The 20 Best 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.

The name says it all. Bianca Marais, Carly Watters, and CeCe Lyra created this podcast because the publishing industry runs on unwritten rules that nobody bothers explaining to debut authors. With nearly 400 episodes and a 4.8-star rating from over 700 reviewers, they have clearly struck a nerve. Bianca is a bestselling novelist, Carly is a literary agent, and CeCe brings the editorial perspective. That combination means you get the full picture: what writers experience, what agents actually want, and what makes editors say yes or no.

Their signature segment, Books with Hooks, is genuinely useful. Writers submit query letters and opening pages, and the hosts critique them on air with zero sugarcoating. It is like getting a free workshop session every week, except you are learning from other writers' mistakes while drinking your morning coffee. The tone is warm but direct. They will laugh, they will rant about bad query trends, and they will tell you exactly why your opening paragraph is not working.

Beyond the critiques, they bring on agents, editors, and published authors for interviews that actually go somewhere. Recent episodes have covered memoir craft, power dynamics in publishing, and what makes an opening chapter impossible to put down. If you are serious about traditional publishing and want the unvarnished truth about how the industry works, this is essential listening. Just maybe do not play it on speaker at the office.

Mignon Fogarty has been answering grammar questions since 2006 and somehow keeps finding fresh angles on the English language nearly two decades later. Grammar Girl is one of those rare shows that manages to be both genuinely educational and fun to listen to. Episodes run short, usually under fifteen minutes, and tackle specific questions like the difference between "awhile" and "a while," why we write in all caps, or where the word "mogul" actually comes from. Fogarty has a warm, clear teaching style that makes even obscure grammar rules feel approachable rather than stuffy. She has won five Best Education Podcast awards, and with over 1,100 episodes and a 4.5-star rating from nearly 3,000 listeners, she clearly knows her audience. The show is not just for grammar nerds, though. Recent episodes have tackled practical topics like how AI is changing writing conventions and what civic responsibility looks like in written communication. Longer episodes feature interviews with linguists and writing professionals that add depth beyond the quick-tip format. If you write anything, whether it is fiction, business emails, or blog posts, Grammar Girl will make you more precise without making you feel like you are back in English class. The archive alone is worth bookmarking as a reference tool you can search whenever a specific usage question comes up.

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.

Screenwriters John August (Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, The Last of Us) have been co-hosting Scriptnotes since 2011, and it remains the gold standard for screenwriting podcasts. The two have an easy rapport that makes even technical discussions about story structure, copyright law, and work-for-hire agreements genuinely entertaining. They are not just talking heads either. Both are actively working in Hollywood, which means their commentary on industry trends comes from firsthand experience rather than speculation. Recent episodes have covered turning news stories into movies, the oral nature of screenwriting versus prose, and what makes an effective comparison when pitching. They regularly bring on filmmakers and showrunners for deeper craft discussions, like a recent episode with Joachim Trier on character introductions. With over 725 episodes and a 4.8-star rating from 2,400 listeners, the show has built an enormous archive of screenwriting wisdom. Even if you write prose fiction rather than screenplays, the craft discussions about structure, character, and dialogue translate directly. Mazin in particular has a gift for articulating why certain storytelling choices work and others fall apart. The weekly schedule means there is always something fresh in your feed, and the show's massive back catalog is organized well enough that you can find episodes on nearly any specific screenwriting topic 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.

David Naimon is probably the best literary interviewer working in podcasting right now. Between The Covers, produced in partnership with Milkweed Editions and Tin House, features long-form conversations with fiction writers, poets, and nonfiction authors that regularly stretch past ninety minutes. This is not a show for people who want quick writing tips. It is for readers and writers who want to sit inside a conversation about language, form, and why certain books matter.

Naimon prepares obsessively for each interview, and it shows. His guests have included Pulitzer winners, National Book Award finalists, and international literary figures. He asks the kinds of questions that make writers pause and think, not just recite their usual press tour answers. The show also features a mini-series called Crafting with Ursula, where contemporary writers discuss their own practice alongside the work of Ursula K. Le Guin. That series alone is worth the subscription.

With over 300 episodes and a 4.8-star rating from nearly 500 reviews, Between The Covers has earned its reputation as one of the most intellectually serious literary podcasts around. Recent guests have ranged from memoirists to experimental poets to graphic artists. If you care about the art of writing, not just the mechanics, this show will challenge you to think harder about your own work. Episodes drop every couple of weeks, and each one rewards close listening.

