The dark night of the soul. As writers, we’ve all been there. We’ve all had those moments where we feel like our work is not good enough. Will never be good enough. That we are not good enough. In Courage to Create episode #5, Bethany Hegedus walks us through this dark night and leads us […]

On this episode of The Porchlight we flip the script and interview Matthew Winner, Librarian and Podcast Host of The Children’s Book Podcast, a podcast that we here at The Writing Barn hold near and dear to us. We just knew we had to interview Matthew for The Porchlight. Listen to this in-person interview at The […]

Welcome back listeners from our brief holiday break. Hope you had a wonderful New Year. Thanks for tuning in, we’ve got more of The Porchlight for you to ring in 2019 with some literary love and support.  In episode four of The Porchlight’s new Courage to Create series with Bethany Hegedus, Bethany talks about the […]

In this live Words and Wine event at The Writing Barn, Bethany Hegedus interviews her own literary agent, Alexandra Penfold, who is the author of five picture books plus NEW YORK A LA CART, which spotlights the best of the Big Apple’s food-on-the-go. Alex’s newest picture book, ALL ARE WELCOME, spent a month on the New […]

In episode three of the new Courage to Create series, Bethany Hegedus takes us through the agent/client relationship, including what it should and should not be, how to make sure it’s a fitting partnership on both sides, and how to be your own boss. How can you know yourself first as a client before entering […]

On episode 35 of The Porchlight, Bethany Hegedus speaks with debut author Lucia DiStefano about her YA novel BORROWED, a genre-bending book about the mysteries of cellular memory in a teen girl who receives a heart transplant. Lucia is a first generation Sicilian and the daughter of an olive farmer. She grew up in Connecticut […]

In episode two of The Porchlight’s new series, Courage to Create, Writing Barn founder and author Bethany Hegedus asks listeners to answer the question why were you called to live this literary life? Bethany was called because she wants to be heard and believes we all deserve to be heard. She discusses the importance of […]

Join Bethany Hegedus as she interviews friend and fellow author, Cate Berry, about Cate’s debut picture book, PENGUIN AND TINY SHRIMP DON’T DO BEDTIME (Balzer + Bray 2018). The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books has said that “The story is a smartly comedic entry in the genre of the anti-bedtime story, and the exclamatory dialogue-only […]

Hello listeners! While we love our “Insight and Ah-ha’s” segment of The Porchlight, and the wonderful authors we interview who grace us with their voices and stories, we also understand the personal journey of living a literary life — the up’s and the down’s, the triumphs and defeats, the everyday wonders of putting words to the page. […]

Welcome back listeners to The Porchlight Podcast, we couldn’t be happier to start off Season 3 with the one and only Jamie Swenson. Jamie teaches Picture Book classes at The Writing Barn and is a celebrated picture book author. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. And […]