Drunken Pen Writing Podcast

In today's Murakami Minute, we discuss Book Two of 1Q84. A lot of bizarre things occur in this book, but nothing quite like what might be the worst sex scenes we've ever read! Book Two features plenty of murder, cats, and super erections. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast. You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

In today's cold open, we read from Edmund Spenser's epic fantasy poem, The Faerie Queene. We also discuss the Arthurian language used and why the work is so difficult to read. After that, we settle down and talk about bad writing and ways to fix it! We cover an article on the subject from www.aliventures.com, which gives some great examples of bad writing and tips on how to fix it. Of course, we share some of the things we've learned over the years and how we go about crafting stories.  Finally, after the outro music, we have a secret book club for you! And no, Spencer is not involved in this one. It's the brand new Book Creepers Club! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We're back with a brand new episode of our hit mini-series, A Murakami Minute! This time around, we tackle Haruki Murakami's nearly 1200-page monster of a sci-fi, magical realism, and romance novel, 1Q84.  In this first episode, we discuss book one of three (the novel is broken down into three books). Our conversation focuses less on the story and more on Murakami's writing style, the translation (and its issues), what we like and dislike about the books so far, and the cultural differences between Japanese fiction and Western writing. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We begin today's cold open by complaining about awful book influencers who charge a lot of money for terrible book reviews. Then we read an excerpt from Lonesome Dove! After all that, we settle in and talk about the best non-superhero comic books of the 2020s, or at least according to a list we found. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast. You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

In today's cold open, we briefly discuss some writing updates and a writers' group we attended. After that, we break down pacing in fiction and give tips on how to do it well. We also share examples of good and bad pacing in famous novels. Yeah, we name and shame! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

In today's cold open, we discuss what reading level the average adult should be at. Studies have shown that the average currently sits between a 5th-grade and 7th-grade reading level, but we feel that's way too low. We also recommend some books that we feel adults should be able to read and comprehend without any issues.  After that, we challenge our reading levels by revisiting one of the few Books of the Month we did not finish. Though this time things turn out quite different! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast. You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

No cold open today. Instead, we dive right into the topic of the day. We examine the current illiteracy crisis going on in the US and discuss a study done with English majors who were found to be unable to read or inadequate in understanding the opening to Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House.  We read the opening of Bleak House ourselves to see if we're capable of understanding it, and then, for fun, we read some pages of Ulysses by James Joyce to prove just how dumb we really are. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We get controversial in today's cold open by discussing the nonsense that is organized religion. After that, we have a fun chat about the American books you should read at least once in your life. Well, at least according to a list we found. This should be the last American book list we discuss for some time.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast. You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We begin today's episode with a rant against all the people trashing the new Odyssey movie for illegitimate reasons. After that, we discuss current and future reads.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast. You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

In today's extended cold open, we perform a terrible review of the wild novel "Ham on Rye" by Charles Bukowski. After that, we do an even more terrible job of discussing the 2026 Bram Stoker Awards.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast. You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick today's episode in the ass with some Charles Bukowski talk! After that, we discuss another list about the Great American Novel. This one tries to define what that truly means and if it's possible for a single novel to take the crown as the definitive Great American Novel.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast. You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick off today's episode by discussing how terrible everything is and how it's similar to John Steinbeck's super-depressing novel The Grapes of Wrath. After that, we read a list of the most American novels according to the folks over at Esquire.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We begin today's episode with a terrible review of Gravity's Rainbow, followed by our current reads. After that, we read and discuss the top 100 books according to the readers of The Guardian.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We open today's episode with an interesting question: if you could become the greatest ever in one art form, what art form would you choose? Writer, painter, actor, singer? Somehow, this segues into a conversation about who we think the greatest comic book writer in history is.  After that, we talk about how DISGUSTING Gravity's Rainbow is. Like, Epstein Files disgusting! WTF is wrong with Thomas Pynchon??? You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We open today's episode with an unorthodox review of The Devil Wears Prada 2. After that nonsense, we discuss the types of stories you rarely, or never, read about or see in the movies. Such as Caleb's latest story, "Santuario," featured in Starlite Pulp Review Issue 8, coming in July 2026! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com.   

Today, we sit down with a past guest, journalist, poet, and owner of Starving Author Press, Nick Ulanowski. We discuss his Kickstarter for his newest book, Truth Before Comfort: Confessions of a Comic Book Journalist. We dive into Nick's past working as a journalist and reviewer in the comic book industry, his views on corporate influence on art and media, the importance of separating art from the artist, and why he finds all this stuff so damn interesting. You can check out Nick's Kickstarter HERE or by looking up his book, Truth Before Comfort: Confessions of a Comic Book Journalist. You can also check out his Substack HERE or by looking up Nick Ulanowski on Substack to read his latest articles and essays. You can follow him on Instagram @cynical_but_fun

We begin today's episode with some poor writing updates. After that, we discuss how to get casual readers interested in tackling more challenging classic literature. We also give our recommendations of what books we think would be best to start readers on their classic literature journey.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

In today's cold open, we discuss some old/new publishing news as of the recording of the episode. After that, we discuss some of the most infamously difficult books in literature and why you should either read them or throw them over a mountain. You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

The government has decided to pay us not to work and instead focus on our art! Or at least that's the scenario we discuss in today's cold open. What would you do with your free time if you received a universal basic income and no longer had to work a day job? After that, and on the back of Andy Weir's hit book turned movie, Project Hail Mary, we learn about plans for a new sci-fi flick adapted from a popular book series. This leads us to a conversation about what books, sci-fi and others, that we would like to see adapted into a movie or TV series. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

While this is our most recent recording, we bumped this up to air before our other episodes in the queue because we discuss a bunch of current events. Mainly, fresh publishing news, an on-air car accident announcement, and some current reads. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

In today's cold open, we discuss the nonsense that is Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. It's about rockets and man boners. That's probably all you need to know.  After that, we settle in and talk about famous literary novels that started off as pulp. Or so we're told! There's a lot of goofiness packed into this one. You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @dpwpodcast.  You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We begin today's episode by discussing the importance of joining a writing group. After that, we talk about our recent reads, including the absolutely crazy novel, "Pulp" by Charles Bukowski. Things take a turn for the weird very quickly in this one! After all of that, we have a quick ranking of Haruki Murakami's books and discuss possibly comparing his work to that of Ryu Murakami's in a future episode.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick off today's episode with some publishing news and an update on what we're reading. After that, we discuss the most violent books ever written, according to Google AI. We also have a ridiculous conversation about inbreeding turning folks blue.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick off the episode with some good publishing news and a quick discussion about writing snacks, which devolves into us talking about drinking booze.  After that, we go over a list of famous literary works and their terrible original titles. You can follow us @dpwpodcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

In today's episode, we sit down with author David Scott Hay and discuss how one goes about killing Jesus. More specifically, we have a long conversation about his new book, The Butcher of Nazareth, in which our protagonist has been given that very task to prevent the apocalypse. We also talk about giant disgusting goats!  David also breaks down his writing style, the unusual origin of this book (you'll never guess what it was originally supposed to be about), the book's amazing cover, and the grueling nature of putting together a period piece.   You can order The Butcher of Nazareth at Whiskey Tit You can follow David Scott Hay on Instagram @david.scott.hay.official  You can also check out David's other work at https://www.davidscotthay.com/  

Today's cold open ended up taking over the entire episode. What began as a rant against writers using AI to create their novels transforms into a bitch-fest about the state of the US, the outrageous cost of living, and the greedy bastards who are destroying everything for everyone.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We begin today's episode by discussing two trending and controversial topics in the writing world: writers who don't read and writers who rely on AI to perform the actual writing portion of their work.  After that, we participate in a fun Q&A about books, sent in from our 2nd most loyal listener, Mike! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

Spencer shares some good news in the cold open. After that, we discuss a list comprising some truly heinous InstaPoetry by the most popular InstaPoets.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick off today's episode with some stupid updates. After that, we discuss some notable books written masterfully in unique perspectives, such as the 2nd person.  You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick today's episode off by giving our take on the Super Bowl and its halftime show. After that, we rage out about intrusive advertisements. This goes on for too long, and right as our madness reaches its peak, we settle down and read a list of the cringiest lines about women written by idiot men.  Dumb fact: today's featured thumbnail image (or regular image if you're seeing this on social media) has been made by the AI slop feature that comes with our WordPress subscription. This is how it interpreted the episode title. TRASH! Imagine how nice it would be if we could ditch the AI crap for a cheaper subscription. Perhaps that will be an upcoming episode topic. What do you all think? You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick off today's episode with booze talk. After that, we settle in and discuss our latest Book of the Month, "The Butcher of Nazareth" by David Scott Hay. Trust us when we say, this is a brutal 5-star read! You can pre-order The Butcher of Nazareth at Whiskey Tit You can follow David Scott Hay on Instagram @david.scott.hay.official  You can also check out David's other work at https://www.davidscotthay.com/

