Corey Ann Haydu and Sara Zarr are two mid-career novelists who have lived through industry shifts, burnout, reinvention, and the constant recalibration that comes with staying in a creative career. They get together every couple of weeks to ask each other: are we still writing?
Send us Fan Mail Are we still writing? We check in with each other to find out. Also, Corey brings us the news from Threads and we are thus inspired to discuss the unwritten (and often gendered) rules about how to be a writer in public. Enjoying the show? Reviews and shares appreciated! Some Margin Notes Mindy Raf ComedyShe & HimAlmost Life by Kirin Millwood HargraveHacks again!My Brilliant Career (1979 & 2026; 1901)To Walk Invisible / Sally WainwrightEliot Treichel's 2027 YAThank You...
14 Oct 2026
10. Diversifying One's Streams of Hope
Send us Fan Mail It's our 10th episode! Thank you for listening! Leave a review or tell a friend! If you want! In this episode, we talk about how projects change as we change and the world changes, the joys and perils of being on submission, and Sara asks a secret question. Some Margin Notes: Trust by Hernan DiazSentimental Value, a movieSee One, Do One, Teach One, a graphic memoirSnowy Campbell, an artistTales of the City & The Celluloid Closet, gay stuffBees!This episode was recor...
23 Sept 2026
9. Protecting the Magical Mystery
Send us Fan Mail This episode was recorded on 8/12/26, when we found a day in the middle of our hiatus to connect, and we thought we'd be posting it sooner but then we didn't. We talk about if and what we've been writing, check in with what the publishing industry is up to when it come to A.I. (it's not good!) and how that impacts the magic of the process, and have an extended Margin Notes section. Some of Them Margin Notes: Obsession, a movieValley of the Dolls & Call Me AnnaRehab:...
6 Jul 2026
8. Mid-Season Finale
Send us Fan Mail Before the podcast goes on summer hiatus, Corey turns in a book and Sara is overwhelmed and recording at the co-working space with a respectfully low voice. Also: a new secret question. Some Margin Notes: Goodbye from Nowhere by SaraMaking Pretty by CoreyThe Correspondent by Virginia Evans - book.Disclosure Day! It's a movie.The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman. Another book!First America with Rebecca Nagle / American Hysteria with Chelseas Weber-Smith - podcasts.Couples...
22 Jun 2026
7. Making Meaning, Trusting Timing
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, a sudden death reminds Sara of the idea of vocation, we discuss if there's a perfect time to send a project to your agent (or trusted reader), and Corey goes to the theater. Some Margin Notes: Warren Farha and Eighth Day Books in the NYTIndian Princesses by Eliana Theologides RodriguezThe LibrariansSucker Punch by Scaachi KoulPartially Devoured by Daniel D. KrausThe Comeback Season 3 (HBO)More about Sara Zarr More about Corey Ann Haydu Theme music: Creative C...
25 May 2026
6. False Dichotomies for Simple Minds
Send us Fan Mail In this episode: The joys of multiple POVs, Sara asks a secret question, and a robust current events section in which we fail to solve a centuries-old problem in literary discourse. Some Margin Notes: The Recovering & Splinters by Leslie JamisonTom Lake by Ann PatchettKlara & the Sun by Kazuo IshiguroOne Crazy Summer by Rita Williams GarciaWidow's Bay & DTF St. LouisAlice Doesn't Live Here AnymoreThe Most Important Book of Every Year (part I) More about Sara Zarr...
4 May 2026
5. A Reader Walks Into a Hair Salon...
Send us Fan Mail Discussed in this episode: How the answer is in the work, Colson Whitehead, Lena Dunham, and summer camp. Also, we think we've successfully enabled Buzzsprout "fan mail," so if you ever have a response to our questions to the universe and listeners, click that to send us a message! Errata: Sara says Altan when she meant AlyanNot really an error but we talked quiiiite a bit about Famesick and edited some out, but if it's still too long use the Chapters feature to escape!...
20 Apr 2026
4. Does "Feels Bad" = "Is Bad"?
Send us Fan Mail Don't let the low energy intro fool you--in this one, we have so much to say. Along with our regular writing updates, we have reports from the field: Corey is our Threads correspondent, and Sara brings us the AI discourse. This was recorded several weeks before publishing, when all this was fresh out of the oven! Also: Corey asks her first Secret Question. Some Margin Notes: The Outrun (Netflix)A Marriage at Sea by Sophie ElmhirstMan on the Run (McCartney/Prime)Heart the Love...
6 Apr 2026
3. In Which Corey Sells a Book, or, Story of an Agent
Send us Fan Mail We go on the journey of how Corey's newest novel, Mothers and Other Strangers, came to be. Also: how and if we share work in progress, and Sara's Song Sung Blue crisis. Approximate chapters: 0:00 - 29:00: Intro and still writing check-in 29:00 - 45:00: The tale of Corey selling her adult debut and why your agent matters so much. Plus bonus weird instrumental transition! 45:00 - end: Margin Notes Some of those Margin Notes: Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults (HBO) Forever, or a ...
23 Mar 2026
2. The First Secret Question
Send us Fan Mail We talk about if, how, and what we're still writing, and the inaugural Secret Question is asked. Also, once again we don't stick the landing. Some Margin Notes: Being Gordon Ramsay on NetflixThe Hypocrite by Jo HamyaLinkater's Blue MoonWelcome to the Moon and Other Plays by John Patrick ShanleyAll the President's Men as read by Richard PoeHate Radio, Milo LauPre-order Corey's new book, Mothers and Other Strangers More about Sara Zarr More about Corey Ann Haydu Theme music: Cr...
9 Mar 2026
1. The Pilot
Send us Fan Mail We record our very first full episode and are bad at ending it! Topics covered: What we've been doing the last 20 years, and what we'll be doing the next 2 weeks. Some Margin Notes: Safekeeping: Some True Stories From a Life by Abigail ThomasKidnapped: Elizabeth Smart (Netflix)I Love L.A. (HBO)Secret Mall Apartment (Netflix)Pre-order Corey's new book, Mothers and Other Strangers More about Sara Zarr More about Corey Ann Haydu Theme music: Creative Commons Deep Friendship by L...
1 Mar 2026
Still Writing Trailer
Send us Fan Mail We introduce ourselves ever so briefly! For more about the origins of this podcast, check out This Creative Life, the podcast Sara hosted for a decade, and its version of this trailer. More about Sara Zarr More about Corey Ann Haydu Theme music: Creative Commons Deep Friendship by Lobo Loco is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 More about Sara Zarr More about Corey Ann Haydu Theme music: Creative Commons Deep Friendship by Lobo Loco is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
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Guest appearances
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