Pen Pals

Kelton Wright and Krisserin Canary
  • 5.0 (31)
  • Arts
  • Updated Weekly

Join writers and parents Krisserin Canary and Kelton Wright as they navigate the journey of publishing their first novels. From California to Colorado, these friends share their experiences with first drafts, revisions, query letters, and the rollercoaster of rejection. Each episode offers an honest look at balancing creative ambitions with daily life, featuring candid conversations about writing craft, time management, and staying motivated. Whether you're a fellow writer or just love a good behind-the-scenes story, Pen Pals proves that every creative journey is better with a friend.Email us at: officialpenpalspod@gmail.comMusic by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

  1. 5d ago

    Babe, I Don’t Know How to Write a Joke: Caitlin Kunkel on Learning to Write Funny

    Kelton crossed 78,000 words this week and has officially retired the word-count goal in favor of structural editing, while Krisserin wrapped a craft essay for her IAIA mentor and is bracing for a stack of looming MFA deadlines. Both hosts admit the season is already busy — school fundraiser season, novel revisions, and the general chaos of trying to write while parenting — but they're feeling good. Then comedy writer and teacher Caitlin Kunkel joins to talk about her new book, Inside Jokes: A Comedy and Creativity Guide for All Writers, co-written with Elissa Bassist. Caitlin breaks down comedy as a learnable, technical skill: how to spot a "confident idiot," why beginning writers bury their best joke in the middle of a sentence, and how "benign violation theory" explains why some jokes land and others don't. She traces her own path from drama-school seriousness to satire at The Second City, talks about baking comedy into a story's premise (Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here, Hilary Leichter's Temporary), and digs into how humor differs across generations, platforms, and audiences. The conversation ranges from Patricia Lockwood's physical comedy to the ethics of joking about self-harm to why farts are, categorically, funny. Krisserin and Kelton close out with their goals for the week — five chapters of edits for Kelton, 2,500 words and another craft essay for Krisserin — plus a listener book recommendation to add to the TBR pile. PRE-ORDER Inside Jokes, A Comedy and Creativity Guide for All Writers by Caitlin Kunkle and Elissa Bassist, available October 20, 2026. Follow Caitlin: https://caitlinkunkel.com/ Instagram: @kunkeltron Books Mentioned in this episode: Inside Jokes: A Comedy and Creativity Guide for All Writers by Caitlin Kunkel & Elissa Bassist New Erotica for Feminists: Satirical Fantasies of Love, Lust, and Equal Pay by Caitlin Kunkel Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson Temporary by Hilary Leichter A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Big Swiss by Jen Beagin Sky Daddy by Kate Folk Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash Hollow Bones by Jodi Picoult Float Plan by Trish Doller The Lost Journals of Sacagawea by Debra Magpie Earling Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

  2. Sep 8

    Season 3: We're Back, and One of Us Wrote a Book This Summer

    Krisserin and Kelton are back for Season 3 and this summer, one of them actually wrote a book. Kelton hit 66,000 words on her rom-com after finally abandoning her identity as a "pantser" and writing from a full outline for the first time. Krisserin did not write a novel. She'll tell you exactly why. Instead, Krisserin spent six of eight summer weeks away from her desk — an MFA residency at the Institute of American Indian Arts, a 20th-anniversary trip to Vancouver and Victoria, two weeks in Portland and two weeks in Japan — and quietly began a new auto-fictional, historical project after officially parting ways with her literary agent this spring. It's the kind of summer that makes their European listener's advice to "slow down and do less" land a little differently. They talk honestly about why the agent split happened, the particular exhaustion of a summer with no rest in it, and the very different ways outlining has recently rewired Kelton's drafting process. Plus: rom-com craft talk, a debate about whether Princess Donut is safe, and an open call for anyone with boat knowledge who wants to be an alpha reader. Season 3 is officially underway — and they're looking for debut authors to feature. If that's you, or you know someone, get in touch. Books mentioned in this episode: Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman Nora Goes Off Script and Same Time Next Summer by Annabelle Monaghan Booby Moon: A Weaning Book for Toddlers, Creating Magic, Wonder, and Ritual for a More Joyful Experience for All by Yvette Reid, illustrated by Camilo Zapeta Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

  3. Jun 15

    Slow Down. Do Less. Let the Creativity Flow | Season 2 Finale

    Season two is officially in the books 🎉 This week, we’re doing something a little different: opening up the listener survey and sharing what surprised us, what made us laugh, what made us rethink things, and what we’re taking into season three. We get into: The biggest takeaways from your survey responsesWho’s actually listening (writers… and surprisingly, a lot of non-writers)The topics you want more of next season (writer burnout, mental health, money, motherhood, revision, and creative sustainability)What worked—and didn’t—with guest episodesDream guests and future episode ideasHow writers actually pay the billsAccountability partners, writing communities, and whether we should finally start a Pen Pals SlackWhat it means to pursue creative goals when life keeps happeningWe also reflect on feedback we received this season, talk about how we think about criticism and community, and share what we’re excited to experiment with next. Thank you for listening, emailing, sharing episodes, and spending another season with us. Whether you’re drafting your novel, revising, dreaming about starting, or just here for two friends trying to make something meaningful while juggling real life—we’re so glad you’re here. See you in season three ❤️ Mentioned in this episode: "real eyes realize real lies: on Yesteryear and selling out" by Haley at Brain Stew on Substack. WcS1rs5om7K5v2FfkLxW Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

  4. Jun 8

    The Untold Women Who Shaped the American Outdoors with Heather Hansman

    Kelton brings on one of her favorite outdoor writers: Heather Hansman, award-winning journalist, contributing editor at Outside Magazine, and author of Downriver and Powder Days. Heather's newest book, Fierce Country, uncovers the stories of three women — Grand Canyon guide Georgie White, environmental philosopher Dolores LaChapelle, and wilderness guide Anne LaBastille — who shaped how we think about public land, conservation, and who gets to feel at home in the outdoors. Their stories were largely ignored. Heather spent years in archives fixing that. The conversation covers what it actually takes to build a freelance writing career in the outdoor space (grindier than it looks), how Heather knew Fierce Country was a book and not just a great magazine piece, what it was like to report on women who left no living children and whose archives were sitting in a stranger's spare room, and why she thinks the key to pitching is making the editor's job as easy as possible. She also talks about her morning commute ritual, Ann Friedman's advice to "kiss sideways," and why she initially resisted the idea of writing about women at all. Plus: Kelton and Krisserin close out the season with listener shoutouts, survey news, and summer goals — including Kelton's Caribbean rom-com that plotted itself out in one feverish afternoon. Books Mentioned in this Episode: Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns, and the Future of Chasing Snow by Heather Hansman Downriver: Into the Future of Water in the West by Heather Hansman London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe Horses by Jake Skeets  Daytime Moon by Kerri Schlottman Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman  Off Campus Series by Elle Kennedy   Follow Heather: Website: heatherhansman.com Instagram: @hhansman Pre-order Fierce Country at your local indie bookstore or Bookshop.org — pub date July 14, 2026 📋 WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Pen Pals has a listener survey and we need your feedback to make the show even better. Fill it out at: https://form.typeform.com/to/kIosWT3L — it takes just a few minutes and means the world to us. Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

  5. Jun 1

    The Case for Abandoning Your Book (For Now)

    📋 WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Pen Pals has a listener survey and we need your feedback to make the show even better. Fill it out at: https://form.typeform.com/to/kIosWT3L — it takes just a few minutes and means the world to us. In this late-season check-in, Krisserin and Kelton answer a listener letter from Paige, a new mom asking whether to return to her pandemic-era novel or start one of her shiny new ideas. Their answer surprises even them — and leads to an honest conversation about burnout, creative momentum, and how to use stolen writing time when life refuses to pause. Plus: Dungeon Crawler Carl, and the listener survey you really should fill out. Books mentioned in this episode: - Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman - Nora Goes Off Script by Annabelle Monaghan - Unstuck by Ramona Ausubel  - The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - The Easter Parade by Richard Yates - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

