Best Craft Works Dialogue Podcasts (2025)

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First Draft - Lori Ostlund 1:09:10

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6h ago1:09:10

1:09:10

Lori Ostlund is the author of After the Parade, which was a Barnes & Noble Discover pick and a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the Ferro-Grumley Award. Her story collection, The Bigness of the World, won the 2008 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the California Book Award for First Fiction, and the Edmund White De…

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Plays as Living Things, Staging in Unconventional Locations, and the Definition of Being a Writer - Playwright's Spotlight with Cameron Scott 1:16:02

6d ago1:16:02

1:16:02

Send us a text Broadway marketer turned playwright Cameron Scott came onto Playwright's Spotlight after I received his submission to PLAY Noir to talk about his later-in-life start to playwriting. In this conversation, we delve into what the definition of a writer is, a play being a living thing, audio plays vs stage plays and a play's transition f…

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First Draft - Ethan Rutherford (Returns Again) 1:04:14

9d ago1:04:14

1:04:14

Ethan Rutherford’s new novel is The North Sun or the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther. He is the author of two story collections—Farthest South and The Peripatetic Coffin and Other Stories—and for these works has been named a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, a finalist for the John Leonard Prize and CLMP’s Fi…

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First Draft - Shelley Read 1:08:46

16d ago1:08:46

1:08:46

Shelley Read’s debut novel, Go as a River, is an international bestseller that has been translated into thirty-four languages and is in development for film with the Mazur Kaplan Company. Winner of the High Plains Book Award for Fiction, the Reading the West Book Award for Debut Fiction, and le Prix de l’Union Interalliée, Go as a River is also a S…

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Writing a Play in Real Time, Necessity Breeding Creativity, and Journey to the Hollywood Fringe - Playwright's Spotlight with Faye Widjaja and Sohani Sawant 54:42

20d ago54:42

54:42

Send us a text Returning playwright Faye Widjaja and her cohort, Sohoni Sawant, dropped by the studio after having streamed in from her original interview just over two years ago to discuss the journey and evolution of her play A Minor Inconvenience from the Lenaea High School Theatre Festival to the Hollywood Fringe. It's an insightful journey I h…

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First Draft: Madeleine Thien 1:10:21

22d ago1:10:21

1:10:21

Madeleine Thien is the author of four books, including Do Not Say We Have Nothing, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, The New York Review of Books, and elsewhere. She lives in Montreal. Her new novel is The Book of Records. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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Adaptations, Archetypes, Writing Whimsy, and A Quantum Fantasia - Playwright's Spotlight with John Farmanesh-Bocca 1:22:00

25d ago1:22:00

1:22:00

Send us a text John Farmanesh-Bocca swung by The Playwright's Spotlight to talk about his latest Shakespeare adaptation Lear Redux: A Quantum Fantasia. Throughout this conversation we discuss his journey into becoming an adaptive playwrights of the Classics, how he breaks them down, unpacks them, and the puts them back together to serve a modern au…

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First Draft - Lauren Groff (Returns) 56:46

30d ago56:46

56:46

Lauren Groff is a three-time National Book Award finalist and The New York Times–bestselling author of the novels The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, Fates and Furies, Matrix, and The Vaster Wilds, and the celebrated short story collections Delicate Edible Birds and Florida. She has won The Story Prize, the ABA Indies’ Choice Award, France’s Grand …

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First Draft - Kate Folk 1:03:07

1M ago1:03:07

1:03:07

Kate Folk is the author of the novel Sky Daddy and the short story collection Out There. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in the New Yorker, n+1, the New York Times, Granta, and The Baffler, among other venues. A former Stegner Fellow, she’s also received fellowships and residencies from MacDowell, the Headlands Center for the Arts, and W…

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Rhythm in Dialogue, Playing with Different Structures, and the Flaws of Rewriting on Stage - Playwright's Spotlight with Brad McEntire 1:22:24

1M ago1:22:24

1:22:24

Send us a text Longtime-listening playwright Brad McEntire streamed into the Spotlight to discuss his experience and approach to the craft. We discuss the exercises and lessons from studying under Will Power at Southern Methodist University and the Dallas Theatre Center, playing with the rhythm of dialogue, what beginning playwrights don't do or pr…

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First Draft - Bob Johnson 1:08:04

1M ago1:08:04

1:08:04

Bob Johnson is an award-winning short story writer and graduate of the lowa Writers’ Workshop. His work has been published by The Common, Philadelphia Stories, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Barcelona Review, and elsewhere. His story "The Continental Divide" was named Short Story of the Year in The Hudson Review. He lives in South Bend, Indiana. His collecti…

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First Draft - Lynn Steger Strong 1:08:38

2M ago1:08:38

1:08:38

Lynn Steger Strong is the author of the novels Hold Still, Want, Flight and The Float Test. Her non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York, The Paris Review, Time, and elsewhere. She has taught writing at The Pratt Institute, Fairfield University, Catapult, and Columbia University. She was born and raised in South F…

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Vomit, Unwritten Dialogue, Hip Hop Theatre, and the Delusions of Learning the Craft - Playwright's Spotlight with Rickerby Hinds 1:23:15

2M ago1:23:15

1:23:15

Send us a text Rickerby Hinds swung by the Playwright's Spotlight prior to the premiere of his "last' play. We unpack various topics including Hip Hop Theatre, being a self-taught playwright, writing without arrogance, earning your audience, and the use of poetry, spoken word, rap, and movement and dance. We also discuss lessons in editing, metapho…

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First Draft - Vauhini Vara 59:23

2M ago59:23

59:23

Vauhini Vara has been a reporter and editor for The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and the New York Times Magazine, and is the prize-winning author of The Immortal King Rao and This is Salvaged. She lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. Her new nonfiction book is called Searches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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Painting a Room, Masterclasses vs Academia, and the Perils of Liking Your Own Writing - Playwright's Spotlight with June Thomson Morris 55:04

2M ago55:04

55:04

Send us a text Just over the week before the World Premiere of her first play celebrating the Centennial celebration of Coral Gables, Florida, multiple Emmy-winning journalist June Thomson Morris beamed into the Playwright's Spotlight. In this interview, we discuss attempting one's first play, overcoming obstacles, and experiencing your work come t…

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First Draft - Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda 1:05:06

2M ago1:05:06

1:05:06

Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda is a literary translator. Born in Tokyo, and raised in Texas, she is the co-translator of Ryke Akutagawa’s Kappa and the translator for Yuko Tsushima’s Wildcat Dome. She lives in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Mitzi Rapkin

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Voices, Overwriting, Stage Directions in Dialogue, and Infusing Your Writing with Heart - Playwright's Spotlight with Lisa Rosenbaum and Ronda Spinak 1:02:16

2M ago1:02:16

1:02:16

Send us a text Playwrights Lisa Rosenbaum and Ronda Spinak sat in the Playwright's Spotlight to discuss the evolution of their play The Violin Maker from its Sydney, Australia production to its US premiere from its origin from The Violins of Hope through its process up to rehearsals. We delve into the styles of salons, approaching flashbacks and ov…

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First Draft - Lynne Tillman 1:12:42

2M ago1:12:42

1:12:42

Lynne Tillman is a novelist, short story writer, and cultural critic. Her novels are Haunted Houses; Motion Sickness; Cast in Doubt; No Lease on Life, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; American Genius, A Comedy, and Men and Apparitions. Her nonfiction books include The Velvet Years: Warhol’s Factory 1965–1967, with photographs …

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First Draft - Colum McCann 1:00:17

3M ago1:00:17

1:00:17

Colum McCann is the Dublin-born author of thirteen books. He has won numerous international honors including the U.S National Book Award and an Oscar. His work has been published in over 40 languages. He is the co-founder of Narrative 4, a global non-profit that uses storytelling to build community engagement in schools around the world. His new no…

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London, N.Y., and L.A. Markets, Great Hooks and Good Stories, and Stealing from the Greats - Playwright's Spotlight with Stephen Laughton 1:10:41

3M ago1:10:41

1:10:41

Send us a text British L.A.-based playwright Stephen Laughton came sat in-house in the Playwright's Spotlight before the West Coast Premiere of his play One Jewish Boy. In this interview, we discuss the differences in the London, New York, and Los Angeles markets, London gatekeepers and the draw of the London Fringe and its difference to the Edinbu…

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First Draft - Karen Russell (Returns) 1:03:27

3M ago1:03:27

1:03:27

Karen Russell is the author of six books of fiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove. She has received MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, son, and daughter. The Ant…

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Deadlines, Storytelling Through Post-Its, and Working with Sensitive Subject Matter - Playwright's Spotlight with Judson Jones 1:01:57

3M ago1:01:57

1:01:57

Send us a text Before the World Premiere of his very first play, Judson Jones streamed into the Playwright's Spotlight. We discussed his background in theatre, film, and television and his journey to writing his first play and any challenges he overcame. We dove into hitting the flow state, introducing new ideas, the appreciation of new works, stor…

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First Draft - Mai Der Vang 1:03:35

3M ago1:03:35

1:03:35

Mai Der Vang is the author of Primordial, Yellow Rain, and Afterland. Her honors include th Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets, an American Book Award, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, the First Book Award from the Academy of American Poets, among others. The recipient of a Guggenheim and Lannan Literary Fello…

Craft Works Dialogue Podcasts

1
First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing

Mitzi Rapkin

1
Craft Works Dialogue

Brian David Johnson

1
Dialogues with Nature

Hanna Varga

1
James Elden's Playwright's Spotlight

James Elden

1
The Director Notebooks Podcast

Mark "The AI Screenwriting Guy"

1
First Draft - Lori Ostlund 1:09:10

1
Plays as Living Things, Staging in Unconventional Locations, and the Definition of Being a Writer - Playwright's Spotlight with Cameron Scott 1:16:02

1
First Draft - Ethan Rutherford (Returns Again) 1:04:14

1
First Draft - Shelley Read 1:08:46

1
Writing a Play in Real Time, Necessity Breeding Creativity, and Journey to the Hollywood Fringe - Playwright's Spotlight with Faye Widjaja and Sohani Sawant 54:42

1
First Draft: Madeleine Thien 1:10:21

1
Adaptations, Archetypes, Writing Whimsy, and A Quantum Fantasia - Playwright's Spotlight with John Farmanesh-Bocca 1:22:00

1
First Draft - Lauren Groff (Returns) 56:46

1
First Draft - Kate Folk 1:03:07

1
Rhythm in Dialogue, Playing with Different Structures, and the Flaws of Rewriting on Stage - Playwright's Spotlight with Brad McEntire 1:22:24

1
First Draft - Bob Johnson 1:08:04

1
First Draft - Lynn Steger Strong 1:08:38

1
Vomit, Unwritten Dialogue, Hip Hop Theatre, and the Delusions of Learning the Craft - Playwright's Spotlight with Rickerby Hinds 1:23:15

1
First Draft - Vauhini Vara 59:23

1
Painting a Room, Masterclasses vs Academia, and the Perils of Liking Your Own Writing - Playwright's Spotlight with June Thomson Morris 55:04

1
First Draft - Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda 1:05:06

1
Voices, Overwriting, Stage Directions in Dialogue, and Infusing Your Writing with Heart - Playwright's Spotlight with Lisa Rosenbaum and Ronda Spinak 1:02:16

1
First Draft - Lynne Tillman 1:12:42

1
First Draft - Colum McCann 1:00:17

1
London, N.Y., and L.A. Markets, Great Hooks and Good Stories, and Stealing from the Greats - Playwright's Spotlight with Stephen Laughton 1:10:41

1
First Draft - Karen Russell (Returns) 1:03:27

1
Deadlines, Storytelling Through Post-Its, and Working with Sensitive Subject Matter - Playwright's Spotlight with Judson Jones 1:01:57

1
First Draft - Mai Der Vang 1:03:35