Welcome to Qwerty, the podcast for writers on how to live the writing life. Host Marion Roach Smith interviews the best writers in all genres to discover their process. Qwerty is by, about and for writers and explores the real challenges of writing and the steps anyone can take to become a better storyteller. Listen in for writing tips, publishing advice and encouragement on how to live the writing life.

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Hal Schrieve is the author of the 2019 book, Out of Salem, selected for the National Book Award Long List for Young People’s Literature. Hal works as a children’s librarian at the New York Public Library. As a librarian, Hal has written educator guides to other queer books for children and teens. Hal has had poetry in Vetch magazine, and is featured in Stacked Deck Press’s 2018 trans comics anthology We’re Still Here. Hal writes queer fiction for young people and writes comics and zines. Hal’s new novel, How To Get Over the End of the World, was just released with Seven Stories Press. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life</a>. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free newsletter list and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 119 Hal Schrieve

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Suzette Mullen is the author of the new memoir, The Only Way Through is Out, just out from the University of Wisconsin Press. She is the founder of Your Story Finder, where she provides nonfiction book coaching. In 2021, she published a Tiny Love Story in The New York Times that was the seed that became her new book. Listen as she and host Marion Roach Smith discuss how to go from a short piece of memoir to a book, and so much more. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life.</a> Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free newsletter list and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 118 Suzette Mullen

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Author, historian, essayist, bestselling novelist and commentator Kevin Baker has just published part one of his long-awaited two-part look into baseball and the city that formed it and was formed by it. Called The New York Game: Baseball and The Rise of a New City (Knopf, 2024), this was a labor of love from a super fan of both the city and the game. In our interview on the Qwerty podcast, we discuss the sport, the city and how a historian does his work. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life</a>. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free newsletter list and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 117 Kevin Baker

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Author, essayist, poet and activist Ani Gjika is an Albanian-born poet, literary translator, writer, and author of Bread on Running Waters (Fenway Press, 2013). A finalist for the 2011 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize and 2011 May Sarton New Hampshire Book Prize, she moved to the US at age 18 and earned an MA in English at Simmons College and an MFA in poetry at Boston University. Her honors include awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, English PEN, the Robert Pinsky Global Fellowship, Framingham State University&#39;s Miriam Levine Reader Award, and the Robert Fitzgerald Translation Prize. Her poetry appears in Seneca Review, Salamander, Plume, From the Fishouse, and elsewhere. Her new book is An Unruled Body: A Poet’s Memoir, just out from Restless Books, which is the winner of the 2021 Restless Books’ New Immigrant Writing Prize. Listen in and she and host Marion Roach Smith discuss writing into trauma in this new episode of the Qwerty podcast. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life</a>. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free newsletter list and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 116 Ani Gjika

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Writer and author Meg Kissinger spent more than two decades traveling across the country to report on America’s mental health system for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A Pulitzer Prize finalist, she has won two George Polk Awards, the Robert F. Kennedy Award, awards from Investigative Reporters and Editors, and two National Journalism Awards. Kissinger teaches investigative reporting at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and was a visiting professor at DePauw University, her alma mater. Her stories on the abysmal living conditions for people with mental illness inspired changes to Wisconsin law and led to the creation of hundreds of new housing units. Now, she has brought the knowledge, insights, determination and humility of a reporter’s eye to the vulnerability needed to get to heart of her own origin story and published her new book, While You Were Out: The Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life.</a> Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free newsletter list and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 115 Meg Kissinger

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Writer, essayist, speaker and activist Taylor Brorby is the author of Boys and Oil, Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land, a NYT Editors’ Choice published in 2022 by Liveright, a division of W.W. Norton. He is also the author of Crude: Poems, Coming Alive: Action and Civil Disobedience, and he is the co-editor of Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, LitHub, Orion Magazine, The Arkansas International, Southern Humanities Review, North Dakota Quarterly, and numerous anthologies. He is a contributing editor at North American Review and serves on the editorial boards of Terrain.org and Hub City Press. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life.</a> Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free newsletter list and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 114 Taylor Brorby

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Known nationally and internationally as the woman who lived in one of the world’s smallest apartments, Felice Cohen is the award-winning author of the bestselling books Half In: A Coming-of-Age Memoir of Forbidden Love, 90 Lessons for Living Large in 90 Square Feet (...or More) (inspired by the YouTube video of her tiny NYC studio with over 25 million views) and What Papa Told Me, about her grandfather’s life before, during and after the Holocaust. Felice has been featured on Good Morning America, NBC, CBS, NPR, Time, Globe &amp; Mail, New York Daily News, the Daily Mail and more. She speaks around the country leading memoir workshops, talking about how living tiny made her life larger as well as offering tips on organizing and decluttering, and about writing a book with her grandfather. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life</a>. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free newsletter list and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 113 Felice Cohen

