Rachel Thompson

Write, Publish, and Shine

Arts EN ↓ 138 episodes

Hello and welcome, luminous writers. I'm Rachel Thompson. I'm an author, a literary magazine editor, and an online writing instructor. And this is Write, Publish, and Shine , a podcast for emerging writers who want to publish and shine. In this season of Write, Publish, and Shine , we'll talk about how to keep making art when the world needs our resistance, when your energy is stretched and when you still feel called to the page. You'll hear interviews with writers and editors about sustaining a practice, craft-focused episodes on tension, revision, voice, and structure, and personal reflectio...

Author

Rachel Thompson

Category

Arts

Podcast website

rachelthompson.co

Latest episode

Jun 30, 2026

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Episodes

#83 Our Ghostly Interactions Creating a Lit Mag with Publisher Nara Monteiro 25.10.2023

The fourth in my series of special episodes of Write, Publish, and Shine as I take you on a deep dive into the creation of Room magazine issue 46.3, where I was lead editor of the issue. In this issue, to my delight, I sat down with Room ’s publisher, Nara Monteiro. We delve into the role of Publisher and what they do day-to-day at the magazine and get into some Ghosts-issue specifics and a slight...

#82 Talking to Spirits and Handling Success with Aviaq Johnston (Ghosts #3) 18.10.2023

Welcome to the third in my series of special episodes of Write, Publish, and Shine as I take you on a deep dive into the creation of Room magazine issue 46.3, where I was lead editor of the issue. One of my jobs as editor is to commission one established writer to be featured in the magazine. To do so, I started by searching for writers working in the genre of ghosts and scary stories and was plea...

#81 Make It Personal with Room Writers Reyzl Grace & Annette C. Boehm (Ghosts #2) 11.10.2023

Welcome to the second Ghost-themed special episodes of Write, Publish, and Shine as I take you on a deep dive into the creation of Room magazine issue 46.3, Ghosts, where I was lead editor of the issue. Why do lit mag editors choose the pieces they do? One answer to this question is “deeply personal”—by which I mean we pick work that resonates because of the deeply personal revelations and subject...

#80 Ghosts (#1) 04.10.2023

Welcome to the first in a series of special episodes of Write, Publish, and Shine as I take you on a deep dive into the creation of Room magazine issue 46.3, where I was lead editor of the issue. When we made our call for submissions we invited writers and visual artists to come haunt us. And they did. In this episode of Write, Publish, and Shine, you’ll hear my conversation with two writers we pu...

#61 Staying True to You as You Publish with Laurel Parry, Lyndall Cain, and Tamara Jong [Replay] 27.09.2023

It felt like the right time—in this season when people join writing programs and restart sending out submissions to lit mags—to replay this episode on Staying True to Yourself. Even if you already heard this episode, I suggest a re-listen because it’s a lesson we’re all apparently learning and relearning together…This is a special episode of the Write, Publish, and Shine Podcast where you will hea...

#79 Three lessons on writing, revising, and publishing your writing 20.09.2023

We talk all about the Write, Publish, Shine Intensive, which brings together my three courses, Write and Light, a course to get writers generating new, more profound work, Revision Love, my course on learning to self-edit your writing, and Lit Mag Love, my flagship course on getting published in literary journals. Grab all of the lessons and resources mentioned in the episode up at rachelthompson....

#78 Writing About Social Issues with Author Kavita Das 14.09.2023

Kavita Das really takes us on an intentional journey with her deep knowledge of social justice work and challenges us to unpack our motivations for writing about an issue and to understand that “writing, irrespective of genre or outlet, is an act of political writing,” regardless of intention. Craft and Conscience: How to Write About Social Issues by Kavita Das, was published by Beacon Press in 20...

Five Things Writers Can Stop Doing 08.06.2023

If you’re just tuning into my podcast, welcome. I’m on a break, but I will be back in late August. Pick up a copy of our book club read, Craft and Conscience by Kavita Das, to join our book-club conversation, which will appear in this feed here in August. To catch up over the summer, I encourage you to listen to my recent episode series on Agency for Writers, starting with episode 73 in this feed....

#77 Come From a Place of Passion and Honesty in Your Writing Life 30.05.2023

Megan Beadle ran her own literary agency for several years. So, if you’ve been listening to the last run of episodes, that word, agent, rings a bell. Ding, ding! We’re still talking about literary agency with the intention of both demystifying the role of agents a little and encouraging you, dear writer, to follow your path with intentionality and self-knowledge. Trends come and go, as she says, b...

#76 Make Your Own Map with Wendy Atwell 24.05.2023

This is the continuation of our agency theme on the podcast...I interview another luminous Writerly Love community member, Wendy Atwell, who is earlier in the process than our previous member guest who secured agents, Lacey Yong and Jessica Waite. Wendy is writing and revising her memoir, and I think it’s the perfect time to check in with her because she has made some great choices for her work th...

