The 15 Best Creative Writing Podcasts (2026)

Writing Excuses has been the go-to craft podcast for fiction writers since 2008, and there's a good reason it keeps showing up on every recommendation list. The format is brilliantly simple: episodes clock in at roughly fifteen minutes, packed tight with actionable advice on everything from story structure to world-building to the business side of publishing. The current host lineup brings together Hugo Award-winner Mary Robinette Kowal, literary agent DongWon Song, editor Erin Roberts, thriller author Dan Wells, and cartoonist Howard Tayler. That spread of expertise means you get perspectives from across the publishing industry in a single conversation. Season 21 has been particularly strong, with episodes breaking down hero's journey alternatives, sequel construction, and how to set reader expectations in your opening pages. Each episode wraps up with a writing prompt you can actually use, which is a nice touch. With over 800 episodes and a 4.6-star rating from more than 1,200 listeners, it has earned its reputation as one of the most efficient writing education resources out there. Fair warning: the ad load has crept up over the years, but the content underneath remains sharp and worth your time. The hosts also rotate in guest instructors from time to time, which keeps the perspectives fresh and prevents any single voice from dominating the conversation.

Joanna Penn is one of the most prolific voices in the indie author space, and her biweekly podcast reflects that energy. The Creative Penn covers both the craft of writing and the business of being an author, which makes it especially valuable for writers who want to treat their work as a career rather than just a hobby. Penn is notably open-minded about technology, and she was talking about AI tools for authors and direct book sales strategies long before most of the industry caught up. Recent episodes have covered topics like post-traumatic growth in creative work, managing multiple writing projects simultaneously, and using academic research methods as an indie author. Her interview style is practical and encouraging without being saccharine. Listeners consistently describe her as a steady companion through their publishing journey, and the 4.8-star rating from over 620 reviews backs that up. She has a particularly strong grasp on the international publishing market, which sets her apart from the many US-focused shows in this space. The show airs every other Monday and has maintained a remarkably consistent quality over its long run. If you are an indie author or thinking about going independent, this is the podcast that will actually help you build a sustainable writing business.

Savannah Gilbo is a developmental editor and book coach, and her podcast delivers exactly what the title promises: practical, no-fluff guidance for fiction writers. Each weekly episode focuses on a specific craft element, such as scene structure fundamentals, writing natural-sounding dialogue, or creating morally complex characters, and breaks it down into steps you can apply immediately. What makes this show stand out is Gilbo's ability to explain story structure concepts without drowning you in jargon. She teaches from experience working with hundreds of manuscripts, so her advice tends to be grounded in the actual mistakes writers make rather than abstract theory. The show has a 4.9-star rating from nearly 1,500 listeners, which is remarkable for a writing podcast with over 250 episodes. That is not an accident. Gilbo also occasionally features student success stories from her Notes to Novel course, which gives you a realistic picture of what the revision process actually looks like. She covers the full journey from first draft through editing to publishing, so both new and experienced novelists will find something useful. If you have been staring at your manuscript wondering why a particular scene feels flat, this podcast will probably give you the specific diagnosis you need.

K.M. Weiland is an award-winning story coach who thinks deeply about narrative structure, and her podcast is one of the best places to absorb that thinking. Helping Writers Become Authors goes further into story theory than most writing shows dare. Weiland regularly tackles concepts like four-act structure versus three-act, circular narrative shapes, the cosmology of story, and how character personality drives arc choices. She is the kind of teacher who makes you rethink books you thought you already understood. Her presentation style is clear and methodical. She builds arguments step by step, illustrating each point with examples from well-known novels and films. The show airs weekly and has accumulated over 720 episodes with a 4.8-star rating from more than 1,000 reviewers. Listeners frequently mention her accessible communication style, which is notable because the topics can get quite sophisticated. Recent episodes have explored the role of wonder in contemporary fiction, second act structure, and how career evolution affects an author's creative output. This is less of a how-to podcast and more of a why-it-works podcast. If you want to understand the mechanics underneath great storytelling rather than just follow templates, Weiland is your guide. She also maintains an extensive blog that pairs well with the audio content.

First Draft stands out in the creative writing podcast world because of who shows up to talk. Mitzi Rapkin regularly lands interviews with literary heavyweights — George Saunders, Ann Packer, Torrey Peters — and the conversations run deep. These aren't 20-minute promotional hits. Episodes typically stretch to an hour or more, giving writers room to talk about their actual process, their doubts, and the specific decisions that shaped their books.

