Kobo Writing Life Podcast

Hosted by Kobo Writing Life

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Episodes

449

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

The Kobo Writing Life Podcast features exciting interviews with bestselling authors, tips on the craft and business of writing, and advice for a successful self-publishing career. Millions of readers are waiting to discover your book - publish today at www.kobo.com/writinglife.

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60 recent

August 11, 2026Episode 4152 min

Kobo ReWriting Life - #41 - Plotting a Compelling Thriller with Ruth Ware

In this episode, we spoke to bestselling author Ruth Ware about one of her latest releases, Zero Days. Ruth's novels have been translated into over 40 languages as well as optioned for film and TV, and she has garnered numerous bestsellers internationally. We discussed Ruth's journey to becoming a full-time writer, how she develops the plots for her thrillers, what her writing process looks like, the difference between a "twist" and a "reveal" in storytelling, and, of course, her latest, Zero Days. Ruth also offered some great advice for aspiring thriller authors, and provided us with an amazing reading list of mysteries and thrillers – from old classics to brand new hits. Ready to start your own publishing career? Publish your book today with Kobo Writing Life.

August 4, 2026Episode 40147 min

#401 – Designing Book Covers for the Digital Reader with Jake Clark

In this episode, we are joined by cover designer Jake Clark, founder of J Caleb Design. Jake has designed over 2000+ covers since 2014, and projects featuring his work have collectively sold over 4 million copies. His cover design ethos revolves around creating "badass covers for badass stories," and that couldn't be more accurate! Jake's covers are bold, exciting, and propulsive, and we were so excited to sit down with him and talk about all things cover design. We ask Jake about his career as a cover designer, his cover design process, how he uses 3D modeling in his design process, what authors can do when collaborating with cover designers, what authors shouldn't do when working with cover designers, what makes a successful cover, and more! Publish your book today with Kobo Writing Life.

July 28, 2026Episode 4040 min

Kobo ReWriting Life - #40 - Building your Brand Using Instagram with Lauren Layne

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, we spoke with best-selling author of over 30 romantic comedies, Lauren Layne! Lauren is also a proficient marketer and expert at author branding. We are excited to share her great advice on author branding yet again. Lauren Layne is a New York Times bestselling author and branding superstar. She shares her secrets on cultivating an author brand and mastering trickier social media platforms, specifically Instagram and Pinterest. Lauren demystifies author branding and explains how authors can find their own aesthetic. She also discusses why she chose to limit her social media presence to two platforms and how she has made these platforms work for her. Further we discuss the evolution of her newsletter and how it has changed throughout the years. Publish on Kobo Writing Life.

July 21, 2026Episode 39734 min

#400 – Inside Indie Publishing with Kobo VP of Self-Publishing and Originals Ashleigh Gardner

In this episode, KWL Director Tara Cremin sat down and spoke with VP of Self-publishing and Originals, Ashleigh Gardner! Both Ashleigh and Tara have been with Kobo for many years and have incredible insights and understanding into the world of self-publishing. We are super excited to share this episode featuring such a prominent voice in the development of digital self-publishing! Ashleigh tells us about her history with Kobo, her work at Wattpad, her experience returning to Kobo, her idea of what a successful indie author is in 2026, shares some great advice for indie authors entering the Kobo ecosystem, and much more. Publish on Kobo Writing Life.

July 14, 2026Episode 3947 min

Kobo ReWriting Life - #39 - Crafting a Compelling Series with Susan Stoker

Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, we were joined by best-selling romantic suspense author, Susan Stoker, who talked to us all about writing series books and how she grows her series sales by marketing to readers. This is a great episode for anyone looking to boost their series-writing knowledge! Best-selling author Susan Stoker joins us on the podcast this week to discuss how she creates her romance series from creating the initial layout on an Excel spreadsheet to deciding which marketing strategies to use when launching a new series or bringing a new audience to an older one. Susan also talks to us about translating her series for a non-English audience and how she's managed to sustain such a successful writing career.

