The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, And Neuroscience

#PodcastersForJustice Critically-acclaimed debut author, Jean Chen Ho, spoke to me about the art of nonlinear storytelling, the shifting POVs in her novel Fiona and Jane, and the value of a strong writing community. Jean was born in Taiwan and grew up in Southern California. She is a doctoral candidate in creative writing and literature at the University of Southern California – where she is a Dornsife Fellow in fiction – and has an MFA from UNLV. Her much-anticipated debut novel is a collection of linked stories titled Fiona and Jane. Booklist called it "tender and timeless," a book that "...explores the intimate facets of female friendship, Asian American immigrant experiences in Los Angeles and New York, and the debilitating power of family traumas.” Bestselling author Alexander Chee wrote, “Fiona and Jane is a high wire act. . . .Jean Chen Ho’s brilliant debut is as assured as what must surely follow.” And Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen, called it, “A knockout of a book.” Jean's writ

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning journalist and bestselling biographer, Laurence Leamer, spoke to me about getting banned from Mar a Lago, why book proposals are a con job, and Truman Capote's Women (and terminal writer's block). Laurence is best known as the New York Times bestselling author of multiple celebrity biographies, including the trilogy, The Kennedy Women, The Kennedy Men, and Sons of Camelot. His latest, Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era, was named one of 2021's Most Anticipate Books in People, The New York Post, and Town & Country. The book has been described as an in-depth exploration of "...the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote's never-published final novel, Answered Prayers..." Publishers Weekly wrote of the book, “Biographer Leamer (The Kennedy Women) showcases his knack for telling a rattling good tale in this vivid look at Truman Capote’s failed attempt to write ‘the greatest novel of the age.’ . .

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning author and essayist, Vanessa Veselka, spoke to me about her transformation as an artist, writing out of necessity, and the journey from nervy debut to National Book Award longlist. Vanessa is the author of the debut novel Zazen, which won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize in 2012. Her second novel, The Great Offshore Grounds, was longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction 2020, and winner of the Oregon Book Awards' Ken Kesey Award for Fiction. The book has been described by author Roxane Gay as “A magnificent beast of a novel.... One of the rare novels that understands the realities of American poverty,” and was named one of "The 10 Best Books of 2020," by Vulture. Vanessa's short stories have appeared in Tin House and ZYZZYVA, and her nonfiction in GQ, The Atlantic, Smithsonian, The Atavist, and was included in Best American Essays and the anthology Bitchfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism. Stay calm and write on ... Discover The Writer Files Extra You can

Award-winning filmmakers and multi-hyphenate screenwriting duo, Kaz and Ryan Firpo, spoke to me about their breakout Hollywood moment, writing Marvel's Eternals, and how to eat a whale. The Firpos are cousins who grew up in Northern California – with a storied background in commercials and documentary filmmaking – who describe themselves as "filmmakers who write." In 2017 their first feature screenplay, RUIN, topped The Black List (a showcase for film writers) making them a hot commodity in Hollywood. In addition to writing and directing their first feature, their original sci-fi screenplay MIMI FROM RIO was purchased in a bidding war by Netflix with Ridley Scott producing. Their first entry for the MCU is the complex story, Eternals, about a race of immortals who help shape Earth's history and civilizations, and who must emerge from hiding after thousands of years to protect the world from the evil Deviants. Stay calm and write on ... Discover The Writer Files Extra You can now have The Writer Files p

#PodcastersForJustice Critically-acclaimed debut author, Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, spoke to me about becoming a late-stage "literary debutante," Walmart militias, and the #writinglife as an introvert. Jocelyn is a veteran public school art teacher, whose short story “Control Negro” was anthologized in Best American Short Stories 2018, guest-edited by New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay, and read live by LeVar Burton as part of PRI’s Selected Shorts series. Her buzzy debut is 2021 Kirkus Prize Finalist, My Monticello, five stories and a novella all set in Virginia. It has been described as a "...precisely imagined [novel exploring] burdened inheritances and extraordinary pursuits of belonging....Set in the near future..." It was selected by National Book award winner Charles Yu as his most anticipated book of the year, hailed as a "masterly feat” by the NY Times, called "electrifying" by Colson Whitehead, and "absolutely unforgettable" by Roxane Gay. Netflix recently bought the title novella "My Mo

#PodcastersForJustice Journalist and Founder of the bestselling Six-Word Memoirs series, Larry Smith, spoke to me about his evolution as a journalist, TEDxing the Six-Word Memoir, and famous micro-memoirists. In the early days of Twitter, with a single tweet in 2006 – “Can you describe your life in six words?" – Larry Smith launched what would go on to become a runaway global phenomenon. The Six-Word Memoir Project has gone on to become a bestselling series of books, live event programs, a board game, and a popular lesson plan taught by teachers around the world. The 10th book in the series, A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Year: Hundreds of Stories on the Pandemic, offers a snapshot of unique viewpoints of kids, parents, and teachers sharing their six-word pandemic stories. The book also features numerous notable contributors including Piper Kerman (Smith’s wife and author of Orange Is the New Black), W. Kamau Bell (CNN commentator and comedian), Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love), and many others. S

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning, New York Times bestselling psychological thriller writer, Chevy Stevens, spoke to me about her life as a recluse, dreaming in prose, scaring the King, and her latest, Dark Roads. Chevy's debut novel Still Missing went on to become a New York Times bestseller and winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel in 2010. Her popular books, including Those Girls – which Stephen King called “Incredibly scary and suspenseful,” – have been published in more than thirty countries and optioned for film. Her seventh novel, the standalone thriller, Dark Roads, has been described as an "instant classic" by #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box. Author Gillian Flynn has called Chevy's work both "Gripping ... [and] unforgettable." Stay calm and write on ... Discover The Writer Files Extra You can now have The Writer Files podcast dropped right into your email inbox every time there’s a new show. No more shaking your podcast app! As a subscriber,

#PodcastersForJustice Co-hosts of the top international podcast "What You Will Learn," Adam Ashton and Adam Jones, spoke to me about why writers should (and can) read more, how to turn a podcast into a book, and The Sh*t They Never Taught You. What You Will Learn became Australia's #1 Book Podcast with over 4 million downloads, 300 episodes, and interviews with some of the biggest non-fiction authors in the business (including Seth Godin). The Adams pledged to deliver "The Best Bits From The Best (Non-Fiction) Books" weekly on their show, and now they've distilled their collective knowledge even further into their own book. Their compendium, The Sh*t They Never Taught You, offers "... takeaways from over a hundred of the world’s greatest thinkers, capturing lessons in personal development, career, business, personal finances, human nature, history, and philosophy." Stay calm and write on ... Discover The Writer Files Extra You can now have The Writer Files podcast dropped right into your email inbox e

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning writer and journalist, Leïla Slimani, spoke to me about the challenges of writing historical fiction, impostor syndrome, and what it's like to live In the Country of Others. “Imagination is the strongest, most powerful human capability. It allows everything: you can move in time, in space, create worlds. That’s what I look for when I write, and when I read, too.” – Leïla Slimani Leïla is the French-Moroccan author of the award-winning, #1 internationally bestselling novel The Perfect Nanny – a New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of the Year – for which she became the first Moroccan woman to win France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Goncourt. Her latest novel, In the Country of Others (first in a planned trilogy about how women’s lives change over three generations), was named a Best Book of the Summer by Vogue, E Weekly, BuzzFeed, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Town & Country, Observer, The Millions, and Parade. Salman Rushdie said of the book, “The world of

#PodcastersForJustice Internationally bestselling novelist and short story author, Nickolas Butler, spoke to me about working sh*tty jobs, the irony of his latest title, Godspeed, and defining the modern western. Nickolas is an Iowa Writers' Workshop grad and author of the award-winning novel Shotgun Lovesongs, The Hearts of Men, and Little Faith, and the story collection Beneath the Bonfire. His latest novel is Godspeed, described as "... an incisive portrait of working-class life, the meth epidemic, and the many stratified realities of this one America we all live in, separately." New York Times bestselling author, Ace Atkins, said of the book, “A fast-moving, highly addictive novel of ambition, obsession, and long-festering dreams of the haves and have nots." Nickolas has published articles, reviews, short stories, and poetry in publications such as Ploughshares, Narrative, and The New York Times Book Review, among others. Stay calm and write on ... Discover The Writer Files Extra You can now have

