The Lit Hub Podcast

Would spooky season be complete with some Stephen King? Constant reader, I submit to you: no.This week, Caroline Bicks—the inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of Maine—stops by to talk about the power of Stephen King's writing, whether read on the page or read aloud, and why he and Shakespeare have a whole lot in common. Consider it a sneak peek into Monsters in the Archives, her book about diving into Stephen King's archives that's out next spring.Then, Jaime Green joins Drew to shed some light on the mysterious nature (pun intended) of being Series Editor for The Best American Science & Nature Writing—because the next round of Best American titles comes out next Tuesday! Still no horror, or romance, but a boy can dream.Plus, at the top of the show, some shout-outs to the watery and the vampiric, the two trends Drew is noticing this October in spooky reading, best summed up by the perfectly-titled Vampires at Sea. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join Oliver Scialdone, Lit Hub’s community editor, as he delves into the world of splatterpunk, exploring its visceral nature and anti-fascist roots. He emphasizes why oozy body horror is thought-provoking rather than just shocking. Meanwhile, Devin Thomas O'Shea offers a compelling analysis of Thomas Pynchon, detailing how his work critiques American power and resonates with contemporary issues. They discuss accessible entry points to Pynchon's challenging texts and how his themes of labor and fascism continue to haunt modern society.

Spooky season is upon us! It's Drew's favorite month and he's got a whole stack of Hallow-reads to keep him company — which has him in generally good spirits (buhdumtshhh) about the future. This week, Hillary Brenhouse stops in to talk about launching ELASTIC, a new print magazine dedicated to psychedelic art and literature. Then, beloved illustrator Jon Klassen talks with Drew live at Rough Draft about the art of board books, why we should talk to kids about death, and letting go of projects that don't work. It's a fun one!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Many of us were told or taught that the internet would be permanent — that the things we post, whether on social media or a blog or even a real-life website like Literary Hub, would last forever. But much of the last decade or so has proved that that's not true! Things can disappear at the blink of an eye — or the flash of a very rich person's temper. Maria Bustillos is no stranger to the disappearing internet, and she joins us this week to discuss her recent CJR piece "The Bigger Threat to Books Than Bans" as well as the hope provided by communally run organizations like Flaming Hydra. Then, a sneak peek at the latest addition to the Lit Hub Radio line-up: Culture Schlock, hosted by Olivia Rutigliano! We've got an exclusive excerpt from the first episode, featuring Samantha Hunt talking about discovering Nikola Tesla and the unfortunate dissonance of the poorly-run car company sharing his name. And finally, a phone call from Kate Broad (Greenwich) about the importance of third spaces!Hosted by Drew BroussardMusic by Dani Lencioni of EvelynA Lit Hub Radio PodcastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Featuring Gretchen Felker-Martin, Erica Cerulo & Claire Mazur of 831 Stories, and a phone call from Chill Subs!It's a scary time to be speaking up for what we believe in, but these are the times when we must simply speak even louder in support of the good and just and right. Sometimes, that means calling it like it is when a hatemonger dies and standing firm in the face of ensuing vitriol and cowardice, like Gretchen Felker-Martin has done in the wake of being fired from DC (and having her whole comic line scrapped) for posting about another dead bigot — and sometimes, that's about raising up stories that forefront safety, consent, women's pleasure, and good design, like the novellas from 831 Stories. Sometimes, it's as simple as putting your money where your mouth is, like Chill Subs has done with the announcement of their first Lit Mag Incubator grantees!But no matter what: community. Community, community, community. Hosted by Drew BroussardMusic by Dani Lencioni of EvelynA Lit Hub Radio PodcastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Happy birthday to us, it's been a year since we launched The Lit Hub Podcast! Not that you'd know it, because Drew completely forgot and didn't include a word about it in the episode itself. But still, we're proud!!This week, Drew talks to Boris Kachka of The Atlantic about their new travel-writing series "The Writer's Way" (featuring the likes of Lauren Groff visiting Lady Murasaki's Kyoto and Honor Jones in le Carré's Corfu). Then, Allison Miriam Smith and Brandon Taylor drop by to chat about why they launched Smith & Taylor Classics and how they're putting together the colorful, playful, vibrant series of classics-in-conversation. And finally, to welcome "The World in Time" to the Lit Hub Radio family, an excerpt from a recent episode to whet your whistle.The Lit Hub Podcast is a production of Lit Hub RadioHosted by Drew BroussardMusic by Dani Lencioni of EvelynProduced and engineered at Stardust HouseSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

September means back-to-school! Hooray for learning! Hooray for fall! There's definitely not anything bad or weird going on as relates to education, the weather, spooky season, or anything else...First up this week, Joelle Renstrom talks with Drew about being a teacher in 2025 and her recent essay for the site about Cliffs Notes. Then, Molly Odintz joins Drew to chat with Max Booth III about Ghoulish Books in San Antonio getting harassed by MAGA types for a saucy chalkboard and, more broadly, about the state of horror in these horrifying times. Finally, Michael Kelly (publisher of Undertow Publications) calls in from Canada to give listeners some updates on what's going on with shipping between Canada (or, really, everywhere...) and the US. Oh also, Drew's book rec of the week: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, now available as an Olive Edition!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Superheroes are back, baby! You will believe a man can fly — but did you know that such things were happening in the decades before Siegel and Schuster created Kal-El in 1938? Joshua Glenn, editor of Before Superman: Superhumans of the Radium Age and overall series editor of MIT Press's Radium Age Science Fiction series, stops by to tell Drew about the Radium Age of SF and discovering all these proto-supermen (and women!) for this new collection.Then, Diana Arterian drops in to chat about The Annotated Nightstand and gets some of Drew's TBR out of him. Also, they come up with a great idea for a holiday stream that interested parties should definitely tell Drew they're excited by. And finally, a call from fellow bookseller and novelist Mo Daviau (author of Epic and Lovely, out next week!) about a particular bookselling challenge...Oh, also, a shout-out to Andrew Kaufman's Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oh summer colds, you might be the worst kind of cold. But that won't stop The Lit Hub Podcast! This week, as we celebrate the dog days of summer, Brittany Allen drops by to tell Drew about curating Lit Hub's ongoing, weekly list of nice things. Then, an intro (for those who don't already know them!) to Lit Hub Radio stalwarts Fiction/Non/Fiction with an excerpt from their recent interview with Gary Shteyngart. And finally — in more ways than one — we're opening up our phone lines! We want to hear from you! Our first caller is Maggie Smith, the new host of The Slowdown! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Drew's been working on (gasp) a novel and it seems to be going well (because saying so certainly won't jinx it) so this week is a bit of writer-work-focused! Kicking off with a shout to Ursula K. Le Guin's Steering the Craft, we are then joined by Erin Somers (author of Stay Up with Hugo Best and the forthcoming The Ten Year Affair but also a reporter & editor at Publishers Lunch) to explain the one-stop-publishing-shop that is Publishers Marketplace—you know, with the deal announcements you see your writer-friends posting on Instagram?Then, an excerpt of Jonny Diamond's conversation with Maris Kriezman on the last stop of Maris's book tour for I Want to Burn This Place Down, recorded live at the Northern Spy Reading Series at Left Bank Ciders in Catskill, NY. And finally, James Folta pops in with a quick update on why more than half of the longlisted authors have withdrawn from this year's Polari Prize. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.