In Episode 9, we are back from a fall hiatus with our professor Robert Lopez (of Stony Brook University), author of eight books and numerous pieces in literary journals & magazines. Robert shares his unconventional path to becoming a writer (without having read a full book 'till his 20s!), his thoughts on voice & form, how playing music impacts his fiction, and how teaching has allowed him to build a comfortable writing life for himself. - Robert Lopez is the author of seven nov...

Essayist Shaan Sachdev contemplates what it means to be a writer & how to be a writer in the context of today's world; discusses the impact of unconscious bias in corporate journalism; and shares his process for writing on everything from gay bathhouse culture to geopolitical conflicts. It's a sexy and cerebral episode that even includes a little discourse on Queen Bey..."Bounce on that sh***, dance..." After this episode, check out Shaan's Beyonce podcast "Diva Discourse" on Apple, Spoti...

Director Tyrrell Shaffner discusses with writing partner (and It's All Write host) Meryl Branch-McTiernan how they brought Katie's Mom from the page to the screen-- Spoiler, it involves a very large cemetery of characters & scenes... and a couple of exes for inspiration. Katie's Mom stars Dina Meyers as a recent divorcee who's holiday season with her adult children derails when she falls for her daughter's charming new boyfriend (Aaron Dominguez). Playgirl calls it “raunchy, MILF-y fun.” ...

Best-Selling author Jennifer Belle shares the method she's used to write five novels, that time she worked with Madonna, how to write sex scenes, and the path that led to publishing her latest novel, Swanna in Love with Akashic Books. Jennifer Belle is the best-selling author of five novels, Going Down (which was named best debut novel by Entertainment Weekly and optioned for the screen twenty-seven times), High Maintenance, Little Stalker, and The Seven Year Bitch; and Animal St...

Jesse Aylen shares his hot takes on "CONENT," ghostwriter matchmaking, book club etiquette, and the future of AI. Jesse Aylen is an editorial, communications, and (the dreaded word!) content consultant based in New York. He has worked across the publishing and media industries, including a global trade publishing house, a data-driven startup publisher, and on a consulting basis with ghostwriting companies, content marketing companies, and a non-partisan think tank. Recently, he intervie...

Camille Boxhill talks about writing while Black, dating in the age of AI, and attending a writing residency with near puritanical rules. Camille Boxhill is a writer of Jamaican descent who tells stories about legacy, identity, and the kind of multigenerational ghosts that don’t always stay in the past. Her work weaves the supernatural with the everyday, drawing on Jamaican folklore. She’s enjoyed support and recognition from Iowa Writers’ Workshop Summer Program, Tin House, Yale Writers...

WGA writer Riham El-Ounsi discusses hierarchies in TV writer’s rooms, an indie film about the porn industry in the 70s, and the distraction fighting powers of a Freewrite Typewriter. Warning: there will be some nostalgia & singing at the end of this episode. -- Riham El-Ounsi is a WGA-nominated writer and producer, primarily working in the world of game and competition series. She has produced and written for shows on networks such as ABC, NBC, and FOX. She also works heavily in unscripte...

Ariana and Meryl sit down with Maisy Card, award-winning author of These Ghosts Are Family. They share takes on first person narratives, audiobooks, day jobs, dialect, favorite ways to procrastinate writing, and much more. --- Links for Maisy Card: www.maisycard.com Find These Ghosts are Family at Bookshop.org, Simon & Schuster, or at your local bookstore or library. Listen to Maisy's Audbile Original story in Lover’s Rock. Follow Maisy on Twitter @dracm and Instagram @librarylovefest. Ke...

Meet your hosts Meryl Branch-McTiernan and Ariana McLean. This episode delves into the challenges one faces as a writer trying to release her work into a world dominated by capitalist forces and how building this creative community is the antidote to despair. -- Watch Meryl's movie Katie's Mom on Amazon Prime or Tubi. Follow the show on Instagram @itsallwritepod. Email us at itsallwritepod@gmail.com.