I'm a Writer But

Today we talk with Mallory Smart (The Only Living Girl in Chicago) about her publishing house, Maudlin House, looking for authors that make her want to write, horror movies, Dmitry Samarov, free writing, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Ben H. Winters (THE QUIET BOY) about teaching himself to write a novel by adding sea monsters to a classic, embracing the randomness that builds a career, learning about power dynamics and dialogue by watching celebrity press junkets, working on multiple projects at once, lists/tasks versus word count, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex and Lindsay talk with Ted Flanagan (Every Hidden Thing) about finally deciding to take writing seriously, writing literary crime (or “tweener”) fiction, the long-ish journey to publication, rejection, writing a Worcester novel, his new historical fiction project, and somehow hockey sneaks in at the end there, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex and Lindsay talk with Brendan Mathews (The World of Tomorrow; This is Not a Love Song) about being a late bloomer, returning to the work after long stretches of life butting in, research, working with Deborah Eisenberg, what it's like to receive a blurb from John Irving, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex and Lindsay talk with Hilary Leichter (Temporary) about turning a short story into a novel, transmuting the emotions the writer feels while writing into what the reader will read, the submission process, working with Emily Books, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Alice Kaltman (DAWG TOWNE) about her new book, the fun of drafting and the torture of revision, working with a smaller press, trying something new, and so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Chris Stuck (GIVE MY LOVE TO THE SAVAGES) about publishing 20 years after his MFA, sticking around, letting work go, trying to figure out, and re-figure out, and re-re-re-figure out the publishing industry, his favorite recent collections, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Frances Badalamenti (SALAD DAYS) about her new novel, autofiction, her work in creativity counseling, publishing with an indie press, and more! Plus: ALEX IS GETTING A PELOTON Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Tyler Barton (ETERNAL NIGHT AT THE NATURE MUSEUM) about his new book, the evolution of his writing, submitting a story collection, his literary visual art, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're joined by Dana Norris (THE STORYTELLING CODE), founder of the Story Club franchise! We talk what the pandemic hath wrought upon our families and writing, living with anxiety while also loving to perform, writing a book very fast, how to start telling your own stories, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back for season two and we've got Emily Adrian (THE SECOND SEASON) talking to us about what it was like to write a novel based on a real person; transitioning from writing YA to writing for adults; the notion of a writer's brand; and so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Kyle Beachy (THE MOST FUN THING) about his new memoir/collection of essays, skateboarding, intimacy and selfhood in writing, finding permission in writing nonfiction that wasn't available in fiction, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Megan Stielstra (THE WRONG WAY TO SAVE YOUR LIFE) about compartmentalization, boundaries, revisiting old work in advance of reissue, writing from grief, giving yourself permission to change as a person and as a writer, and so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are joined by Ilana Masad (ALL MY MOTHER'S LOVERS) to talk about creating authentic relationships in fiction; trusting in fast first drafts; what it's like to be a debut author; reincorporating the "weird" in new work; experimental writing; and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today lone Buthead Lindsay is joined by Lacy Crawford (NOTES ON A SILENCING) for a powerful chat about agency in nonfiction, claiming your story, the difference between writing memoir and fiction, where the hell are all the menopausal-but-with-small-children books? and so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Rachel Yoder (NIGHTBITCH) about her wild, incendiary, fun, important debut novel; coming back to yourself-as-artist after having a child; writing the screenplay adaptation; catharsis; and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Rachel Mans McKenny (THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT) about the hard work that goes in to effortlessness, realizing a project needs a different agent, Snickers salad (!), revising, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Julie Fine (THE UPSTAIRS HOUSE) about her dark, insistent, important new novel, the intersection of postpartum and horror, wedging in the time to write around the harvesting of snacks, what she's working on now, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Krys Malcolm Belc (THE NATURAL MOTHER OF THE CHILD) joins us to talk his new memoir, finding his way into the work using prompts, rejecting drafts that are "false versions of themselves," shaping a life that is only part writing, CrossFit, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know her, you love her, WE GOT SAMANTHA IRBY! The author of WOW, NO THANK YOU joins us to talk about everything BUT writing. Okay, some writing is discussed. Also: secret snacks, procrastinating, her TV work, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're joined by Lisa Taddeo (ANIMAL) to talk about her sharp, wrenching, bold, feral new novel! We get into just how Lisa came up