Porchlight: Episode Two with Greg Neri

by Bethany | Jun 23, 2016 | Courage to Create, Podcast

The Porchlight: Craft & Creativity Conversations welcomes author G. Neri (Greg to his friends and family.) Join us as we talk about mining stories from real life headlines, following the happy accidents, becoming an accidental author, the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and the research behind Tru & Nelle. Harper Lee and Truman Capote enthusiasts will have much to grin about as Greg shares about Tru and Nelle’s love of Sherlock Holmes and how their childhood reading influenced their lives. And if you listen close, Greg even reveals a “dark” secret—never shared before.

As an added bonus, author and filmmaker  e.E. Charlton-Trujillo filmed Greg on his visit to Monroeville, Alabama—hometown of Nelle Harper Lee and Truman Capote, which is referenced in the podcast. Enjoy the film they made of his time in the birthplace of these two literary greats here.

And for the NYT article about Tru & Nelle, visit here.

Join us soon for Episode Three with Katherine Catmull.

Porchlight: Episode One with Donna Gephart

by Bethany | Jun 21, 2016 | Courage to Create, Podcast

The Writing Barn is thrilled to premiere its new podcast series

Porchlight
Craft & Creativity Conversations

Here at The Writing Barn we know how hard writers work because The Writing Barn is run by writers–from Owner & Creative Director, Bethany Hegedus, to all those who make up The Writing Barn team. We are constantly looking for new ways to offer writers ways of deepening their process and perfecting their craft, whether they travel cross-town or across the country to our retreat and workshop venue. But how do we stay connected to the work, day in and day out. What obstacles do we face as creatives? How can we talk about those obstacles without shame, blame or the compare/despair cycle that so many artists find themselves in.

And so Porchlight came to be.

Host, author Bethany Hegedus, will be interviewing a range of guests in and outside the kidlit field. Some interviews will take place (and already have) right here at the party porch at The Writing Barn. Others will be recorded from artist studios and writing spaces all over the country. But no matter whether these conversations are recorded in person or long distance, we hope these talks help us connect to ourselves, the work, and our world.

For Episode One we are beyond excited to welcome author Donna Gephart, who was with us here at The Writing Barn leading a middle grade intensive just a few months ago, right before her fabulous and timely Lily & Dunkin launched to rave reviews. Our conversation covers the gamut: trees named Bob, point of view choices, margarita (and margarita machines), how we celebrate success, the writers we call our tribe, the research behind writing a transgender teen, Donna’s long-standing relationship with her agent Tina Wexler at ICM and more. (To see pictures of Donna’s weekend intensive with us, go here.)

In the coming days, we will be adding two new Porchlight episodes featuring G. Neri, author of Tru & Nelle and Katherine Catmull, author of The Radiant Road. Among our future guests will be, Newbery Honor author, Kathi Appelt, the incredible Sara Pennypacker, talented author/illustrator Jessixa Bagley, the smart and sophisticated Kristen-Paige Madonia, the hardworking and brilliant Hannah Barnaby and more.

Please drop us a line (or comment here) and share with us how you are liking the Porchlight, or if you have an idea for a guest, or a topic to be discussed.

Welcome to the Porchlight–our way of bringing a bit of The Writing Barn–directly to you.