GrottoPod: Recent Episodes
The Writers Grotto
A lively weekly conversation with established and up-and-coming writers on how to survive and thrive as a 21st-Century wordsmith.
Lewis Buzbee, Doug Henderson and T. K. Rex discuss the craft of books, and why we still love bookstores, even after (especially after) working at them.
Lewis Buzbee’s most recent novel is Diver. He is also the author of The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Blackboard, After the Gold Rush, Fliegelman’s Desire, as well as three award-winning books for younger readers, Steinbeck’s Ghost, The Haunting of Charles Dickens, and Bridge of Time. His essays, poems, stories, and interviews have appeared in Lit Hub, Lit Stack, GQ, The New York Times Book Review, Paris Review, ZYZZYVA, Black Warrior Review, Best American Poetry, and elsewhere. A former bookseller and publisher, he’s taught writing in the San Francisco Bay Area for a long time now.
Other stuff we talked about in the episode:
- Nadine Gordimer
- Dog Eared Books in San Francisco, California
- Green Apple Books in San Francisco, California
- Monterey Bay Aquarium
- Grotto Nights at the Library, May 27 (the panel that Doug and T. K. are going to be on in May at the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch, 6pm)
- Bookshop.org
Shingai Njeri Kagunda, T. K. Rex and Doug Henderson discuss editing fiction publications, the triumphant return of Fantasy Magazine, and creating space for underrepresented writers.
Shingai Njeri Kagunda (they/she) is an Afrosurreal/futurist storyteller from Nairobi, Kenya with a Literary Arts MFA from Brown. Shingai’s work has been featured in The Best American Sci-fi and Fantasy 2020 and 2023 editions, Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction in 2021, and Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2020. They have work in Omenana, Fantasy Magazine, FracturedLit, Khoreo, Baffling Magazine, Lightspeed, Psychopomp, Frivolous Comma and several anthologies including Africa Risen, Will This Be A Problem, and Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction. Their debut novella, & This is How to Stay Alive, won the Ignyte Award for best novella in 2022. Their short story "Air to Shape Lungs", was chosen in 2023 for the Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy list and anthology. Their essay "Black Futurisms vs. Systems of Domination" was nominated for the 2025 British Science Fiction Association award, and their newly released novelette, We Who Will Not Die, was named Locus Recommended Reading. Shingai is the co-founder of Voodoonauts Summer Writing Workshop, a creative writing teacher, an eternal student, and a lover of all things soft and Black.
Other stuff we talked about in the episode:
- Fantasy Magazine
- Podcastle
- Voodoonauts Afrofuturist collective & workshop
- & This Is How To Stay Alive
- Ignyte Awards - centering the contributions and experiences of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) in Speculative Fiction
- FIYAH Magazine - speculative fiction by and about Black people of the African Diaspora
- Let the Star Explode - short story by Shingai Njeri Kagunda
- Hi From Shelling Point - story story by T. K. Rex, in Utopia Magazine
- Arley Sorg - Co-Editor of Fantasy Magazine
- Rooted & Written, BIPOC conference at the Writers Grotto
- The Nebula Awards
- British Fantasy Awards
-
PublishingPaidMe - link to the Vox explainer
- Yvette Lisa Ndlovu
- Sheree Renée Thomas
- Suyi Davies Okungbowa
- Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- Just Keep Writing podcast
- Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center - a 1984 book about feminist theory by bell hooks
Nina Schuyler, Susan Kaye Quinn, Doug Henderson and T. K. Rex discuss writing climate fiction and one central theme: hope. How to have it, how to write it, and why it’s more important than ever.
Nina Schuyler’s short story collection, In This Ravishing World, won the W.S. Porter Prize and the Prism Prize for Climate Literature and was published in July 2024. Her novel, Afterword, won the 2024 PenCraft Book of the Year in Fiction, the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award for Science Fiction and Literary, and the PenCraft Spring Seasonal Book Award for Literary and Science Fiction. Her novel, The Translator, was shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing and won the Next Generation Indie Book Award for General Fiction. Her novel, The Painting, was shortlisted for the Northern California Book Award. Her books, How to Write Stunning Sentences and Stunning Sentences: A Creative Writing Journal are bestsellers. Her short stories have been published by Zyzzyva, Chicago Quarterly Review, Fugue, Nashville Review, and elsewhere, and have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She teaches creative writing for Stanford Continuing Studies, The Writing Salon, and Book Passage.
