In this interview, we chat with Kathe Koja about balancing simultaneous projects, resisting online distractions, raising the literary dead, and so much more. Kathe Koja writes novels and short fiction, and creates and produces live and virtual events. Her award-winning books include The Cipher, Skin, Buddha Boy, Under The Poppy and Velocities, and she is currently at work on the Dark Factory immersive fiction project including Dark Factory, Dark Park and Dark Matter. Catherine the Ghost is...

In this interview, we chat with Paula D. Ashe about writer's block, narrative movement, urban legends, and so much more. Paula D. Ashe (she/her) is an author of dark fiction. Her debut collection We Are Here to Hurt Each Other (Nictitating Books) was a Shirley Jackson Award winner for Single Author Collection and a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. Recently, she received the Joseph S. Pulver Sr. Weird Fiction Award at NecronomiCon...

In this interview, we chat with McKenna James Boeckner and Carlee Calver about nature writing, epistolary possibilities, elusive chicken detectives, and so much more. McKenna James Boeckner is a Ph.D. candidate and contract lecturer at the University of New Brunswick (territory of the Wolastoqiyik people), with a specialization in long eighteenth-century British literature. As a creative writer, they slay with playwriting and have a penchant for fractured states of reality. Their most recent...

In this interview, we chat with Lisa Tuttle about genre history, the ideal protagonist, Harlan Ellison's writing advice, and so much more. Lisa Tuttle was born and raised in Austin, Texas, and moved to Britain in the 1980s. Her first novel, Windhaven, co-written with George R.R. Martin, was followed by over a dozen fantasy, science fiction, and horror novels, including three recent books set in the 1890s combining crime and supernatural fiction, featuring the detective duo Jasper Jesperson...

In this interview, we chat with Mark Anthony Jarman about hockey fiction, deadwood words, finding inspiration in newspaper clippings, and so much more. Mark Anthony Jarman is the author of Touch Anywhere to Begin, Czech Techno, Knife Party at the Hotel Europa, My White Planet, 19 Knives, New Orleans Is Sinking, Dancing Nightly in the Tavern, and the travel book Ireland’s Eye. Burn Man, published in 2023 by Biblioasis, was an Editors Choice with the New York Times. He was an acquisitions...

In this interview, we chat with Maryse Meijer about metaphor, quotation marks, the dubious necessity of author photos, and so much more. Maryse Meijer is the author of Heartbreaker, Rag, Northwood, and The Seventh Mansion. She lives in Chicago. Books and stories mentioned in this episode: Samuel Beckett: A Biography – Deirdre Bair Waiting for Godot – Samuel Beckett About Schmidt – Louis Begley Autobiography of Red – Anne Carson New Grub Street – George Gissing The Children of...

In this interview, we chat with Craig Laurance Gidney about genre mashups, writing workshops, telling Mom which of your stories to avoid, and so much more. Craig Laurance Gidney (he/him/his) is the author of Sea, Swallow Me & Other Stories; Skin Deep Magic: Stories; Bereft (a YA novella); and A Spectral Hue (a novel). He has been a Lambda Literary Finalist three times, was a Carl Brandon Parallax Award Finalist, and won the inaugural Joseph S. Pulver Sr. Award for Weird Fiction. The...

In this interview, we chat with Niall Howell about crime fiction, creative spontaneity, the magic of public swimming pools, and so much more. Niall Howell lives in Calgary, Alberta with his wife, sons, and pets. His debut noir novel Only Pretty Damned was shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Literary Fiction. His follow-up novel, There Are Wolves Here Too, was shortlisted by the Book Publisher's Association of Alberta for Mystery and Thriller book of the year. Niall's short...

In this interview, we chat with Phoebe Marmura about fear, fairies, set design, and so much more. ⁠Phoebe Marmura⁠ is a writer and artist. Her work explores desire, femininity, domestic adventure, and reclusion. Marmura’s writing can be found in Expat Press, D.F.L. Lit, and Orca Literary Journal. Books mentioned in this episode: Erotic Interludes: Tales Told by Women – Lonnie Barbach Naked Lunch – William S. Burroughs On the Road – Jack Kerouac Biography of X – Catherine Lacey ...

In this interview, Lindsay Lerman talks about philosophy, procedural knowledge, writing dialogue, and so much more. Lindsay Lerman is a writer and translator. Her first book, I'm From Nowhere, was published in 2019. Her second book, What Are You, was published in 2022. Her first translation was published in 2023. She holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. She is working on a novel, a philosophy manuscript, and here and there, some screenplays. She lives...

In this interview, William Ping talks about historical fiction, hauntology, Animal Crossing, and so much more. William Ping is a novelist and journalist, born and raised in St. John’s. His debut novel Hollow Bamboo was published by HarperCollins in 2023 and was shortlisted for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, the BMO Winterset Award, and the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award as well as being longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. He has...

In this interview, Randy Nikkel Schroeder talks about noir, character possession, Biblical frisson, and so much more. Randy Nikkel Schroeder is the author of Arctic Smoke (NeWest), Crooked Timber: Seven Suburban Faerie Tales (Green Magpie), and over fifty published short stories. In his spare time, he is professor of English, Languages, and Cultures at Mount Royal University. Books mentioned in this episode: Queenpin; The Turnout; You Will Know Me – Megan Abbott Poetics – Aristotle ...

In this interview, Meghan Kemp-Gee talks about poetry, screenwriting, comics, and so much more. ⁠Meghan Kemp-Gee⁠ is the author of The Animal in the Room (Coach House Books, 2023), as well as three poetry chapbooks, What I Meant to Ask, Things to Buy in New Brunswick, and More. She also co-created the webcomic Contested Strip, recently adapted as a graphic novel, One More Year. She is a PhD candidate at UNB and currently lives in North Vancouver BC. Books mentioned in this episode: The...

In this interview, Meghan Kemp-Gee talks about poetry, screenwriting, comics, and so much more. Meghan Kemp-Gee is the author of The Animal in the Room (Coach House Books, 2023), as well as three poetry chapbooks, What I Meant to Ask, Things to Buy in New Brunswick, and More. She also co-created the webcomic Contested Strip, recently adapted as a graphic novel, One More Year. She is a PhD candidate at UNB and currently lives in North Vancouver BC. Books mentioned in this episode: The...

Welcome to Craftwork: a podcast by writers for writers co-hosted by Mike Thorn and Miriam Richer. We created Craftwork to address questions that frequently come up in our own writing practices. Questions such as: What makes for a compelling read? Do you believe in writer’s block? What’s a piece of writing advice that really stuck with you?  In the following weeks, we’ll bring on guests and delve into topics including creative influence, thematic fixations, and the mechanics of writing...