#PodcastersForJustice Decorated speculative fiction and YA author and pundit, Charlie Jane Anders, chatted with me about the genesis of storytelling, how to weather 20 years of rejection, write through hard times, and her latest how-to for writers Never Say You Can’t Survive. "Being a writer doesn't have to mean you have a cool haircut and live in Brooklyn and go to fancy literary parties. It can mean that you're just someone who enjoys making up stories ... you don't even have to publish them." – Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane's novel Victories Greater Than Death – the first book in a new young-adult trilogy, April, 2021 – and 2019's Locus Award winner The City in the Middle of the Night – named one of the year's best books by the Guardian and others and optioned for TV by Sony. Her 2016 novel, All the Birds in the Sky, was #5 on Time Magazine's list of the year's 10 best novels, and won the Nebula, Locus and Crawford awards. Her latest is Never Say You Can’t Survive, a book about how to use creative

#PodcastersForJustice New York Times bestselling author, Jason Mott, took a timeout to talk with me about the high-wire act of building Hell of a Book, talking about race in America, and NOT working with Brad Pitt. Jason is the author of The Returned, a New York Times bestseller that was turned into a TV series that ran for two seasons. His fourth novel is titled Hell of a Book, and is described as a "... funny and honest [work of fiction] that goes to the heart of racism, police violence, and the hidden costs exacted upon Black Americans, and America as a whole." The book has been named to dozens of "must read" lists for 2021 including Entertainment Weekly, The NY Post, GMA, USA Today, Fortune's 21 Most Anticipated Books Coming out in the Second Half of 2021 and more. Charles Yu, author of National Book Award winner Interior Chinatown called the book, "Playful, searching, raw and necessary..." Jason has BFA in fiction and an MFA in Poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His po

Matt Haig reads an excerpt from The Midnight Library, backed by an original Storybound remix with Robert Wynia, and sound design and arrangement by Jude Brewer. Robert Wynia is a founding member of the Portland band Floater. Known for their progressive concept albums, Floater is famous for incorporating stylized storytelling into their work. Wynia also releases music under his own name and released his book Night Walks with its own accompanying soundtrack in 2020. Storybound comes to you from The Podglomerate and Lit Hub Radio. Season 4 is some of their most inspired work yet, so be sure to subscribe today on Apple Podcasts or wherever you tune in. Matt Haig is the author of 20 books including the #1 bestselling memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, five novels – including How to Stop Time – and several award-winning children’s books. His work has been translated into over 40 languages. His latest novel is The Midnight Library, a runaway, #1 bestseller and reader favorite of 2020. It was a Goodreads Choice Award

#PodcastersForJustice Internationally bestselling thriller author, Samantha Downing, took a break to chat about her "20-year, overnight" success, writing psychopaths, and how to write a novel in six months. Samantha's debut novel, My Lovely Wife – about a married couple teaming up to commit murder – was a #1 international bestseller that earned Edgar and ITW Thriller Award nominations and an Amazon Best Thriller of the Month selection. Her latest bestseller, psychological thriller, For Your Own Good, has been called “A perfect summer book,” by NPR and described as "...a twisted and compulsively readable spin on the teacher-student relationship." New York Times bestselling author B.A. Paris called it, a "... wonderfully dark, twisty and compelling thriller set in a prestigious private school." And the book has been recently optioned by Robert Downey Jr. and Greg Berlanti for a series adaptation at HBO Max. Stay calm and write on ... Discover The Writer Files Extra You can now have The Writer Files podc

#PodcastersForJustice New York Times bestseller, and award-winning neo-noir novelist, S. A. Cosby, returned to chat about his creative process, cinematic heroes, and fantasy casting his new revenge tale, Razorblade Tears. “I loved Blacktop Wasteland...[A] fast-paced, bare-knuckle thriller.” -Stephen King S.A. is also an Anthony Award-winning short story writer for Best Short Story, 2019, and his short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. His lauded bestselling novel, Blacktop Wasteland, was Amazon's #1 Mystery and Thriller of the Year and #3 Best Book of 2020 overall, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, Winner of the LA Times Book Award for Mystery or Thrillers and a Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist. His newest, Razorblade Tears, hit The New York Times Bestseller List for the week of July 25, 2021, at number 10, and is described by ALA Booklist as "... a powerful blend of pulsing action, sensitive and subtle character inter