with this concept, writing unreliable narrators, allowing the wild to unfold, writing fiction vs nonfiction, and a lot more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marream Krollos (STAN) joins to talk about her intense, voicey, bold, riveting novella, waiting years to find her audience, teaching in Saudi Arabia, maintaining the connection to her dream of being published, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zach Dodson (BATS OF THE REPUBLIC) joins us to discuss his novel-in-progress about a moon colony (!!!), designing while writing, starting over when a project needs reworking, the marketing/business side of publishing, and more, including a delightful thirty seconds in which he drags Alex and Lindsay STRAIGHT TO HELL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're joined by Nikki Dolson (LOVE AND OTHER CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR)! Nikki tells us how she taught herself to write by reading; the mental gymnastics of being a mom/worker who wants to write; the realness of writer's block; carving out her place in the world of crime fiction; and a lot more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leah Carroll (DOWN CITY) is here! After she reads a relentless, hilarious, wild essay, we discuss horrible bosses; the filthy part of the filthy rich; finding work and community after being laid off; being a rabble rouser; writing hybrid true crime/memoir; the chips we all have on our shoulders; and! Alex and Lindsay give her a pep talk on writing a novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with our boyfriend J. Robert Lennon (SUBDIVISION, LET ME THINK, Graywolf '21) about the joy in writing/creating/describing physical spaces; how the HELL he came up with the idea for SUBDIVISION; releasing a collection at the same time as a novel; what advice he has for writers first starting out; the ups and downs of a writer's career; and a lot more, because he is wonderful! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miranda Popkey (TOPICS OF CONVERSATION) joins us to chat about starting an MFA program having not written fiction before (!!!); working with form or idea over plot; the fear of writing sex scenes; working in the publishing industry; being mentored by Louise Gluck (!!!); and, more, but perhaps most importantly, Miranda's dog Dudley makes a special appearance! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Jennifer Berney (THE OTHER MOTHERS) about what it's like to have a memoir out in the world, leaving off a project during the pandemic and writing letters instead, "enjoying the turtle," how to be a shy writer, the historical novel she returns to again and again, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex and Lindsay chat with Elle Nash (NUDES) about writing through the "brain fog" of early parenthood; writing about the body; creating safe spaces in order to access vulnerability while writing; creating/accessing boundaries when writing; working with her agent on crafting a book that will sell; and more! PS: our kids are cute. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Shannon McLeod (WHIMSY), author and high school teacher! Topics include: picking up a blueberry with your vagine; what is Shannon's submission process?; how do you pronounce "deluge"?!; Shannon's journey through two rounds of MFA rejections; her experience working with a shitty publisher; and more. Plus: Lindsay talks about her special nightstand box and Alex is an angel! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk to true luminary Catherine Nichols about her novel, which is based on Nijinsky's life and is an exploration of how someone could create something so powerful when they're not the one in power. If that hasn't blown your mind, then wait until you find out about all the research she did. Oh, still hemming and hawing? Get a load of this: Catherine wrote this book by writing every scene from every character who was part of it and then revising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this ravioli of an episode, we talk with queer literary icons Kristen Arnett and Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya! Do they show each other their WiP? Which writer talks to herself while writing? Did you know you could make your own writer's retreat in which you scare the shit out of yourself? Are there "trends" in queer writing right now? Most importantly, what cocktails go with their writing? And so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we chat with Adam O'Fallon Price (THE HOTEL NEVERSINK) on topics including: reading is terrifying; is The Hotel Neversink a novel in stories or is it something else?; what's it like being a "late bloomer" in the writing world?; "walking on the cliff of taste"; and so, so much more. Seriously we had a blast. Plus: Lindsay does a Robert Durst burp impression; Lindsay does a Micro Machines guy impression; and Adam uses the f word a lot but also says "mimetically" and "axiomatic" so,... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today our guest is Michael Zapata (THE LOST BOOK OF ADANA MOREAU). Topics include: socialist librarians; New Orleans; storytelling vs. writing; teaching: not for Alex; how serving your community feeds your writing and vice versa; Chicago's jewelers' row; guess how many times Lindsay says "Peloton"?; Alex watches the 1996 Stanley Cup and takes notes oh my God Alex is in crisis NONETHELESS he reads a poem from Elisa Gabbert (heart eyes); and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Erin Somers (STAY UP WITH HUGO BEST), author, mom, and industry scribe! Erin's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, American Short Fiction, Tin House, and elsewhere. She is a reporter for the publishing industry newsletter Publishers Lunch, and lives in Beacon, New York with her husband and daughter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk to Chelsea Martin (CACA DOLCE), writer, illustrator, and mother, about how reading is weird; writing before baby vs after baby; protecting new projects; PLUS: we invented the hottest new social media craze (it MIGHT be an MLM but it's fine!); showing stuff to spouses helps/sucks; Lindsay is an idiot!; we also invented a new section at bookstores calls "goes down easy"; and Chelsea is our first "wild card question" victim. Whew! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Butheads talk to artist and writer Dmitry Samarov (OLD STYLE) about self-publishing, how pig faces are the more human faces so they are less vegetarian, writing from life and making connections / composites, working in the service industry, fucking up your book in your own way, howling into the void without an agent, making books with art, being an artist/writer without social media, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amber Sparks (AND I DO NOT FORGIVE YOU), author, employee, and mother, joins the Butheads to discuss what we thought writing while parenting would look like vs what it actually looks like, the endless pain of noveling, how loving your characters means you're doomed to see the thing through, why write a novel, and more! Later, the Butheads talk about giving up on a book you don't like, post-pandemic pipe dreams, what's a "crazy quilt" structure?! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk with Matthew Salesses (CRAFT IN THE REAL WORLD), author, professor, and dad. Topics include: his amazing daughter, learning how to write what you want to write, the good news about these young bucks in today's workshops, how Matt gets work done as a single father, HOW MATT HAS SURVIVED THIS ENTIRE PANDEMIC ON ONE TANK OF GAS WE SH*T YOU NOT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Butheads talk to Rumaan Alam, author (LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND), critic, and father, about voice and cooking for children and POV and Willa Cather and Don DeLillo and Wigleaf and how writing short stories is cute. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Butheads talk to Elissa Washuta, member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and nonfiction writer. She is the author of My Body Is a Book of Rules, Starvation Mode, and White Magic, forthcoming from Tin House Books. With Theresa Warburton, she is co-editor of the anthology Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers. She has received fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Capital, and more. Elissa is an assistant professor of creative writing at OSU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris L. Terry (BLACK CARD), author, screenwriter, runner, and dad joins the Butheads to talk about transforming his novel into a script, living in LA during the pandemic, rewarding himself by not writing, publishing with a smaller press, and more. Later, Alex and Lindsay talk about agent relationships and how Lindsay biffed her shot at Hollywood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meghan Phillips is a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow, author (ABSTINENCE ONLY, Barrelhouse), public library employee, and mother. Alex and Lindsay chat with her about ghost sex, mothers-in-law reading their work, pregnancy, and what exactly is a preposition? Then: these three idiots write a children's book (only the title, but still)! Also: a giveaway! Later, Alex and Lindsay read a little of their work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex and Lindsay talk with Juan Martinez, a writer, professor, and father about Chicago neighborhoods, Orlando chain businesses, and a groundhog that lives by the Taco Bell. Later, Alex and Lindsay read some of their work and offer up writing prompts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lindsay reads you a newish holiday-themed story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chelsea Bieker is the author of GODSHOT (2020) and HEARTBROKE (2022), the mom of two little ones, AND she teaches writing. Lindsay and Alex talk to her about the revolutionary act of writing about nursing (and periods), keeping a "mean journal," how Goodreads is ruinous to an author, and more! Plus: Lindsay reads something new, the holidays are weird, and cream cheese is discussed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lindsay and Alex talk to writers Juliet Escoria (Juliet the Maniac) and Scott McClanahan (The Sarah Book) about working and living in West Virginia. Topics discussed: diarrhea, Twitter, lying about buying books on Amazon, and more! Plus: Juliet and Scott read brand new work. Later, Lindsay and Alex update each other on their lives and work. Who's heartbroken? Who wants to be funny? Listen and find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kristen Iskandrian is the author of MOTHEREST, the owner of Thank You Books in Birmingham, AL, and the mother of two daughters. Get to know this amazing human better, hear how she does or does not get work done, and find out who called Joan Didion an ice cold bitch! Plus: Alex and Lindsay read some new work, talk about life, and offer a new writing prompt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Lindsay and Alex, two published authors and parents, as they have every intention of introducing themselves and this pod, but get wrapped up in talking about how hard it is to get work done. Which, let's be honest, is as good an intro as anything else. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices