The Metaworker Podcast
The Metaworker Podcast is brought to you by the staff of The Metaworker Literary Magazine. We publish new and established writers, and look for work that surprises or that doesn’t fit anywhere else. We've published so much great stuff over the years but, as often happens with online magazines, the good stuff can get lost in the shuffle. So we created this podcast to discuss some of our favorite pieces and to delve deeper into the reasons we decided to publish them. Our goal is to make the publishing world a little less murky, and to get you inspired to keep writing. We hope you enjoy these episodes as much as we enjoyed creating them! | THE METAWORKER STAFF: Elena Lucia Perez, Editor in Chief; Melissa Reynolds, Editor; Cerid Jones, Editor | FIND US ONLINE: www.themetaworker.com | www.patreon.com/metaworker | @TheMetaworker on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
- Update frequency
- every 47 days
- Average duration
- 50 minutes
- Episodes
- 25
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
025 | The Draft I Buried, Part 1
Episode Description:
Elena, Mel, and Cerid speak with Kathryn Temple and Matthew Smallwood about unfinished work—those ‘buried’ drafts—and what they do with them. Kathryn reads two unfinished poems, “…
024 | Pushcart Prize Nominees, Part 2
Episode Description:
In Part 2 of our Pushcart Prize Nomination podcast series, we review three pieces: one of poetry, one of creative nonfiction, and one of fiction. Our editors Elena, Mel, and Cerid…
023 | Pushcart Prize Nominees, Part 1
Episode Description:
Elena, Mel, and Cerid review and discuss three of their nominees for the 2024 Pushcart Prize. Part 1 of this podcast includes readings of "Parteada por el Fuego/Twice Born" by E.N…
022 | Creating Anthologies, Part 3
Elena, Mel, and Cerid are back with updates. Elena asks Mel how it feels now that River and Stone is out in the world, Cerid discusses the fun challenge of arranging the order of pieces in her anthol…
021 | Creating Anthologies, Part 2
Elena, Mel, and Cerid get technical and discuss the software Mel used to create her books, plus the benefit of hiring a professional book designer, and fostering a community of new and seasoned write…
020 | Creating Anthologies, Part 1
Episode Description:
Elena talks with Mel and Cerid about their upcoming anthology projects outside of The Metaworker. They discuss how the projects got started, how they chose pieces to publish, and …
019 | Pushcart Prize Nominees, Part 2
Episode Description:
In this two-part series, we celebrate our Pushcart Prize nominees. This episode features Chris Cooper, Frank Njugi, and Linda Lacey. We asked each author to read an excerpt from t…
018 | Pushcart Prize Nominees, Part 1
Episode Description:
In this two-part series, we celebrate our Pushcart Prize nominees. This episode features Amita Basu, Daniel Brennan, and Marie-Louise McGuinness. We asked each author to read an e…
017 | A Writer’s Life For Me: Catchup with Matthew Maichen, Part 2
Episode Description:
Elena, Mel, and Cerid talk with former Metaworker Editor in Chief Matthew Maichen about writing rituals, how they create characters, and the benefits and drawbacks of writing with…
016 | A Writer’s Life For Me: Catchup with Matthew Maichen, Part 1
Episode Description:
Elena, Mel, and Cerid talk with former Metaworker Editor in Chief Matthew Maichen about his writing and publishing journey since he stepped away from leading the magazine. They di…
015 | The Borderland Furies by Oisín Breen
Episode Description:
Matthew, Elena, and Mel talk with Oisín Breen about his poem “The Borderland Furies” and about his new book of poetry, Lillies on the Deathbed of Étaín, published by Beir Bua Pres…
014 | In the Willow Garden by Isabel O’Hara Walsh
Episode Description:
Matthew, Elena, Mel, and Cerid talk with Isabel O’Hara Walsh about her short fiction piece “In the Willow Garden”. Content Warning: We discuss victims of trauma and abuse reclaim…
013 | Ink Runs In Our Veins: Editors Chat Part 3
Episode Description:
In this final episode of the editors chat, Matthew, Elena, Mel and Cerid get personal. They talk about their own writing projects and how they approach their craft, they share wha…
012 | Ink Runs In Our Veins: Editor Chat Part 2
Matthew, Elena, Mel, and Cerid talk about how they got into writing and why they are involved in the publishing world, even as unpaid editors of an indie literary magazine. They also delve into the t…
011 | Ink Runs in Our Veins: Editor Chat Part 1
Matthew, Elena, Mel, and new intern Cerid talk about how they fell in love with reading, then move into a history lesson about how The Metaworker got started, and how Mel and Cerid joined the team.
Re…
010 | Boy, Deer, Chair by Sam Asher
Matthew, Elena, Marina, and Mel talk with Sam Asher about his beautifully strange story Boy, Deer, Chair. We discuss symbolism, inherited trauma, pantsers vs. plotters, and imposter syndrome.
Sam Ash…
009 | Ruins by Mary Paulson
In this episode, Matthew, Marina, and Elena talk with Mary Paulson about her poem, Ruins. We talk about writing poetry to express deep emotions, writing and rewriting with help from community, and M…
008 | Rangoli Man by Mina Rozario
Matthew, Marina, Melissa, and Elena talk about Mina Rozario’s flash fiction fantasy story, Rangoli Man. We gush about saying a lot in very few words, the utopian fairy-tale tone, and the story’s fasc…
007 | Minotaurs by Lane Talbot
Matthew, Marina, and Melissa gush about Lane Talbot’s Minotaurs before asking him about how he approaches his craft, the art of writing the thriller, and how his personal experiences have informed hi…
006 | Meditations on Water by Stella Meadows
Editors Matthew, Elena, and Melissa talk to Stella Meadows about her brilliant nonfiction (as well as what makes brilliant nonfiction in general), identity, introspection, LGBT+ representation in art…