Writers Who Read
Gary Alan McBride founded the Boulder, Colorado-based Writers Who Read novel study group in May of 2018. Since then he and other local writers have been analyzing 10 novels per year within 12-18 months of their publication. WwR is focused 100% on today's fiction, mostly in advance of academic scholarship, so we live on the cutting edge of contemporary analysis. And that's how we like it. Our goal is to read like a writer and not wait for someone else to tell us what to think.
That means we read with intent--to become better at noticing what the author is doing to manage our emotions and manipulate our point of view. And so it doesn't matter whether what we read is critically acclaimed or academically vetted, because we can learn the same lessons from bad writing as from highly polished prose. We use our own reactions to the text to discover where to dig, and we use Literary Forensics techniques to sift through the layers. Our goal is to uncover the author's intent and to identify the tools they used to create their story so we can use them in our own writing.
On our monthly podcast Gary is joined by Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and sometimes others guest readers. We discuss our own textual discoveries as well as insights gleaned from our group discussion, because as much as we can learn on our own, we can learn so much more about how to read and write when we listen to others' viewpoints.
And that's where you come in, dear listener. We invite you to join us each month, 10 months a year, for a new episode when we discuss the latest literary techniques and publishing trends so that you can try out these techniques for yourself and maybe add your voice to ours.
We are Writers Who Read.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Update frequency
- every 12 days
- Average duration
- 22 minutes
- Episodes
- 48
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
71: Margo's Got Money Troubles - Rufi Thorpe
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe, which is Writers Who Read book number 71. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed…
Up Next: Margo's Got Money Troubles - Rufi Thorpe
Whitney, Mira, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe.
All-star wrestling! Cosplay! OnlyFans! Ruf…
70: Butcher - Joyce Carol Oates
Rachel Dempsey joins Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride to talk about Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates, which is Writers Who Read book number 70. Discussion slides for this novel and all novel…
Up Next: Butcher - Joyce Carol Oates
Rachel Dempsey joins Whitney, Mira, and Gary to analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates.
Dr. Silas Weir, the mid-19th ce…
69: Burma Sahib - Paul Theroux
Whitney Pinion and Gary McBride talk about Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux, which is Writers Who Read book number 69. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWho…
Up Next: Burma Sahib - Paul Theroux
Gary and Whitney analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux.
19-year-old Eton graduate Eric is off to Burma to police the Br…
68: James - Percival Everett
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about James by Percival Everett, which is Writers Who Read book number 68. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available a…
Up Next: James - Percival Everett
Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: James by Percival Everett.
What if Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn were retold from the…
Good Material - BONUS
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
67: Good Material - Dolly Alderton
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, Chelsea Pennington, and Gary McBride talk about Good Material by Dolly Alderton, which is Writers Who Read book number 67. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels…
Up Next: Good Material - Dolly Alderton
Gary, Whitney, Mira, and Chelsea analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Good Material by Dolly Alderton.
The British relationship advice columnist D…
66: Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, which is Writers Who Read book number 66. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at W…
Up Next: Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar
Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar.
Poet Cyrus Shams is surrounded by death. His uncle was an ang…
65: Let Us Descend - Jesmyn Ward
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward, which is Writers Who Read book number 65. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are availab…
Up Next: Let Us Descend - Jesmyn Ward
Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Let Us Descend by two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.
Ward draws on Dant…
64: Holly - Stephen King
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Holly by Stephen King, which is Writers Who Read book number 64. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at Wr…
Up Next: Holly - Stephen King
Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Holly by Stephen King.
The eponymous private investigator Holly Gibney has now appear…
63: Tom Lake - Ann Patchett
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, which is Writers Who Read book number 63. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at…
Next Up: Tom Lake - Ann Patchett
Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.
Pulitzer Prize finalist author and noted Nashville independ…
62: Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
Chelsea Pennington, Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, which is Writers Who Read book number 62. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels d…