Writers Who Read

By Gary Alan McBride

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Subscribers: 5
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Episodes: 60

Description

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
Up Next: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephen Graham Jones
Apr 12, 2026
76: Isola - Allegra Goodman
Mar 22, 2026
Up Next: Isola - Allegra Goodman
Mar 08, 2026
75: We Solve Murders - Richard Osman
Feb 22, 2026
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
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
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
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
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
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