Beth Kanter fills in JL about how to balance humour with truth, writing through difficult times and why JL should fear the menopause. Beth reminisces about her journey from journalism to teaching and all the things she’s learnt along the way.
Beth also reads her flash fiction piece, Lone Bird.
Listen to the episode here.
JL chats with Ken Wetherington about his experiences with writing groups and the benefits of being an award-winning writer. Ken talks about his love of film and writing stories that feel cinematic.
Ken also reads an excerpt from his short story, Sui Generis.
Listen to the episode here.
JL chats with Cadeem Lalor about how culture has influenced his identity and how this comes out in his writing. Cadeem talks about how to know which criticisms are useful and laments about the grind of querying agents.
Cadeem also reads an excerpt from his short story, Memory Catcher.
Listen to the episode here.
JL and Molly Andrea-Ryan get existential as they discuss the idea of writing to find meaning. They chat about their oddly similar post-university experiences of dealing with burnout whilst working retail and the terror of attaching your name to creative non-fiction.
Molly also reads an excerpt from her story, Idle Hands.
Listen to the episode here.
JL chats to fellow lit mag editor Kevin M. Casin about the stress of running a magazine and dealing with the eternal urge to take on way too many projects. Kevin talks about the importance of representation in the lit scene and why he’s proud to give a platform to queer and BIPOC writers.
Kevin also reads an excerpt from his story, The Binding of Light and Fire.
Listen to the episode here.
On the first episode of the Idle Ink podcast, JL chats with Courtenay Schembri Gray about the often-ignored issues within the online lit community. Why are we so quick to cancel people? When is it okay to call out a problematic writer? And why are we all so competitive?
Courtenay also reads her poem “June Bug”.
Listen to the episode here