UpperPen Podcast

Shannon Chakaraborty joined me for the second time to talk about The Tapestry of Fate, book two in The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. She is such a wonderfully talented writer. Shannon easily places me in time and gives enough (but not too many) details to fill out Amina's world. Her work is very research driven, but not to the detriment of the story. I loved The Tapestry of Fate and I really...

Martha Wells is one of the best science fiction writers of the 21st century! I pick up every Murderbot book she writes, even the short stories you can find on Tor.com. She is such a wonderful writer. I was lucky enough to get to talk with her about the 8th Murderbot Diaries book, Platform Decay. During this interview we steered away from Platform Decay spoilers, and instead focused on themes throu...

Authors Rachel Aaron and Travis Bach join UpperPen to discuss Death Has Joined the Party , a LitRPG novel inspired by free DnD rules, imaginative dungeon design, reality show storytelling, and working with your significant other. Book description: Welcome, sentient races one and all, to the centennial season of the greatest collaboration between mortals and gods! The most thrilling, most deadly, m...

Author Kiersten White joins UpperPen to discuss The Fox and the Devil, exploring its nonlinear structure, inspiration from Dracula, the 1900 Paris World’s Fair, and the evolving space for queer horror. YouTube: https://youtu.be/mWshT6KCeP8 UpperPen.com

Hugo Award-winning author John Chu joins UpperPen to discuss The Subtle Art of Folding Space, a "science-fiction" novel about a Taiwanese-American family trying to prevent the collapse of the universe while navigating complex family relationships. Sort of. John Chu has an interesting take on how to classify his work later in the episode, so stick around to find out what he says. The Subt...

Author Jennifer Mandula joined UpperPen to discuss The Geomagician , a novel inspired by Mary Anning, exploring magic in 1820s England, science and religion in the 19th century, and the overlooked contributions of women (Mary specifically) in history. I loved this book so much and hope you enjoy Jennifer's enthusiasm for history as much as I do! You can get signed copies from Mac's Backs:...

Author S. L. Rowland joins UpperPen to discuss his shift from LitRPG (Sentenced to Troll) to cozy fantasy (Tales of Aedrea), the rise of cozy fantasy as a genre, and the realities of Kickstarter publishing, and attending book conventions. Did you know he also sells his books on his website slrowland.com for less than you would buy them for at other *cough*Amazon*cough* sites? I really want all of...

Author Nicole Glover joins UpperPen to discuss The Starseekers, exploring NASA, the influence of Hidden Figures, the history of African Americans in public television, and how magic intersects with real-world history. I found that this book literally combined my favorite topics! Nicole basically rooted around in my brain and pulled out everything, except the horror. The Starseekers is preceded by...

Author The Longwinded One joins UpperPen to discuss Get Trucked , his LitRPG reverse-isekai novel on Royal Road, and the companion app Endr, which lets readers see the in-world app used to isekai characters. The app is out now on the Google App Store and iOS. Get Trucked is still being released on Royal Road. Go show The Longwinded One some love for this fun book.

Author Edward Ashton joins UpperPen to discuss his new novel After the Fall , exploring love and power imbalance, personal storytelling, and the influence of Kurt Vonnegut’s dark comedy on his work.

Author Kate Quinn joins UpperPen to discuss The Astral Library , magical libraries as sanctuaries, choosing books to live inside, costume design, and the craft of building safe havens for lost and lonely characters. The Astral Library is in stores everywhere February 17th, 2026!

Author Helen Phifer joins UpperPen to discuss her upcoming novel The Vanishing Bookstore , exploring Salem, Massachusetts, witches and womanhood, mystery pacing, and the craft behind a powerful, violent opening.

Translator Anne McKnight joins UpperPen to discuss Long Take , a collection of interviews and writings from Akira Kurosawa. We explore Kurosawa’s films, his childhood influences, the challenges of translation, and his work as a wartime propagandist filmmaker.

