Heather Clark is the author of Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, a 2021 Pulitzer Prize finalist now out in paperback from Knopf. She and Courtney discuss how biography is like archeology, the "hysterical woman writer" s

WMFA ARCHIVES: Creating Reassuring Writing Frameworks w. KRISTEN ARNETT

Jun 16th, 2021 55m 18s

Kristen Arnett's latest novel, WITH TEETH, is out now from Riverhead. In this conversation from 2019, she and Courtney talk about queer writing beyond the coming-out narrative, creating supportive frameworks for getting the work done, and, of c

Turning Your Past into Narrative w. ELISSA WASHUTA

Apr 28th, 2021 49m 33s

Elissa's new essay collection, White Magic, is out now from Tin House. She and Courtney discuss reckoning with your past selves, time loops, and giving up control over the process. We also discuss one of Courtney's and the book’s favorite subje

WMFA ARCHIVES: Fictionalizing Real Life w. LISA KO

Mar 24th, 2021 55m 54s

In this conversation from 2018, Courtney and Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers, discuss complicating the notions of motherhood, why working on your characters is working on yourself, and keeping the faith through seven years of novel drafts.Learn

Not Coddling Your Characters w. DANTIEL W. MONIZ

Mar 10th, 2021 50m 46s

Dantiel W. Moniz's debut collection, Milk Blood Heat, is out now from Grove Atlantic. She and Courtney discuss not protecting your characters, the inextricableness of place and identity, and deciding to take your writing seriously. In the bonu

Examining Extremely Online Life w. LAUREN OYLER

Feb 24th, 2021 58m 25s

Lauren Oyler's debut novel, FAKE ACCOUNTS, is out now from Catapult. She and Courtney discuss social media, autofiction, and our various efforts to be understood online and on the page.In the bonus segment, Lauren talks about how she approach

WMFA ARCHIVES: Keeping Faith in the Process w. R.O. KWON

Feb 10th, 2021 52m 29s

R.O. Kwon is the co-editor, with Garth Greenwell, of KINK, a new anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire, BDSM, and interests across the sexual spectrum. She is also the author of THE INCENDIARIES. In this episode from 201

Rethinking Craft and Workshops w. MATTHEW SALESSES

Jan 27th, 2021 54m 59s

Matthew's latest book is Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping. He and Courtney discuss what's wrong with the way we talk about our work, how we can do better, and the most ill-used terms in craft discussions—some

Keeping Writing Fun w. MATEO ASKARIPOUR

Jan 13th, 2021 50m 33s

Mateo Askaripour's debut novel, Black Buck, is out now. He and Courtney talk about the intimacy of first-person POV, managing plausibility, and what we learn from the novels we don’t sell. (NOTE: There are some Black Buck plot spoilers between

Flipping Received Narratives w. DANIELLE EVANS

Dec 16th, 2020 52m 11s

Danielle Evans' latest book is The Office of Historical Corrections, out now from Riverhead Books. She and Courtney talk about flipping received narratives, reckoning with the past, and the relationship between a work's active and emotional plo

Exploring the Quiet Moments w. SIMON HAN

Dec 2nd, 2020 59m 27s

Simon Han's debut novel is Nights When Nothing Happened, out now from Riverhead Books. He and Courtney discuss the tricky label of universality, turning a short story into a novel, and how writing is like the Fast & Furious franchise.In today'

Contextualizing Research into Prose w. ANNE HELEN PETERSEN

Nov 11th, 2020 59m 38s

Anne Helen Petersen's latest book is Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation. She and Courtney talk about the difficulty behind advice about "doing what you love," what freelance writing careers look like now, and how she synt

Writing Into Contradictions w. DEESHA PHILYAW

Oct 28th, 2020 1h 1m

Deesha Philyaw's fiction debut, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, is a National Book Award finalist. She and Courtney talk about creating complex characters, writing Black women, and staying true to your vision even in the face of rejection.I

WMFA ARCHIVES: Fighting Perfectionism w. CELESTE NG

Aug 5th, 2020 1h 3m

Originally airing on November 8, 2017, Courtney and Celeste Ng—author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You—do a deep dive into process: what makes a good beginning, finding the voice, reverse outlining and more. They also

WMFA ARCHIVES: Being Patient and Indulgent w. GARTH GREENWELL

Jul 22nd, 2020 1h 3m

Garth Greenwell is the author of What Belongs to You and Cleanness, and a 2020 Guggenheim fellow. In 2017, he and Courtney talked about being a poet novelist, the language of desire, and why he writes first drafts by hand.Learn more about your

WMFA ARCHIVES: Storytelling as an Act of Love w. WAYÉTU MOORE

Jul 8th, 2020 1h 11m

Courtney and Wayétu Moore, author of She Would Be King, discuss diasporic literature, the trouble with magical realism, and how to preserve your relationship with your craft. Wayétu's latest book is the memoir The Dragons, The Giant, The Women.

Inventing Complex Characters w. GENEVIEVE HUDSON

Jun 24th, 2020 54m 46s

Genevieve Hudson's debut novel, BOYS OF ALABAMA, is out now from Liveright. They and Courtney talk about developing complicated characters, writing the supernatural, and exploring "capital-T truth" in fiction. Learn more about your ad choices.

Minisode: Transformation

Jun 17th, 2020 4m 35s

What in your creative process are you ready to say goodbye to? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Minisode: Transformation

Jun 17th, 2020 4m 35s

What in your creative process are you ready to say goodbye to?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Capturing Grief and Collective Memory w. CARTER SICKELS

Jun 10th, 2020 51m 46s

Carter Sickels latest novel, THE PRETTIEST STAR, is out now from Hub City Press. He and Courtney talk about activist art, writing poignancy without sentimentality, and documenting queer rural narratives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

Capturing Grief and Collective Memory w. CARTER SICKELS

Jun 3rd, 2020 51m 46s

WRITERS-IN-RESIDENCE: Book Tour Edition

May 20th, 2020 12m 2s

In the second quarantine call-in episode, writers with new releases share their favorite moments from a very different kind of book tour than they’d expected. Plus they shout out the new releases they’re reading!Learn more about your ad choice