Writers at Work

About Writers at Work

WRITERS AT WORK is a podcast about the joys, heartaches, challenges and satisfaction of the creative writing process. Hosted by Jim Fusilli, additional information is available at writersatworkpodcast.com.

Publisher

Bliss Publications

Category

arts · fiction

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Aug 2024

Latest episode

2 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

100 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Nov 2026

   John Boyne

   With me on this episode of Writers at Work is John Boyne, whose audacious new novel is THE WEIGHT OF ANGELS. I'll get to what makes it so in a few minutes. Raised in Dublin, John is the author of some twenty novels, including six for young readers. It's likely you've heard of his 2006, THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS, a fable of the Holocaust. It tells of a son of an SS officer who befriends a Jewish boy who is a prisoner in a concentration camp. A film of the same name based on John's book appeared in 2008. John's novel, A LADDER TO THE SKY, was named one of the best books of 2019 by The Washington Post and the Minneapolis Star Tribune, among others. John's novel for young readers, MY BROTHER'S NAME IS JESSICA, raised the ire of the LGBTQ community and friends who accused him of misrepresenting the trans experience in the novel. When one of his subsequent novellas was nominated for the Polari Prize, which celebrates LGBTQ literature, more than eight hundred writers and publishing industry workers signed a petition calling on Polari to remove John's novella from its long list. It did. Following the controversy, the University College Dublin's Literary and Historical Society rescinded its decision to present John the James Joyce Award. John, who is gay, pressed on. THE WEIGHT OF ANGELS was published this summer by Henry Holt. This isn't to minimize or dodge the issues raised by the LGBT community or by John, but our focus here is on writing. As stated, I found THE WEIGHT OF ANGELS to be audacious in concept and execution. In it, John imagines that Oscar Wilde, the greatest playwright of the Victorian age, who was then at the height of his fame, was not arrested and charged with gross indecency with other males as he was, and that he was not convicted and sentenced to two years hard labor and jailed from 1895 to 1897 again, as he was. In John's novel, Wilde lives a long and fruitful life into the 1950s, a half-century longer than he actually lived. I've been curious about how and why John Boyne decided to write THE WEIGHT OF ANGELS from the moment I learned of it, so let's proceed.

2. 

   29 Oct 2026

   Jim Fusilli

   Welcome to this special 100th episode of Writers at Work, where my guest is our host, Jim Fusilli. This is Erin Mitchell, and as the producer of writers at work, and I’m normally comfortably ensconced behind the scenes, but on this occasion, Jim has agreed to step in front of the microphone and allow me to ask him about his own writing, which is both an honor and a pleasure You probably know that Jim is an accomplished writer, but you might not realize the full depth and breadth of his body of writing. From journalism in different forms to short stories to songs to eleven novels, including one for young readers, Jim’s writing runs the gamut of forms. And while he is well known for his crime fiction, he also crosses genres. He has written for and been published by large companies and smaller ones, and his career has followed a path that has been anything but linear. You can find lots more information about Jim at his website, JimFusilli.com, or on Wikipedia.

3. 

   23 Oct 2026

   Joe Lansdale

   Here with me on this episode of Writers at Work is Joe R. Lansdale, an author who has found success in just about every genre and writing medium: mystery, sci-fi, westerns, horror, and suspense, and novels, also in film and comics. He's won a variety of awards, including an Edgar from the Mystery Writers of America and a remarkable 11 Bram Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers of America. Joe's written more than 60 novels, including a dozen featuring his characters Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, also featured in his novellas and short stories. His latest Hap and Leonard crime novel is PETRIFIED DREAMS, available now. Joe said it will be his last Hap and Leonard novel. You may know Joe's work even if you haven't read him. He's written many films, including the cult classic BUBBA HO-TEP, based on his novella. He wrote some of the best episodes of DC's TV universe, including for BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. The modern noir film COLD IN JULY, starring Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, and Don Johnson, was based on his novel of the same name. His 2014 novel, THE THICKET, was the source for the film of the same name, and it's available on Netflix now. Two years later, the Hap and Leonard TV series launched on the Sundance Channel and ran for three seasons.

Who has been a guest on Writers at Work

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• CM Kushins
• Dennis Lehane
• Craig Thompson
• Sarah Lampert
• Chris Pavone

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

488

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 50 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

61

Social presence

0

YouTube

66

Engagement

32

Contact Writers at Work

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about Writers at Work