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Washington Post contributing columnist and author Kate Cohen writes about American culture. Her new book, We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe (and Maybe You Should Too), is just out. Listen in as we discuss her book, writing about faith and the loss of it, and so much more. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life</a>. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free newsletter list and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 112 Kate Cohen

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Mega-bestselling author Joanna Penn, whose 40 books span several genres, has now written a memoir after making three separate solo pilgrimage walks. The walks and this new book, Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways, allowed her to define for herself her personal definition of being a seeker. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life.</a> Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, <a href="https://marion-roach-smith.ck.page/d299040206" rel="nofollow">join The Memoir Project free newsletter list</a> and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 111 Joanna Penn

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When writer, author and advocate Kristin Jarvis Adams pitched a potential publisher on her book, she began with a sentence so startling that it made the publisher ask her to breakfast. The book that followed was full of such sentences. This is a conversation about an unlikely book on an nearly impossible topic to sell that worked. Be inspired by her tale. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life.</a> Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, <a href="https://marion-roach-smith.ck.page/d299040206" rel="nofollow">join The Memoir Project free newsletter list</a> and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 110 Kristin Jarvis Adams

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Writer, author and advocate Virginia Sole-Smith knows how to write into other&#39;s biases, and she writes right into them, giving us new language while she explores diet culture, anti-fat bias, feminism and health. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life.﻿The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life.</a> Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, <a href="https://marion-roach-smith.ck.page/d299040206" rel="nofollow">join The Memoir Project free newsletter list</a> and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 109 Virginia Sole-Smith

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Allison K. Williams utilized her years as what she calls an &#34;unkind editor&#34; to write and publish her fine book, Seven Drafts: Self-Edit like a Pro from Page to Book, which she discusses here on the Qwerty podcast. This skillfully constructed book breaks down the process of writing and self-editing into seven definitive drafts – the vomit draft, the story draft, the Character draft, the technical draft, the personal copyedit, the friend read and the editor read. Listen in and learn. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life.</a> Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, <a href="https://marion-roach-smith.ck.page/d299040206" rel="nofollow">join The Memoir Project free newsletter list</a> and keep up to date on all my free webinars and instructive posts, as well as our online classes, our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

Ep. 108 Allison K. Williams

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Kerri Maher knows how to choose topics to write about. The author of the USA Today bestseller, The Paris Bookseller, is back with one of the most compelling topics of our time. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life.</a> Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.

Ep. 107 Kerri Maher

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Matt Mendez is the author of Barely Missing Everything, his debut novel, and the short story collection Twitching Heart. He writes from places that have been traiditonally ignored and brings his perspective to his work. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life</a>. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.

Ep. 106 Matt Mendez

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<a href="https://www.spiritual-af.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.spiritual-af.com/</a><a href="https://www.resourceforwriters.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.resourceforwriters.com/</a>

Ep. 105 Roxan Mcdonald

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Alice Carriere has written a dynamic debut memoir from her unconventional, big downtown New York life. Raised in the art scene, she is practically burdened with great, vivid material, including a supporting cast of celebrity artists, actors and infuencers. How to write a memoir from a vivid, troubled upbringing? Like this. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.

Ep. 104 Alice Carriere

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How to write memoir from the middle of the mess? Perhaps the expert on this is author Michele Cushatt, whose books from Zondervan, provide readers with the guidance to read and live through life&#39;s complications. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.

Ep. 103 Michele Cushatt

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Dave Pelzer, bestselling author of A Child Called It and Qwerty podcast host Marion Roach Smith talk about writing from a place of helping others. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life</a>. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.

Ep. 102 Dave Pelzer

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How to write an anonymous memoir with Lamya H, author of Hijab Butch Blues. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life.</a> Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.

Ep. 101 Lamya H

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How to write a braided memoir? Author Robin Schepper and host Marion Roach Smith take on the topic of the braided memoir in this episode of The Qwerty podcast. Listen in and learn how to live this writing life. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Memoir-Project-Thoroughly-Non-Standardized-Writing/dp/0446584843" rel="nofollow">The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing &amp; Life.</a> Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know.

Ep. 100 Robin Schepper

Writing tips and instruction from successful authors.

Author Marion Roach Smith interviews the best writers in all genres to discover their process. QWERTY is about the real challenges of writing and the steps anyone can take to become a better storyteller. Join the conversation.