Ben Hess
Sweet 17

A snapshot of the incredible literary talents featured in Seasons 1 and 2!

Sweet 17
Podcast
Ben Hess
S2 Ep17: Workshop Diaries

Hear two first hand accounts of navigating the wilds of a writing conference in Northern California. Writers include Brittany Erickson Tuttle and Tony Pandola along with insights from award-winning novelist and memoirist Andre Dubus III.

S2 Ep17: Workshop Diaries
Podcast
Ben Hess
S2 Ep16: The 80s, Espionage, & Editing

Meet 90 year old debut author Lillian McCloy, who was stationed in six countries while raising three kids as the wife of a CIA undercover agent. Host Ben Hess gets to explore the real experiences of this spy family, well beyond the detective fiction of his youth. He also compares the editing of her memoir with the experiences professional editor Jay Schaefer had working on Under the Tuscan Sun and creating a short fiction magazine in the 1980s.

S2 Ep16: The 80s, Espionage, & Editing
Podcast
Ben Hess
S2 Ep15: Page to Screen

Take a deep dive into the film adaptation process with National Book Award finalist Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog), Willa Award winning novelist BK Loren (Theft), award winning screenwriter Jonathon E. Stewart, and fiction author, teacher, and screenwriter Alan Heathcock (VOLT: stories).

S2 Ep15: Page to Screen
Podcast
Ben Hess
S2 Ep14: On the Move

Between 35 and 40 million Americans - that’s 11% to 14% of the population - move every year according to the US Census Bureau and real estate metrics site HomeData. Episode 14 features two chapters and spotlights authors at very different stages of their writing journey, Pulitzer Finalist in Nonfiction Luis Alberto Urrea (The Devil’s Highway: A True Story, Into the Beautiful North, The Hummingbird’s Daughter) and blogger Gretchen Howell. They shared several stories of impactful moves, and the effects felt on their writing

S2 Ep14: On the Move

writing

S2 Ep10: What's Your Scaffolding?

S2 Ep10: What's Your Scaffolding?

Host Ben Hess explores literary structure with later-in-life debut novelist Elizabeth Marro, award-winning writer and professor Josh Weil, and adds in a few tidbits from partner Writing by Writers co-founder, Pam Houston.

S1 Ep7: Business of Writing, Volume II

S1 Ep7: Business of Writing, Volume II

Host Ben Hess breaks down the business of writing into three categories supported by insights from authors and teachers Steve Almond, Greg Glazner, and Tanya Chernov.

S1 Ep6 - Location, Location, Location

S1 Ep6 - Location, Location, Location

An exploration of how place, setting, and location inform our writing with input from award winning writers Josh Weil, Dorothy Allison, and Tom Barbash.

S1 Ep5: Pissing People Off

S1 Ep5: Pissing People Off

This episode is an excerpt of a live, free-flowing panel discussion at the recent Writing by Writers Conference in Tomales Bay, California between poet, novelist, and National Book Award finalist Dorothy Allison, memoirist, journalist, fiction writer, and teacher Steve Almond, and award winning writer, teacher, and Writing by Writers co-founder Pam Houston.

S1 Ep3: The Deep End

S1 Ep3: The Deep End

This episode explores the power of writing and language to navigate from grief to a place of understanding and acceptance. Ben Hess interviews Tom Barbash and Gary Ferguson on grief, Alan Heathcock and Josh Weil on family, and Pam Houston on language's limitations.