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning novelist, Claire Fuller, talked to me about getting shortlisted for the Women’s Prize For Fiction 2021, what inspired her new novel Unsettled Ground, and her creative process. Claire is an accomplished artist who studied sculpture at Winchester School of Art. She only started writing fiction at the age of 40, after many years working as a director at a marketing agency. She is now the author of four novels – including her award-winning debut Our Endless Numbered Days – and her latest is Unsettled Ground, on the Shortlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021. The book is described as "...a tale of sacrifice and hope, of homelessness and hardship, of love and survival..." and, "... an unusual family held together by a string of lies ... and a sudden death that threatens to undo them all." In a starred review, Booklist called Unsettled Ground, "Devastatingly haunting." Claire’s also an award-winning short fiction writer and writing instructor. Stay calm and write on ..

#PodcastersForJustice Bestselling author and award-winning social psychologist, Ron Friedman, spoke to me about how remarkable artists and writers reverse engineer breakouts, and his new book Decoding Greatness. Ron is an expert on human motivation and founder of ignite80, a consulting firm that crunches data in neuroscience, human physiology, and behavioral economics to "...help smart leaders build extraordinary workplaces." His latest work of non-fiction is the bestseller, Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success described as "...a game-changing approach to mastering new skills and succeeding faster." New York Times bestselling author of Deep Work, Cal Newport, said of the book, "Read this book if you want to upgrade from working hard to actually producing results that matter." Accounts of Ron's research have appeared on NPR, in major newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, and magazines such as Harvard Business Review

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning short story writer and novelist, Sarah Pinsker, talked to me about neural implants, meeting Ursula Le Guin, and her latest, We Are Satellites. Sarah Pinsker is the 2019 Nebula Award winner for Best Novel for A Song For a New Day. The lauded and eerily prescient novel was "...Set in our near-future world following a virus and violent attacks that led people to limit almost all interaction to the virtual space." Sound familiar? Her latest is We Are Satellites was named One of Buzzfeed’s Best Science Fiction Books of Spring 2021 and described as "...a fascinating novel that explores how technologies can transform family dynamics.” Sarah’s also a multi-hyphenate singer/songwriter whose Nebula and Sturgeon award-winning short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s, F&SF, as well as numerous other magazines, best-of anthologies, and been translated into multiple languages. Stay tuned after the interview for a sample of the We Are Satellites audiobook, excerpted courtesy of Penguin

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning short story writer and debut novelist, Sanjena Sathian, talked to me about the true cost of the American dream, magical realism, and working with Mindy Kaling on the adaptation of Gold Diggers. Sanjena is an Iowa Writers' Workshop grad who started her career as a journalist and reporter in Mumbai and San Francisco. She has had nonfiction bylines in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Food & Wine, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, and more. Her debut novel is Gold Diggers, and is described as, "A magical realist coming-of-age story ... about Indian American identity, community ... and the underside of ambition." Already a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, and a Vox Bookclub Pick, #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng, said of the book, “Dizzyingly original, fiercely funny, deeply wise.” Stay calm and write on ... Discover The Writer Files Extra You can now have The Writer Files podcast drop

#PodcastersForJustice Award-winning children's book author and diversity publishing pro, Crystal Swain-Bates, spoke with me about what inspired her to launch her own publishing company and the challenges authors of color face. “When I recognized how underrepresented black characters were in children's books, I made it my life's purpose to fill the diversity gap...” – Crystal Swain-Bates Crystal is a celebrated illustrated kids' book author, entrepreneur, and indie publisher "... on a mission to positively reshape the way children of color all over the world see themselves." She has written and published 12 children's books, been featured by Forbes, Entrepreneur, Essence Magazine, CNN, and HuffPost, and her books have been used as props for hit television shows on BET. Her lauded and bestselling book Big Hair, Don't Care is one of Amazon's most highly reviewed black children's books. Crystal founded Goldest Karat Publishing to address the lack of diversity in children's literature and aims to help "...