Adam Johnson won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013 for his novel, The Orphan Master’s Son. He won the National Book Award in 2015 for his story collection, Fortune Smiles. He also authored Parasites Like Us and Emporium. Every novel and story is unlike anything that’s come before it. His latest, The Wayfinder, is no exception. Set over 1,000 years ago in the South Pacific, it weaves together the stories of two families and two islands and their opposing views of the world.
Adam joins Marrie Stone to talk about how he’s not only expanded the idea of what a novel can do, but reimagined it entirely. He talks about how oral traditions of storytelling informed the creation of this book and the massive amounts of research necessary to write it. He talks about what forces shaped the writer he’s become, and the many insights about story he shares with his students (Adam teaches in the Wallace Stegner Fellowship program at Stanford). This conversation contains a wealth of insights into craft, process, and storytelling. It also includes a passage from the book which Adam reads and dissects for the listener. (Warning: the passage contains difficult material. Listener discretion is advised.)
For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It’s stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you’ll find an album’s worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It’s perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at writersonwritingpodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners!
(Recorded on November 11, 2025)
Host: Barbara DeMarco-BarrettHost: Marrie StoneMusic: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)
All content for Writers on Writing is the property of Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Adam Johnson won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013 for his novel, The Orphan Master’s Son. He won the National Book Award in 2015 for his story collection, Fortune Smiles. He also authored Parasites Like Us and Emporium. Every novel and story is unlike anything that’s come before it. His latest, The Wayfinder, is no exception. Set over 1,000 years ago in the South Pacific, it weaves together the stories of two families and two islands and their opposing views of the world.
Adam joins Marrie Stone to talk about how he’s not only expanded the idea of what a novel can do, but reimagined it entirely. He talks about how oral traditions of storytelling informed the creation of this book and the massive amounts of research necessary to write it. He talks about what forces shaped the writer he’s become, and the many insights about story he shares with his students (Adam teaches in the Wallace Stegner Fellowship program at Stanford). This conversation contains a wealth of insights into craft, process, and storytelling. It also includes a passage from the book which Adam reads and dissects for the listener. (Warning: the passage contains difficult material. Listener discretion is advised.)
For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It’s stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you’ll find an album’s worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It’s perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at writersonwritingpodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners!
(Recorded on November 11, 2025)
Host: Barbara DeMarco-BarrettHost: Marrie StoneMusic: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)
Today we’re going to replay a show from 2007. Barbara DeMarco-Barrett is joined by Elmore Leonard, an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter many of you are familiar with. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land." Mostly working in the genres of westerns and crime, more than 30 of his stories were adapted to the screen over the course of a writing career spanning 60 years.He wrote Get Shorty, Freaky Deaky, and Glitz. The series Justified was inspired by his book, Fire in the Hole. He had a few rule of writing, and one was, leave the boring parts out. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 87.
For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It’s stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you’ll find an album’s worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It’s perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at writersonwritingpodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners!
(Recorded in 2007.)
Host: Barbara DeMarco-BarrettHost: Marrie StoneMusic: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)
Writers on Writing
Adam Johnson won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013 for his novel, The Orphan Master’s Son. He won the National Book Award in 2015 for his story collection, Fortune Smiles. He also authored Parasites Like Us and Emporium. Every novel and story is unlike anything that’s come before it. His latest, The Wayfinder, is no exception. Set over 1,000 years ago in the South Pacific, it weaves together the stories of two families and two islands and their opposing views of the world.
Adam joins Marrie Stone to talk about how he’s not only expanded the idea of what a novel can do, but reimagined it entirely. He talks about how oral traditions of storytelling informed the creation of this book and the massive amounts of research necessary to write it. He talks about what forces shaped the writer he’s become, and the many insights about story he shares with his students (Adam teaches in the Wallace Stegner Fellowship program at Stanford). This conversation contains a wealth of insights into craft, process, and storytelling. It also includes a passage from the book which Adam reads and dissects for the listener. (Warning: the passage contains difficult material. Listener discretion is advised.)
For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It’s stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you’ll find an album’s worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It’s perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at writersonwritingpodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners!
(Recorded on November 11, 2025)
Host: Barbara DeMarco-BarrettHost: Marrie StoneMusic: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)