  6. May 25

    What Breathwork Unlocks for Writers with Amanda Fletcher

    Krisserin and Kelton are running on fumes — sleep-deprived, burned out, and staring down a summer deadline that feels impossible. Enter Amanda Fletcher: writer, breathwork practitioner, PEN Center USA Emerging Voices fellow, and one of the most magnetic people in the Los Angeles literary community. Amanda shares her winding path from born storyteller to mathlete to kinesiology major, and the losses that knocked her off course — including her mother's death by suicide when Amanda was 24. What followed was over a decade of addiction, a broken neck, and eventually the writing classes and recovery community that brought her back to the page. Amanda explains how she discovered breathwork in early sobriety, why she believes our stories are imprinted on our nervous systems, and how the same limiting beliefs that block our creativity can be unlocked through intentional breathing. She guides listeners through a simple breathwork exercise they can use before a writing session, and makes the case that getting unstuck as a writer might start with getting out of your head and into your body. Follow Amanda: Instagram: @theamandafletcher Email: theamandafletcher@gmail.com Website: amandafletcher.me Amanda's upcoming virtual breathwork sessions: Tuesday, June 2 at 6pm PT Saturday, June 6 at 8am PT Saturday, June 20 at 8am PT Saturday, June 27 at 10am PT Tuesday, June 30 at 6pm PT Books Mentioned in this Episode: "The Ogress and the Orphans" by Kelly Barnhill  "Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke  "White Oleander" by Janet Fitch  "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield  "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey  "Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter" by Heather Fawcett Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

  7. May 18

    ER Visits, Cozy Reads, and the Grace of Not Writing

    Krisserin checks in from a Kansas City hotel room fresh off an unexpected ER visit in St. Louis — chest pains, a CT scan, and a lot of unanswered questions — while Kelton battles a household plague of sickness, broken blow-dryers, and postpartum burnout. The two trade brutally honest book reviews: Krisserin DNFs the buzzy bestseller Yesteryear (great concept, rough execution), while Kelton grinds through the literary sci-fi of The Other Valley and falls head over heels for Heather Fawcett's Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter. They dig into what makes good writing actually good — from research depth to character arcs to the controversial no-quotation-marks device — and commiserate over nepo babies in Hollywood, the guilt of not writing, and the importance of just taking care of yourself when life is beating you up. This week's goals: a spa treatment in Vegas and some middle grade fiction in the mountains. Books Mentioned in this episode: "Yesteryear" by Caro Claire Burke "The Other Valley" by Scott Alexander Howard "Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter" by Heather Fawcett "Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke "Dungeon Crawler Carl" by Matt Matt Dinniman "The Ogress and the Orphans" by Kelly Barnhill "The Bear and the Nightingale" by Katherine Arden Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

  8. May 11

    Alli Hoff Kosik on Writing Christian Influencers with Heart in Too Blessed to Stress

    This week on Pen Pals, Krisserin and Kelton sit down with debut novelist Alli Hoff Kosik to discuss her buzzy new novel, Too Blessed to Stress — a sharp, funny, and unexpectedly tender story about Christian influencers, megachurch culture, and the complicated women behind perfectly curated feeds. Alli shares how a pandemic-era fascination with influencer culture inspired the book, why she wanted to approach her characters with empathy instead of judgment, and how social media, capitalism, faith, and performance intersect online. They also discuss writing motherhood into real life, balancing creativity with burnout, MFA programs, multiple POV novels, and the challenge of building a writing life while raising small children. Plus: Secret Lives of Mormon Wives comparisons, parasocial internet rabbit holes, writing routines, podcasting, and whether Krisserin and Kelton actually sound the same. Books Mentioned in This Episode The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard The Giver by Lois Lowry Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid Come and Get It by Kiley Reid Maame by Jessica George Love by the Book by Jessica George Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella Long Bright River by Liz Moore Nightshade by Eli Raphael Find Alli Hoff Kosik Website: Alli Hoff Kosik Official Website Instagram: @allihoffkosik Substack: https://allihoffkosik.substack.com/ Podcast: Is This a Thing? with Abby Wolfe Buy Too Blessed to Stress on Bookshop.org Write to us: officialpenpalspod@gmail.com Follow us: Instagram: @penpalspod TikTok: @penpalspod YouTube: @PenPalsPod SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com Follow Krisserin and Kelton: TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

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5
out of 5
31 Ratings

About

Join writers and parents Krisserin Canary and Kelton Wright as they navigate the journey of publishing their first novels. From California to Colorado, these friends share their experiences with first drafts, revisions, query letters, and the rollercoaster of rejection. Each episode offers an honest look at balancing creative ambitions with daily life, featuring candid conversations about writing craft, time management, and staying motivated. Whether you're a fellow writer or just love a good behind-the-scenes story, Pen Pals proves that every creative journey is better with a friend.Email us at: officialpenpalspod@gmail.comMusic by Golden Hour Oasis Studios

Information

  • Creator
    Kelton Wright and Krisserin Canary
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    57
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Pen Pals
  • Show Website
    Pen Pals

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