Memoir Nation

This week’s episode is for anyone seeking that elusive thing called peace of mind when it comes to the writing, publishing, or promotion part of getting a book out into the world. Inspirational and straight-talking, guest Bella Mahaya Carter shares how she learned to let go of what she thought she wanted from traditional publishing to spread her wings as an author who’s writing and publishing on h...

Retelling stories—family tales, myths, fairytales, and stories of all sorts—is always an act of creation because of what you, the author, bring to the telling. In this week’s fun interview, guest Kwame Mbalia speaks to inspiration, living with your characters, who he’s inspired by, and why he’s doing NaNoWriMo for the fifth year in a row. Don’t miss it—and we’re cheering you along if you’re writin...

This week’s witchy, crafty, spell-binding episode gets into authors’ authority to write the books they write, the responsibilities authors must content with when writing about a group they’re a part of, and especially about groups they’re not a part of. And because today’s guest, J. Allen Cross, is a practicing witch, there’s an extra dose of magic, along with a dash of folklore and sprinkle of th...

Happy National Novel Writing Month, listeners! We’re eager to start writing with you this week—and we’re bringing you some food for thought about what fuels your writing and your creativity. Guest Namina Forna has been fueled sometimes by anger and injustice. Meanwhile, her light-heartedness and love of fantasy and the magical creates a dynamic counterbalance to the themes that drive her to the pa...

National Novel Writing Month starts next week, so it’s time to get your minds and hearts ready to throw down tons of words next month—and we know you’ve got this. We’re bringing back Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo, the very best person to get you inspired to do this thing. Don’t doubt for one minute that the world needs your story. And there’s no better way to get a lot of writing done while hav...

Subtext is the art of the implicit, and this week’s guest, E.J. Koh, has written a gorgeous memoir, The Magical Language of Others, in which the subtext nearly drips from the page—to gorgeous and astounding results. This week’s show, therefore, explores what subtext is, how to use it, how to watch out for it, and how to practice it. We want all of you writers out there to make your readers hungry...

How can we practice self-care, stay open and vulnerable, and have enough discernment to know how much to keep pushing ourselves creatively when we feel depleted? This episode is a show for our times, as we tackle with guest Charlie Jane Anders all the ways that global and personal crises challenge our creative and writing lives. We recommend you check out Charlie Jane’s talk on YouTube, Never Say...

This week we’re talking about the mother-daughter story, which is equally powerfully conveyed in both fiction and memoir. This week’s guest, Laura Davis, has a gripping new memoir about her relationship with her mother, structured as a countdown to her mother’s death. Laura explores in the book and on the show topics including estrangement and caregiving someone who’s betrayed you. We also talk ab...

In honor of Banned Books Week, this week’s show dives into books that help start conversations with kids, even and especially when they’re touching upon tough topics. Anastasia’s Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness struck a chord last year as parents looked for books to help kids understand our national racial reckoning, and her entire series, Ordinary Terrible Things, is a conversation-starter fo...

This week’s episode features Kaitlyn Greenidge being interviewed by Brooke as part of the San Diego Writers Festival. Her recent novel, Libertie, is a tour de force and examination of Reconstruction-era America through the story of Libertie, born black and free during a time when America’s attempts to right the wrongs of slavery were being met with great promise and great resistance. How storytell...

An episode for our times, today’s show features Matthew Salesses in conversation with Grant and Brooke about his newest book, Craft in the Real World. Listen in as he unpacks the inherent biases of how the dominant culture teaches and writes and thinks about craft. Matthew’s book addresses how and why craft inextricable from identity and lived experience—bringing some explosive new energy to our t...

It’s a brand-new season and Year 4 of Write-minded, and we’re diving headfirst into shame, a feeling that often attacks on the sly, and that seems to show up even in the most innocuous of places. Guest Firoozeh Dumas talks us through shame as a writer, through the lens of culture, and through the lens of humor, too. Plus, we touch upon her story of being an Iranian immigrant writer, and what’s cha...

It’s our final A+ August episode—and we’re ending the summer with YA superstars Laurie Halse Anderson and Marie Lu, who treated us earlier this year with deep insights about the genre, and about mining your memories and your stories regardless of genre. They speak about inspirations and starts and what moved them along in their journeys. Which is a perfect segue to our new season—Year 4—which star...

As summer slips away, what better interviews to revisit than two that feature writing about sex in all its myriad forms—desire, confession, and as thinking pieces that speak to who we are, what we crave, and also how we’re controlled and boxed in and limited. Two of our favorites from this past year, Deesha Philyaw and Kim Addonizio, give writers a lot to think about on the subject of sex writing,...

Our next A+ August mash-up features two of Brooke’s absolute favorites—Mary Karr and Elizabeth Gilbert. Mary’s episode, In Defense of Memoir, is a deep dive into memoir writing, while Liz’s, Following the Thread of Your Inspiration. Both guests have been so influential to this genre, and this wide-ranging conversation will leave any aspiring writer motivated to get writing—and don’t forget to go b...

This best of features two guests whose debut novels focus in on racial issues in the workplace with Askaripour’s novel, Black Buck, set in the sales industry and Pandya’s Members Only homing in on academia. Both guests speak to their inspirations, drawing from life experience, and the nuance and complexities (and also the importance) of tackling racial issues in fiction. Learn more about your ad c...

In this first of our A+ August mash-up we’re revisiting interviews with two of the most popular fantasy authors we know—Hugh Howey and Victoria “V.E.” Schwab. There’s so much good stuff here to inspire any kind of author. We talk about process, confidence, why we write, and then yes, there’s some magic talk in here, too, since fantasy allows you to rewrite the rules and build your own worlds . . ....

In the final show of Year 3 of Write-minded, Brooke interviews Grant about his newest book, a collection of stories called All the Comfort Sins Can Provide. In the interviewee chair, Grant shares the highs and the lows of publishing a new book—the fear and the angst and the joys and the expectations. Having doled out excellent advice over these past three years, Grant realizes during this week’s s...

This week’s show is a great episode for any writer who’s ever thought about plotting—how much they love it or hate it, whether they’re even doing it, and why plotting matters anyway. Our guest is Jean Hanff Korelitz, who’s most recent book, The Plot, has one of the best plots ever—and even she says sometimes you have to forget about the plot. We touch upon literary vs. commercial fiction, whether...

This week’s episode is an intense, powerful, and frank interview with author Gina Frangello as part of WomenLit, a Bay Area program dedicated to elevating women’s voices. Gina’s latest book, Blow Your House Down, is a tour de force and a memoir that’s had everyone talking—because she really goes there: into her shame, into her fear, into abuse, into sex and body, and into what it’s like to live a...

Creative empathy is no longer enough of a foundation when it comes to what kinds of characters and situations novelists can or should write, and yet permission to write is the foundation of this week’s how featuring Rebecca Makkai. In this wide-reaching conversation Brooke and Grant talk with Rebecca about the value of research, the challenges all writers face in prioritizing their writing, and ge...

All around us, there are stories waiting to be unearthed, storylines there for the taking. Grant and Brooke discuss this and more—plotting v. pantsing; researching; understanding your readers—in this week’s episode. Importantly, this week’s show with guest Stacey Lee is about why we write, how it’s our birthright, and how we can push through some of the guilt and/or apathy some writers have felt o...

In this week’s episode we celebrate Lindsey Grant’s new book, Ready, Set, Memoir, a new book out in collaboration with NaNoWriMo, and which features many Write-minded past guests. This week’s show is full of memoir tips, and also supports aspiring memoirists to stay the course in their process—because we know it’s challenging. Ready, Set, Memoir is a book—and an episode—that touches upon the highs...

Oh, the challenge to be funny on the page. This week’s episode includes actual tips from guest Annabelle Gurwitch for how to do just that, as well as warnings from Brooke and Grant, like why to avoid comparing yourself to other comedic writers. They also discuss why the short form lends itself to humor writing, and share some of the funniest writers they love—all while getting a little punchy. The...

Whether you love genre fiction already, or wonder why you never pick it up, this episode is an informative and eye-opening delve into crime fiction (and other genre fiction generally). We talk about the “genre wars” (what is that?) and also hear from Tracy about her amazingly disciplined approach to getting the job done. Tracy talks about her process, her mentors, and how she learned to write crim...