Author The Longwinded One and narrator Chris Tucci discuss The Breaking Annwn (Book 2 of The Four Treasures Saga ), exploring tonal shifts in LitRPG series, writing with friends, and producing a multi-narrator audiobook. In this episode, author The Longwinded One and narrator Chris Tucci talk about the evolution of The Four Treasures Saga , focusing on The Breaking Annwn , a darker, more serious s...

Author Suzannah Rowntree joins UpperPen to discuss The Werewolf of Whitechapel. In this episode, Rowntree talks about her novel The Werewolf of Whitechapel, a dark reimagining of Victorian England that blends history, horror, and social critique. We also discuss how historical fiction can interrogate injustice, why monsters often represent systems of power, and how the past continues to haunt the...

In this episode, acclaimed translator, poet, and scholar Jeffrey Angles takes us inside his translation of The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by Shin’ichirō Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga, and Yoshie Hotta, offering deep insight into the origins of the film, the cultural landscape of Japan in the early 1960s, and the complexities of bringing Japanese prose into English. Whether you're a fan of kaiju...

Editor R.B. Wood of Ruadán Books joins UpperPen to discuss how to submit your fiction, what kinds of stories editors are looking for, how to stand out from the slush pile, and how writers can explore cities—and themselves—through storytelling.

Editor John Joseph Adams joins UpperPen to discuss curating The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2025 anthology, how stories make it through the slush pile, and what editors really look for in great speculative fiction. Welcome to UpperPen, where we explore the craft of writing, editing, and publishing. In this conversation, John Joseph Adams—award-winning editor, publisher, and series...

In the city of Dividium, the law is simple: commit a crime, and your punishment is a life sentence in Endlock. Raven Thorne is Dividium’s most notorious bounty hunter, living on the edge of society. But when her younger brother, Jed, is sentenced to Endlock, Raven will do anything to save him—even if it means getting herself arrested. Now trapped in a prison where danger lurks around every corner,...

Writing is the only interesting thing about Serra, aside from some other very interesting things that she would prefer to keep a secret. When she’s between projects, she likes to hang out with her husband (they’ve been together for over 20 years now and are very good at hanging out) and their Boston Terrier, Waffles. She can also be found reading, eating, and courting madness. She lives in Souther...

Cait  (they/them)  grew up somewhere between the many farms and beaches of the North Fork of Long Island, NY. There, they found escape through the fictional worlds of books. Their love of literature inspired them to found BookTok and The Bookington Book Club. When they aren’t writing or scrolling on social media, they spend their time obsessing over theater, Dungeons and Dragons, and caring for th...

Courtney Floyd grew up in New Mexico, where she learned to write between tarantula turf wars and apocalyptic dust storms. She currently lives at the bottom of a haunted mountain in the woods of Vermont with her partner and pets. Her debut fantasy novel,  Higher Magic , comes out with MIRA Books on October 7th, 2025. Courtney has a PhD in British Lit and a penchant for irreverent literary allusions...

Writer of over seventy-five fantasy books, Harmon Cooper lives with his wife in New England. His series include, but are not limited to, Pilgrim, War Priest, Cowboy Necromancer, The Feedback Loop, Proxima Legends, Monster Hunt NYC, and The World According to Dragons. He’s probably writing his next book now. To see the latest releases and follow Harmon on the various social medias go to:https://lin...

Devoney Looser is a writer and professor at Arizona State University. She also goes by Stone Cold Jane Austen, especially on roller skates. Wild for Austen takes a deep dive into who Jane Austen was, but also how her stories- mild and tame as they may seem today- were pushing boundaries and considered "wild" for Austen's time (and frankly for a while after). Looser is does a fantasti...

Lindsey Pogue is a genre-bending survival romance author, best known for her soul-stirring Savage North Chronicles. With a master’s in history and a passion for apocalyptic landscapes, Lindsey weaves epic adventures where humanity shines brightest in the darkest of times. Her weather-ravaged worlds defy genre boundaries, inviting readers to escape the ordinary and discover the boundless strength o...