Susan Kaye Quinn is an environmental engineer turned author, writing and publishing speculative fiction since 2011. Lately, she writes hopeful climate fiction, trying to change the narratives that are destroying the world. You can find her short fiction in Reckoning, Solarpunk Magazine, and Grist's recently released Metamorphosis collection of solarpunk stories. All her short fiction and novels are on her website, https://susankayequinn.com/. She's the host of the Bright Green Futures podcast, stories to build a better world: https://brightgreenfutures.substack.com/
Other stuff we talked about in the episode:
- The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger
- Songs of the Humpback Whale
- Sounds of Nature by Karen Bakker
- How to be Animal by Melanie Challenger
- Glide Memorial volunteer program
- The Great Derangement by Amitav Gosht
- The Hopepunk Panel at Watertown Public Library
- Object oriented ontology
- The Overstory by Richard Powers
- "Mazes" short story by Ursula LeGuin
- Metamorphosis: Climate Fiction for a Better Future
- The Great Mississippi Tea Company
- Grist
- Bright Green Futures Anthology
Cynthia Gomez, M. M. Olivas, Doug Henderson and T. K. Rex discuss monsters, middles, invented towns, whose fear gets centered in horror, and counternarratives.
Stuff we talked about in the episode:
- Sundown in San Ojuela by M. M. Olivas (Mara)
- The Nightmare Box and Other Stories by Cynthia Gómez
- Mara's website
- Cynthia's website
- Brent Lambert (author)
- Gordon White (author)
- Nancy Kress (author)
- Steven Graham Jones (author)
- ¡Sangronas! Un Lista de Terror by M. M. Olivas (short story in Uncanny Magazine)
- Barbara Kingsolver (author)
- Doug's book, The Cleveland Heights LGBTQ Sci-Fi- & Fantasy Role-Playing Club
- Metamorphosis: Climate Fiction for a Better Future (anthology with T. K.'s story)
- Our fundraiser for the 30th anniversary of the Writers Grotto
Margaret Juhae Lee, Doug Henderson and T. K. Rex discuss the differences between history and memoir, memoir and autobiography, research and worldbuilding, fiction and memory, plus generative writing, being a Taurus, internal reward systems, and putting yourself in the story.
Stuff we talked about in the episode:
- Margaret's book Starry Field
- Writing Day Workshops
- The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative by Vivian Gornick
Roberto Lovato, Doug Henderson and T. K. Rex discuss scarlet macaws, breaking down structural inequality in publishing, and Rooted & Written—the first tuition-free professional conference for Writers of Color in the United States.
Stuff we talked about in the episode:
- Applying to Rooted & Written
- Cristina Rivera Garza
- Malcolm Harris Palo Alto
- Roberto’s book Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas
- The Prince of Evolution (book about Peter Kropotkin) by Lee Alan Dugatkin
- Mutual Aid, A Factor of Evolution by Pëtr Kropotkin
- Viet Nguyen
- Ta-Nahisi Coates
- Chaco Canyon
- Susan Ito
- Jesus Sierra
- Aditi Malhotra
- UNLV MFA
Jonathan Escoffery, Celeste Chan, and T. K. Rex discuss education without a safety net, the intersection of racism, capitalism and belonging, ticking clocks and how to break them, finding Jamaican patties in the Bay Area, the intimacy of the second person, and needing the fear.
Stuff we talked about in the episode:
- If I Survive You - novel by Jonathan Escoffery
- Apex snap judgment panels
- Paul Beatty
- Percival Everett
- Mat Johnson
- Nicole Dennis-Benn
- Marlon James
- Jennine Capó Crucet
- Toni Morrison
- Nella Larsen
- Langston Hughes
- Zora Neal Hurston
- Frederick Douglass
- The Wallace Stegner Fellowship
- A Lucky Man - novel by Jamel Brinkley
- Boston Writers of Color
- The Loft - Minneapolis-based org for writers
- The Booker Prizes
Jonathan's recommendations for Jamaican patties in the Bay Area:
- Calabash
- Minto’s Jamaican Juice Bar
- Level 13
Hugh Ryan, Mark Wallace and T. K. Rex discuss MFAs, finding out what kind of writer you are, queer history, pitching niche topics, tarantulas, finding the right peers and instructors for your writing, and the punkest thing ever.