July 7, 2026Episode 39944 min

#399 – Finding Your Creative Spark with Emma Davie

In this episode, we talked with Canadian romance author Emma Davie, whose first novel, Home to Christmas Island, was published with Kobo Originals in 2025. Emma's latest book, Good for the Summer, is available now with Kobo Originals as well! We spoke with Emma about her journey to becoming a published author, her career in journalism, drawing inspiration from the Canadian Maritimes, how she uses tarot cards to bolster her creativity, and much more. Learn more about Emma Davie via her website.

June 30, 2026Episode 381 hr 3 min

Kobo ReWriting Life - #38 - Writing For Your Narrator with J.R. Ward

In this episode, we are joined by Jessica Ward, also known as J. R. Ward. J. R. Ward is the author of the acclaimed series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood. Over 15 million copies of her novels are in print around the world and she has been published in over 25 countries globally! Her latest release as Jessica Ward is The St. Ambrose School for Girls, a coming-of-age novel described as Heathers meets The Secret History. We were so excited to read this book and to hear more from the phenomenal author behind this new title and dozens of others. We have a great conversation about Jessica's writing process, the evolution of her career, her new release, writing an unreliable narrator, having multiple pen names, the inspiration for The St. Ambrose School for Girls, and much, much more! We really enjoyed this conversation and know you will, too.

June 23, 2026Episode 39850 min

#398 – Writing Psychological Thrillers and Procedural Crime with D.K. Hood

In this episode, we are excited to be joined by D.K. Hood, acclaimed author of the Detectives Kane and Alton series! Having sold over 2 million copies of her books, D.K. is an experienced author whose works have been largely published by the digital-first publisher Bookouture. We spoke to D.K. about her long-running Kane and Alton series, how she plots her novels, how she makes sure mysteries stay satisfying, how she keeps her characters consistent, shares advice for writing a series, and much more. We are honoured to help be a part of celebrating the launch of the 30th book in the Detectives Kane and Alton series. Nothing Stays Buried is available June 30th 2026.

June 16, 2026Episode 3752 min

Kobo ReWriting Life - #37 - From Audiobooks to Authorship with Karen Grey

In this episode, we spoke with Karen White, an award-winning audiobook narrator who recently began writing and publishing her own works under the pen name of Karen Grey. We chatted about Karen's career as an audiobook narrator, her transition into publishing as an indie author, and much more. There was such a wealth of advice and information that Karen brought to the table that we felt as if we could talk for another hour or more! Be sure to take a look at Karen's latest novel, You Get What You Give, the first in her Carolina Classics series. In this novel, an "enemies-to-lovers, new-in-town, one-night-stand unlikely love story, a boss lady and a Hollywood bad boy find that you only get as good as you give." We hope you enjoy this great conversation on the dos and don'ts of narrating audiobooks, tips on marketing, a look behind the scenes of audiobook recording, and much love for and enthusiasm about audiobooks overall!

June 9, 2026Episode 39753 min

#397 – See Success by Publishing Wide with Skye MacKinnon

In this episode of the KWL Podcast, we were joined by Skye MacKinnon, best-selling author of over seventy romance novels. She also publishes children's books under the pen name Isla Wynter. She loves to help other indie authors succeed and had much great advice to share about self-publishing during our conversation! We spoke to Skye about her writing journey, how she started writing full-time, writing under multiple pen names, publishing wide, working with other authors, translating her books, and much more! Plus, listen to Skye's previous appearance on the KWL Podcast here. Learn more about Skye on her website.

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Kobo Writing Life Podcast

About the show

Listen to episodes

Kobo ReWriting Life - #41 - Plotting a Compelling Thriller with Ruth Ware

#401 – Designing Book Covers for the Digital Reader with Jake Clark

Kobo ReWriting Life - #40 - Building your Brand Using Instagram with Lauren Layne

#400 – Inside Indie Publishing with Kobo VP of Self-Publishing and Originals Ashleigh Gardner

Kobo ReWriting Life - #39 - Crafting a Compelling Series with Susan Stoker

#399 – Finding Your Creative Spark with Emma Davie

Kobo ReWriting Life - #38 - Writing For Your Narrator with J.R. Ward

#398 – Writing Psychological Thrillers and Procedural Crime with D.K. Hood

Kobo ReWriting Life - #37 - From Audiobooks to Authorship with Karen Grey

#397 – See Success by Publishing Wide with Skye MacKinnon

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