Writers, Ink: Your backstage pass to the world's most prolific authors

J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle

What does it take to succeed as a writer? Join host J.D. Barker and a panel of industry experts as they pull back the curtain and offer rare insights from the household names found on bookshelves worldwide.

  1. 1d ago

    Writers, Ink Podcast: Episode 354 - David Weiden explains why all good writing starts at the Scholastic Book Fair.

    Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about pocket books, podcast publicity, and a quirky vocab. Then, stick around for a chat with David Weiden! David Heska Wanbli Weiden, an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota nation, is the author of Wisdom Corner, forthcoming in July, 2026 from Ecco/HarperCollins. He’s also the author of the national bestseller Winter Counts (Ecco, 2020), which was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The book was also the winner of the Anthony, Thriller, Lefty, Barry, Macavity, Spur, High Plains, Tillie Olsen, CrimeFest (UK), Crime Fiction Lover (UK) Awards, and was the winner of the Electa Quinney Award from the Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures. The novel was longlisted for the Hammett Prize, Shamus Award, Colorado Book Award, Reading the West Award, and the VCU Cabell First Novel Award. The novel was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, an Indie Next pick, main selection of the Book of the Month Club, and named a Best Book of the year by NPR, Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The Guardian, and other magazines. The novel is included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 best mystery and thriller novels of all time. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    52 min

  2. Jun 30

    Why the outline is the lie we all agree to, with Maurice Broaddus.

    Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about ElevenLabs, Porter Square Books, Tinder, and ThriftBooks. Then, stick around for a chat with Maurice Broaddus! Maurice Broaddus: An Award-Winning Afrofuturist, editor, and librarian, Maurice Broaddus has had over a hundred short stories published in such places as Lightspeed Magazine, Black Panther: Tales from Wakanda, Out There Screaming (edited by Jordan Peele), The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand, Asimov’s, Weird Tales, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Apex Magazine. With over a dozen novels in print, his latest include Sweep of Stars, Breath of Oblivion, A City Dreaming, Black Panther: T’Challa Declassified, & Unfadeable. Some of his short stories have been collected in The Voices of Martyrs. Learn more at MauriceBroaddus.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    50 min

  3. Jun 23

    How hard-hitting reporting can translate into a novel, with bestseller Sarah Vaughan.

    Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Simon & Schuster, Elias Thorne, and why publishing more content is making your SEO worse. Then, stick around for a chat with Sarah Vaughan! Sarah Vaughan is the Sunday Times and international bestselling author of Anatomy of a Scandal, Little Disasters and Reputation, plus two earlier novels. Translated into 26 languages, Anatomy of a Scandal became a worldwide number one Netflix limited series, watched for 200 million hours in its first month alone, and starring Sienna Miller, Michelle Dockery and Rupert Friend. Little Disasters dropped on Paramount Plus in May 2025, and stars Diane Kruger, Jo Joyner and a “powerhouse cast” including JJ Feild, Shelley Conn, Emily Taaffe and Stephen Campbell Moore. Reputation has been optioned by Made Up Stories and 3dot productions, the team behind Anatomy of a Scandal. Before writing fiction, Sarah spent 15 years as a journalist, including 11 at the Guardian as a political correspondent and news reporter: great preparation for thrillers exploring power, privilege and misogyny, and incorporating police investigations and criminal trials. Brought up in Devon, she lives near Cambridge, England with her family and dog. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    58 min

  4. Jun 16

    Accessing past lives with NYT bestseller, Lauren Oliver.

    Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Authors Guild, Subterranean Press, Google's AI Overviews, and The Odyssey. Then, stick around for a chat with Lauren Oliver! Lauren Oliver is an author, screenwriter, and media entrepreneur. She is the author of the upcoming novels WHAT HAPPENED TO LUCY VALE (Sep 1, 2025) and THE GIRL IN THE LAKE (May 2026). Her previous works include multiple New York Times bestselling novels for teens, including Before I Fall (which spent seventeen weeks on the list and was adapted into a feature film released by Open Road), the Delirium trilogy (a two-million-copy-selling dystopian series translated into thirty-five languages), and Panic, which she later adapted into the streaming TV show on Amazon Prime of the same name, for which she wrote every episode and served as Executive Producer. Along the way, Lauren founded the IP company StoryGiants and helped to package and edit nearly one hundred other novels. She is also the co-founder of Incantor AI, a self-scaling digital media engine built on a new and proprietary foundational model of artificial intelligence that respects copyright by providing both IP attribution and royalty shares to contributing sources. Raised in Westchester, New York, Lauren attended the University of Chicago and got her MFA from NYU. She now divides her time between Maryland and Los Angeles. You can follow her on Goodreads, Amazon, or Instagram (lauren_oliver_books) to learn more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    54 min

  5. Jun 9

    NYT Bestseller Caroline Kepnes takes us back to the beginning with YOU FIRST.

    Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Netflix, Audio Erotica, and trademarks. Then, stick around for a chat with Caroline Kepnes! Caroline Kepnes is the New York Times bestselling author of You, Hidden Bodies, Providence and You Love Me. Her work has been translated into a multitude of languages and inspired a television series adaptation of You, currently on Netflix. Kepnes graduated from Brown University and then worked as a pop culture journalist for Entertainment Weekly and a TV writer for 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She grew up in Cape Cod, and now lives in Los Angeles.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    55 min

  6. Jun 2

    Screenplays, Bestsellers, and everything in between with Lee Goldberg.

    Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Kindle Translate, ChatGPT book recommendations, and John Grisham's new legal drama. Then, stick around for a chat with Lee Goldberg! Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award and two-time Shamus Award nominee and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including the Eve Ronin series, the Sharpe & Walker series, the Ian Ludlow trilogy, fifteen Monk mysteries, and five internationally bestselling Fox & O’Hare books co-written with Janet Evanovich. He has also written and/or produced many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, SeaQuest, and Monk, and is the co-creator of the hit Hallmark movie series Mystery 101. As an international television consultant, he has advised networks and studios in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, China, Sweden, and the Netherlands on the creation, writing, and production of episodic television series. He is also co-founder of the publishing company Brash Books. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    55 min

  7. May 26

    Sustaining a career in romance with New York Times bestselling author, Lori Foster.

    Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Bloomsbury, Minotaur, and subscription addiction. Then, stick around for a chat with Lori Foster! Lori Foster is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than 100 titles. She’s known for her fun, very sexy contemporary romance novels revolving around alpha males who meet (and fall in love with) strong, independent women. Lori’s been a recipient of the prestigious RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award for Series Romantic Fantasy, and for Contemporary Romance. Even more fun, Lori’s been a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle, a clue in the USA Today Quick-cross puzzle, and the sensual and sexy Too Much Temptation was Amazon’s 2002 top-selling title in Romance. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    53 min

  8. May 19

    The case of the mysterious chewed pen cap with Shannon Chakraborty.

    Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Hollywood, Hachette Book Group, and AI Slop. Then, stick around for a chat with Shannon Chakraborty! Shannon Chakraborty is the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of The Daevabad Trilogy and The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. Her work has been translated into over a dozen languages and nominated for the Hugo, Locus, World Fantasy, Crawford, and Astounding awards. You can find her online at www.sachakraborty.com or on Instagram at @SAChakrabooks. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    50 min
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4.6
out of 5
57 Ratings

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What does it take to succeed as a writer? Join host J.D. Barker and a panel of industry experts as they pull back the curtain and offer rare insights from the household names found on bookshelves worldwide.

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