Rapkin's interview style is what makes the long format work. She does her homework. Reviewers consistently praise how thoroughly she reads her guests' work before sitting down to talk, and it shows — she asks the kind of questions that get authors past their rehearsed answers and into genuinely useful territory. The show covers fiction, nonfiction, essays, and poetry, so the craft discussions range widely.

With nearly 560 episodes over the years, the archive alone is worth exploring. You can find conversations with Man Booker Prize winners sitting alongside interviews with debut novelists, and the quality stays remarkably consistent across both. The show has a 4.6-star rating from 185 reviews.

If your interest leans literary — if you care about sentence-level craft, thematic ambition, and what it actually feels like to wrestle a book into existence — First Draft is the interview show to follow. Rapkin treats writing as an art form first, and the conversations reflect that seriousness without ever becoming pretentious. It's the closest thing to sitting in on a really good MFA seminar, except the guest list is better.

Mur Lafferty launched I Should Be Writing back in 2005, making it one of the earliest writing podcasts in existence. The show's focus is refreshingly honest: it's about the emotional and psychological side of being a writer. Procrastination, imposter syndrome, creative blocks, the fear that you're not good enough — Lafferty has been talking about all of it for two decades, and she does it with the warmth of someone who's genuinely been through it herself.

Lafferty is a published science fiction and fantasy author (her novel "Six Wakes" was a Hugo finalist), so she speaks from real experience in the trenches. Episodes mix solo reflections with author interviews, running anywhere from 17 to 45 minutes depending on the format. Recent topics include distinguishing research from procrastination, setting writing priorities for the new year, and NaNoWriMo alternatives.

The show has a 4.3-star rating from 328 reviews. That's slightly lower than some peers on this list, and some of the more critical reviews point to inconsistent release schedules over the years. But the loyal audience sticks around because Lafferty's voice fills a gap that most craft-focused podcasts ignore: the mental game. Plenty of shows will teach you three-act structure. Very few will sit with you in that moment where you're staring at a blank page, convinced you have nothing worth saying, and gently talk you back to the keyboard.

If you struggle more with motivation and self-doubt than with plot mechanics, this podcast has been a lifeline for writers long before writing podcasts were trendy.

Produced by the Australian Writers' Centre, So You Want to be a Writer is hosted by Valerie Khoo (the Centre's CEO) and author Allison Tait, and it has quietly become one of the most consistent writing podcasts available. With over 700 weekly episodes, the show has an enormous back catalog that covers just about every aspect of the writing life. The format centers on author interviews where published writers share how they got their breaks, paired with practical writing tips and a vocabulary segment that keeps things fun. Recent guests have included debut crime novelist Sam Elliott, historical fantasy author exploring the Boudicca legend, and award-winning poet Souvankham Thammavongsa. The Australian perspective sets this show apart from the heavily US-centric writing podcast landscape, giving you a different view of the international publishing market. Khoo and Tait have an easy conversational dynamic that keeps episodes moving at a good clip. The 4.9-star rating from listeners reflects genuine affection for the show's warmth and usefulness. It works particularly well for aspiring writers who want a mix of inspiration and concrete technique. If you are looking for a reliable weekly companion that will introduce you to authors across a wide range of genres while teaching you practical skills, this is a strong pick.

Gabriela Pereira built DIY MFA on a compelling premise: you do not need a formal MFA program to develop serious writing skills. Her weekly podcast is the audio companion to that philosophy, offering the craft education and industry knowledge you might get in a graduate writing program, minus the tuition bill. The guest list alone makes the show worth following. Pereira has interviewed Delia Ephron, Tana French, Jojo Moyes, John Sandford, Steve Berry, Kathy Reichs, and Guy Kawasaki, among many others. Her Craft Jam episodes focus on specific techniques like narration, revision, character development, and story structure, functioning almost like mini-workshops you can listen to on your commute. Recently the show celebrated ten years with a reflective series on lessons learned from a decade of podcasting, which offered some surprisingly candid insights about creative longevity. With nearly 485 episodes and a 4.8-star rating, Pereira has proven she can sustain quality over the long haul. Listeners praise her approachable teaching style and the way she distills advice into memorable, actionable takeaways. The show works for writers at every stage, from people drafting their first short story to published authors looking to sharpen specific elements of their craft. It is the kind of podcast that makes you feel like you are progressing as a writer just by listening.

