Writers Who Read
by Gary Alan McBride
Gary Alan McBride founded the Boulder, Colorado-based Writers Who Read novel study group in May of 2018. Since then he and other local writers have been analyzing 10 novels per year within 12-18 months of their publication. Gary is also the author of the WwR reference guide, Literary Forensics: How Reading Can Make You a Better Writer, available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook in bookstores and at online retailers worldwide. More information here: https://LiteraryForensicsBook.com. WwR is focused 100% on today's fiction, mostly in advance of academic scholarship, so we live on the cutting edge of contemporary analysis. And that's how we like it. Our goal is to read like a writer and not wait for someone else to tell us what to think. That means we read with intent--to become better at noticing what the author is doing to manage our emotions and manipulate our point of view. And so it doesn't matter whether what we read is critically acclaimed or acade
Episodes
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Season 4 Preview
Gary introduces the 10 novels, published in 2025 and 2026, that will be covered in Season Four of Writers Who Read. In order, they are: S4 #1: Tilt - Emma Pattee S4 #2: Angel Down - Daniel Kraus S4 #3: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) - Rabih Alameddine S4 #4: What We Can...
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Literary Forensics interview
This bonus episode is actually an episode of Jason DeHart’s podcast, “Words, Images, and Worlds” where he interviews authors about their books and their process. You can find his podcast and videos on YouTube @WordsImagesWorlds, where he explores literacy through comics, media, fandom, and...
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81: King of Ashes - S. A. Cosby
Mira Landry, Risë Keller, and Gary McBride talk about King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby, which is Writers Who Read book number 81. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find the book at...
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Up Next: King of Ashes - S. A. Cosby
Mira, Risë, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby. The Atlanta-based wealthy investment manager Roman Carruthers thinks he knows all about gangstas through his intimate connection with rap recording…
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80: Atmosphere - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Whitney Pinion, Chelsea Pennington, and Gary McBride talk about Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which is Writers Who Read book number 80. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find…
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Up Next: Atmosphere - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Whitney, Chelsea, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Reid writes novels about the “type of woman who I want to talk about, a woman who has naked ambition.” Atmosphere features Joan, an aspiring...
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79: The Director - Daniel Kehlmann
Whitney Pinion, Risë Keller, and Gary McBride talk about The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated from the German by Ross Benjamin in 2025, which is Writers Who Read book number 79. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn…
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Up Next: The Director - Daniel Kehlmann
Whitney, Risë, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: The Director by Daniel Kehlmann. The influential Austrian film director G W Pabst discovered Louise Brooks and Leni Riefenstahl, worked with Greta Garbo and Kurt Weill, and moved to...
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78: Flesh - David Szalay
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Flesh by David Szalay, which is Writers Who Read book number 78. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find the book at…
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Up Next: Flesh - David Szalay
Whitney, Mira, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Flesh by David Szalay. Flesh is an unvarnished exploration of lonely masculinity. Okay. Istvǎn's interiority is a virtual blank slate, much like Rachel Cusk accomplished for her...
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77: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephen Graham Jones
Whitney Pinion, Rachel Dempsey, and Gary McBride talk about The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, which is Writers Who Read book number 77. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here,...
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Up Next: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephen Graham Jones
Whitney, Rachel, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. On January 23, 1870, along the Bear River in Montana, approximately 200 Blackfeet, mostly women, children, and elders, were…
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76: Isola - Allegra Goodman
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Isola by Allegra Goodman, which is Writers Who Read book number 76. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find the book at...
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Up Next: Isola - Allegra Goodman
Whitney, Mira, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Isola by Allegra Goodman. Based on a historical person, Allegra Goodman's Marguerite is as real a 16th century woman as we are ever likely to find within a novel. Orphaned as a…
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75: We Solve Murders - Richard Osman
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about We Solve Murders by Richard Osman, which is Writers Who Read book number 75. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. You can learn more about Literary Forensics here, and find the book…
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Up Next: We Solve Murders - Richard Osman
Whitney, Mira, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. Best-selling British author Richard Osman kicks off a new murder mystery series by introducing us to Amy Wheeler—a hard-knuckled private bodyguard...
