
Larissa Pham, author of DISCIPLINE
From Writers on Writing by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone
March 7, 2026 · 50 min
About this episode
Larissa Pham discusses her debut novel 'Discipline' and various aspects of writing with hosts Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone.
Larissa Pham’s writing has appeared in The Nation, the New York Times Book Review, Aperture, Bookforum, Art in America, Granta, the Paris Review Daily, and elsewhere. Her essays and short fiction have been anthologized in Kink (Simon and Schuster, 2021); Wanting: Women Writing on Desire (Catapult, 2023); and Critical Hits, an anthology of writing on video games (Graywolf, 2023). She holds an MFA in fiction from Bennington. She is an Assistant Professor of Writing at the New School. Her debut novel, just published, is Discipline. Larissa joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about plot, narrative tense, the freedom of writing without quotation marks, metafiction, revision, naming characters, themes, and 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 find an album’s worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It’s perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. You…
People in this episode
Hosts: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Marrie Stone
Guest: Larissa Pham
Topics covered
- writing
- fiction
- narrative
- revision
- character development
- metafiction
Keywords
- Larissa Pham
- Discipline
- writing
- fiction
- narrative tense
- revision
- metafiction
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Nation, New York Times Book Review, Aperture, Bookforum, Art in America, Granta, Paris Review Daily, Simon and Schuster, Catapult, Graywolf
Books & works: Discipline
More episodes of Writers on Writing
- Steven Rowley, author of TAKE ME WITH YOU · June 9, 2026 · 45 min
- Tom Perrotta, author of GHOST TOWN · June 1, 2026 · 1h 0m
- Cassandra Neyenesch, author of A LITTLE BIT BAD · May 26, 2026 · 58 min
- Ada Limón, author of AGAINST BREAKING: ON THE POWER OF POETRY · May 18, 2026 · 55 min
- Estelle Erasmus, author of WRITING THAT GETS NOTICED · May 12, 2026 · 1h 8m
- Jayne Anne Phillips, author of SMALL TOWN GIRLS · May 4, 2026 · 1h 1m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Writers on Writing podcast page.