Writer's Digest Presents

When you hear "literary critic," what comes to mind? Book reviews? Literary deep dives? Discourse? Hot takes? Literary criticism has evolved over our long history of storytelling, and the role of the literary critic is both more broad and more nuanced than ever before.

In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," senior editor Michael Woodson chats with author and literary critic Grace Byron about defining literary criticism, if authors should pay attention to critics, how to break into literary criticism, and more.

When a real-life person inspires you to write a story, how do you
balance truth with fiction? It's a difficult challenge, especially if you have
a personal relationship with your subject. But it's not impossible.

New York Times-bestselling author John Searles spent two decades as a top editor for Cosmopolitan magazine, first hired by Helen Gurley Brown—the editor-in-chief credited with revitalizing the dying title in the 1960s. In his time at the magazine, John would joke to Helen that he would one day write a book about her. Now he has with his new bestselling novel, Single Girls.

In this episode, John discusses the challenges of writing about real people, navigating switching genre lanes, honoring real people with fiction they would've loved, and more.

Book coaches offer a wide range of services that are catered to your personal needs as a writer. Maybe you need help brainstorming plot problems, or you need help with your query letter. Maybe you simply need someone to hold you accountable to get the words onto the page. Whatever the need is, book coaches are there to help you get the writing done and build you writing community.

In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents," senior editor Michael Woodson is in conversation with author and editor Adrienne Westenfeld who shares all the behind-the-scenes information on what goes on in book coaching, how a writer knows if they should hire a book coach, and more.

Isabel Klee is best known for her work in fostering and rehabilitating dogs in New York City. As "Simon Sits" on social media, Klee chronicles the experience of caring for heartbroken animals and giving them a second chance at life. Now, with her #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, "Dogs, Boys, And Other Things I've Cried About," Klee is inviting readers into her personal orbit with stories of heartbreak and betrayal, of personal loss and times of growth, and the dogs that were there through it all.

In February, "Writer's Digest Presents" managing editor Moriah Richard and senior editor Michael Woodson discussed performing reading audits and what they can do for your reading life. In this episode of "Writer's Digest Presents", editor-in-chief Amy Jones is talking about the importance of reading like a writer to benefit your writing life. But what does that mean—to read like a writer? For Amy and Michael, it means doing a deep dive into reading the kinds of books they'd like to be writing, what they can learn from them, how to incorporate a writing process that encourages failure, why writers should completely reject AI, and more.