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“You and your hosts have a wonderful banter and so much experience. It was a joy listening to you while I was traveling . . . I need to listen a second time to absorb all the wonderful information provided.” — Nicole C., fiction writer & MFA candidate

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Bonus Episode 11 (11 March 2026) — Co-hosts Brady Harrison and Ted Morrissey attended the AWP Conference and Bookfair in Baltimore the first week of March. While there, Ted conducted interviews with three of the nearly 1,300 exhibitors who were at the Bookfair, representing university presses, MFA programs, small presses, and scores of writing-related organizations. He spoke with Riot in Your Throat Press, The National Writers Union, and Queer Baltimore History. The interviews took place in the cavernous exhibition hall, so the sound quality is less than ideal, but hopefully the ambient noise adds to the bookfair flavor.
B.E. 11a — Riot in Your Throat publishes “fierce, feminist poetry.” The press’s website says, “We believe in poetry that punches you in the gut and refuses to be quiet.” Ted talked with founder, editor-in-chief and poet Courtney LeBlanc and one of her poets, Melissa Fite Johnson. (YouTube — Spotify — Apple).
B.E. 11b — The National Writers Union is for “All writers. All genres. All media,” according to its website, which goes on to say, “The National Writers Union is more than just another writers’ organization. It is the only labor union that represents freelance writers working in all genres, formats, and mediums. As freelancers we may value our autonomy, but we are united by the fact that we work independently.” Ted spoke with author, journalist and editor Kristen Martin. (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)
B.E. 11c — Queer Baltimore History is “an organization [that] explores Baltimore’s Queer History through books and zines,” says the AWP exhibitors list. Ted spoke with Hunter O’Hanian and Ben Egerman about various projects that were presented at their booth. Hunter is an independent consultant and artist working on a variety of art projects, and he was the Executive Director of the Stonewall National Museum and Archive in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (among other professional posts). Ben is a public librarian and historian living in Baltimore, Maryland. He travels to libraries throughout the state speaking about Maryland’s LGBTQ+ history. Ben curates the website a gay little history page. (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Bonus Episode 10 (24 February 2026) — Co-host Ted Morrissey discusses the importance of trusting the creative process. A lot of writers (or anyone doing any creative project) give up on a project too soon because they’re not sure what it is, where it’s going, if it even makes sense. But if they give it a chance, the project (story, novel, poem, script, essay) will start to come together. It will let you know what it is and where it wants to go. (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Episode 32 (15 February 2026) — We discuss a variety of writing-related issues, including the upcoming AWP26 conference in Baltimore, moral/ethical issues in fiction, and new ways that AI is affecting writing and publishing. The featured short story is “This Time and the Next” by Noel Quiñones, published in Michigan Quarterly Review (summer 2025). (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Episode 31 (19 January 2026) — We discuss a variety of writing-related topics, including what to include in a cover letter (and what not to include) when contacting an editor; editorial responses that we appreciate (and ones we don’t); the prevalence of fantasy and science fiction writers among younger writers especially; and much, much more. The featured short story is “Selling Vermont” by Ira Madison III, published in Volume 0 (10). (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Episode 30 (18 December 2025) — We return briefly to the topic of point of view, but move on to discussing the newly re-established literary journal Short Story, the growing interest among writers in fantasy, speculative fiction, and other genres besides (or mixed with) literary, issues of revisionist work as it relates to copyright, reoccurring motifs as a narrative technique, among other topics. The featured short story is “The Fog” by Roseanne Pereira in The Shanghai Literary Review, No. 9. (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Bonus Episode 9 (30 November 2025) — Co-host Ted Morrissey encourages writers and poets to send their work to journals and small-press publishers — but warns that the odds of acceptance are long. Everyone is buried in submissions, he points out, and most places only publish a tiny percentage of the work they receive. Therefore, he recommends sending work to multiple places (as long as they accept “simultaneous submissions”). (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Episode 29 (23 November 2025) — In large part we discuss point of view in this episode, first-person versus third-person, and even second-person POV. We consider what constitutes a novella as opposed to a long story or a novel. We also discuss when to provide descriptions of characters and settings, etc. Other topics related to writing and publishing are covered as well. The featured short story is “The Last Avocado on Earth” by Tracy Neiman, published in Mississippi Review, 53.1-2. (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Bonus Episode 8 (7 November 2025) — Many (most?) writers of short stories find the idea of writing an entire novel rather daunting. In this episode Ted Morrissey discusses why that transition may seem so difficult, and he offers some specific strategies for re-framing the goal of writing a novel so that it seems more manageable. He refers to some well-known novels — like Ulysses, To Kill a Mockingbird and Jane Eyre — as well as his own fiction as illustrations. (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Episode 28 (30 October 2025) — The episode was recorded before a live audience at the Hearst Center for the Arts in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Oct. 30. The house was packed as we discussed Halloween-themed topics, especially the tradition of the vampire in horror writing. It was a shorter episode than usual, and instead of discussing a featured short story we took questions from the audience. (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Bonus Episode 7 (27 October 2025) — Brady Harrison interviews Grant Tracey about his new Hayden Fuller Mystery, A Shoeshine Kill, as well as other projects. They didn’t plan for the interview to become available to the public, or to become Bonus Episode 7 of the podcast. But it is filled with fascinating insights about the writing process, and is a genuine behind-the-scenes look at dedicated writers who are always trying to evolve their craft. (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Bonus Episode 6 (21 October 2025) — Co-hosts Brady Harrison and Grant Tracey gave readings from their recently released novels A Journey to Al Ramel and A Shoeshine Kill, respectively. Brady read from a section near the beginning of his novel, while Grant read “A Cap for Tom,” one of the bonus Eddie Sands stories in the paperback and Kindle editions, as well as the opening section of A Shoeshine Kill. A 20-minute Q&A with audience members followed their readings. Topics included the inspirations for the novels, the importance of place for their narratives, how to find one’s narrative voice, and the different sensibilities when writing short-form versus long-form fiction. (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

Episode 27 (16 September 2025) — The discussion includes the challenge of marketing books; systems for keeping track of where submissions have been sent; and other writing-related topics. The featured short story is “To Believe in the Ubiquity of Animation” by Mary Elizabeth Dubois, published in Boulevard (39.1). (YouTube — Spotify — Apple)

For earlier episodes, see the podcast archive here

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Brady Harrison’s short fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in numerous journals, including Aethlon, High Desert Journal, The Long Story, Short Story, and Twelve Winters Journal.  He is the author, editor, or co-editor of several books, including the novel A Journey to Al Ramel and the collection The Term Between (winner of the High Plains Book Award). He has lived in France and Ireland, as well as in Missoula, Montana. Visit Brady’s webpage.

Ted Morrissey’s novel excerpts, short stories, poems, critical articles, reviews, and translations have appeared in more than 140 publications (Glimmer Train Stories, North American Review, Southern Humanities Review, Bellevue Literary Review). His most recent novels are The Strophes of Job, Crowsong for the Stricken, Mrs Saville, and The Artist Spoke. Delta of Cassiopeia: Collected Stories and Sonnets was released in 2023. His debut poetry collection — Aspiring Child: A Biography of Mary W. Shelley — will be released in 2026. Retired from full-time teaching, he continues to teach creative writing and literature classes online for Lindenwood University and Southern New Hampshire University. He is the publisher of Twelve Winters Press and its various entities. Visit Ted’s webpage.

Grant Tracey is the author of four Hayden Fuller novels — Cheap Amusements, A Fourth Face, Neon Kiss, and A Shoeshine Kill — as well as story collections, including Final Stanzas. His crime noir pieces have appeared in Tough, Groovy Gumshoes, Bang!, FreedomFiction.com, Twelve Winters Journal, and elsewhere. He wrote and directed the film By the Stars of St. Michael, released in 2025. Grant teaches creative writing and film classes at University of Northern Iowa, where he’s been a long-serving editor of North American Review. Visit Grant’s webpage.

journal | miscellany | press | podcast | team