First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing
Episodes
First Draft - Emily Witt
28 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Emily Witt is a writer in New York City. She has written for n+1, The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ, the London Review of Books, and many other p...
First Draft - Teddy Wayne
21 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Teddy Wayne is the author of the novels Loner, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine (Simon & Schuster), and Kapitoil (Harper Perennial). He is the winner ...
First Draft - Robert Bausch
14 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Bausch was born in Georgia, at the end of World War II, and was raised in the Washington, D.C., area. He has worked as a salesman--of automobil...
First Draft - Patrick Ryan
11 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Patrick Ryan is the author of the short story collection The Dream Life of Astronauts and the novels Send Me and Saint Augustine among others. Learn m...
First Draft - Jane Smiley
31 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Smiley is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Thousand Acres. She has written more than twenty books including Private Life, Moo, and Thirte...
First Draft - Nicole Dennis-Benn
24 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Nicole Dennis-Benn is the author of the highly acclaimed debut novel, Here Comes the Sun, a New York Times Editors' Choice, which has received a starr...
First Draft - Kevin Barry
17 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Barry was born in Limerick in 1969 and now lives in Dublin. He writes sketches and columns for the Sunday Herald in Glasgow and the Irish Exa...
First Draft - Leigh Stein
10 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Leigh Stein is the author of the novel The Fallback Plan, a collection of poetry called Dispatch from the Future, and a memoir, Land of Enchantment. S...
First Draft - John Freeman
05 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
John Freeman is an American writer and a literary critic. He is the author of How to Read a Novelist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...
First Draft - Lev Grossman
03 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Lev Grossman's first novel, Warp, came out in 1997. His second, Codex, was published in 2004 and became an international bestseller. The Magician...
First Draft - Ramona Ausubel
26 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Ramona Ausubel grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is the author of a new novel, Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty as well as the novel No One is...
First Draft - Debra Spark
19 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Debra Spark is the author of five books of fiction, including Unknown Caller, The Pretty Girl, and Good for the Jews. Other books include Curious Attr...
First Draft - Jennifer duBois
16 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Jennifer duBois is the recipient of a 2013 Whiting Writer’s Award and a 2012 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 award. Her debut novel, A Partial H...
First Draft - Jennifer Haigh
12 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Jennifer Haigh's new novel is called Heat and Light. She is the author of four previous novels: Faith, The Condition, Baker Towers and Mrs. Kimble, ...
First Draft - Helen Schulman
15 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Helen Schulman is author of This Beautiful Life, four other novels and one short story collection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...
First Draft - Kim Addonizio
08 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kim Addonizio is the author of six poetry collections, two novels, two story collections, and two books on writing poetry, The Poet’s Companion (w...
First Draft - Anna Noyes
01 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Noyes is the author of the debut story collection, Goodnight, Beautiful Women, which was named a New York Times Editors' Choice. She has an MFA f...
First Draft - Anna Solomon
25 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Solomon is the author of The Little Bride, Leaving Lucy Pear and a two-time winner of the Pushcart Prize. Her short fiction, essays, and reviews ...
First Draft - Charles Bock
18 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Charles Bock is the author of the novels Alice & Oliver and Beautiful Children, which was a New York Times bestseller and Notable Book, and which w...
First Draft - Ethan Canin
04 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Highly regarded as both a novelist and a short story writer, Ethan Canin has ranged in his career from the "breathtaking" short stories of Emperor ...
First Draft - Joshua Ferris
20 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Joshua Ferris is the bestselling author of three novels, Then We Came to the End, The Unnamed and To Rise Again at a Decent Hour. He was a final...
First Draft - Lauren Holmes
13 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Lauren Holmes grew up in upstate New York. She received a BA from Wellesley College and an MFA from Hunter College, where she was a Hertog Fellow an...
First Draft - Idra Novey
06 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Idra Novey is the author of the debut novel Ways to Disappear, a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Born in western Pennsylvania, she has since lived i...
First Draft - Saeed Jones
01 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Saeed Jones was born in Memphis, TN and raised in Lewisville, Texas. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at Rutgers University – Newark. He earn...
First Draft - Dana Spiotta
23 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dana Spiotta is the author of four novels: Innocents and Others, published by Scribner in 2016; Stone Arabia (2011), which was a National Book Crit...
First Draft - Dominic Smith
16 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dominic grew up in Sydney, Australia and now lives in Austin, Texas. He is the author, most recently, of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, a New Yor...
First Draft - Antonya Nelson
12 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
First Draft interview with Antonya Nelson. Nelson is the author of seven short story collections and four novels. She teaches creative writing at th...
First Draft - Garth Greenwell
02 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Garth Greenwell is an American poet, author, literary critic, and educator. His debut novel is What Belongs to You. In 2013, Greenwell returned to the...
First Draft - A. Igoni Barrett
25 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
A. Igoni Barrett was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria in 1979. He is the author of Blackass, as well as a winner of the 2005 BBC World Service short s...
First Draft - Rob Spillman
18 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Rob Spillman is the author of the memoir All Tomorrow's Parties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
First Draft - James Hannaham
11 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Interview with James Hannah, author of Delicious Foods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
First Draft - Rebecca Makkai
04 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Rebecca Makkai is the Chicago-based author of the novels The Hundred-Year House, winner of the Chicago Writers Association’s Novel of the Year award...
First Draft - Emily St. John Mandel
29 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Emily St. John Mandel was born and raised on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada. She studied contemporary dance at the School of Toronto Dance...
First Draft - Paul Lisicky
28 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Lisicky is the author of five books: The Narrow Door, Unbuilt Projects, The Burning House, Famous Builder, and Lawnboy. His work has appeared in ...
First Draft - Ada Limón
14 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Ada Limón is the author of four books of poetry, including Bright Dead Things, which was named a finalist for the 2015 National Book Award in Poetry...
First Draft - Mary Doria Russell
07 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Mary Doria Russell has written several novels including Thread of Grace, The Sparrow and Doc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...
First Draft - Christopher Castellani
29 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Christopher Castellani is the son of Italian immigrants and a native of Wilmington, Delaware. He resides in Boston, where he is the artistic director ...
First Draft - Rachel Cantor
22 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Rachel Cantor's stories have appeared in magazines such as the Paris Review, One Story, Ninth Letter, Kenyon Review, New England Review, Fence, and Vo...
First Draft - Sarah Gerard
15 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Gerard is the author of the novel Binary Star (Two Dollar Radio), the forthcoming essay collection Sunshine State (Harper Perennial), and tw...
First Draft - Edan Lepucki
13 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
First Draft interview with Edan Lepucki, author of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
First Draft - Adam Johnson
08 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Adam Johnson was born in South Dakota and raised in Arizona. He earned a BA in Journalism from Arizona State University in 1992; a MFA from the writin...
First Draft - Elizabeth McCracken
01 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
First Draft interview with Elizabeth McCracken. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
First Draft - Jess Walter
27 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Jess Walter is the author of The Beautiful Ruins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
First Draft - Sunil Yapa
19 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Sunil Yapa is the author of Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
First Draft - Lauren Groff
28 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Lauren Groff is the author of the novel The Monsters of Templeton, shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers, Delicate Edible Birds, a colle...
First Draft - Geraldine Brooks
21 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Australian-born Geraldine Brooks grew up in Sydney. She worked as a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Wall Street Journal, where she cove...
First Draft - Paul Harding
20 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Harding is the author of the novel Tinkers, which won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the PEN/Ro...
First Draft - Anthony Marra
20 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony Marra is the New York Times-bestselling author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, longlisted for the National Book Award and winner of the...
First Draft - Jack Driscoll
20 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Jack Driscoll is the author of four books of poems, two collections of short stories, and four novels. In addition, he is the recipient of numerous gr...
