February Bonus Episode

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

How To, Books, Education, Fiction, Arts

4.8 • 733 Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2025

⏱️ 105 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the first engaging conversation of this bonus episode, Bianca interviews Booker Prize-nominated Charlotte Wood, the acclaimed author of Stone Yard Devotional. They delve into the challenges of writing quiet stories, the significance of visitations in the narrative, and the intentional choices behind the unnamed narrator. Wood discusses her unique diary style, the themes of guilt, shame, and forgiveness, and the power of anecdotes in storytelling. The conversation highlights the importance of specificity and emotional depth in literary fiction, providing insights into the writing process and the complexities of character development.

Next, Bianca interviews Karen Thompson Walker, author of The Strange Case of Jane O. They explore the themes of the novel, including the intersection of ordinary and extraordinary experiences, the structure of the narrative, and the use of unreliable narrators. Walker shares insights into her writing process, the inspiration behind her work, and the importance of curiosity seeds in engaging readers. The discussion highlights the complexities of memory, identity, and the human experience, making it a rich exploration of contemporary fiction.

Finally, Emilie Sommer from East City Bookshop answers all your burning comp title questions.

Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Today's episode is brought to you by Penguin Random House. Today we're talking about a new novel called
0:05.5	I Am the Cage by Allison Sweet Grant. We're in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. It's beautiful, quiet, isolated,
0:12.7	anonymous. It's all that 19-year-old Elizabeth needs and everything she wants, cloistered in her
0:17.3	tidy cabin, Elizabeth is determined to be alone, hiding from her memories, and making sure that no one can ever hurt her again. But when a massive snowstorm strikes,
0:24.2	plunging the town into darkness, Elizabeth finally allows herself to accept help from her neighbor,
0:27.9	Noah, the town's young sheriff. Of course, to show him more vulnerability than ever intended,
0:33.0	Elizabeth realizes she can no longer outrun the scars of her childhood, and facing the darkness
0:37.2	might be
0:37.5	exactly what she needs to let the light in. In a searing own voice's story accented by poignant
0:42.6	childhood flashbacks, stunning and stunning poetry, Alison Sweet Grant's young adult debut is a quietly
0:48.0	powerful portrait of a young woman's journey to confront the medical trauma inflicted to, quote
0:52.5	unquote, fix her, and heal her heart in the process.
0:55.4	An emotional coming-of-age story about a young woman running away from herself, yet grasping to find a way back,
0:59.8	deeply moving, authentically raw, and humming with the possibility of new love.
1:04.4	Incredible praise has come in for I Am the Cage.
1:07.4	Kathleen Glasgow, number one best-selling author of Girl in Pieces, said a beautiful and poetic book
1:12.6	about the many ways pain and love and all its forms leaves a lasting stain. John Green, yes, that
1:17.7	John Green, number one bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars, says a brilliant book about what we
1:22.1	survive and how, visceral, wrenching and beautiful. Jojo Moy is number one bestselling author of
1:27.2	Me Before You said,
1:28.4	A tender, heartfelt story about wounds, child to trauma can leave on its survivors.
1:32.6	The sense of powerlessness and redemption will stay with you.
	...

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