Zin E. Rocklyn speaks on their Shirley Jackson Award-winning novella “Flowers for the Sea" with fellow speculative fiction author and Lesley University faculty Laurie Foos.

Read Zin's essay, "My Genre Makes a Monster of Me" from Uncanny Magazine

Read more about Zin and Laurie and find a transcript for this episode on our website.

Learn more about Lesley University's low-residency MFA in Creative Writing program.

Creative Writing alum Nathan Tavares talks about his debut novel, "A Fractured Infinity," a sci-fi love story that's "like the movie 'Arrival,' but really gay." In this episode, Nathan gives us a view into writing sci-fi, his career as a freelance journalist, and what he learned in his MFA program.

Read more about Nathan and our MFA in Creative Writing program.

P.S. See Nathan speak about his book live at Brookline Booksmith on Dec. 7.

Being friends with Toni Morrison, one of the most influential writers in American literature was a life-changing experience for A.J. Verdelle, but it came with its ups and downs. A.J. writes about her relationship with the Beloved author, including their "two and a half spats" in Miss Chloe: A Memoir of a Literary Friendship with Toni Morrison. In this episode, A.J. sits down with nonfiction author Jane Brox to give us insight into her writing process and the impact of being chosen by Toni Morrison.

A. J. Verdelle is the award-winning author of the novel, The Good Negress, as well as a number of essays and short stories. She was awarded the Whiting Award in fiction, the Vursell Distinguished Fiction Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; the Bunting Fellowship and the NEA Critical Studies Award. She was also a finalist for PEN/Faulkner Award. A.J. teaches in Lesley's MFA in Creative Writing program.

Mentioned in this episode:

• ‘Miss Chloe’ recounts A.J. Verdelle’s friendship with Toni Morrison
• Get writing advice from A.J. on Ep. 35 of Why We Write
• The sound of 'Silence' with Jane Brox

The forced relocation of thousands of Japanese and Japanese-Americans during World War II profoundly shaped Emily Inouye Huey's family. Uprooted from their home on the West Coast, her great grandparents and grandparents were forced to live in a Wyoming internment camp, which is where her father was born. Inspired by her family's story, Emily wrote Beneath the Wide Silk Sky, a heartbreaking and beautiful story of a Japanese-American teenager in the days leading up to and following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

In this episode, Emily shares her writing and research process, some questionable publishing advice she received (add werewolves?!), and the evergreen call to preserve human dignity.

Emily Inouye Huey is the author of Beneath the Wide Silk Sky (Scholastic 2022). She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and teaches at Salt Lake Community College. Besides books, her passions include education, the arts, the outdoors, and her family.

More about Emily:

• Emily's website
• Follow Emily on Instagram

Find a transcript on our episode page.

Lesley University alumna and Creative Writing faculty Sara Farizan talks about her first YA horror novel, Dead Flip, a not-too-scary of nostalgia, friendship, and an evil pinball machine. In this episode, she gives advice for writers about writing in a new genre and shares her own fears of Chucky Dolls, Stephen King novels, and more!

Read more about Sara Farizan

Sara discusses her novel "Here to Stay" on Why We Write.

Sara interviews fellow YA writer Axie Oh.

Find the transcript for this episode.

Growing up, Grace K. Shim relished the twists and turns of Korean dramas. Now, she's written one of her own with her YA debut, The Noh Family, in which recent high school graduate Chloe Chang discovers through a DNA test that she has family in Korea...and they're not only rich but they've got lots of secrets. Drama ensues.

On the episode, Grace talks about how her story overlaps with her character's, why she took up writing, and the rise of Asian American voices in publishing.

Grace K. Chang ’05 received a master's degree from Lesley's Graduate School of Education. Grace grew up in Tulsa Oklahoma as one of two Korean-Americans at her high school (her sister was the other one). Today, Grace writes books with Korean-American protagonists that she wished she had read about as a teen.

When she’s not plotting (the writing kind, not the world domination kind), you can find her wearing a Korean sheet mask, baking French macarons, and unintentionally killing house plants and succulents. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and three kids.

More about Grace:

• Grace's website
• Follow Grace on Instagram and Twitter

Listen to our interviews with more Asian American YA authors:

• Axie Oh's 'Rogue Heart'
• Author Andrea Wang on Growing up Chinese-American in the Midwest

Find the transcript on the episode page.

The Bronx is Reading founder Saraciea J. Fennell is working to get more books into the hands of young people, especially those who come from backgrounds similar to hers, through her organization, a yearly book festival, and one day a bookstore. Saraciea is also the editor of the acclaimed 2021 young adult anthology Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed, which features essays and poems by Latinx authors such as Elizabeth Acevedo and Ibi Zoboi about the myths, and stereotypes surrounding their culture and identity. In this episode, Saraciea, a 2020 graduate of our MFA in Creative Writing program, discusses her own essay about being put into foster care as a kid and how she wants to effect change in her corner of New York City.

Saraciea J. Fennell is a Black Honduran writer and the founder of The Bronx is Reading. She is also a book publicist who has worked with many award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors. Fennell sits on the board for Latinx in Publishing as well as on the Advisory Board of People of Color in Publishing.

• Learn more about Saraciea, her book, and her newsletter on her website.
• Follow Saraciea on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok

Find a transcript of this interview on our episode page.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, or simply someone who will one day in encounter a child, Rebecca Rolland ’17 has advice for how to respond to kids, and most importantly, how to listen.

Find a transcript of this episode on our show page.

Rebecca Rolland is a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and serves on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. She is also an oral and written language specialist in the Neurology Department of Boston Children's Hospital. As a nationally certified speech-language pathologist, she has worked clinically with populations ranging from early childhood through high school and has provided teacher professional development. In addition to a master's in Creative Writing from Lesley, she has an Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from the MGH Institute of Health Professions, an M.A. in English from Boston University, and a B.A. in English from Yale.

• Learn more about Rebecca, her book, and her newsletter on her website.
• Follow Rebecca on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn