Writers, Ink: Your backstage pass to the world's most prolific authors

Hosted by J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle

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Episodes

360

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

What does it take to succeed as a writer? Join host J.D. Barker and a panel of industry experts as they pull back the curtain and offer rare insights from the household names found on bookshelves worldwide.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 25, 202657 min

NYT Bestseller JT Ellison explains how panic can increase your productivity.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Ingram, Sourcebooks, and a new book event platform. Then, stick around for a chat with J.T. Ellison! J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty novels of psychological suspense, including the Taylor Jackson series, the Samantha Owens series, and numerous acclaimed standalones. She is the Emmy Award–winning cohost of A Word on Words , the literary television series on PBS. Over a twenty-year career, her work has earned widespread critical recognition, with titles optioned for television and published in thirty countries, and millions of copies in print worldwide. A dedicated voice in the writing community, she also publishes The Creative Edge , a newsletter and blog for writers navigating the craft and business of fiction. She lives with her husband and twin kittens—one of whom is a ghost—in Nashville, Tennessee. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

August 18, 20261 hr 2 min

What does your book smell like? #1 NYT Bestseller Alexandra Bracken explains why authors should incorporate all senses in their writing.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Anthropic's Claude, David Ellison, and authors selling straight to readers. Then, stick around for a chat with Alexandra Bracken! Alexandra Bracken was born in Phoenix, Arizona. The daughter of a Star Wars collector, she grew up going to an endless string of Star Wars conventions and toy fairs, which helped spark her imagination and a deep love of reading. After graduating high school, she attended The College of William & Mary in Virginia, where she double majored in English and History. She sold her first book, Brightly Woven, as a senior in college, and later moved to New York City to work in children's book publishing, first as an editorial assistant, then in marketing. After six years, she took the plunge and decided to write full time. She now lives in Arizona with her tiny pup, Tennyson, in a house that's constantly overflowing with books. Alex is a #1 New York Times , USA TODAY, and internationally bestselling author. Her work has been adapted for feature film and is available across the world in over 20 languages. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

August 11, 202656 min

Lisa Roe explains how she found a novel at the heart of an extreme vacation.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and the collapse of a $2m crime novel. Then, stick around for a chat with Lisa Roe! Lisa Roe : After graduating from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and spending many years as an advertising creative director and copywriter in New York City, Lisa Roe accepted the tougher job of stay-at-home mom and turned to writing fiction — mostly to entertain her kids, but then to tell her own stories. A classic first born, a reluctant empty nester, and a Dr. Doolittle wannabe, Lisa lives in New Jersey with her husband and three incorrigible dogs. She is the author of WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD and BIG & LILY. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

August 4, 20261 hr 3 min

Vampires may suck, but they still sell. Josh Winning explains why.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about the 'Crave' copyright suit, Pangram, and agent business models. Then, stick around for a chat with Josh Winning! Josh Winning writes popcorn fantasy and horror novels that are full of heart, hope and humour, with a love for 80s movie puppets, 90s slasher flicks and gay Final Girls. He identifies as queer, and believes in the power of positive representation. After growing up in a small Suffolk town and struggling to find LGBTQIA+ characters to relate to, he now writes books filled with queer joy. Josh has worked as a film journalist for Radio Times and Total Film , interviewing the likes of Miss Piggy and Goldie Hawn, and he is co-host of the Charmed Chat podcast . His books include The Shadow Glass , Burn the Negative (which was long-listed for a Bram Stoker Award), Heads Will Roll , Be Still My Unbeating Heart and spooky children's adventure How to Train Your Zombie . He lives in East Anglia with his partner and their talking cat Penny. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

July 28, 202650 min

The devil is in the details with author John Dingle.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Anthropic, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Jane Yolen. Then, stick around for a chat with John Dingle! R. John Dingle lives and writes from a restored 200 year-old house, on a small island in Mid-Coast Maine. The often-haunting themes of the rocky coast, as well as a lifetime of experiences in and around New England’s small towns, farms, and cities, provide excellent inspiration for the tones and moods reflected in Dingle’s mysteries and psychological thrillers. He is the author of the critically acclaimed and multi-award nominated Gus Wheeler FBI Thriller series, which includes Karma Never Sleeps , Wings of Madness , and Before the Devil Knows . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