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74: The God of the Woods - Liz Moore
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, which is Writers Who Read book number 74. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and…
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Up Next: The God of the Woods - Liz Moore
Whitney, Mira, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. A summer camp in upstate NY is the setting for a multi-generational literary thriller that weaves multiple decades of events from the lives of the...
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73: All Fours - Miranda July
Whitney Pinion, Rachel Dempsey, and Gary McBride talk about All Fours by Miranda July, which is Writers Who Read book number 73. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and here. In...
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Up Next: All Fours - Miranda July
Whitney, Rachel, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: All Fours by Miranda July. Performance artist, musician, actress, and film director Miranda July's second novel focuses on the existential longings of a semi-famous artist who...
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72: Real Americans - Rachel Khong
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Real Americans by Rachel Khong, which is Writers Who Read book number 72. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and here.…
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Season 3 - Preview
Gary introduces the titles of the first 4 novels in Season 3 of Writers Who Read: 72: Real Americans - Rachel Khong (USA, 2024) 73: All Fours - Miranda July (USA, 2024) 74: The God of the Woods - Liz Moore (USA, 2024) 75: We Solve Murders - Richard Osman (UK, 2024) For a complete list of all…
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71: Margo's Got Money Troubles - Rufi Thorpe
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe, which is Writers Who Read book number 71. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here...
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Up Next: Margo's Got Money Troubles - Rufi Thorpe
Whitney, Mira, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. All-star wrestling! Cosplay! OnlyFans! Rufi Thorpe’s fourth novel is about none of those things and yet somehow it’s about all of those...
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70: Butcher - Joyce Carol Oates
Rachel Dempsey joins Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride to talk about Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates, which is Writers Who Read book number 70. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is...
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Up Next: Butcher - Joyce Carol Oates
Rachel Dempsey joins Whitney, Mira, and Gary to analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates. Dr. Silas Weir, the mid-19th century “Father of Gyno-Psychiatry,” is woefully under-educated and ill-prepared to deal with…
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69: Burma Sahib - Paul Theroux
Whitney Pinion and Gary McBride talk about Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux, which is Writers Who Read book number 69. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and here. In every episode…
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Up Next: Burma Sahib - Paul Theroux
Gary and Whitney analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux. 19-year-old Eton graduate Eric is off to Burma to police the British Raj. His English father was himself an official in India in the late 19th century at the...
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68: James - Percival Everett
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about James by Percival Everett, which is Writers Who Read book number 68. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and here. In…
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Up Next: James - Percival Everett
Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: James by Percival Everett. What if Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn were retold from the perspective of the slave Jim? American author Percival Everett takes up the challenge in this...
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Good Material - BONUS
A few minutes of outtakes from our most recent full-length book podcast, Good Material, by Dolly Alderton,
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67: Good Material - Dolly Alderton
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, Chelsea Pennington, and Gary McBride talk about Good Material by Dolly Alderton, which is Writers Who Read book number 67. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is...
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Up Next: Good Material - Dolly Alderton
Gary, Whitney, Mira, and Chelsea analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Good Material by Dolly Alderton. The British relationship advice columnist Dear Dolly is also memoirist and two-time novelist Dolly Alderton. Her first book, Everything I…
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66: Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, which is Writers Who Read book number 66. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and here. In every...
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Up Next: Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar
Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. Poet Cyrus Shams is surrounded by death. His uncle was an angel of death during the Iran-Iraq war. His mother was shot out of the sky by the US Navy. His…
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65: Let Us Descend - Jesmyn Ward
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward, which is Writers Who Read book number 65. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and here. In...
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Up Next: Let Us Descend - Jesmyn Ward
Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Let Us Descend by two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward. Ward draws on Dante's Inferno as a metaphor for the agonizing journey of an American slave. Annis is our Virgil,...
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64: Holly - Stephen King
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Holly by Stephen King, which is Writers Who Read book number 64. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and here. In every...
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Up Next: Holly - Stephen King
Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Holly by Stephen King. The eponymous private investigator Holly Gibney has now appeared in five Stephen King novels, so she pops off the page fully formed and richly drawn. King is...
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63: Tom Lake - Ann Patchett
Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, which is Writers Who Read book number 63. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is available here and here. In…
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Next Up: Tom Lake - Ann Patchett
Gary, Whitney, and Mira analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. Pulitzer Prize finalist author and noted Nashville independent bookstore owner Ann Patchett uses Thornton Wilder's 1938 play, Our Town, to frame her meta...
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62: Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
Chelsea Pennington, Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, which is Writers Who Read book number 62. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is…
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Next Up: Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
Chelsea Pennington joins Gary, Whitney, and Mira to analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Colorado Springs author Rebecca Yarros hit best-seller pay dirt with this, the first book in her Empyrean fantasy book...
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Season 2 - Preview
Gary, Mira, and Whitney introduce all 10 novels coming up in Season 2 of Writers Who Read: 62: Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros (USA, 2023) 63: Tom Lake - Ann Patchett (USA, 2023) 64: Holly - Stephen King (USA, 2023) 65: Let Us Descend - Jesmyn Ward (USA, 2023) 66: Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar (USA, 2024)…
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2024 Jackson Hole Writers Conference
Here’s a brief update on another 2024 writer’s conference: the Jackson Hole Writers Conference in Jackson Hole, WY, this November 1-3. Mira Landry and Gary McBride recently spoke with Jackson Hole Executive Director Matt Daly and faculty member author Dan Sheehan. More info at: https://JHwriters.org
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Whitney, Mira, & Gary - The Interview
An interview of the three of us, Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride, conducted by Mark Stevens, host of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers podcast, back in March of 2024. Thanks to Mark Stevens and the RMFW for allowing us to rebroadcast that interview, which first aired on March 14 of...
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2024 Maryland Writers Conference
Here’s a brief update on another 2024 writer’s conference: the Maryland Writers Association's 2024 Conference, in Baltimore, MA, this October 19 & 20. Mira Landry and Gary McBride recently spoke with MWA Conference Chair Flo McCahon More info at: https://MarylandWriters.org
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61: Mr. Texas - Lawrence Wright
Chelsea Pennington, Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Mr. Texas by Lawrence Wright, which is Writers Who Read book number 61. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com. More information about Literary Forensics is…
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Next Up: Mr. Texas - Lawrence Wright
Chelsea Pennington joins Gary, Whitney, and Mira to analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read. Next up: Mr. Texas by Lawrence Wright. What could be a juicier target to lampoon than the Texas statehouse? Power hungry pols, feasting on their Good Old Boy...
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2024 PNWA Writers Conference
Here’s a brief update on another 2024 writer’s conference: the Pacific Northwest Writers Alliance's 2024 Fall Conference, in Seattle, WA, this September 19-22. Mira Landry and Gary McBride recently spoke with PNWA President Pam Binder. More info at: https://pnwa.org
About this show
Gary Alan McBride founded the Boulder, Colorado-based Writers Who Read novel study group in May of 2018. Since then he and other local writers have been analyzing 10 novels per year within 12-18 months of their publication. Gary is also the author of the WwR reference guide, Literary Forensics: How Reading Can Make You a Better Writer, available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook in bookstores and at online retailers worldwide. More information here: https://LiteraryForensicsBook.com.
WwR is focused 100% on today's fiction, mostly in advance of academic scholarship, so we live on the cutting edge of contemporary analysis. And that's how we like it. Our goal is to read like a writer and not wait for someone else to tell us what to think. That means we read with intent--to become better at noticing what the author is doing to manage our emotions and manipulate our point of view. And so it doesn't matter whether what we read is critically acclaimed or acade
Hosted by
Gary Alan McBride