Best Podcasts for Writers
There are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of podcasts aimed at writers, poets and aspiring novelists and they range in approach and quality. Although we’ve called this article the Best Podcasts for Writers, that’s quite a subjective notion. So really we mean our favourite podcasts for writers, the ones that have given us brilliant insights, inspired us, or simply entertained us.
Whether you are a seasoned short story writer or poet, or you’re commencing the perilous endeavour of writing your first novel, you are bound to find something of use or interest in many of the episodes from the podcasts featured here.
Note that all the podcasts featured are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible* and various other places. Most are free, so take your pick.
*Note that if you click through the links to Audible/Amazon and make any purchases, NewWriters.org.uk will receive a very small payment.
So, in no particular order, here are the New Writers editors’ favourite podcasts for writers.
Writer Unleashed
PODCAST LINK | WEBSITE
Notable episodes:
- #182: 5 Ways To Nail Your First Chapter
- #156: 4 Ways To Show Character Emotion
- #136: Present Tense Vs. Past Tense: The Pros and Cons
Hosted by writer and editor Nanci Panuccio, the Writer Unleashed podcast is packed full of useful, clear information, advice and techniques to help writers at all levels. With episodes tending to be between 20 and 30 minutes, these bite-sized snippets of writing craft wonder cover a wide range of common writing pitfalls and give concise solutions.
Whether you are being indecisive about whether to set your story in past or present tense, or you’re scratching your head about the best POV to use, the Writer Unleashed podcast will help you out. It also delves beyond the more common writing problems to some very specific points about dialogue, setting or character development.
Have You Heard George’s Podcast?
PODCAST LINK | WEBSITE
Notable episodes:
- #29: Drama in Ghana Pt. 1
- #3: A Grenfell Story
- #20: Young
George the Poet is a spoken-word artist, rapper and – yep, you’ve guessed it! – a poet. His award-winning podcast is a fantastically engaging mix of poetry, history, black culture, music (from multi-platinum-selling producer and composer, Benbrick, among others), and insights into a wide range of subjects from Ghana’s journey to independence from colonial rule, to the Grenfell Tower tragedy, to overcoming writer’s block.
George’s smooth, captivating delivery and poeticism are both impressive and inspiring and his eye-opening adventures into history, culture and indeed his own psyche can help writers explore their ideas and imagination to become better writers.
Confessions of a Book Collector
PODCAST LINK
Notable episodes:
- The Art of Book Collecting (17 Feb 2024)
- Interview With Literary Agent & Former Actor: Emily Glenister (2 Mar 2024)
- Ayanna Lloyd Banwo: Learning to set a debut novel free (23 May 2022)
Confessions of a Book Collector is presented by David Headley who is seemingly uniquely positioned in the publishing world as the MD of both DHH Literary Agency and Goldsboro Books (which has some beautiful, exclusive signed first editions of the latest must-read novels). As both an agent and a bookseller (and, of course, avid book collector), David brings his extensive knowledge of the industry and obvious love of literature to his interviews.
Episodes have featured debut authors (Jennie Godfrey, Ayanna Lloyd Banwo), established best-selling writers (Nicci French, Rachel Joyce, Anita Frank), or fellow publishing industry insiders (literary agent Emily Glenister, publishing editor Katherine Armstrong, book PR guru Alison Barrow). There are also episodes about the art of book collecting, with tips about starting or developing your book collection. It all combines to provide an insightful and entertaining podcast that will appeal to writers and non-writers alike.
Write, Damn It! with Zoe Richards
PODCAST LINK | WEBSITE
Notable episodes:
- Episode 91: The Rejection Series – Why Is My Novel Being Rejected?
- Episode 70: In Conversation with Debi Alper
- Episode 77 Part 1 of Putting Yourself Out There As An Author: Being Prepared
Write, Damn It! Is a brilliant podcast for writers seeking inspiration to get their writing done. It’s presented by Zoe Richards, whose debut novel Garden of Her Heart comes out in June 2024, and her many podcast episodes about her own publishing journey are particularly enlightening and interesting. With a mix of author interviews, writing advice and insights gained through writing, getting an agent and then a book deal, Write, Damn It! has something for authors at all stages.
The series about ‘Putting Yourself Out There As An Author’ is well worth checking out for those who are not natural self-promoters. Richards’ empathetic, knowledgeable approach to interviewing puts her guests at ease and allows them to share useful, interesting information that can really benefit aspiring authors.
The Writing Life
PODCAST LINK | WEBSITE
Notable episodes:
- Research, editing & planning novels with Stuart Turton (20 Nov 2020)
- From Teacher To Writer: Ashley Hickson-Lovence (26 Feb 2020)
- Elif Shafak’s 10 Exciting Women Writers in the UK (14 Mar 2019)
Produced by the Norwich-based National Centre for Writing, The Writing Life is a weekly podcast aimed at writers or anyone interested in writing. They have interviewed some of the big hitters from publishing including Ian Rankin (6 November 2023), Kit De Waal (20 March 2023), Kate Mosse (3 September 2021) and Elif Shafak (14 Mar 2019).
It also features plenty of episodes on the craft of writing, from using senses to create atmosphere, to crafting effective characters and designing effective plots. With interviews with poets and authors from various countries and at various stages of their careers, the podcast also features translators, editors, agents and academics, and thus offers a wide range of writing-relating topics.
The Writer Files
PODCAST LINK
Notable episodes:
- How #1 NY Times Bestselling Author Bonnie Garmus Writes (14 Apr 2023)
- How Hemingway Wrote with Professor Mark Cirino (4 Nov 2022)
- How Nobel Prize-Winning Author Abdulrazak Gurnah Writes (2 Sep 2022)
The Writer Files has been running for almost a decade at the time of writing. In that time, host Kelton Reid has interviewed numerous best-selling authors about how they write, why they write and what they’ve learned along the way.
With writers who’ve won the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize or Oscar-nominated screenwriters among the guests, Reid has a knack for getting his interviewees to spill the beans on their writing processes, which could prove extremely useful to aspiring authors.
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
PODCAST LINK | WEBSITE
Notable episodes:
- How the Close Third Person POV Can Get You Closer Than First Person (25 Jan 2024)
- What to do When a Scene is Falling Flat (21 Dec 2023)
- Writing an Opening Chapter That Ticks All the Boxes (12 Oct 2023)
In The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, bestselling author Bianca Marais is joined by Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra from P.S. Literary Agency to offer (sometimes brutally!) honest critiques of the opening pages and query letters sent in by listeners.
These can be particularly insightful for those in the early stages of writing a novel as the hosts highlight the kind of mistakes and missteps that occur regularly. There are plenty of brilliant interviews among the episodes too, and tips and advice on structure, timelines, characterisation and all kinds of other useful aspects of novel writing. Oh, and there’s usually a fair bit of colourful language too.
How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
PODCAST LINK | WEBSITE
Notable episodes:
- S17, Ep6 Diana Evans: the bestselling author on writing routines, dealing with her inner critic and living life to the fullest
- S16, Ep10 How To Fail: Margaret Atwood on wisdom, witchcraft and womanhood
- S15, Ep8 How To Fail: Malorie Blackman, the iconic Noughts and Crosses author on rejection, racism and the importance of representation
As anyone who’s ever attempted to publish a book or even a story, or who’s entered more than a handful of writing competitions will know, rejection (or failure, if you prefer) is part and parcel of writing. But award-winning author and broadcaster Elizabeth Day’s excellent podcast reframes ‘failure’ as an essential learning experience and her brilliant interviews with famous guests from literature, TV, film, music and other areas are generally inspirational and always entertaining.
The theme is essentially that everyone fails, it’s part of being human, but it’s how we bounce back from the latest knock that can define us as people… and maybe help us finish writing that darn novel! Day’s warm inviting style encourages her guests to open up and bare their souls, and they rarely refrain.
Hardcore Literature
PODCAST LINK
Notable episodes:
- Episode 47: How the Great Books Saved My Life
- Episode 54: The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
- Episode 8: How to Read the Complete Works of Shakespeare in a Year
Presented by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic Benjamin McEvoy, Hardcore Literature is a podcast that delves deeper than most into the greatest writers and works of literature that have ever been produced. Journeying into the words of Leo Tolstoy, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen and many more, McEvoy’s passion for the literary greats oozes through in no uncertain terms.
He also touches on some of the great philosophical and spiritual works such as Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, The Poetry of Rumi and The Bhagavad Gita. There is also a Hardcore Literature book club that runs alongside the podcast (to those who subscribe on Patreon) which offers an annual reading list and guidance on the title featured. All in all, the Hardcore Literature podcast can be a great way for writers to learn from some of the greatest authors who’ve ever lived.
1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales
PODCAST LINK
Notable episodes:
- The Shape of Things by Ray Bradbury (28 Jan 2024)
- The School Mistress by Anton Chekhov (Sep 2023)
- Robert Turner’s Revenge by Lucy Maud Montgomery (Jan 2023)
As with the aforementioned Hardcore Literature podcast, the 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales podcast also allows aspiring authors to learn from the masters. Here, though, instead of getting an interpretation of great works, the listener experiences the stories first hand through the soothing narration of host Jon Hagadorn.
Featuring stories from the likes of Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury and many more, there’s something to suit all tastes. Furthermore, Hagadorn has several sister podcasts including: 1000 Stories From the Old West, 1001 Stories for the Road, 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories and Mysteries… you get the idea.
Writing Excuses
PODCAST LINK | WEBSITE
Notable episodes:
- Series 18, Episode 39: How To Write An Ending
- Series 15, Episode 20: Mental Wellness and Writing
- Series 13, Episode 43: Characters Who Are Smarter Than You Are
Writing Excuses is a weekly podcast about the craft of writing, with aspects of the publishing business thrown in for good measure. With five hosts(!), Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells and Howard Tayler, there are often interesting debates about the ‘best’ way to approach issues, which can be useful in prompting listeners to assess their own views.
Most of the episodes are around the 15-to-20-minute mark, so can be perfect to listen to during a lunch break or a short commute. Covering a vast range of writing subjects, from unreliable narrators to complex narrative structures to worldbuilding, the podcast is packed full of useful titbits of advice for writers.
*Note that if you click through the links to Audible/Amazon and make any purchases, NewWriters.org.uk will receive a very small payment.