Brad Reed brings a teacher's instincts to Inside Creative Writing, and it makes this show feel different from the typical advice podcast. Reed holds a Master's in English with a creative writing emphasis, spent years as an educator, and that classroom experience translates into episodes that actually teach rather than just talk.

The show is relatively young — about 48 episodes — but it's already pulled in over a million downloads and a perfect 5.0 rating on Apple Podcasts (though from a small number of reviewers). Episodes run 24 to 49 minutes and cover both fiction and creative nonfiction, with a nice balance between practical technique and the psychology of the writing life.

What stands out is Reed's willingness to approach craft from unexpected angles. One episode explores Internal Family Systems theory as a character development tool. Another argues that boredom is a writing superpower. He's done a thoughtful episode on AI and novel writing that avoids the usual panic or hype. He'll teach you how to plan a novel with index cards borrowed from screenwriting, then follow it up with an episode about what happens when characters refuse to follow your outline.

Reed is also an Oregon-based novelist — his survival fiction book "Crossing Cascadia" is set after the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake — so he practices what he preaches. The show includes interviews with published authors, editors, and writing coaches alongside his solo instructional episodes. If you're looking for a newer writing podcast that combines genuine craft instruction with creative exploration, Inside Creative Writing is punching well above its weight.

Jed Herne takes a specific approach on The Novel Analyst Podcast: he reads a book, breaks down what makes it work (or not), and explains what writers can steal from it. It's literary analysis with a craft-first purpose, and the focus lands squarely on fantasy and speculative fiction — think Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, Joe Abercrombie's grimdark novels, and similar genre fiction.

Herne is a fantasy author himself (The Thunder Heist, Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars), so the analysis comes from a practitioner's perspective. He'll pull apart how Sanderson structures a magic system reveal, or how Abercrombie handles ensemble casts, and translate those observations into techniques you can use in your own work. Some episodes are deep-dive solo analyses running up to an hour and a half, while others are shorter author interviews.

The podcast has 72 episodes and a 4.7-star rating from 10 reviews. Here's the important caveat: the show hasn't released new episodes since August 2020. Herne appears to have shifted his podcasting energy to another show, The Fantasy Writing Show. So this is effectively an archived resource rather than an active podcast.

That said, the archive still holds real value. If you write fantasy or speculative fiction and want to hear someone methodically analyze the craft decisions in books you've probably already read, these episodes function almost like a reading group led by a working novelist. Just go in knowing you're browsing a library, not following a live broadcast.

Write The Book ran for over 770 episodes, and the archive reads like a who's who of American literary fiction. Shelagh Shapiro, a Vermont-based writer and MFA graduate from Vermont College of Fine Arts, interviewed authors, poets, illustrators, agents, and editors in hour-long conversations that consistently went deeper than the usual podcast interview.

The guest list is extraordinary. Ann Patchett, Richard Russo, Jennifer Egan, Kate Atkinson, Colum McCann, Steve Almond — hundreds of established and emerging writers sat down with Shapiro over the show's long run. Writer's Digest Magazine twice named it one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers, and the show earned a perfect 5.0 rating from 24 reviews on Apple Podcasts.

Shapiro's approach was distinctive. She established an easy rapport that let conversations flow naturally while still covering substantive craft territory. Every episode ended with a writing prompt, often suggested by the guest, which gave listeners something concrete to walk away with. The show originally aired as a radio program on WBTV-LP in Burlington, Vermont, before being distributed as a podcast.

The show concluded in March 2023 — Shapiro has since launched a Substack and is working on a novel. So like a few entries on this list, you're looking at a finished body of work rather than an ongoing show. But with 770-plus episodes of thoughtful literary interviews, the archive alone is a remarkable resource. If you love hearing serious writers talk honestly about their process, you could spend months working through these conversations and never feel like you're wasting time.

Heather Davis is an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach and developmental editor who built Speculative Fiction Writing Made Simple around a specific audience: writers working on their debut fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian novel. That niche focus is the show's biggest strength. Instead of generic craft advice, every episode is filtered through the particular challenges of speculative genres.

The show has 48 episodes and a 4.9-star rating from 51 reviews. Episodes vary widely in length — quick 12-minute technique lessons alongside longer 50-minute interviews with industry experts. Davis mixes solo teaching episodes with guest conversations, and many episodes come with free companion workbooks you can download, which is an unusually generous touch.

