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Gary Alan McBride founded the Boulder, Colorado-based Writers Who Read novel study group in May of 2018. Since then he and other local writers have been analyzing 10 novels per year within 12-18 months of their publication. Gary is also the author of the WwR reference guide, Literary Forensics: How Reading Can Make You a Better Writer, available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook in bookstores and at online retailers worldwide. More information here: https://LiteraryForensicsBook.com.
WwR is focused 100% on today's fiction, mostly in advance of academic scholarship, so we live on the cutting edge of contemporary analysis. And that's how we like it. Our goal is to read like a writer and not wait for someone else to tell us what to think. That means we read with intent--to become better at noticing what the author is doing to manage our emotions and manipulate our point of view. And so it doesn't matter whether what we read is critically acclaimed or academically vetted, because we can learn the same lessons from bad writing as from highly polished prose. We use our own reactions to the text to discover where to dig, and we use Literary Forensics techniques to sift through the layers. Our goal is to uncover the author's intent and to identify the tools they used to create their story so we can use them in our own writing.
On our monthly podcast Gary is joined by Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and sometimes others guest readers. We discuss our own textual discoveries as well as insights gleaned from our group discussion, because as much as we can learn on our own, we can learn so much more about how to read and write when we listen to others' viewpoints.
And that's where you come in, dear listener. We invite you to join us each month, 10 months a year, for a new episode when we discuss the latest literary techniques and publishing trends so that you can try out these techniques for yourself and maybe add your voice to ours.
We are Writers Who Read.
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| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
|
77: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephen Graham Jones
|
Apr 26, 2026 |
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Up Next: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephen Graham Jones
|
Apr 12, 2026 |
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76: Isola - Allegra Goodman
|
Mar 22, 2026 |
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Up Next: Isola - Allegra Goodman
|
Mar 08, 2026 |
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75: We Solve Murders - Richard Osman
|
Feb 22, 2026 |
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Up Next: We Solve Murders - Richard Osman
|
Feb 08, 2026 |
|
74: The God of the Woods - Liz Moore
|
Jan 25, 2026 |
|
Up Next: The God of the Woods - Liz Moore
|
Jan 11, 2026 |
|
73: All Fours - Miranda July
|
Dec 28, 2025 |
|
Up Next: All Fours - Miranda July
|
Dec 14, 2025 |
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72: Real Americans - Rachel Khong
|
Nov 23, 2025 |
|
Season 3 - Preview
|
Sep 28, 2025 |
|
71: Margo's Got Money Troubles - Rufi Thorpe
|
Aug 24, 2025 |
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Up Next: Margo's Got Money Troubles - Rufi Thorpe
|
Aug 10, 2025 |
|
70: Butcher - Joyce Carol Oates
|
Jul 27, 2025 |
|
Up Next: Butcher - Joyce Carol Oates
|
Jul 13, 2025 |
|
69: Burma Sahib - Paul Theroux
|
Jun 22, 2025 |
|
Up Next: Burma Sahib - Paul Theroux
|
Jun 08, 2025 |
|
68: James - Percival Everett
|
May 25, 2025 |
|
Up Next: James - Percival Everett
|
May 11, 2025 |
|
Good Material - BONUS
|
May 04, 2025 |
|
67: Good Material - Dolly Alderton
|
Apr 27, 2025 |
|
Up Next: Good Material - Dolly Alderton
|
Apr 13, 2025 |
|
66: Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar
|
Mar 23, 2025 |
|
Up Next: Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar
|
Mar 09, 2025 |
|
65: Let Us Descend - Jesmyn Ward
|
Feb 23, 2025 |
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Up Next: Let Us Descend - Jesmyn Ward
|
Feb 09, 2025 |
|
64: Holly - Stephen King
|
Jan 26, 2025 |
|
Up Next: Holly - Stephen King
|
Jan 12, 2025 |
|
63: Tom Lake - Ann Patchett
|
Dec 22, 2024 |
|
Next Up: Tom Lake - Ann Patchett
|
Dec 15, 2024 |
|
62: Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
|
Nov 24, 2024 |
|
Next Up: Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
|
Nov 17, 2024 |
|
Season 2 - Preview
|
Nov 07, 2024 |
|
2024 Jackson Hole Writers Conference
|
Oct 13, 2024 |
|
Whitney, Mira, & Gary - The Interview
|
Sep 29, 2024 |
|
2024 Maryland Writers Conference
|
Sep 08, 2024 |
|
61: Mr. Texas - Lawrence Wright
|
Aug 25, 2024 |
|
Next Up: Mr. Texas - Lawrence Wright
|
Aug 18, 2024 |
|
2024 PNWA Writers Conference
|
Aug 11, 2024 |
|
60: Yellowface - RF Kuang
|
Jul 28, 2024 |
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Next Up: Yellowface - RF Kuang
|
Jul 21, 2024 |
|
2024 Quills Writers Conference
|
Jul 07, 2024 |
|
59: Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfeld
|
Jun 23, 2024 |
|
Next Up: Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfeld
|
Jun 16, 2024 |
|
2024 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference
|
Jun 09, 2024 |
|
58: Birnam Wood - Eleanor Catton
|
May 26, 2024 |
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Next Up: Birnam Wood - Eleanor Catton
|
May 19, 2024 |
|
2024 Writing Heights Conference
|
May 12, 2024 |
|
57: Victory City - Salman Rushdie (with Puja Guha)
|
Apr 28, 2024 |
|
Next Up: Victory City - Salman Rushdie
|
Apr 21, 2024 |
|
2024 Wyoming Writers Conference
|
Apr 07, 2024 |
|
56: Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus
|
Mar 24, 2024 |
|
Next Up: Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus
|
Mar 17, 2024 |
|
2024 Pikes Peak Writers Conference
|
Mar 10, 2024 |
|
55: Trust - Hernan Diaz
|
Feb 25, 2024 |
|
Next Up: Trust - Hernan Diaz
|
Feb 11, 2024 |
|
54: Avalon - Nell Zink
|
Jan 28, 2024 |
|
How We Do What We Do
|
Dec 28, 2023 |
|
Writers Who Read - the podcast
|
Nov 28, 2023 |