This week’s episode is an exploration of form, and why some stories are better contained in short story form rather than a novel. Guest Ghassan Zeineddine shares the evolution of his short story collection, Dearborn, as well as some of his process, including research and spending serious time with subjects who sometimes play roles in stories years down the road. Dearborn is part-celebration, part-astute observation of the Arab-American community in Dearborn, Michigan. This episode also contains a bit of history about how Dearborn became the US city with the highest concentration of Arabs and Arab Americans, and also lends insights into process, craft, and why the short story form is sometimes just right.

This week Write-minded explores point of view, especially those stories told with less conventional points of view. Uncommon points of view stick with you—and Brooke and Grant cover books they love that have ghost points of view, dog points of view, and the kind of point of view where the reader is part of the story. This week’s guest Jimin Han walks us through some of her narration choices for her new novel, The Apology, and shares insights into her writing process, her characters, her inspirations, and so much more.

Write-minded is kicking off our sixth year this week with an episode focused on the skinny around what agents do, what they’re thinking about, and how to think about working with an agent—all through the lens of our guest, Lisa Leshne of The Leshne Agency. Lisa brings an honest and fresh perspective to the hard work of agenting, how authors want to think about being strategic partners with their would-be agents, and we touch upon some recent publishing news, like the future of AI and the Simon & Schuster buyout.

Two of our favorite memoir episodes from last year revisited, with guests whose memoirs showcase exceptional craft—so much so that they’ll be teaching a fall memoir course with Brooke that starts next month. We’re revisiting these two authors whose memoirs have so much to teach writers about good writing, storytelling, and creating an experience that has real staying power. Tune in or relisten—and we’re back next week with fresh episodes and a brand-new season.

This week we’re celebrating two of our more accomplished guests of last year. Grant and Brooke talk about the joy of interviewing authors we’ve long admired, and highlight these two fabulous shows with Gish Jen and Peggy Orenstein, two authors at the top of their game. These are great shows to revisit for their insights from writers who’ve been at their craft for a while, and have a thing or two to impart to writers at all stages of their career.

This week we’re revisiting our favorite two book biz episodes from last year. Both episodes got more listener feedback than any others—and if you missed the money episode, there’s so much here to be inspired by. For all writers and aspiring authors, there’s not enough we can say about being savvy about the business side of authorprenuership, which is why we’re spotlighting these two shows for our August round-up of our favorite shows of the past year. Happy Summer!

This is the first of our summer favorites series, featuring Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Ana Reyes. We’re revisiting our favorite episodes of the past year during the month of August, so we invite you to tune in or relisten as we celebrate and honor high-stakes fiction with two writers whose books we felt pushed the limits of fiction and made us think more critically about complex topics that wiggle their way into readers’ hearts and souls. Happy Summer!

This week’s show takes on an age-old topic—that of all the ways family’s feelings, impressions, and reactions play a role in our writing. No relationship is more complex and multilayered than that of the parent and adult child, which is why Brooke wanted to bring on her mom, Gail Warner, as a guest to discuss writing and how the act of self-expression is not an isolated experience. We have considerations, many of which involve our family—and this episode opens that conversation between one mother and daughter. It’s also the final episode of the fifth year of Write-minded, for which Grant conjures up an imagined parade to celebrate.

This week’s guest Ben Purkert, author of the newly released novel, The Men Can’t Be Saved, gives us some insight into the art of writing complex characters, including the downright unlikeable ones. Atrocious acts and bad behavior are at the center of storytelling, and when constructed well, supposedly unlikeable characters are often more gripping and memorable than likable ones. We’re titillated and drawn forth by a character’s conflict, bad behavior, and perhaps even downfall. A good author challenges their readers to be interested in their unlikeable characters—even through their flaws.