be an MLM but it's fine!); showing stuff to spouses helps/sucks; Lindsay is an idiot!; we also invented a new section at bookstores calls "goes down easy"; and Chelsea is...

The Butheads talk to artist and writer Dmitry Samarov (OLD STYLE) about self-publishing, how pig faces are the more human faces so they are less vegetarian, writing from life and making connections / composites, working in the service industry, fucking up your book in your own way, howling into the void without an agent, making books with art, being an artist/writer without social media, and more!...

Amber Sparks (AND I DO NOT FORGIVE YOU), author, employee, and mother, joins the Butheads to discuss what we thought writing while parenting would look like vs what it actually looks like, the endless pain of noveling, how loving your characters means you're doomed to see the thing through, why write a novel, and more! Later, the Butheads talk about giving up on a book you don't like, post-pandemi...

Today we talk with Matthew Salesses (CRAFT IN THE REAL WORLD), author, professor, and dad. Topics include: his amazing daughter, learning how to write what you want to write, the good news about these young bucks in today's workshops, how Matt gets work done as a single father, HOW MATT HAS SURVIVED THIS ENTIRE PANDEMIC ON ONE TANK OF GAS WE SH*T YOU NOT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me...

The Butheads talk to Rumaan Alam, author (LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND), critic, and father, about voice and cooking for children and POV and Willa Cather and Don DeLillo and Wigleaf and how writing short stories is cute.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Butheads talk to Elissa Washuta, member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and nonfiction writer. She is the author of My Body Is a Book of Rules, Starvation Mode, and White Magic, forthcoming from Tin House Books. With Theresa Warburton, she is co-editor of the anthology Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers. She has received fellowships and awards from the National E...

Chris L. Terry (BLACK CARD), author, screenwriter, runner, and dad joins the Butheads to talk about transforming his novel into a script, living in LA during the pandemic, rewarding himself by not writing, publishing with a smaller press, and more.  Later, Alex and Lindsay talk about agent relationships and how Lindsay biffed her shot at Hollywood.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Meghan Phillips is a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow, author (ABSTINENCE ONLY, Barrelhouse), public library employee, and mother. Alex and Lindsay chat with her about ghost sex, mothers-in-law reading their work, pregnancy, and what exactly is a preposition? Then: these three idiots write a children's book (only the title, but still)! Also: a giveaway! Later, Alex and Lindsa...

Alex and Lindsay talk with Juan Martinez, a writer, professor, and father about Chicago neighborhoods, Orlando chain businesses, and a groundhog that lives by the Taco Bell.  Later, Alex and Lindsay read some of their work and offer up writing prompts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lindsay reads you a newish holiday-themed story.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chelsea Bieker is the author of GODSHOT (2020) and HEARTBROKE (2022), the mom of two little ones, AND she teaches writing. Lindsay and Alex talk to her about the revolutionary act of writing about nursing (and periods), keeping a "mean journal," how Goodreads is ruinous to an author, and more!  Plus: Lindsay reads something new, the holidays are weird, and cream cheese is discussed.  Learn more ab...

Lindsay and Alex talk to writers Juliet Escoria (Juliet the Maniac) and Scott McClanahan (The Sarah Book) about working and living in West Virginia. Topics discussed: diarrhea, Twitter, lying about buying books on Amazon, and more! Plus: Juliet and Scott read brand new work.  Later, Lindsay and Alex update each other on their lives and work. Who's heartbroken? Who wants to be funny? Listen and fin...

Kristen Iskandrian is the author of MOTHEREST, the owner of Thank You Books in Birmingham, AL, and the mother of two daughters. Get to know this amazing human better, hear how she does or does not get work done, and find out who called Joan Didion an ice cold bitch! Plus: Alex and Lindsay read some new work, talk about life, and offer a new writing prompt.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Join Lindsay and Alex, two published authors and parents, as they have every intention of introducing themselves and this pod, but get wrapped up in talking about how hard it is to get work done. Which, let's be honest, is as good an intro as anything else.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices