Short story author Julie Zuckerman, author of The Book of Jeremiah, joins Marrie Stone to share her novel in stories. Julie talks about drawing inspiration and structure from Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kittridge, how she structured the collection and the stories within, working with a small press (Press 53), and how a simple writing prompt unlocked Jeremiah Gerstler's complex character. In the second half, Annalee Newitz joins to talk about their latest novel, The Future of Another Timeline....

Nearly 50 years after it first shocked readers nationwide, Alix Kates Shulman's, Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen is still being hailed as a feminist classic. Inspired by the iconic protest of the 1968 Miss America Pageant, and called by the Oxford Companion to Women's Writing "the first important novel to emerge from the Women's Liberation Movement," the 1972 book continues to hit home with its comic portrayal of growing up female in a man's world in white middle-class pre-feminist America. The...

Poet Michael Miller joins Marrie Stone for an hour of poetry and reflection on New Year's morning. He talks about his retrospective collection, Tea and Subtitles: Selected Poems 1999-2019, many addressing beginnings, endings, and New Year's Day itself. Michael discusses his life-long love of the form, how journalism aids his poetry, assembling the writer's toolbox, and the many poets who he recommends as accessible and necessary reads. Michael will appear at the LA Times Festival of Books on...

Stephen Dunn, Pulitzer Prize winning poet, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about his latest volume, Pagan Virtues. (There are a few audio challenges, but keep listening. It's worth it.) Download audio. (Broadcast date: Dec. 4, 2019)

Louis L'Amour, father of the western and frontier novel, passed in 1988 leaving behind 89 novels, 14 short story collections, and mounds of unfinished manuscripts. His son, Beau L'Amour, continues his legacy by finishing many of his novels and short stories and adding notes, history, and backstory. He shares his latest, Lost Treasures Volume II, as well as his father's writing process, his relationship with Ray Bradbury, and more. Robin Cook, father of the medical thriller genre, joins in the...

Tim O'Brien, National Book Award winning novelist and iconic author of The Things They Carried, joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest—and last—book. Dad's Maybe Book is at once a memoir, a love letter to his young sons, a meditation on war, a writing guide for writers, a history lesson, a literature lesson, and swan song to his fans. (Don't let the title or cover fool you . . . this book packs a meaty punch that extends well beyond fatherhood). Tim shares his enduring struggles with...

Christopher Ketcham, author of the new nonfiction book, This Land: How Cowboys, Corruption, and Corruption are ruining the American West, talks with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett for the entire hour about the book that Outside magazines says, "...brings the fighting spirit and conservation vision of great writers like Edward Abbey, Rachel Carson, and Bernard DeVoto into the 21st century.”  Download audio. (KUCI-FM broadcast date: Nov. 27, 2019) You can reach Barbara at penonfire at earthlink dot...

Novelist Jeanne Blasberg joins Marrie Stone for the full hour to discuss her latest, The Nine. She shares how her work in finance and spreadsheets aids her writing, about Grub Street's Novel Generator, NaNoWriMo, the unique opportunities afforded by She Writes Press, finding your unique niche as writer, and much more. Download audio.  (Broadcast date: November 20, 2019)

Cathleen Schine, author of The Grammarians and 10 other novels, joins Marrie Stone for the full hour to talk about creativity, how writing grows harder over time, her love of words and language and dictionaries, why she felt inspired by the relationship between Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren, and so much more. Download audio. (Broadcast date: November 13, 2019)

Walter Mosley, author of the new book on writing, Elements of Fiction, and 40 other books, mostly novels, talks with Barbara about plotting (or not), rewriting, writing for TV, MFA programs, and much more. Download audio. (Broadcast date: Nov. 6, 2019)

Tom Perrotta, author of Mrs. Fletcher, joins Marrie for the entire hour to talk about sex in the new millennium, whether technology can affect desire, how male writers can effectively access the female point of view, writing through the various stages of life, humor, and much more. Download audio. (Broadcast date: October 11, 2017) DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed on this program do not reflect those of KUCI, its management, or the UC Board of Regents. For more information on this...

Novelist Aris Janigian joins Marrie Stone to talk about the latest novel in his "Waiting" trilogy, Waiting for Sophia at Shutters by the Beach. A challenging and thought-provoking novel about the #metoo movement and sexual harassment on college campuses, Aris discusses the many trials and difficulties he encountered while writing it (including a stolen manuscript). He also talks about being the author of six novels (and spending significant time on the LA Times bestseller list), all without...

Steph Cha, author of Your House Will Pay, her fourth novel (first stand-alone), was my guest for the entire hour, talking about writing crime fiction, specifically noir, finding your voice through reviewing on Yelp, and much more. Download audio. (Broadcast date: Oct. 23, 2019)

I knew Kate a few ways: through my show where she was a guest three times. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, where she sat on my panel. And a writing project for which she generously wrote an essay on spec (not yet unpublished). She wrote one of my favorite short stories: "Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta." It's in the fantastic collection, Squandering the Blue, as well as widely anthologized and googleable. Here are the shows:   Martin J. Smith, co-author of Oops : 20 Life Lessons...

Elizabeth Strout returns with Olive, Again, a newly released collection that picks up where Olive Kitteridge left off. Elizabeth joins Marrie Stone to talk about how Olive reasserted herself, how the world has changed around her, and how Elizabeth managed to leave a porous space around Olive (and her other characters) so readers might insert their own experiences into the narrative. In the second half, Lise Funderburg shares her anthology, Apple, Tree: Writers on their Parents. She talks bout...

Poet Grant Hier, professor at Laguna College of Art and Design, and author of Similitude, The Difference Between, and co-author with John Brantingham of California Continuum, joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett for what turned out to be a masters' class in writing poetry. You don't have to be a poet or have any interest in writing poetry, to get something out of this show. And no matter what you write, reading poetry will only make you a better writer. Download audio (Broadcast date: Oct. 9, 2019)

Bestselling novelist Ann Patchett joins Marrie Stone for the full hour to discuss her latest book, The Dutch House. She talks about how the writing of this novel differed from her others, and how many times she had to rewrite and revise the manuscript. She shares the one writer who can teach you everything you need to know about writing fiction, and the essay she penned that will answer all your writing related questions. Discover how being a bookstore owner has changed her approach to...

Meet the woman who lives inside your iPhone. Writer and poet Mariana Lin was recruited by Apple to write the personality for Siri, and went on to write for other artificially intelligent personalities, like Sophia. This week's show explores the thinking behind creating a personality and "voice" for machines—from their humor to their backstories. Mariana was tasked with considering machines living in other cultures, and how they should respond to racist, sexually charged, or other offensive...

Actor, audiobook narrator, and writer Jorjeana Marie joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about Improv for Writers. In the second half, novelist Helen Phillips comes on to talk about The Need, published by Simon and Schuster. Phillips discusses "emotional" revision while Marie talks about how improv is a tool writers can employ for everything from getting past the blank page to figuring out plot and structure. Download audio. (Broadcast date: Sept. 11, 2019)

Novelist Christy Lefteri joins Marrie Stone to talk about her latest book, The Beekeeper of Aleppo. She talks about her time as a UNICEF volunteer and growing up as a child of two refugees and how these events informed the novel. She discusses how words and phrases trigger her memories, and how she used that experience as an effective flashback device in the book, and much more. In the second half, Susan Straight shares her memoir, In the Country of Women. She talks about her family's secret...

Peter Orner joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest collection, Maggie Brown & Others. He discusses the power of the short story form, and how he attempted to create the sensation of walking down a city sidewalk and staring up into all the lit apartment windows to get a sense of story. He talks about the importance of place, and leaving it. And much more. In the second half, Ben Marcus shares his collection, Notes From the Fog. Ben talks about the story around which the rest of the...

T. Jefferson Parker, author of The Last Good Guy, and Sigrid Nunez, author of Mitz: The Marmoset of Bloomsbury, join Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss the art, craft, and business of writing on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM, 88.9 fm. Download audio. (Broadcast date: August 28, 2019) Archive: writersonwriting.blogspot.com

In a show dedicated to memoir, Rick Moody joins Marrie Stone to talk about his latest book, The Long Accomplishment: A Memoir of Hope and Struggle in Matrimony. He shares how he wrote through a difficult life experience, feeding his creative energy, and more. In the second half, Elissa Altman joins to talk about Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing and Longing. She discusses the intricate connection between food and mothering, writing critically about a loved one who is still alive, and...

Memoirist Liz Scott, author of This Never Happened, and Sands Hall, author of Flunk. Start.: Reclaiming My Decade Lost in Scientology, talk with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett about their memoirs. Download audio.   (Broadcast date: August 7, 2019)

Novelist Janet Fitch, author of Chimes of a Lost Cathedral, joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about her new novel published by Little Brown. Download audio. (Broadcast date: July 31, 2019)