[Working Title‪]‬ Working Title Pod

This week on [Working Title] we talk about the only novel with donut-making space aliens, cursed violins, and fierce trans pride: LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS by Ryka Aoki! Join Dana, Leah, and special guest Mackenzie as we explore the ultimate genre mash-up, emotionally resonant food scenes, and prose as brutal as it is hopeful.

You can find Mackenzie over on Instagram at @bookish_black_hole, read their blog at colourmeread.com, or connect on Twitter at @itnotMackenzie

In this episode, guest Eve White joins Leah and Dana to discuss finding the balance between marketing and creating your art and the impact social media has on our artistic processes.


Check out Eve's Art here: https://www.instagram.com/eve___white/?hl=en

Powerful storytelling cuts across forms and formats, so this week we're reading some comics! Dana and Leah explore the ways that comics and graphic novels build fantastical worlds using both picture and prose, creating shifts in perspective, pacing, and focus.



Episode reading list...

Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening, written by Marjorie M. Liu and illustrated by Sana Takeda

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, written by Ram V. and illustrated by Filipe Andrade



Also referenced...

Stand Still, Stay Silent, written and illustrated by Minna Sunberg

MIND MGMT, written and illustrated by Matt Kindt

Bitch Planet, written by Kelly Sue DeConnich and illustrated by Valentine De Landro

Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by a variety of artists.

In this episode, Leah and Dana discuss the second installment to Becky Chambers' quiet, utopic Monk and Robot series: A prayer for the Crown-Shy. They explore how stories can be used to open space for questions and they, themselves, ask whether this story is spoilable.

On our quest for story wisdom, this week we dive into tabletop roleplaying games! Dana and Leah play a city-building game called "i'm sorry did you say street magic" and discuss the experience of collaborative creativity, and the freedom of play.



"i'm sorry did you say street magic" by Caro Ascension is available here. 

"Scum and Villainy" from Evil Hat Productions is available here. 

"The World Is Ending and We Are Very Large Dogs" is available here.



Spreadsheet used for game notes created by @KurtRefling.

Welcome to Season 3! In this episode, Dana and Leah talk about how our relationship with our writing has changed and our plans to pursue generative, non-judgemental, creative practices