The Self Publishing Show approaches writing from the entrepreneurial angle, treating book publishing as a business that can be learned and optimized. Host James Blatch (joined recently by new co-host Cecilia Mecca, a romance author) interviews the biggest names in indie publishing and breaks down strategies for selling more books. The show relaunched in 2026 after an 18-month hiatus with fresh energy and a renewed focus on community building. Recent episodes have covered selling books on Etsy, ethical questions around AI in publishing, audio publishing expansion, and BookBub promotional strategies. Blatch has a journalist's instinct for asking practical follow-up questions, which means guests actually reveal useful specifics rather than vague generalities. With 435 episodes and a 4.8-star rating from 220 reviews, the show has earned its place as one of the top indie publishing resources. The business focus might seem narrow, but it fills a real gap. Many writing podcasts tell you how to write a great book but leave you stranded when it comes to actually getting that book into readers' hands. If you are self-publishing or considering it, this show will walk you through marketing, formatting, pricing, and distribution with the kind of detail that actually moves the needle on sales.

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.

J.D. Barker (the thriller novelist behind The Fourth Monkey and collaborator with James Patterson) co-hosts Writers, Ink alongside Christine Daigle, and the show positions itself as a backstage pass to professional authorship. Over 330 episodes in, they have built a catalog that covers everything from research methods to the business mechanics of making a living from fiction.

The format is interview-heavy, with a new guest author nearly every week. But these conversations go beyond the usual tell-us-about-your-book routine. Barker has a knack for getting writers to talk about their actual process, the messy parts included. A recent episode with Ian McGuire dug into how obsessive historical research shapes a novel, while another explored the challenge of writing true events that read stranger than fiction. They also run live episodes, which add an unpredictable energy the recorded shows sometimes lack.

What separates Writers, Ink from pure craft shows is the business angle. They regularly cover marketing, platform building, and the real economics of author careers, both traditional and indie. If you only want to talk about semicolons and story arcs, this might feel too commercially minded. But for writers who want to actually sell books and sustain a career, the blend of craft and commerce hits a sweet spot. Weekly episodes, consistently solid guests, and a no-nonsense approach make it worth your subscription.

Write Now occupies a unique space in the writing podcast world by focusing on the emotional and psychological side of being a writer. Sarah Rhea Werner is an award-winning podcaster and fiction author who gets honest about the struggles most writing shows gloss over: perfectionism, self-doubt, ADHD-related focus issues, and the challenge of maintaining a writing practice when life gets chaotic. Her biweekly episodes alternate between solo reflections and interviews with authors and poets. A recent conversation with author Jarod K. Anderson about writing process and mental health was particularly compelling. Werner has a warm, personal delivery that makes you feel like you are getting advice from a thoughtful friend rather than a writing instructor. The show has 256 episodes and a 4.8-star rating from 438 listeners. It covers practical topics too, like starting a writing practice, making self-publishing decisions, and forming mastermind groups for creative accountability. But where it really shines is in giving you permission to be imperfect. If you have been beating yourself up for not writing enough, or if you are stuck in an endless rewriting cycle, Werner's gentle honesty about the creative process will feel like a relief. She also mentions books, coffee, and rainy days with noticeable frequency, which gives the show a cozy, inviting atmosphere.

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.

James Thayer brings a no-nonsense, craft-focused approach to novel writing that stands out for its clarity and directness. Each weekly episode reads almost like a chapter from a well-organized writing manual, covering everything from sentence-level mechanics to big-picture plot construction. Thayer works at both scales equally well, moving from topics like eliminating meaningless modifiers to building character arcs across a full novel. His episode on using argument and conflict to create compelling dialogue is a masterclass in a single sitting. The show has accumulated 205 episodes with a 4.8-star rating from over 420 reviewers, which suggests the audience recognizes the quality of instruction on offer. Thayer writes with clear, efficient prose himself, and that sensibility carries over to his spoken delivery. He does not waste your time with lengthy personal anecdotes or tangential stories. You get the lesson, illustrated with examples, and then you get back to your own writing. Recent episodes have tackled procrastination, incorporating humor into fiction, writing scenes with multiple characters in motion, and formulas for constructing strong sentences. If you learn best from structured, step-by-step instruction rather than freewheeling conversation, this podcast will feel like it was made specifically for you. Thayer treats novel writing as a skill that can be taught, and then he teaches it.

Kobo Writing Life comes from inside one of the major e-book platforms, which gives it a unique insider perspective on the self-publishing world. The biweekly show features interviews with bestselling indie authors, conversations with Kobo's own bookselling and editorial teams, and practical advice on building a sustainable writing career. The rotating host lineup, including team members like Rachel and director Tara Cremin (with Mark Lefebvre as a previous longtime host), means you get a variety of perspectives from people who actually work in digital publishing every day. Recent episodes have covered book sales strategies, diversity in romance writing, sustaining a long indie author career, sports romance as a growing subgenre, and marketing through newsletters and social media. With 424 episodes and a 4.6-star rating, the show has maintained consistent quality over more than a decade. What sets it apart from other indie publishing podcasts is the platform-specific insight. You hear directly from the people who decide how books get promoted and surfaced on Kobo, which is valuable intelligence for authors selling through that channel. The show also tends to spotlight international authors and markets more than its competitors, reflecting Kobo's global reach. If you are an indie author looking to expand beyond Amazon, this podcast provides the roadmap.