Stuff we talked about in the episode:
- The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison
- Bennington workshop
- C. L. Polk's Patreon
- New York Public Library research fellowship
- Pop-Up Museum of Queer History
- Hide/Seek: Difference in Desire in American Portraiture
- Yaddo residency
- Watermill residency
- New York Foundation for the Arts
- Hugh’s Patreon
Lori Ostlund, Doug Henderson, and T. K. Rex discuss hopeful fiction, metaphor, the Midwest, balancing humor and darkness, crafting characters who feel like real people, the Flannery O’Connor award, and a third addition to the pantser/plotter dichotomy: poet.
Stuff we mentioned in the episode:
- Lori’s novella Just Another Family
- flannery o’connor award
- Flannery winner Iheoma Nwachukwu
- Rainbow Railroad
Sam J. Miller, Doug Henderson and T. K. Rex discuss tapping into who you really are, going too far first, the Clarion writers workshop, writing stories with a structural conceit, filing off the serial numbers, writing from a marginalized point of view, loneliness, climate anxiety, hope, inhale and exhale phases, video games, writing as programming, AI, writing to a specific audience, and writing the gayest sh*t imaginable.
Stuff we mentioned in the episode:
- Boys, Beasts and Men (novel by Sam J. Miller)
- The Cleveland Heights LGBTQ Sci-Fi and Fantasy Role Playing Club (novel by Doug Henderson)
- Smokefall (game by Sam J. Miller, playable demo on itch.io)
- The Art of Starving (novel by Sam J. Miller)
- Samuel R. Delaney (author)
- Clarion writers workshop
- Clarkesworld magazine
- Cassandra Clare (author)
- "Liking What You See: A Documentary" (novelet by Ted Chiang)
- "There’s a Hole in the City" (short story by Richard Bowes)
- "Inventory" (short story by Carmen Maria Machado)
- Graham Greene (author)
- Pale Fire (novel by Vladimir Nabokov)
- The Pogues (band)
- What Did You Eat Yesterday (manga)
- Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction (nonfiction book)
- The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi (novel by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o)
- Shingai Njeri Kagunda (author)
- L. P. Kindred (author)
- Baldur’s Gate III
The GrottoPod is back! In this kickoff episode for the new season, writers T. K. Rex and Doug Henderson discuss upcoming guests, their favorite writing craft tips, the importance of finding local writing community, and writing weird.
Stuff we mentioned in the episode:
- Classes and Events at the Writers Grotto
- Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses
- Clarion Writers Workshop at UCSD
- Club Chicxulub
- Litquake
T. K. Rex
- Website
- Mastodon
Doug Henderson
- Website
- Twitter/X
Novelist Dallas Woodburn joins us on the GrottoPod this week to read from her recent book, The Best Week that Never Happened, described as a "captivating, poignant story is perfect for teens on the brink of discovering who they are and what really matters." Woodburn is a former Steinbeck fellow in creative writing and the author of two earlier books of short fiction, Woman, Running Late, in a Dress and 3 a.m. She is also the host of the popular book-lovers podcast “Overflowing Bookshelves,” and founder of the organization Write On! Books.
We hope that this message finds you as well as can be. 2020 has contained a great deal of change for the GrottoPod, and for our production team. To fill you in: the Writers Grotto recently moved out of its physical offices in San Francisco, and we at GrottoPod consequently moved out of the podcast studio where we recorded so many of the interviews that we've broadcast on this show. Given these changes, we've decided to take an indefinite break from our regular release schedule; however, we will likely be bringing you the occasional reading from a Grotto member, so please stay subscribed. We'll be looking forward to reconvening with all of you down the line. Be well.
