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

#47 Black Warrior Review Editor Josh Brandon on Taking Necessary Breaks 15.02.2021

“You’re kinda playing with fire when you delve into trauma writing. It’s possible to push yourself past your own limits and touch on things that are more tender than you thought.” —Josh Brandon of Black Warrior ReviewHost Rachel Thompson speaks with Josh Brandon, Editor of Black Warrior Review, about taking a break when writing is difficult and about submitting and publishing your writing with the...

#46 Food Writing with Qwerty Editors Christine Wu and McKenna James Boeckner 11.02.2021

Host Rachel Thompson speaks with editors from Qwerty magazine, based at the University of New Brunswick, about sumptuous food writing and, of course, everything you need to know if you want to submit and publish your writing with Qwerty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#45 Weird Writing with Okay Donkey Editors Téa Franco, Genevieve Kersten, and Elizabeth Upshur 28.01.2021

Host Rachel Thompson speaks with three editors from the online journal Okay Donkey about weird poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Téa Franco, Genevieve Kersten, and Elizabeth Upshur discuss weird writing's significance and purpose in these weird times, how social media has helped us find our weird community and created all the extra weirdness available, and, of course, everything you need t...

#11 The Fiddlehead—Understand Who You Are with Alicia Elliott [Replay] 14.01.2021

“I think that when a writer doesn’t have a good understanding of who they are and what their beliefs are...they are going to necessarily lack the conviction in their writing to go daring places, and ask daring questions.” —Alicia ElliottAlicia Elliott is a Tuscarora writer and the new Creative Non-Fiction editor at The Fiddlehead magazine. She is also someone both daring in her writing, and solid...

#44 Genius and Estrangement with Ploi Pirapokin of Newfound #LitMagLove 17.12.2020

In this episode, Ploi Pirapokin and Rachel Thompson start deep, jumping right into discussing estrangement for writers. Ploi shares about writing through immigration statuses and her Genius Visa. There is A LOT of laughter in this episode. (Rachel edited the big bursts of them, so they don't blast your eardrums.) You will find Ploi's joy as infectious—in the best way—as Rachel did during the inter...

#43 What if my story isn't special? 03.12.2020

The biggest epiphany I had about my writing in the last year is that there is nothing special about my story. This sounds like a terrible epiphany, I realize! But it was so liberating. Let me explain. Full episode transcript available in the show notes on rachelthompson.co/podcast/43 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#42 Rowan McCandless on How to Create a Writing Community 19.11.2020

Emerging author, Rowan McCandless shares how she built her writing community. She and Rachel discuss the four different forms of writing groups she engages. She also shares a racist experience she had in a writing course. Plus you can hear Rowan read from Persephone's Children, her forthcoming book of essays, out from Dundurn Press in September 2021. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

#41 Five Steps to Publishing Your Writing in Literary Journals #LitMagLove 05.11.2020

`In this first solo episode after the Write, Publish, and Shine podcast reboot, I talk about the five things editors want in your writing submissions to journals. This is all based on my experience reading submissions, publishing work in a lit mag, and talking to dozens of editors from other literary journals who do the same. If you'd like to find assignments to help you get more of each of the fi...

Write, Publish, and Shine! (Announcement) 22.10.2020

I have an announcement about this podcast, but before we get to it, I want to thank you for continuing to listen in this almost year since I released new podcast episodes. I feel you out there, I see the numbers, too, so I know you’re still out there listening and waiting for new episodes. So, thank you, thank you, thank you for your patience. Find the full transcript of this episode here: https:/...

#39 Apple Valley Review—Do the Work You Want to Do with Leah Browning 20.11.2019

The Apple Valley Review is a semiannual online literary journal founded in 2005 by Leah Browning. Published in the spring and fall, each issue features a collection of poetry, short fiction, and personal essays. Apple Valley Review editor, Leah Browning, has worked as a freelance writer and editor since 1995. She is the author of three short nonfiction books for teens and pre-teens and six chapboo...

#38 Mom Egg Review—Restore the Balance of Narratives with Marjorie Tesser 12.11.2019

Mom Egg Review is a literary journal about motherhood. It promotes and celebrates the creative force of mother writers and artists. Mom Egg Review is about being a mother, in its many varieties. It is also about being a daughter, worker, partner, artist, a member of cultures and communities, and explores how these identities can collide and coexist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

#37 The Unpublishables—Reflect Your True Self with M. Paramita Lin and Doretta Lau 23.10.2019

Writing may be the only pursuit that M. Paramita Lin hasn't accidentally stumbled into. In between hanging out with triad members and living in a succession of haunted flats in Hong Kong, she's also been a paid companion to the third wife of a tycoon, toured the world with musicians, and apprenticed as a goldsmith in Italy. Lin's stories are mostly set in Asian cities, and they are often funny, oc...

