Anna-Marie McLemore, author of THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS, which was a finalist for the William C. Morris Debut Award, and WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS, which was long-listed for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature and was a Stonewall Honor Book. This month, Anna-Marie released her newest novel WILD BEAUTY. She talks about funerals as a place to reinforce collective memories, waiting for that glowing laptop to let you know it’s time to write a novel, and writing a gender nonconforming stud.

Leigh Bardugo, New York Times bestselling author of the SHADOW AND BONE series, spinoff duology SIX OF CROWS and CROOKED KINGDOM, and THE LANGUAGE OF THORNS, a series of short stories set in that world. She’s also a bestseller for WONDER WOMAN: WARBRINGER. Leigh talks about writing a character who shares her disability, talking some truths about Wonder Woman’s creator, writing a walking talking teenaged apocalypse, how going to an all girls’ school gave her a little insight into Themyscira.

Answering listener questions, book recommendations from Sarah Enni, Veronica Roth, and Maurene Goo, and writing advice from Susan Dennard!

Robin Benway, author of National Book Award for Young People’s Literature finalist Far From the Tree—as well as Audrey, Wait! and Emmy & Oliver, among others—returns to the podcast this week to talk about wondering if she was still an author, having Big Feelings about publishing careers, and gets in a sweet feminist rant.

Dan Santat, Caldecott Award-winning author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, talks about his newest picture book, After the Fall, an immigrant kid learning about Santa Claus, writing books that reveal other people’s stories, how much anxiety sucks, and the different ways he is interpreting Asian identity in his work.

Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin, New York Times best-selling co-authors of I Hate Everyone But You, talk about the dangers of walking and reading, differentiating character from author, what REALLY makes readers uncomfortable, and writing a friendship rom-com.

Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the LEGEND and the YOUNG ELITES series, talks about her newest book, WARCROSS as well as BATMAN: NIGHTWALKER and the forthcoming KINGDOM OF BACK. Marie chats about the lag between the eternal optimism of tech and moral questioning of its powers, how writing about evil characters was almost too much for her, and the responsibility of writing a real woman’s story.

Emily Ziff Griffin, debut author of LIGHT YEARS, talks about her childhood dream of being a dancing lawyer, gifs and art semiotics, the unquantifiable fairy dust that makes some art transcend, and how teenagers experience time differently.

Sabaa Tahir, NY Times bestselling author of the An Ember in the Ashes series, shares spooky happenings in the desert hometown, waxes poetic about good journalistic writing, and talks giving suffering children a happy ending in her books, being an eight-year overnight success, and writing books in elbows of time.

Jeramey Kraatz, author of middle grade series The Cloak Society and Space Runners, on how superhero cartoons got him into reading, writing hamster stories as birthday presents, the difference between middle grade and young adult, and being more productive with a full-time job.