First Draft With Sarah Enni

This episode with Liara Tamani first aired on October 31, 2017. In this episode, she was the debut author of Calling My Name. Her newest book, All the Things We Never Knew, is out now! Liara Tamani Show Notes The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Girlfriends (TV show) Courtney Summers (listen to her First Draft episode here or read the transcript) The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks SOLD by Patricia McCormick The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (listen to her First Draft interview here) Alone with All That Could Happen: Rethinking Conventional Wisdom about the Craft of Fiction by David Jauss (writing craft) The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White   I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of N

Dr. Somaiya Daud is the author of Mirage and its forthcoming sequel, Court of Lions (out August 4, 2020). Check out the cover reveal from Court of Lions and read an excerpt at Tor.com, as well as a conversation between Somaiya and I about how the theme of lost cultures functions in the series. Somaiya has also answered questions on a February 28, 2020 mailbag episode, and was featured on the July 5, 2014 episode (the very first First Draft episode ever). Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Somaiya Daud’s first interview with First Draft Podcast Throughout her writing career Somaiya’s writing become more genre forced aka more “J. R. R. Tolkien and less William Gibson.” When cosplaying form the Victorian era they say that no one would cosplay Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens you would cosplay Emma by Jane Austen Somaiya did her Masters thesis on The Arabian Nights by Muhsin Mahdi (Editor), Husain Haddawy (Translator) Somaiya’s dissertation is on Historiography and Translation Theory Chelsea

First Draft Episode #214: Jason Reynolds Jason Reynolds is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ghost series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu), When I Was the Greatest, The Boy in the Black Suit, As Brave As You, Miles Morales: Spider Man, Long Way Down, For Every One, Look Both Ways, and co-author of All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely, listen to his First Draft interview here) and Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You (with Ibram X. Kendi),. In January, Jason was named the seventh National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2020-2021. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Jason didn’t grow up writing prose, but he and all his friends had rhyme books where they would write lyrics. They wanted to be the next Nas, Slick Rick, Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane, or Rakim. Jason’s aunt would give him classic books as gifts, including Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Bob Marley’s “Kaya,” Nina Simone’s “Four Women,” Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” were hugely

  Track Changes: Selling Your Book (Part 2) Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher Read the transcript In the second look at how books get sold, former Little, Brown and Delacorte senior editor Kate Sullivan, Senior Content Development Manager for New Leaf Literary & Media, walks us through all the steps an editor takes between receiving an agent’s pitch and signing a deal memo to acquire a book. Acquisitions meetings, P&L statements, and TI sheets, oh my! This episode is brought to you by The Slow Novel Lab, a six-week creativity and writing course from Printz-winning novelist Nina LaCour. For the summer session, beginning June 7, Nina will donate 50% of profits to Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization working with underserved communities. Learn more and sign up for the Slow Novel Lab here. Catch up on the series so far: Episode 1: Publishing 101 Episode 2: Agents: Who Are They, What Do They Do, And How Do You Get One? Bonus Episode: Publishing in the time of COVID

First Draft Episode #254: L.C. Rosen Lev A.C. Rosen, author of Depth and Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts), talks about his latest young adult novel, Camp. This episode is brought to you by Highland 2, the writing software made by writers, for writers. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar Phylicia Rashad, actress Dan Chaon, author of Among the Missing: Stories, and You Remind Me of Me David Walker playwright instructor Oberlin Lev teaches at Gotham Writers workshop in New York City Liz Gorinsky, editor who bought Lev’s debut book while she worked at Tor Alvina Ling is Lev’s editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Virgin Xtravaganzah, the drag queen and voice actor who read Lev’s audiobooks for Jack of Hearts and Camp I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storyteller

Pseudonymous Bosch, the pen name for Raphael Simon, is the New York Times bestselling author of The Name of This Book is Secret and the Secret series, Bad Magic and the Bad series. Shane Pangburn is a writer and illustrator and producer of YALLWEST (hear his First Draft interview here). Simon wrote, and Pangburn illustrated, The Unbelievable Oliver and its sequel, The Unbelievable Oliver and the Sawed In Half Dads. Pseudonymous Bosch, Shane Pangburn, and Melissa de la Cruz are joining forces for a new middle grade series, The Reject Room, out in 2021. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Joni Mitchell is one of the artists most associated with Laurel Canyon in the 70s, which she explored in her third album, Ladies of the Canyon Margaret Stohl, author of Beautiful Creatures, Jo and Laurie, and many more (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here) is Rafi’s childhood friend Sarah Burnes, literary agent (and my agent! Listen to Sarah and I chat on her episode of First Draft here) Meliss

  Track Changes: Selling Your Book (Part 1) Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher Read the transcript Literary agents Holly Root, founder of Root Literary, and Seth Fishman with The Gernert Company return to lead us through how an agent prepares a manuscript for submission, how they choose which editors to approach with a manuscript, and how they negotiate common types of book sales. We get into what a writer can expect during this notoriously nerve-wracking process. This episode is brought to you by The Slow Novel Lab, a six-week creativity and writing course from Printz-winning novelist Nina LaCour. For the summer session, beginning June 7, Nina will donate 50% of profits to Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization working with underserved communities. Learn more and sign up for the Slow Novel Lab here.   Catch up on the series so far: Episode 1: Publishing 101 Episode 2: Agents: Who Are They, What Do They Do, And How Do You Get One? Bonus Episode: Publishing in the time of C

First Draft Episode #252: Candace Bushnell Candace Bushnell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle, and The Carrie Diaries talks about her newest book, Rules For Being a Girl, which she co-wrote with New York Times bestselling author Katie Cotugno. This episode was sponsored by HIGHLAND 2, made by writers, for writers. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Four Blondes by Candace James Truman at Details Magazine (a profile of Truman from The New York Times in 1999) Joan Didion, essayist and author of Slouching Toward Bethlehem, The White Album, and The Year of Magical Thinking Anna Kerenina by Leo Tolstoy Is There Still Sex in the City by Candace   I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s

Track Changes: Publishing in the Time of COVID Publishing experts discuss how the global pandemic, and widespread shelter-in-place laws have changed their jobs, how publishers have responded to the uncertain retail market, what books are more or less likely to sell in this climate, and what all writers should be focused on during this time. The following agents were interviewed for this episode: Faye Bender, partner and founder of The Book Group, who represents authors such as Courtney Summers (listen to her First Draft podcast here and here), Maurene Goo (listen to her First Draft podcasts here, here, and hear her interview Sarah Enni here), and Jennifer de Leon (listen to her FIrst Draft podcast here, and follow her publishing journey in Track Changes, starting with Episode 1). Sarah Burnes with The Gernert Company, who represents Margaret Stohl (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here), Heather Havrilesky, Zan Romanoff (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here), and me (hear Sarah

First Draft Episode #251: John Hodgman John Hodgman, comedian and author of The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That is All, as well as collections of humorous essays Vacationland: True Stories From Painful Beaches and Medallion Status: True Stories From Secret Rooms. John is also the host of the Judge John Hodgman podcast as well as I, Podius with Elliott Kalan. This episode was sponsored by HIGHLAND 2, a better way to write, and The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton, out from Page Street Books now! Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode The Dead Pilots Society production of “Only Child” Ben Acker (listen to his First Draft here) Don Faulkner, writing instructor and poet who taught John at Yale Lee K. Abbott, short story writer with collections such as All Things, All At Once Raymond Carver, author of short story collections Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? and What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and Cathedral John Hodgman’s episod

We meet Jennifer de Leon as she prepares for the release of her debut young adult novel, Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, on August 4. Though Jennifer has been writing for years, she quickly learns that there’s a lot about Capital-P-Publishing that she doesn’t know. (Hear her First Draft interview here.) We meet Holly Root, literary agent and founder of Root Literary who represents clients such as Victoria Schwab (hear her First Draft interview here), Jasmine Guillory (listen to her First Draft interview here), and Christina Lauren. Seth Fishman, he’s an author and literary agent with The Gernert Company and manager of their West Coast office,. He reps clients such as John Joseph Adams, Ali Almossawi, and Kate Beaton. This episode is brought to you by Writing in Place, the podcast series brought to you by bestselling and Printz-winning author Nina LaCour (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here), who also brings you the Keeping a Notebook podcast and the Slow Novel Lab. Want more information? Sign up

First Draft Episode #250: Rufi Thorpe Rufi Thorpe, author of The Girls from Corona del Mar and Dear Fang: With Love, talks about her new novel, The Knockout Queen. This episode was sponsored by HIGHLAND 2, a better way to write, and by We Didn’t Ask For This, the newest novel by Adi Alsaid, out from Inkyard Press April 7 (listen to his First Draft interview here). Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode “Perversity of Spirit,” Rufi’s essay about what it takes to be a writer in Poets&Writers California State Summer School for the Arts Philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch was an inspiration for Rufi The author, poet, and screenwriter Raymond Obstfeld taught a community college class that really broke fiction open for Rufi Molly Friedrich, literary agent at XXX, who represents Rufi Clueless (movie) The O.C. Zan Romanoff discussing her most recent novel Look on First Draft “If You've Ever Felt Insecure About Your Looks, Author Rufi Thorpe Has Some Important Advice” by Rufi in PopSugar

First Draft Episode #249: Opening the Mailbag with Justin A. Reynolds This week is a new mailbag episode, where I--along with a very special guest--will answer listener questions! Joining me today is Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always, whose new YA, Early Departures, will be out September 22! I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too;  Michael Dante  DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for

First Draft Episode #248: Claire Comstock-Gay Claire Comstock-Gay is the author of weekly horoscopes for New York magazine’s The Cut, and her debut book about astrology, Madame Clairevoyant’s Guide to the Stars, is out now. This episode was sponsored by HIGHLAND 2, a better way to write, and by We Didn’t Ask For This, the newest novel by Adi Alsaid, out from Inkyard Press April 7 (listen to his First Draft interview here). Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Molly McCardle, an author and editor, first got Claire her job writing horoscopes for The Rumpus CafeAstrology The Toast Courtney Maum, author of I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You, Touch, Costalegre, and Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemai

We meet Jennifer de Leon as she prepares for the release of her debut young adult novel, Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, on August 4. Though Jennifer has been writing for years, she quickly learns that there’s a lot about Capital-P-Publishing that she doesn’t know. (Hear her First Draft interview here.) For some publishing basics, we turn to Courtney Maum, author of Costalgere, I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You, and more. Her most recent book, Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book is a comprehensive guide for new authors. This episode of Track Changes was brought to you by Scrivener, the app for writers of all kinds. Use code FIRSTDRAFT to get 20% off!   Discussed in this episode: The three tiers of publishers (in the United States): The Big Five publishers are: Penguin Random House; HarperCollins; Macmillan; Simon & Schuster; and Hachette. Within each big five publisher are dozens of imprints, which are groups within the

First Draft Episode #247: Jennifer de Leon Jennifer De Leon is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Framingham State University, and a GrubStreet instructor and board member. Her debut young adult novel, Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, is out from Atheneum/Simon & Schuster on August 4, 2020. This episode was sponsored by HIGHLAND 2, a better way to write, and by We Didn’t Ask For This, the newest novel by Adi Alsaid, out from Inkyard Press April 7 (listen to his First Draft interview here). Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Herb Kohl was Jenn’s professor at USF while she was getting her master’s degree Ben Brooks, author and senior writer in residence at Emerson, taught Jenn in a continuing education class GrubStreet in Boston is the country’s largest and leading independent creative writing center Christopher Castellani, Artistic Director, Stage and Convenings at GrubStreet The Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference VONA, the Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation The Macundo Foundation,

First Draft Episode #246: Edan Lepucki Edan Lepucki, New York Times bestselling author of California and Woman No. 17. Edan’s latest project is Mothers Before, a collection of essays and photographs based on the popular Instagram Mothers Before, which Edan created. She is also the co-host, with fellow writer Amelia Morris, of the podcast Mom Rage. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Dan Chaon, author of Ill Will, Await Your Reply, and You Remind Me of Me, was an influential teacher in Edan’s young writing life A breakthrough moment for Edan was drafting a story that mimicked the structure used by Cary Holladay in “Merry-Go-Sorry,” a short story published in Alaska Quarterly Review (read an excerpt of the story, based on the West Memphis 3, here). Cary is also the author of Brides in the Sky: Stories and a Novella and The Quick-Change Artist: Stories. Edan worked at Book Soup, a local bookstore in Los Angeles, Calif. For 45 years, until her recent retirement, Connie Brothers shaped the Iowa Wri

First Draft Episode #245: Veronica Roth Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Divergent series, the Carve the Mark duology, and the short story collection, The End and Other Beginnings, talks about her first adult fantasy novel, The Chosen Ones. This episode was sponsored by HIGHLAND 2, a better way to write, and by We Didn’t Ask For This, the newest novel by Adi Alsaid, out from Inkyard Press April 7 (listen to his First Draft interview here). Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Hear Veronica’s previous First Draft interviews: Just prior to the Insurgent movie being released, and as Carve the Mark was being released Katherine Tegen, publisher of Katherine Tegen Books, published Veronica’s young adult fictoin Alice Munro, author of Dear Life, Runaway, and Too Much Happiness Me and cooking can be summed up in the Netflix series Nailed It Some chosen one stories that were particularly influential to Veronica were Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling; Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. To

Over nine episodes, this podcast mini-series answers the surprisingly complex question: How does a book get published? Track Changes will guide the listener through the idiosyncrasies and traditions of the publishing process, providing context and human voices for every step. Sarah Enni talks to professionals at all stages of the publishing process—from agents and editors to publicity and marketing professionals and more—to give aspiring authors, professional writers, and industry vets alike the information they need to be more knowledgeable professionals with a renewed respect and appreciation for the industry—and, hopefully, some ideas about how to make it better.

First Draft Episode #244: Zan Romanoff Zan Romanoff, journalist and author of A Song to Take the World Apart, and Grace and the Fever, whose newest YA novel, Look, is out now! Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Listen to Zan Romanoff’s first First Draft interview here, as well as her Mailbag episode where she answers listener questions (you can watch that episode on First Draft’s IGTV, too)! Catie DiSabato, author of The Ghost Network, helped Zan enormously in her capacity as a public relations professional to promote Grace and the Fever Sarah Burnes is Zan’s literary agent — and mine!! Listen to me chat with Sarah about my debut, Tell Me Everything, on this very special episode of First Draft! Zan has written quite a bit about the Kardashians, and you can find all of it here! British magazine The Gentlewoman asked Zan to interview Karina Longworth, who podcast You Must Remember This is a must-listen. Zan reviewed Karina’s book, Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood