Last year, I came across an essay called “Book Publishing is Broken” by today’s podcast guest, Kathleen Schmidt .Using her... more

In this converation with memoirist Abigail Thomas, we discuss the backstory of writing Safekeeping, and that now-classic memoir was initially... more

In this episode, I talk with author, musician and audio producer Chérie Newman about her humorous experiences pet-sitting unruly critters... more

In this episode, I talk with author, professor, journalist, and rabbi Jay Michaelson. After publishing nine other books of nonfiction... more

Last fall, administrators at Gettysburg College announced the shuttering of the prestigious Gettysburg Review. This just seemed like the latest... more

Why would anyone want to jumpstart their memoir? For one thing, you’re tasked with plumbing your memory for sometimes difficult... more

In this week’s episode of The Book I Had to Write, I talk with Margo Steines, the author of Brutalities:... more

In the Season 3 launch, Jeannine Ouellette, author of the memoir The Part That Burns and creator of the Writing... more

For this final post of 2023, here’s one from the archives — perhaps the most popular episode of The Book... more

I’ve just wrapped up season 2 of The Book I Had to Write, and I hope you’ve enjoyed... more

About this Episode Back in the 1990s, Leah Eichler, then a young reporter, interviewed her grandmother extensively about her experiences as an... more

"There's a big gap between the dream and the published book--what's happening there?" asks book coach Joelle Hann (aka the... more

Paul interviews writer, scholar, and archival expert Julija Šukys, author of Siberian Exile: Blood, War, and a Granddaughter’s Reckoning. Part... more

Paul interviews author and cultural critic Stephen Marche about his new book On Writing and Failure. We delve into the challenges... more

About this EpisodeIn Canada, essayist Susan Olding is well-known as the author of smart, beautifully crafted essays on topics like... more

OverviewIn this episode of "The Book I Had to Write" podcast, Paul interviews Josh Lambert, author of The Literary Mafia:... more

Paul is back with a new season of The Book I Had to Write!   This time... more

In this episode, I talk with writer and editor Sari Botton. Back around 2010, Sari started an interview series at... more

This week, we’re featuring an episode from a great new show called The Bleeders. The Bleeders is a podcast (and support... more

About this episodeIt can be difficult for writers to learn to put our stories front and center. That was originally... more