Episodes

  • Episode 88: Finding Co-Authors Who Can Fill In Your Gaps with Sharon Avni and Laura Yares
    Nov 2 2026

    We’re talking with Sharon Avni (CUNY) and Laura Yares (MSU) about co-authoring a book and why their partnership works and what a scholar might want to look for in a potential co-author. We discuss why choosing the co-authorship route for a second or third project might be helpful in making progress when you have other simultaneous writing projects, and the kind of encouragement you can only get from someone else who is working on the same project.

    Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here:
    https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast

    Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact

    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
  • Episode 87: Not Waiting for Someday with Tilar Mazzeo
    Oct 19 2026

    We talk with Tilar Mazzeo, writer and literary and cultural history scholar about her Yale University Press book, How to Write a Bestseller: An Insider’s Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction for General Audiences. Tilar is the author of more than eight books. Tilar’s 2008 bestselling book, The Widow Clicquot, was made into a film. We talk about Tilar’s path from holding an endowed chair in English at Colby College, to becoming a bestselling author. Other subjects include making the transition from academic writing to trade press writing; which tools of fiction are helpful; the value of media training; why a book tour is not what you think it is; what she actually misses about academia; and what ways of building an author’s platform are and are not worth the effort.

    Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here:
    https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast

    Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact

    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • Episode 86: "Maybe I Should Write the Way I Teach" with John Kaag
    Oct 5 2026

    We're speaking with philosopher and writer John Kaag, who is chair and professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Kaag specializes in American philosophy. In addition to several books, Kaag's writing has been published in The Paris Review, The New York Times, The American Scholar, and Harper's. We talk about learning to write again after tenure; what it means to develop a voice and why that is particularly helpful in writing for trade; moving past writer's block and bringing our personal experiences into our writing.

    Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here:
    https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast

    Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact

    Show More Show Less
    46 mins
  • Episode 85: "We Thought We’d Just Write an Annotated Memoir," But the Agent and Editor Had Other Ideas With Joanna Sliwa
    Sep 21 2026

    We’re talking with Joanna Sliwa, a historian of the Holocaust and Polish Jewish history about her co-written book, *The Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust* about turning a historical memoir into a trade book. We talk about Sliwa’s experience with a co-writer, agent, the trade press book proposal, considering potential editors and trade presses, book tour, and book publicity.

    Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here:
    https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast

    Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact

    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
  • Episode 84: Writing Page-Turning Banking History with Rebecca Kobrin
    Sep 7 2026

    We’re talking to Columbia University Professor of History Rebecca Kobrin about writing her most recent book, Credit to the Nation: Eastern European Jewish Immigrant Bankers and the Shaping of American Finance, 1873–1930, and about putting individuals at the center of our histories. We also talk about how leading walking tours leads to writing better histories, and Kobrin’s involvement in the online Mapping Historic New York project.

    Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here:
    https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast

    Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact

    Show More Show Less
    48 mins
  • Episode 83: [Encore] Application Advice for the Job Season with Jeff Kopstein
    Aug 24 2026

    Jeff Kopstein, Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, talks with us about putting together a compelling application for academic jobs. We talk not only about assistant professorship applications, but about the shift in tone and content for associate and full professorship applications.

    Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here:
    https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast

    Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact

    Show More Show Less
    51 mins
  • Episode 82: When Writing Is the Biggest Hurdle with Dr. Elissa Sampson
    Aug 10 2026

    We’re speaking with Elissa Sampson, Research Associate in Cornell University’s Jewish Studies program about entering the academy writing game when you’re in your fifties, and the challenges and deep satisfactions of co-editing a volume that draws on your own university’s archives.

    Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here:

    https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast

    Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact

    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
  • Episode 81: Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Fellowships: Open to All Career Stages, but Innovative, Groundbreaking Research Is a Must
    Jul 27 2026

    We're speaking with Claudia Rizzini of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University about the institute's fellowships. We speak about what they're looking for in potential fellows, who does the selecting, what stage the proposed project should be, and where applicants make mistakes in their applications. We also talk about what the institute requires of its fellows, in terms of residence and attendance at events, as well as the freedoms of this particular fellowship, and how applicants can best make the case for themselves.

    Don't forget to rate and review our show and follow us on all social media platforms here:

    https://linktr.ee/writingitpodcast

    Contact us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact

    Show More Show Less
    28 mins