Liberation is Lit Podcast

Tayler Simon
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Books
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to the Liberation is Lit podcast, where the power of storytelling meets the force of social change! In this podcast, we believe in the profound impact of stories – stories that amplify voices, challenge norms, and foster understanding.Whether you're a literature enthusiast, an advocate for social justice, or simply someone who believes in the transformative power of stories, you're in the right place. Tune in, and let's embark on a journey together – one where every story has the potential to change the world.

  1. 4d ago

    Branching Outward to Community (with Riley Danvers)

    In this episode, we talk with poet and author Riley Danvers about writing, identity, and Riley’s new poetry collection, Arborism of Branching: Sonnets for Post-Divorce Photosynthesis. Riley shares how reading and nature inspire their work, beginning with a childhood love of haiku, and explains how the book’s sonnets chronicle a year after leaving an abusive marriage, moving through seasons as metaphors for shedding, searching, and self-actualization. We discuss the vulnerability of writing trauma, the importance of grounding through reading and community, and poetry recommendations. Riley urges artists to create as an act of resistance, sharing work widely. Riley’s Books Arborism of Branching Even the Air, Too Heavy Other Books Mentioned No Language is Neutral by Dionne Brand Fierce Departures by Dionne Brand Surge by Etel Adnan Night by Etel Adnan Revelated by Matt Hart Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill Hekate: The Witch by Nikita Gill Styx: The River by Nikita Gill Where to Find Riley Instagram Threads www.writingasajourney.com Timeline 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:45 Riley’s Writing Origins 03:16 Arborism of Branching Overview 04:40 Seasons of Healing 06:24 Identity After Abuse 09:49 Staying Grounded as a Writer 12:22 Recent Reads and Poetry Recs 14:51 What’s Next Feminist Rage Manuscript 17:50 Advice Artists as Resistance 20:44 Where to Find Riley Closing Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

    Branching Outward to Community (with Riley Danvers)

  2. Sep 18

    Stories to Understand the World (with Susanne Kuhlendahl)

    In this episode, we welcome German graphic artist and writer Susanne Kulendahl to discuss her graphic adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando. Kulendahl shares her path from studying visual arts and illustrating calendars and children’s books to creating graphic novels. She explains how a publisher’s Virginia Woolf biography project led her to read Woolf’s work, with Orlando becoming her favorite, and describes translating the novel into images. We discuss how Orlando treats gender change as natural, Woolf’s ironic tone, and why the story remains relevant today.  Susanne’s Books Orlando: A Graphic Novel Adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Queer Classic Death in Venice: According to Thomas Mann  Where to Find Susanne https://susanne-kuhlendahl.de/ Instagram Timeline 00:00 Welcome to Liberation is Lit 00:20 Meet Susanne Kulendahl 00:56 Why Graphic Classics Work 01:24 Susanne’s Creator Journey 02:34 Finding Virginia Woolf 03:43 Adapting Orlando in Images 04:57 Reading as Inner Cinema 06:22 Storytelling and Social Change 08:52 Favorite Scenes to Draw 09:51 What She’s Reading Now 10:30 Staying Grounded as an Artist 11:50 Where to Find Susanne Online 12:24 Podcast Wrap Up and Farewell Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

    Stories to Understand the World (with Susanne Kuhlendahl)

  3. May 29

    This is How You Love Her (with Traci Saulsberry)

    In this episode, we welcome author and publicist Traci Saulsberry to discuss her upcoming book, This Is How You Love Her. Saulsberry shares her long-held desire to write, her career in publicity including working at NBC, and how leaving corporate prompted questions of identity that led her back to writing. She describes a non-traditional publishing journey that began with a LinkedIn message to a publishing president and evolved into a book deal and a “meta” narrative that shows her finding herself while writing about self-love. The book releases in August, so pre-order today! Traci’s Book This is How You Love Her (out on 8/14) Where to find Traci Instagram LinkedIn Timeline 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:34 Traci’s Path to Authorship 02:23 Landing a Book Deal 03:31 Why the Book Is Nonlinear 04:51 Finding the Title and Theme 06:40 Identity Beyond the Work 09:49 Surrender, Control, and Vulnerability 13:15 Journaling as a Map to Self 15:51 Upcoming Projects and Promotion 17:25 Advice, Preorders, and Farewell Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

    This is How You Love Her (with Traci Saulsberry)

  4. May 15

    Making It Over the Tobin Bridge (with Charity Collier)

    In this episode, we welcome debut novelist Charity Collier to discuss her journey to becoming an author, from journaling and overcoming dyslexia-related discouragement to gaining confidence with her writing. Charity shares the inspiration and symbolism behind her romance novel, Making It Over the Tobin Bridge, rooted in Boston’s North Shore/South Shore culture and the bridge’s meaning as a personal crossing. We explore how romance can be powerful and subversive, emphasizing self-love, empowerment, and platonic love alongside romantic relationships.  Charity’s Book Making It Over the Tobin Bridge Other Books Mentioned Midnight Library by Matt Haig The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman Where to Find Charity Instagram Timeline 00:00 Welcome to the Podcast 01:10 Charity’s Writing Journey 04:00 Why Tobin Bridge 05:39 Reinventing Romance 09:37 Staying Grounded 10:59 Next Book Wolf Eyes 14:22 Books Inspiring Her 17:08 Community Impact Advice 19:45 Where to Find Charity 20:33 Final Thanks and Outro Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