Preeti Vangani joins the GrottoPod this week to talk with producer Brad Balukjian about her evocative essay, "A Meditation on Bitterness," published in Bending Genres. Vangani is a brand manager turned poet and personal essayist who authored Mother Tongue Apologize (RLFPA Editions), and won the RL India Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in BOAAT, Juked, Gulf Coast and Threepenny Review, among other journals. She is the Poetry Editor for Glass Journal.
Poet Tess Taylor, who published two collections this year, Last West: Roadsongs for Dorothea Lange and Rift Zone, joins us on the GrottoPod this week to read some of her poetry. Taylor is the author of three other books of poetry, including The Misremembered World, selected by Eavan Boland for the Poetry Society of America’s inaugural chapbook fellowship, and The Forage House, called “stunning” by The San Francisco Chronicle. Work & Days was named one of The New York Times best books of poetry of 2016. She's also currently on the faculty of Ashland University’s Low-Res MFA Creative Writing Program.
Journalist and author Roberto Lovato returns to the GrottoPod this week to read from his debut book, Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs and Revolution in the Americas. A recipient of a reporting grant from the Pulitzer Center, Lovato has reported on war, violence, terrorism in Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Paris and the United States. Until 2015, Lovato was a fellow at U.C. Berkeley’s Latinx Research Center and recently finished a teaching stint at UCLA. Lovato is also a Co-Founder of #DignidadLiteraria, the movement advocating for equity and literary justice for the more than 60 million Latinx persons left off of bookshelves of the United States and out of the national dialogue.
Maw Shein Win returns to the GrottoPod this week to read from her new book of poetry, Storage Unit for the Spirit House. Win is a poet, editor, and educator who lives and teaches in the Bay Area. Her poetry chapbooks include Ruins of a Glittering Palace and Score and Bone. Invisible Gifts: Poems was published by Manic D Press in 2018. Win is the first poet laureate of El Cerrito, California (2016-2018). She often collaborates with visual artists, musicians, and other writers.
Roberto Lovato is an educator, journalist and writer based at The Writers Grotto and the author of "Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs and Revolution in the Americas" (Harper Collins). He joins fellow writer Jesus Sierra in this week's episode to talk about the book. Lovato is also a co-founder of #DignidadLiteraria, the movement advocating for equity and literary justice for the more than 60 million Latinx persons left off of bookshelves of the United States and out of the national dialogue. A recipient of a reporting grant from the Pulitzer Center, Lovato has reported on war, violence, terrorism in Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Paris and the United States. Until 2015, Lovato was a fellow at U.C. Berkeley’s Latinx Research Center, and recently finished a teaching stint at UCLA. His essays and reports from across the United States and around the world have appeared in numerous publications, including Guernica Magazine, the Boston Globe, Foreign Policy magazine, the Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, Der Spiegel, La Opinion, and other national and international publications.
Author and scientist Brad Balukjian joins the GrottoPod's summer reading series this week to share an excerpt from his new book, The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife. The Wax Pack. Out now, Wax Pack is the true story of tracking down all the players in a single pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards on a 11,341-mile road trip across the U.S. Balukjian is also a professor of biology at Merritt College in Oakland, California, where he teaches about the amazing plants, animals, and other organisms that cover our planet. His journalism has appeared in National Geographic, Discover, Rolling Stone, and many others.
Bonnie Tsui joins us on the GrottoPod this week to read an excerpt from her latest book, "Why We Swim." The book, published in April, offers cultural and scientific exploration of our human relationship with water and swimming. Tsui is a journalist, a longtime contributor to the New York Times, and the author of "American Chinatown," the winner of the Asia/Pacific American Award for Literature and a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller. She lives, swims, and surfs in the San Francisco Bay Area. "Why We Swim" was an Editor's Choice/Staff pick in The New York Times Book Review, which called it "an enthusiastic and thoughtful work mixing history, journalism, and elements of memoir."
Adam Smyer joins us on the GrottoPod this week to talk about his new book, You Can Keep That To Yourself: A Comprehensive List of What Not to Say to Black People, for Well-Intentioned People of Pallor. It's a pocket-sized translation guide designed to keep white folks out of trouble, and it couldn't be more timely. Smyer is also the author of the novel Knucklehead, which was the sole title shortlisted for the 2018 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. He's an attorney, martial artist, and self-described "mediocre bass player" who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and cats. You Can Keep That To Yourself is out now.