Writers at Work

Hosted by Jim Fusilli, WRITERS AT WORK is a podcast about the joys, heartaches, challenges and satisfaction of the creative writing process.

Writers at Work is a arts podcast hosted by Bliss Publications, with 95 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Bliss Publications hosts Writers at Work, a arts show with 95 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #97

  Neil Selkirk

  Oct 2, 202633 min

  My guest on this episode of Writers at Work is Neil Selkirk, a photographer and author whose latest book is WHY PHOTOGRAPHS? It's a collection of essays, an occasional poem, and quotes by Neil and some three dozen other artists, including Berenice Abbott, Margaret Atwood, Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Dorothea Lange, whose essay is 13 words in total, and W.G. Sebald, as well as Philip Larkin, Thomas Hardy, and Francis Bacon. Quite a lineup, isn't it? A native of London and a longtime New Yorker, Neil studied photography at the London College of Printing. In New York, he worked as an assistant in Richard Avedon's studio, and he studied with Diane Arbus in her master class. He remains the only person authorized to make prints of Diane Arbus's photographs. Known for his portraiture, Neil's photographs are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, among other institutions. Books of his photographs include SEE NO EVIL and LOBBYISTS, and he directed the documentary film, WHO IS MARVIN ISRAEL?, about the influential artist, designer, art director, and teacher. I'd like to tell you about Neil's WHY PHOTOGRAPHS?, but I'm not sure what it is beyond an enjoyable collection of well-crafted, quietly provocative, and persuasive essays. I'll leave it to Neil to explain. And though it was not his intent, I found myself asking whether I could apply his principles for outstanding photography to outstanding writing, which is an added benefit to the readers of WHY PHOTOGRAPHS?.

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  Episode #94

  David Hewson

  Aug 25, 202632 min

  With me on this episode of Writers at Work is David Hewson, author of several well-regarded mystery series and standalones largely set across Europe, most notably in Venice, 30 or so novels in all. As a journalist, David was a reporter for the Times of London and features editor for The Independent. His talent permits him to write thrillers, adaptations of Shakespeare, breaking news, and engaging essays. It's those essays I'd like to discuss with David, who I've known for nearly 25 years. He's an avid blogger. See davidhewson.com for his thoughts and observations. In particular, see a feature David calls Craft Notes. Published every Thursday morning, it's his weekly column on the craft of fiction writing. These posts, he says, cover the practicalities of the writer's life, structure, voice, character, dialogue, point of view, and the daily realities of long-form storytelling in the hopes that some of them are useful. I think they are. You may too. And for those among us who aren't writers, they give a strong sense of what a writer's life is like. I haven't spoken to David in a while, so I'm eager to begin.

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  Episode #93

  Dervla McTiernan

  Aug 6, 202633 min

  Joining me on this episode of Writers at Work is Dervla McTiernan, the international bestselling mystery writer whose latest, THREE REASONS FOR REVENGE, is available now. A native of Ireland who now resides in Australia, Dervla has published a variety of mysteries and thrillers, including four audio novellas as part of the Audible Originals franchise. Her novels include the four-book series featuring police detective Cormac Reilly set in Galway. THE RUIN won in 2019 Australia's Ned Kelly Award for Best First Novel by the Crime Writers Association of Australia. Her first standalone, THE MURDER RULE, was published in 2022, followed by WHAT HAPPENED TO NINA in 2024, and now THREE REASONS FOR REVENGE. Perhaps as befits an author who now resides about ten-thousand miles from her birthplace, Dervla shifts her settings. THE MURDER RULE is set in Virginia, NINA in Vermont, and THREE REASONS FOR REVENGE in Melbourne. If you've suffered my presence at a writer's conference or some such, you know that setting is my greatest interest in fiction. That Dervla leaps from there to here, here to there, fascinates me, and we'll delve into that, I'm sure.

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  Episode #92

  Charles J. Shields

  Jul 24, 202643 min

  I was in a bookstore recently when I spotted the title, THE MAN WHO WROTE THE PERFECT NOVEL. And then I was delighted to read the subtitle, JOHN WILLIAMS, STONER & THE WRITING LIFE. Since STONER is one of my favorite novels, I bought the book and read it almost immediately. Then I contacted the author through his agent, and Charles J. Shields joins me today on Writers at Work. Charles is the author of several books on writers, MOCKINGBIRD: A PORTRAIT OF HARPER LEE, AND SO IT GOES: KURT VONNEGUT, A LIFE, LORRAINE HANSBERRY: THE LIFE BEHIND A RAISIN IN THE SUN, and IMAGINE: THE STORY OF A SONG. So two novelists, a playwright, and John Lennon represented by his composition Imagine. John also wrote I AM SCOUT, a biography of Harper Lee for young adults, and 20 or so histories and biographies for young readers. He's one of the founders of the Biographers International Organization, a nonprofit that promotes art and craft of biography. THE MAN WHO WROTE THE PERFECT NOVEL was published in 2018 and was rightfully well received. I'd echo this review from Western American Literature. “STONER has in recent decades become the sort of book that people adore, give to their friends, fiercely identify with, and dub the perfect novel.” And full credit to Charles Shields for going behind the scenes to fill in the picture of Williams' own life.

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  Episode #91

  Jennifer DeVere Brody

  Jul 17, 202639 min

  With me today on Writers at Work is Jennifer DeVere Brody, author of MOVING STONES: ABOUT THE ART OF EDMONIA LEWIS, the 19th century Black and Native American sculptor. Jennifer, who is professor of theater and performance studies and African and African American studies at Stanford University, is the author of several books, including PUNCTUATION: ART, POLITICS, AND PLAY and IMPOSSIBLE PURITIES: BLACKNESS, FEMININITY, AND VICTORIAN CULTURE. In MOVING STONES, Jennifer views Edmonia Lewis through a Black feminist and queer lens. Born in 1844 in upstate New York, Lewis' early life was marred by the loss of both parents before her ninth birthday. While one of the rare Black students at Oberlin College, she was accused of poisoning two women and then savagely beaten as rumors of the allegations spread. She was cleared of the charges. She left Ohio, moved to Boston, and began her career as a sculptor, a career that blossomed in Rome and led her to be the first Black American and Native American sculptor to achieve domestic and international acclaim. Today, Lewis' works are on display in major institutions, including the Smithsonian. One of her most characteristic works, "Old Indian Arrow Maker and His Daughter," is in the collection at the North Carolina Museum Art. There's much to discuss with Professor Brody, not only the work of Edmonia Lewis, but also her approach to examining and communicating about that work.

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