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone have been running this show for a long time, and it shows. They sit down with working novelists, memoirists, and short story writers to talk about the actual mechanics of getting a book onto the page. What happens in the messy middle of a draft. How a scene changed between revision four and revision twelve. The agent call that went sideways. The hosts are writers themselves, so the questions go past the usual press-tour answers and land on stuff that only another writer would think to ask. Episodes run about an hour and feature guests ranging from debut authors with one book out to literary heavyweights with decades of work behind them. Expect conversations about character, structure, point of view, and the slow grind of sentence-level revision. There is also a healthy dose of industry talk, including agents, editors, advances, and the real numbers behind publishing deals. What sets this apart from other author interview shows is the willingness to slow down and get specific. If a guest mentions they rewrote an opening chapter eight times, Barbara and Marrie will ask why, what changed, and what they learned. For anyone who is tired of surface-level book promo chats, this is the one to save.

Shawn Coyne spent three decades as a book editor before writing The Story Grid, a method for analyzing why stories work or fall apart. Tim Grahl was his student, a marketing guy who wanted to write fiction and kept getting stuck. The podcast captures their back-and-forth as Tim drafts novels and Shawn tears them apart scene by scene, with the same brutal honesty he would bring to a paid manuscript critique. If you have ever wondered what a professional editor actually sees when they read your pages, this show answers that question. Topics include the five commandments of every scene, genre conventions and obligatory scenes, the difference between a global story and a minor one, and how to diagnose why chapter three feels flat even when you cannot point to anything specific. They also run long-form analyses of films like John Wick and novels like The Silence of the Lambs, breaking them down beat by beat so you can see the skeleton underneath. The show wrapped in 2023 after 292 episodes, but the archive is essentially a free graduate-level course in story structure. New writers tend to binge it. Experienced ones come back to specific episodes when a draft is not working.

Kelton Reid has been asking bestselling authors the same set of questions for over a decade, and the answers never get boring. How many words do you write a day? What does your desk look like? When do you give up on a draft? The Writer Files treats writing less like a mystical calling and more like a working craft, with routines and tools and neurological quirks that can be studied and copied. Guests include literary novelists, thriller writers, memoirists, journalists, and the occasional screenwriter or poet, basically anyone whose job involves putting words in a row for a living. The conversations focus heavily on productivity: the specific apps they use, how they handle research, what they do when the words will not come, whether they outline or discover the story as they go. Reid also folds in chunks about the neuroscience of creativity and flow states, which gives the show a different texture from most author interview podcasts. Episodes run 35 to 50 minutes and there are nearly 500 of them in the archive. For working writers who want practical answers about how other working writers actually get their pages done, this is a solid weekly listen.

Meg LeFauve wrote Inside Out. Lorien McKenna developed projects at Pixar. Both have been working screenwriters for years, and together they run what might be the most emotionally honest podcast about writing for film and television. The show covers the usual craft stuff, including structure, character arcs, rewrites, and notes from executives, but it spends just as much time on the part most screenwriting shows skip: what it actually feels like to do this job. The stretches between paychecks. The script that got you close but not a deal. The guilt of not writing when you should be. Episodes alternate between interviews with working screenwriters and the two hosts talking through their own current projects and frustrations. Guests have included writers from major studio features, prestige TV shows, animation, and indie film. The tone is warm and specific, more like eavesdropping on two friends who happen to be pros than a formal interview show. If you are working on your first feature spec or your tenth, and you want to hear people talk about both the craft and the psychology of a writing career without pretending it is always glamorous, this one belongs in your rotation.

V. E. Schwab wrote The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and the Shades of Magic series, and she is very open about the fact that her process is not like anyone else's, and that yours does not have to be either. That is the whole premise of the show. Every episode she sits down with another working author and they compare notes on how they actually get books written, from the outlining-everything plotters to the write-by-the-seat-of-your-pants pantsers to the people who do both depending on the project. Guests tend to be novelists across romance, fantasy, thriller, literary, and young adult, and Schwab asks the kind of specific questions you only get from someone who has been through it herself. How many drafts. How long between books. What happens when a manuscript breaks. How to keep going when the book you are writing is nothing like the one you sold. The conversations run long, usually an hour or more, and they tend to wander into work-life balance, mental health, the anxiety of contracts, and the practical business of staying in a writing career for the long haul. For aspiring novelists who want permission to stop comparing their process to someone else's, it is genuinely useful listening.