#75 Literary Agency with Room Editor and Multi-Hyphenate Geffen Semach 09.05.2023

As this is the third episode in the mini-series of episodes on the theme of agency and finding agency with your writing, we spend the most time talking about Geffen Semach's experience working as a Literary Agent’s Assistant and then cover the multiple roles they have held in the literary business. We also talk about audiobooks, and Geffen’s current role as Publishing Coordinator for Audiobooks at...

#74 Anchoring into Your Why with Memoirist Jessica Waite 03.05.2023

The second in our series exploring the theme of agency for writers, our double-entendre theme of both intentionality and finding an agent. Jessica Waite, the author of the forthcoming memoir, The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards, shares her story of finding an agent slowly and then all of a sudden, and having her book sell very quickly BEFORE it could even go to auction with the big publishers. Host...

#73 Agency: Finding an Agent with Lacey Yong 26.04.2023

The first in our series on the theme of agency—a term both literal (i.e. about finding an agent) and abstract, in that we talk about pursuing your writing life with intentionality. In this episode you'll hear from Lacey Yong, learn about her YA historical fantasy, writing in multiple genres, navigating writing as a new parent, and the idea of agency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

#72 Book Club: Voice First by Sonya Huber 18.04.2023

In this episode it is our Book Club Conversation and we talk about Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto by Sonya Huber, sharing who we think the book is for, how it helped with our writing, and what it adds to our ongoing conversation about craft. Find episode show notes at https://rachelthompson.co/podcast/72 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cool Loneliness [Replay] 11.04.2023

Reflections on cool loneliness: When I’m not writing enough, I lose track of what I believe, who I am, and who I truly want to be. Also, Book Club Conversation is coming up. Also, Book Club Conversation is coming up. Be sure to check out Voice First: A Writer's Manifesto by Sonya Huber and then listen to our next episode for the low-down on the book. Sign up for my Writerly Love Letters on https:/...

#71 Touch, Sight, and the Sixth Sense in Your Writing 04.04.2023

In this episode, it’s part two of our most recent six senses showcase. The writers you will hear all participated in the workshop series I offered last year on the six senses. As I mentioned in part one of this series, we had so much goodness, that we did our showcase over two episodes. That’s why you’ll hear us mention the readers and speakers from our past episode, number 69, which featured Whit...

#70 Special Episode: State of the Community 28.03.2023

In this episode, it’s a little peak behind the podcast. I have some real hashtag transparency moments around what I’m working on and what I have heard from writers in our broader community, which—in case you don't know—includes you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#69 Sound, Smell, and Taste in Your Writing 21.03.2023

In this episode, we come to our senses again. We had another LIVE showcase of writers in the Writerly Love community. The writers you will hear all participated in the workshop series I offered last year on the six senses. This is our second showcase. A first group of writers also showcased the senses back in episode 64 ([https://rachelthompson.co/podcast/64/](https://rachelthompson.co/podcast/64/...

#68 Craft Book Club Conversation—The Poet's Companion by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux 14.03.2023

In this episode it is my pleasure to introduce you to two members of our Writerly Love Community and bring you in to our book club conversation. We’ve been doing our close craft-book readings for a couple of years now. So, I love bringing you, dear listeners who are not members of the Writerly Love community—yet, into this conversation! (You can always learn more about the community and sign up at...

Wrap-Up: Empathy for Writers 07.03.2023

Wrap-Up: Empathy for Writers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#67 Empathy for You and Your Reader with Lyric Writer, Christina Brobby 28.02.2023

If you’re listening right when this episode comes out, it's not too late to join Christina Brobby in the workshop we're offering today. You can learn more and sign up at rachelthompson.co/workshopsIf it's after the 28th and you missed a chance to learn live from her, all of our workshops live on in our permanent collection in the member library. You can get all the details about the Writerly Love...

#66 Empathy for Objects in Your Writing with Lyndall Cain 21.02.2023

This episode is the second in our mini-series of three episodes on the theme of empathy for writers and a really interesting and unique take on empathy, as my guest is a curator and writer of fiction, Lyndall Cain. So, listen to Lyndall’s exploration of curation and really concrete ideas about how to find objects that build a whole world in writing and then sign-up for the workshop she will offer...

#65 Empathy & POV with Naomi J. Williams 14.02.2023

Naomi J. Williams is the author of Landfalls (FSG 2015), long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award. Her short fiction has appeared in journals such as Zoetrope: All-Story, A Public Space, One Story, The Southern Review, and The Gettysburg Review. Her distinctions include a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories Honorable...

#64 Using the Six Senses in Your Writing—a Showcase PLUS Prompts for Each Sense 07.02.2023

In this episode, Rachel talks with six writers from her Writerly Love membership community about writing through the senses. In this showcase, you’ll hear each writer represent a sense and how they apply it to their writing, and they will read from their work as well. The aim here is to help make sensitivity really grounded and specific. Rachel also offers a taste of the experience we had in our s...

#63 Ghosts and Haunting with Room Editor Ellen Chang-Richardson 14.12.2022

Ellen Chang-Richardson and Rachel Thompson on what they are looking for in submissions to the upcoming issue of Room’s Ghosts issue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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