Bad Lit Friends is a writing podcast that barely knows what it's doing. And that’s the point. Hosted by fiction writers Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty, this show is equal parts craft discussion, existential despair, ego massage, and wildly unsolicited hot takes.
Each episode blends honest conversations about the creative process, the publishing industry, and the messiness of trying to create highfalutin art, with hot-and-occasionally-right takes, and a dash of internet drama. If you've ever felt like you're writing into the void, you're not alone — grab a seat, bring your worst draft.
In this episode, we finally--FINALLY--wrap up our epic journey through hypocrisy in Booklandia. We swear this is the last one. Probably.
This time we’re talking about the contradiction at the heart of being a writer: everyone wants you to write the book only you can write, but they would also very much like that book to be marketable, easily categorized, comparable to three recent bestsellers, and be able to pick the wood grain of the exact Barnes & Noble table it will land on. We also talk about comps, genre identity crises, commercial expectations, and why sometimes gatekeeping is actually necessary.In a Goodreads side trek, why allowing a 0.25-star review while keeping five stars as the maximum is especially brutal for indie authors and writers vulnerable to review bombing.
And finally, in Hot Goss, we return to hypocrisy in spectacular fashion with a Wired investigation into publishers quietly using AI while writers are being told not to.
Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.
Show email: badlitfriends@gmail.com (mailto:badlitfriends@gmail.com)
Bluesky: @badlitfriends.bsky.social
Threads: @badlitfriends
Instagram: @badlitfriends
Website: https://www.badlitfriends.com/ (https://www.badlitfriends.com/)
Show notes:
“Book Publishers Are Quietly Using More AI, Staff Are Revolting” — Wired
https://www.wired.com/story/book-publishers-are-quietly-using-more-ai-staff-are-revolting/ (https://www.wired.com/story/book-publishers-are-quietly-using-more-ai-staff-are-revolting/)
9 Oct 2026
Rocky Mountain Redux: BLF Goes to a Conference (Again)
BLF went to the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference, and we’re baaaaack! We discuss how best to get your butt to a conference — planes, trains, and automobiles — and why writers might want to do such a strange thing in the first place. It’s not all hobnobing with the bigwigs, after all, and conferences are expensive. So we talk budgeting, volunteering, scholarship opportunities, room sharing, and the general calculus of whether it’s worth going. (It is, if you can swing it. Seriously.) Also: we get into why you might even want to do something as nutty as this in the first place, and why the good stuff happens outside the meeting rooms.
Speaking of which: Meagan had kind of A Week, all of it good, and an acrylic plaque may be involved. Kirk had an elevator ride with Stephen Graham Jones which he can scarcely believe happened. And we both reflect on what we liked most out of this year’s conference, and we get a little soppy. Just a little! There’s still swearing!
HOT GOSS: A lesser-informed Thriend posted that she tries not to wince every time a character smells something, because sensory description reads as try-hard literary posturing. The comments were insane, which is what you want on Threads, right? RIGHT????
Next week: part four of Hypocrisy in Booklandia. Unbelievably, we have more to say.
Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We're glad you're here, even if none of us know what we're doing.Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.
Show email: badlitfriends@gmail.com
Bluesky: @badlitfriends.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/badlitfriends.bsky.social)
Threads: @badlitfriends (https://www.threads.com/@badlitfriends)
Instagram: @badlitfriends (https://www.instagram.com/badlitfriends/)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends (https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends)
Website: badlitfriends.com (https://www.badlitfriends.com/)
Show notes:
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers: https://rmfw.org/ (https://rmfw.org/)
DVPit (for 2027): https://dvpit.carrd.co/ (https://dvpit.carrd.co/)
2 Oct 2026
One Rule for Me: Hypocrisy in Booklandia, Part 3
There was simply too much bookish hypocrisy to contain in two episodes, so here’s Part Three. Of Four. (sorrynotsorry)
This week: It’s all things transparency. Specifically, the kind you're required to have as a querying author versus the kind publishing extends to you, which is ummmmm approximately none. We also dig into deadlines. Authors are professionals, which means you need to meet them. Publishing is slow, which means... the biz end totally doesn’t have to. Sounds very fair and very, very cool!
And then Hot Goss. Four Black debut authors all accused of AI-generated writing, all via Pangram, whose claims HAVE STILL NEVER BEEN INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED. We have noticed a pattern and you will too. The latest situation is complicated by plagiarism allegations from a decade ago, and we discuss who is and isn't being thrown in the wood chipper, and get into what condiments should be on offer when you eat the rich.
Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We're glad you're here, even if none of us know what we're doing.Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.
Show email: badlitfriends@gmail.com
Bluesky: @badlitfriends.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/badlitfriends.bsky.social)
Threads: @badlitfriends (https://www.threads.com/@badlitfriends)
Instagram: @badlitfriends (https://www.instagram.com/badlitfriends/)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends (https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends)
Website: badlitfriends.com (https://www.badlitfriends.com/)
Meagan is on TikTok! https://www.tiktok.com/@m_essary (https://www.tiktok.com/@m_essary)
Show notes:
Thélyson Orélien:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/sep/25/thelyson-orelien-goncourt-prize-france (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/sep/25/thelyson-orelien-goncourt-prize-france)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/world/europe/thelyson-orelien-ai-canada-haiti-france.html?unlocked_article_code=1.FVE.lmDB.MUihgPY14sxg&smid=url-share (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/world/europe/thelyson-orelien-ai-canada-haiti-france.html?unlocked_article_code=1.FVE.lmDB.MUihgPY14sxg&smid=url-share) (gift link -- thank you, LA Public Libraries for your free NY Times access because we’re not paying to prop up that rag that occasionally has some articles we want to read, OKAY???)
Also Meagan buckled and bought a new laptop so the sound should be vastly improved. SorryYESsorry!
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Apple Podcasts (US)
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10 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
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