July 21, 20261 hr 3 min

Themes and messages in fiction with Stig Abell.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Amazon's open-air library, KDP, and publishing's hologram problem. Then, stick around for a chat with Stig Abell! Stig Abell believes that discovering a crime fiction series to enjoy is one of the great pleasures in life. His first novel, Death Under A Little Sky , introduced Jake Jackson and his attempt to get away from his former life in the beautiful area around Little Sky, followed by Death in a Lonely Place and The Burial Place . Stig is absolutely delighted that there are more on the way. Away from books, he presents the breakfast show on Times Radio , a station he helped to launch in 2020. Before that he was a regular presenter on Radio 4’s Front Row and was the editor and publisher of the Times Literary Supplement . He lives in London with his wife, three children and two independent-minded cats called Boo and Ninja (his children named them, obviously). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

July 14, 202657 min

#1 NYT bestseller Dan Silva explains why maybe we should all try writing from the floor.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Facebook, Australia, and owning your own library. Then, stick around for a chat with Daniel Silva! Daniel Silva has been called his generation’s finest writer of international intrigue and one of the greatest American spy novelists ever. Compelling, passionate, haunting, brilliant: these are the words that have been used to describe the work of award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

July 7, 202651 min

Writers, Ink Podcast: Episode 354 - David Weiden explains why all good writing starts at the Scholastic Book Fair.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about pocket books, podcast publicity, and a quirky vocab. Then, stick around for a chat with David Weiden! David Heska Wanbli Weiden , an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota nation, is the author of Wisdom Corner , forthcoming in July, 2026 from Ecco/HarperCollins. He’s also the author of the national bestseller Winter Counts (Ecco, 2020), which was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The book was also the winner of the Anthony, Thriller, Lefty, Barry, Macavity, Spur, High Plains, Tillie Olsen, CrimeFest (UK), Crime Fiction Lover (UK) Awards, and was the winner of the Electa Quinney Award from the Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures. The novel was longlisted for the Hammett Prize, Shamus Award, Colorado Book Award, Reading the West Award, and the VCU Cabell First Novel Award. The novel was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, an Indie Next pick, main selection of the Book of the Month Club, and named a Best Book of the year by NPR, Amazon, Publishers Weekly , Library Journal , The Guardian , and other magazines. The novel is included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 best mystery and thriller novels of all time. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

June 30, 202650 min

Why the outline is the lie we all agree to, with Maurice Broaddus.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about ElevenLabs, Porter Square Books, Tinder, and ThriftBooks. Then, stick around for a chat with Maurice Broaddus! Maurice Broaddus : An Award-Winning Afrofuturist, editor, and librarian, Maurice Broaddus has had over a hundred short stories published in such places as Lightspeed Magazine, Black Panther: Tales from Wakanda , Out There Screaming (edited by Jordan Peele) , The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand, Asimov’s, Weird Tales, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Apex Magazine. With over a dozen novels in print, his latest include Sweep of Stars , Breath of Oblivion, A City Dreaming, Black Panther: T’Challa Declassified, & Unfadeable . Some of his short stories have been collected in The Voices of Martyrs . Learn more at MauriceBroaddus.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

June 23, 202658 min

How hard-hitting reporting can translate into a novel, with bestseller Sarah Vaughan.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Simon & Schuster, Elias Thorne, and why publishing more content is making your SEO worse. Then, stick around for a chat with Sarah Vaughan! Sarah Vaughan is the Sunday Times and international bestselling author of Anatomy of a Scandal, Little Disasters and Reputation , plus two earlier novels. Translated into 26 languages, Anatomy of a Scandal became a worldwide number one Netflix limited series, watched for 200 million hours in its first month alone, and starring Sienna Miller, Michelle Dockery and Rupert Friend. Little Disasters dropped on Paramount Plus in May 2025, and stars Diane Kruger, Jo Joyner and a “powerhouse cast” including JJ Feild, Shelley Conn, Emily Taaffe and Stephen Campbell Moore. Reputation has been optioned by Made Up Stories and 3dot productions, the team behind Anatomy of a Scandal. Before writing fiction, Sarah spent 15 years as a journalist, including 11 at the Guardian as a political correspondent and news reporter: great preparation for thrillers exploring power, privilege and misogyny, and incorporating police investigations and criminal trials. Brought up in Devon, she lives near Cambridge, England with her family and dog. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.