    Making It Over the Tobin Bridge (with Charity Collier)

  5. May 8

    Stories of Hurt That Heal (with Kim Coleman Foote)

    On the Liberation is Lit podcast, host Tayler Simon talks with New Jersey author Kim Coleman Foote about her lifelong journey as a writer, the family storytelling that inspired her historical fiction, and how her novel Coleman Hill uses both tragedy and humor to humanize relatives and explore intergenerational trauma rooted in slavery. Foote discusses researching family history, using imagination when records are missing, and how writing helped her gain empathy without excusing harm, while challenging normalized cycles of violence. She shares grounding practices like taking breaks, prioritizing mental health, and accountability, and previews her upcoming book Saltwater Sister, which moves between the 18th century and 1999 to examine the Dutch role in the slave trade, repeating history, Ghana, and reparations. The episode closes with community-impact advice: start small by building respectful relationships with neighbors. Kim’s book Coleman Hill Where to Find Kim Website Instagram Facebook Timeline 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:37 Kim’s Writing Journey 01:30 Why Historical Fiction 04:48 Trauma and Humor in Coleman Hill 07:52 Humanizing Family Through Backstory 09:05 Research and Character Childhoods 11:40 Writing as Healing and Breaking Cycles 13:56 Staying Grounded as a Writer 16:50 Saltwater Sister Preview 19:58 Making Impact Locally 21:12 Where to Follow and Closing Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

    Stories of Hurt That Heal (with Kim Coleman Foote)

  6. May 2

    A Soul With Good Intentions (with Channelle Desamours)

    In this episode, we welcome author and high school science teacher Channelle Desamours to discuss her new YA supernatural thriller mystery, They Call Her Regret. Channelle shares why she writes for teens, how the dystopian boom reignited her reading, and how science and problem-solving inform her approach to mysteries.  Channelle’s Books They Call Her Regret Needy Little Things Other Books Mentioned When I Was Death by Alexis Henderson The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera Where to Find Channelle channelledesamours.com Instagram TikTok Timeline 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:02 Why Write YA Mysteries 04:24 Regret Plot and Stakes 05:40 Themes of Consequences 08:54 Social Justice in Fiction 11:35 Staying Grounded as Author 13:13 Students Reading Her Books 15:29 Upcoming Releases and Writing 17:18 Recent Reads and Recs 19:02 Advice and Closing Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

    A Soul With Good Intentions (with Channelle Desamours)

  7. Apr 24

    Vulnerable Heart and Creative Stillness (with Dhayana Alejandrina)

    In this episode, we welcome writer Dhayana Alejandrina to discuss storytelling, social change, and Dhayana’s concept “Creative Stillness,” a reframe of writer’s block as a needed pause to live life and spark creativity. Dhayana shares her origins as a writer, her focus on capturing humanness, and how social media pressures and hyper-capitalism can distort creative worth, emphasizing trusting your voice and what true support looks like beyond trends. Dhayana’s Book Creative Stillness Agridulce Where to find Dhayana Substack  https://dhayana-alejandrina.square.site/ Instagram Timeline 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 01:15 Dhayana Writing Origins 03:06 Creative Stillness Explained 06:21 Creating Under Pressure 11:42 Why Community Matters 16:26 Published Works and Workshops 18:53 Staying Grounded as a Writer 22:14 Advice for Community Impact 24:48 Where to Find Dhayana 25:37 Closing and Call to Action Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

    Vulnerable Heart and Creative Stillness (with Dhayana Alejandrina)

  8. Apr 17

    Defining Ourselves as Human Beings (with D.A. Murray)

    In this episode, we welcome author D.A. Murray to discuss her dystopian novel Dominion: Ascension and how storytelling can explore social change. Murray shares her background as a longtime writer and a Black woman in corporate America and tech, explaining that the book was shaped by observations of social, political, and economic power dynamics, shifting gender roles, coercion, and technology’s influence on humanity.  D.A. Murray’s book Dominion: Ascension Other Books Mentioned Vicious by VE Schawb The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne Where to Find D. A. damurrayoffical.com Facebook Instagram Tiktok Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:39 Chicago Weather Banter 01:14 Why Write Dystopia 04:46 Themes Behind Dominion 07:53 Bias and IQ Testing 09:17 Coercion and Power 13:05 Staying Grounded Today 14:51 What She Reads Now 16:23 Book Two Teaser 17:31 Advice for Impact 20:01 Where to Follow 20:44 Podcast Wrap Up Thank you for being part of the Liberation is Lit podcast! If you have stories to share, want to suggest topics, or just want to connect, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @liberationislit or visit our website at liberationislit.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider leaving a review! Remember, your voice matters, and together, through the lens of stories, we're making a difference in the world.

    Defining Ourselves as Human Beings (with D.A. Murray)
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About

Welcome to the Liberation is Lit podcast, where the power of storytelling meets the force of social change! In this podcast, we believe in the profound impact of stories – stories that amplify voices, challenge norms, and foster understanding.Whether you're a literature enthusiast, an advocate for social justice, or simply someone who believes in the transformative power of stories, you're in the right place. Tune in, and let's embark on a journey together – one where every story has the potential to change the world.

Information

  • Creator
    Tayler Simon
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    75
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Liberation is Lit Podcast
  • Show Website
    Liberation is Lit Podcast