We begin today's episode talking about a giant snowstorm and Russian literature. After that, we revisit an old topic with a twist. We discuss American novels that are overrated.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We begin today's episode by discussing how our podcast has entered the future on Spotify. After that, we get downright weird, but also informative! We talk about the words and phrases you should cut from your writing.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We start things off with a rousing review of the movie The Smashing Machine starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson. After that, we settle in for an in-depth discussion about the importance of reading challenging books.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We open today's episode by discussing some bad publishing news, TV shows, and a bit of nonsense. After that, we settle in and discuss our latest Book of the Month, The Sugar Man by Nicolás Obregón. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We open today's episode with some book talk. After that, we reflect on how 2025 treated us regarding our writing. We discuss our writing successes, failures, and future goals.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

It's that time of year again! Time for our yearly reading recap, where we discuss all the great, and not-so-great, books we've read this past year. But first, we open the episode with a most seductive reading from Moby Dick.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com 

Well, it's been some time, but we finally decided to have another guest on the show! Today, we're excited to share this great conversation we had with award-winning humor writer and poet Kurt Luchs.  Though we discuss Kurt's new book, Tributaries: Essays & Verses Flowing From & Celebrating Favorite Poems, we also navigate countless other topics about creativity, literature, cinema, radio, and the arts in general. You can pick up a copy of Kurt's book at Sagging Meniscus. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick off today's episode by discussing the importance of reading and how it helps develop empathy. After that, we have our first-ever Books (plural!) of the Month. We talk about A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck and The Divine Farce by Michael Graziano.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick off today's episode with some Tim Allen nonsense. After that, we discuss a list of books that are said to become classics in the future. We talk about what constitutes a classic, as well as which books we think will one day be considered classics.  You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

In today's cold open, we talk about domestic gender roles and how most modern people lack basic knowledge that all adults should know.  After that, we discuss a list of 100 books that men should read according to The Art of Manliness. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick off today's episode with our review of the movie The Running Man, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. After that, we have a quick poetry reading followed by a conversation about various depictions of Hell in fiction.  You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We begin today's episode with philosophy! More specifically, we discuss the Existential Elk Theory and the sad, soul-crushing reality that is the human condition. Fun! Oh yeah, we also talk about Moby Dick for a bit. After the extended cold open, we settle into a conversation about how the support of family and friends is important to creatives, but also how their negativity can be a sign to cut ties and elevate the class of people you associate with. If you have a certain goal you want to reach, you need to be around like-minded individuals who will help you reach those goals, not hold you back. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We begin today's episode by discussing a problem we're experiencing with the show. After that, we sit back and read some of the supposed best lines in Gothic literature according to the smart people on the internet.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We begin today's episode with a long, long discussion about online jerks and some critiques of Wuthering Heights. Things quickly devolve into shaming said online jerks, but if you don't care about any of that nonsense, you can skip straight to our Horror of the Month book review by going to the timestamp 26:29. For our November Horror of the Month read, we're discussing the gripping slasher, "The Boatmore Butcher" by L. Stephenson: Three paramedics are drawn into the mystery of a bizarre spree unfolding in a quiet island town. Devastated by the loss of his son, Liam Price, must hold it together whilst leading his team against a killer who finds new and twisted ways to prevent them for saving the lives of their victims. If you're interested in checking out The Boatmore Butcher or L. Stephenson's other work, you can follow him on Instagram @lstephensonauthor.

We start today's episode discussing how we got canceled! After that nonsense, we talk about our October Book of the Month, "The Medusa Zone" by Paul E. Cooley.  You can follow us @dpwpodcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick off today's episode with a review of the movie Sinners. After that, we discuss what it's like to be a couple of giant losers who keep getting rejected from literary publications. It's not all doom and gloom, though. We also discuss some upcoming projects and works we're excited about.  You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We begin today's episode by talking about the fatigue we've been feeling from reading a bunch of indie horror books in a row. After that, we discuss the top deaths in fiction.  You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We open up today's episode with some strange vacation news. After that, we try to define what kinds of writers we consider ourselves to be.  Once all that is established, we settle in and read "the scariest" lines in literature according to people who may or may not be idiots. Either way, we have a fun time. You can follow us @dpwpodcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.  You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com. 

We kick today's episode off with a conversation about rage bait and people only sharing things they hate online. After that, we discuss the new horror short story collection "Deathbed Confessionals" by past guest and friend of the podcast, A.D. Jones. We briefly talk about each story, what we liked, didn't like, and why we think readers should check out the collection. Deathbed Confessionals drops October 1st. If you want to check out more from A.D. Jones, you can head on over to his Instagram page @the_evergrowing_library