#36 The Nasiona—Persuade with Julián Esteban Torres López 12.10.2019

“Editing is a position of power that I take seriously. I’m a writer, author, creative in different ways and I experienced the negativity of being a victim of systems of oppression,” Julián Esteban Torres López. Julián Esteban Torres López is a Colombian-born journalist, publisher, podcaster, and editor. Before founding the nonfiction storytelling organization The Nasiona, he ran several cultural a...

#34 Make Relationships Right with Jessica Johns of Room Magazine 01.09.2019

This episode focuses on working in close relationship with writers, and thinking through all your relationships as you navigate choices for your writing and in your writing community. Jessica Johns is a nehiyaw aunty and member of Sucker Creek First Nation in Treaty 8 territory in Northern Alberta and is currently living, working, and learning on the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish...

#33 Evoke Place with Mary Leauna Christensen of The Swamp Literary Magazine 18.08.2019

The Swamp publishes work that evokes a sense of place, which, for The Swamp, is broadly defined. “We look forward to reading work that we can inhabit, no matter its geography. We do give preference to the southern gothic, to poems and stories wrapped in a heavy coat of humidity. With that said, we seek to publish all work that surprises us with new territory, with characters and landscapes we don'...

#31 Push Back on What’s Expected with Felicity Landa of Literary Mama 14.07.2019

Literary Mama believes that all mothers have a story worth sharing and honors the many faces of motherhood by publishing work that celebrates the journey as well as the job. Felicity Landa earned her Bachelor’s in Creative Writing and Literature from CSU Long Beach in 2013, where she was awarded the Horn scholarship for her novel. She is currently an MFA student in Fiction and Screenwriting at UC...

#30 Tear Down Structures with Anna Lena Phillips Bell & Rachel Taube of Ecotone 30.06.2019

Founded at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2005, the award-winning magazine features writing and art that reimagine place, and our authors interpret this charge expansively. An ecotone is a transition zone between two adjacent ecological communities, containing the characteristic species of each. It is, therefore, a place of danger or opportunity, a testing ground. The magazine expl...

#29 Question and Observe with Alana Saltz of Blanket Sea Arts & Literary Magazine 16.06.2019

Blanket Sea features work created by people living with chronic illness, mental illness, and disability. “There aren’t many places where writers and artists with illness and disabilities can express themselves in a safe, open, and welcoming space. We want Blanket Sea to be that space.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#28 Know Who Your Readers Are (And Are Not) with Caroline Knecht of Whiskey Island 02.06.2019

"A rejection letter doesn't mean it's not working." —Caroline Knecht of Whiskey IslandFounded in 1977, Whiskey Island is a nonprofit literary journal published by Cleveland State University. They accept submissions of original poetry, fiction, and creative essays during two reading periods: August 15th through November 15th, and January 15th through April 15th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

#27 Follow Your Lights with Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis and Gerald Maa of the Asian American Literary Review 19.05.2019

"Our impulse is to trust writers and follow their lights. In cases where we’re editing and working closely with them, it’s to help them get to that place that they’re wanting to get to, but might want some structure or help getting there." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#26 Have Heart and Humility with Jasmine Gui of LooseLeaf Magazine 05.05.2019

"I think intersectional community asks us to be open and mindful of difference. It asks us to have a posture of listening that requires a lot of effort, it requires a lot of heart, it requires a lot of humility in many ways. Because we are being asked to really give attention to another person’s experience that we might not have any relationship with. This is a crucial point of connection for me b...

#25 Be Generous & Wise with Jónína Kirton of Turtle Island Responds 15.11.2018

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#24 Share Intimacy with Doyali Islam of Arc Poetry Magazine 08.11.2018

In this episode of Lit Mag Love: A podcast for creative writers who want to publish, host Rachel Thompson interviews Doyali Islam from Arc magazine. Their conversation covers offering an emotional truth and creating some kind of intimacy with the readers. They also discuss how poets and readers of poetry feel a sense of belonging through poem. Doyali is someone who recites her favourite poems to k...

#23 Learn from Others with Alexandria Petrassi of So to Speak Journal 31.10.2018

In this episode of the Lit Mag Love Podcast, host Rachel Thompson talks with Alexandria Petrassi from So to Speak journal. Their discussion covers how the “canonical” writer has changed. “When I started reading poetry, I didn’t read anybody living,” says Alexandria, adding “The fantastic part about this moment, is who people are reading now and who people will remember are so much different now. T...

#22 Invite Readers In with Sakina Fakhri and Diana McClure of Azure magazine 24.10.2018

In this episode of the Lit Mag Love Podcast, host Rachel Thompson talks with Sakina Fakhri and Diana McClure, founders of Azure magazine. Azure accepts literary fiction, creative non-fiction, excerpts, screenplays, stageplays, fragments, meanderings, philosophy and poetry, in submissions of up to 50 pages. They don’t charge fees for submissions, and here’s something interesting—if your submission...

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