What happens when a writing group sparks something extraordinary? For Gloria Muñoz, it was the creative crucible where This Is the Year came to life—a dazzling YA cli-fi written in prose and verse that blends the urgency of climate change with the intimacy of family, loss, and resilience. In this episode of the NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast, Aki, along with co-host Brian Petkash, discusses Gloria’s creative path from middle school writing camp to theater and playwriting, and from songwriting and poetry to prose. Brian reflects on the magic of their long-running writing group, where Gloria’s daring experiment—merging poetry with narrative prose—set her debut novel in motion.

At the heart of This Is the Year lies a bold reimagining of the near future: city centers are reclaimed as desirable while coastal mansions become divided into affordable housing units, highlighting the contrast between past grandeur and current working-class realities. Inspired by hearing about the Artemis Project on NPR, Gloria began to imagine futures shaped by both vision and labor—and this curiosity leads directly into the larger question of who builds society’s grandest structures—the state house, the monuments, and the projects that symbolize power. Enter the Cometa Rangers and a private space company building on the moon, threads that pull her world toward both hope and critique. Woven through this world is the intimate story of twin sisters—one alive, one lost—and the profound challenge of moving forward after grief. Drawing from her own experiences and the shared mourning of the Covid pandemic, Gloria creates a story that asks what it means to find your place in a changing world.

Keywords: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Story Genius, Save the Cat, The 90 Day Novel, Uta Hagen’s Nine Questions, Las Musas, Hermanas, APL Agency, Ayesha Pande Literary, Serene Hakim, Elena Rey, Samantha Sotto (Water Moon), Min Jin Lee (Pachinko), Melissa Mogollon (Oye), Jami Attenberg (1000 Words), Nicole Caron (founding member of the writing group, previously featured with Brian discussing writing groups), St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, Harriet the Spy, Moonlit Música, and the grounding presence of Gloria’s daughter.

This is not just a debut—it’s the story of how mediums merge, how inspiration transforms, and how one writer finds the form to tell the story only she could tell.

Enigma by Kevin MacLeod is licensedunder a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100241

Artist: http://incompetech.com/