About this episode

Elizabeth Strout discusses her writing journey and her latest novel, The Things We Never Say.

Elizabeth Strout is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Things We Never Say, Tell Me Everything; Lucy by the Sea; Oh William!, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Olive, Again; Anything Is Possible, winner of the Story Prize; My Name Is Lucy Barton; The Burgess Boys; Olive Kitteridge, winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Abide with Me; and Amy and Isabelle, winner of the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize. She has also been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in London. Elizabeth joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about finding her voice, how she’s never been a plotter, how her new novel, The Things We Never Say, came to her, how characters arrive, theme, setting, the worst advice she’s ever been given, exposing yourself as a writer, and so much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It’s stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you’ll…

People in this episode

Hosts: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Marrie Stone

Guest: Elizabeth Strout

Topics covered

• writing process
• author interviews
• literary themes
• character development
• voice in writing

Keywords

• Elizabeth Strout
• writing
• novel
• characters
• voice
• literature
• interview

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, PEN/Faulkner Award, Orange Prize

Books & works: THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY, Tell Me Everything, Lucy by the Sea, Oh William!, Olive, Again, Anything Is Possible, My Name Is Lucy Barton, The Burgess Boys, Olive Kitteridge, Abide with Me

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