First Draft - Celeste Ng
20 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Celeste Ng is the author of the novel Everything I Never Told You (Penguin Press), which was a New York Times bestseller, a New York Times Notab...
First Draft - James Salter
20 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
James Salter grew up in New York City and was a career officer and Air Force pilot until his mid-thirties, when the success of his first novel, The Hu...
First Draft - Dani Shapiro
14 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dani Shapiro is the bestselling author of the memoirs Devotion and Slow Motion, and five novels including Black & White and Family History. Her work h...
First Draft - Liam Callanan
07 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Liam is the author of The Cloud Atlas , All Saints and Listen. He serves in the English department of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and was p...
First Draft - Ben Fountain
06 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Fountain is the author of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. He has received the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Barn...
First Draft - Julia Fierro
30 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Julia Fierro is the author of the novels Cutting Teeth and the forthcoming The Gypsy Moth Summer. A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, where...
First Draft - Michelle Brafman
23 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Michelle Brafman is the author of the novel Washing the Dead. Her short fiction short has won some awards, including a special mention in the Pushc...
First Draft - Ann Patchett
21 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Ann Patchett is the author of six novels, The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, The Magician’s Assistant, Bel Canto, Run, and State of Wonder. She was th...
First Draft - Bill Clegg
21 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Clegg is the author of two memoirs, Portrait of an Addict as A Young Man: A Memoir and Ninety Days. His novel, Did You Ever Have a Family, was ...
First Draft - Vanessa Garcia
16 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Vanessa was born in the Cuban satellite city of Miami, to Cuban parents. Her plays have been produced in Edinburgh, Miami, New York, and Los Angel...
First Draft: Edwidge Danticat
15 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti and moved to Brooklyn when she was 12 years old. She now lives in Miami. She has taught creative writing at t...
First Draft: Charles Baxter
10 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Charles Baxter is the author of five novels, five short story collections, three collections of poetry and two essay collections on fiction. His novel...
First Draft: Leslie Jamison
10 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Leslie Jamison was born in Washington DC and grew up in Los Angeles. Since then, she's lived in Iowa, Nicaragua, New Haven, and New York. She's worke...
First Draft: Elliott Holt
10 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Elliott Holt was born and raised in Washington, D.C. A former copywriter who worked at advertising agencies in Moscow, London, and New York, Holt atte...
First Draft: Bonnie Jo Campbell
09 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Bonnie Jo Campbell grew up on a small Michigan farm with her mother and four siblings in a house her grandfather Herlihy built in the shape of an H. S...
First Draft: Alan Lightman
09 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Alan Lightman is the author of six novels, including Einstein’s Dreams, which was an international best seller and The Diagnosis, a finalist for the...
First Draft: Molly Antopol
08 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Molly Antopol’s debut story collection, The UnAmericans was longlisted for the 2014 National Book Award, named a finalist for the Barnes and Nobl...
First Draft: Maria Semple
07 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Maria Semple is the author of This One Is Mine and Where’d You Go Bernadette. Before turning to fiction, she wrote for Mad About You, Ellen, a...
First Draft: Russell Banks
07 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Russell Banks is the author of more than a dozen works, which include poetry, short stories, novels and essays. His novels Cloudsplitter and Cont...
First Draft: Michael Cunningham
07 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Cunningham is the author of the novels A Home at the End of the World, Flesh and Blood, The Hours(winner of the Pen/Faulkner Award & Pulitz...
First Draft: Anthony Doerr
07 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony Doerr is the author of The Shell Collector, About Grace, Four Seasons in Rome, Memory Wall, and the new novel All the Light We Cannot Se...
First Draft: Elizabeth Gilbert
07 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Gilbert was born in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1969, and grew up on a small family Christmas tree farm. She attended New York University, whe...
First Draft: Alice McDermott
07 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Alice McDermott is the author of seven novels including National Book Award Winner Charming Billy and three Pulitzer Prize finalists: After This, That...