TK with James Scott: A Writing, Reading, & Books Podcast

When her mother suffers a stroke, Tessa Fontaine joins the traveling circus sideshow. She recounts this unique time in her life in her incredible new memoir, THE ELECTRIC WOMAN. She and James talk ab…

Patrick Crerand started off trying to write blue-collar factory stories, but he eventually discovered his voice writing the more surreal and magical stories contained in his new collection, THE PAPER…

In her second novel, BURY WHAT WE CANNOT TAKE, Kirstin Chen depicts a family in China under the tightening rule of Mao. She tells James about her choice to tell the story when and how she did, along …

One of James's favorite books of 2018 inspires one of his favorite conversations. Jon Pineda, author of LET'S NO ONE GET HURT, joins the show to talk about being worried for your characters, maintain…

Over the course of eleven books, including his latest novel, THE UNMADE WORLD, Steve Yarbrough has established himself as a master of language and place. But James knows him as the leader of the grea…

Ever since reading an early copy of Michael Nye's first novel, ALL THE CASTLES BURNED, James has wanted to talk to the author of such an engaging and thought-provoking book. They discuss knowing good…

In his first essay collection, UP UP DOWN DOWN, Cheston Knapp attends skateboarding camp for adults, recalls his fraternity days, looks for UFOs, and checks out the local wrestling circuit, all in th…

BRASS, the excellent first novel by Xhenet Aliu, mixes voice, humor, and simmering rage into the tale of a family that keeps ending up in the same rut. She and James talk about what they're going to …

Claire Fuller started writing to compete in a local short story slam. Then she started to win. Soon after, she earned an MA and has since written two novels, OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS and SWIMMING LE…

In order to learn to write, Frank Bill broke down the fiction that he loved. The lessons those books taught him have served him through a collection of short stories and two novels, the latest of whi…

In her day job, Amy P. Knight is a lawyer specializing in death penalty cases. She has also written a fascinating and wholly original novel, LOST, ALMOST, which depicts the life of a physicist who wo…

After studying Spanish literature and embarking on a career as a lawyer, Matthew Lansburgh found fulfillment in writing. He won the Iowa Short Fiction Award for his linked short short story collectio…

Robert Repino had a couple of false start novels before setting out on The War With No Name series, which was inspired by a dream (really) and now includes three books: MORT(E), CUL-DE-SAC, and D'ARC…

HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES, the dazzling debut by Carmen Maria Machado has garnered tremendous acclaim, including being named a finalist for the National Book Award. Carmen and James discuss never be…

The legends of Josh Weil's unique writing process precede him, but he and James try to get to the bottom of it, including how he comes up with his ideas, how he challenges himself, and whether his lu…

Dan talks to James about his remarkable new collections of plays, PLAYS ONE, and poetry, NEW LIFE, made even more remarkable by Dan's fight with colon cancer. The afternoon after a clean scan, he and…

James speaks with the authors of two new story collections, Tim Weed (A FIELD GUIDE TO MURDER & FLY FISHING) and Meghan Kenny (LOVE IS NO SMALL THING). They discuss sequencing their books, what unifi…

In her memoir, THE HOT ONE, Carolyn Murnick follows the case of the murder of her childhood best friend while thinking back on how they drifted apart. As the pages turn, the book explores themes like…

The seventh book from Benjamin Percy is the terrifying THE DARK NET. He tells James what he's learned writing comics, how he juggles his projects, why his sister slept with the lights on into her 20s…

KELLY J. FORD revised and sharpened her debut novel, COTTONMOUTHS, in Grub Street's Novel Incubator program with our second guest, MICHELLE HOOVER. She and James talk about crappy drafts, depression,…