Recent topics include writing compelling opening lines, integrating backstory without info-dumping, building three-act structure in speculative fiction, crafting character interiority, and navigating self-publishing as a business. Davis brings the developmental editor's eye to everything — she's read enough manuscripts to know exactly where speculative fiction writers tend to stumble, and her advice targets those specific pain points.

The promise of "concrete, actionable strategies" is one the show actually keeps. Davis doesn't trade in vague inspiration. She'll give you a framework for scene conflict, walk you through backstory integration methods, or break down how to handle magic system exposition in your first chapter. If you're writing your first fantasy or sci-fi novel and want a coach who speaks your genre's language, this podcast fills a niche that broader writing shows can't quite reach.

Where Writers Go is unlike any other writing podcast you'll find. Kathryn Georghiou, a writer and creative coach, takes you on actual guided walks through real locations — a London library, ancient woodland, coastal paths, Chinatown pubs — and uses each setting to teach a different element of storytelling. Episodes run 36 to 46 minutes, and the concept is simple but genuinely original: step away from your screen, put in your earbuds, and learn about writing while walking.

Each episode is built around a single craft concept. One walk through a library teaches you about finding your style and tone. An exploration of London's Chinatown becomes a lesson on plot. A visit to historic pubs turns into a discussion of point of view. Georghiou weaves sensory details from the real environment into writing exercises, so you're not just hearing about setting description — you're actively practicing it while surrounded by the sights and sounds she's narrating.

The show is brand new, with just seven episodes as of late 2025 and no ratings yet on Apple Podcasts. That means you're getting in on the ground floor of something experimental. The production values reflect the immersive concept — environmental sounds, careful pacing, a tone that feels more like a guided meditation crossed with a writing workshop than a typical podcast.

It's a niche format, and it won't be for everyone. If you want rapid-fire craft tips or industry news, look elsewhere. But if you're the kind of writer who thinks best on your feet and responds to sensory immersion, Where Writers Go is doing something nobody else in the writing podcast space has attempted.

Melissa Bourbon is a national bestselling author with over 30 novels to her name, published both traditionally and through indie channels. She brings that dual-track experience to Writer Spark, a biweekly podcast that covers craft, creativity, and the business of fiction writing in roughly equal measure.

The show has about 50 episodes, and the format splits between solo teaching sessions and interviews with guest authors. Solo episodes tend to run 20 minutes or so and focus on a single technique — using setting as a character, building effective writing routines, or understanding how true crime intersects with fiction writing. Interview episodes stretch longer, sometimes past an hour, and feature authors sharing their publishing journeys and creative processes.

Bourbon also runs WriterSpark Academy, which offers self-paced courses, coaching, and workshops for writers at various stages. The podcast functions as a free extension of that educational platform, and you can tell — episodes have a structured, lesson-oriented feel rather than the loose conversational vibe of many writing podcasts.

The show holds a 5.0-star rating on Apple Podcasts, though from just 5 reviewers, so it's still building its audience. What it offers is the perspective of someone who's actually navigated the full spectrum of publishing — literary agents, traditional deals, indie marketing, book cover design (Bourbon designs covers too). If you want practical advice from a working author who understands both the creative and commercial sides of a writing career, Writer Spark packs a lot of value into its compact episodes.

The History Quill Podcast zeroes in on a single genre — historical fiction — and covers it with the depth and specificity that a general writing podcast never could. Hosts Julia Kelly and Theodore Brun are both published historical fiction authors. Kelly writes World War II fiction and has recently branched into historical mystery, while Brun works in the deep dark ages of the eighth century, focusing on the old Norse world and early medieval period. That range between them means conversations span the full timeline of historical settings.

The format is interview-based, with each of the 13 episodes featuring a guest expert. Recent conversations have covered writing and self-publishing children's historical fiction, using archives to enhance your research, writing dual timelines, co-authoring historical novels, and crafting historical crime fiction. Episodes run 47 to 59 minutes, long enough to get into real substance but tight enough to stay focused.

The show has a 4.7-star rating from 14 reviews, and listeners specifically call out the hosts' thoughtful questioning style and the production quality. Kelly and Brun clearly prepare for each interview, and the conversational dynamic between them and their guests feels natural rather than scripted.

With only 13 episodes, the catalog is small but highly targeted. Every episode is relevant if you write or want to write historical fiction, covering everything from period-appropriate language choices to marketing strategies specific to the genre. If you write in this space, The History Quill Podcast is one of the few shows that speaks directly to your challenges rather than asking you to adapt general advice to your genre.