Write of Passage by Vanessa Riley
Write of Passage is where history, culture, and creativity meet. Hosted by author Vanessa Riley, this weekly essay podcast unpacks the news and moods of today through the long lens of history.From Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime symbolism to the politics of representation, from lessons on writing resilience to meditations on empathy, each episode blends cultural critique with storytelling and a reverence for history.Part personal reflection, part cultural commentary, Write of Passage is written in love: a place to wrestle with wrong takes, dig into symbolism, and celebrate the power of words to make sense of the world.🎧 What you’ll find here: Cultural & Historical Commentary — current events examined with historical depth. Encouragement for Writers — reflections on the craft, resilience, and community of writing. Booklists & Recommendations — curated reads that expand each week’s themes. Storytelling with Heart — opinionated, thoughtful essays written to inspire dialogue, not just hot takes. If you’re a writer, reader, or thinker who loves connecting dots between past and present, Write of Passage is your table. Pull up a chair. vanessariley.substack.com VanessaRiley.com
Episodes
October 20, 2026 • 17 mins
How do you finish your novel when everyday life keeps getting in the way? Walter Mosley says write every day—and Vanessa Riley agrees. But what does a daily writing habit actually look like when you’re balancing a career, family, deadlines, and laundry?In this episode of Write of Passage, Vanessa explores writing consistency, creative discipline, procrastination, and the perfectionism that keeps unfinished manuscripts u...
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October 13, 2026 • 14 mins
What does it take to build a writing life you can sustain? Author Vanessa Riley reflects on a Vermont writing retreat, three book proposals, and choosing the stories she wants to tell next. This episode of Write of Passage explores realistic word-count goals, daily writing habits, research, author identity, and balancing creative ambition with everyday life. Whether you write every day or only on weekends, learn how understanding y...
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October 6, 2026 • 19 mins
How do you turn a book idea into a story worth writing? Vanessa Riley shares her StoryMetric™ Idea Assessment process for brainstorming story ideas, choosing genre, identifying reader expectations, finding comparable books and Story Neighbors, and deciding whether an idea is ready to develop. A practical episode for fiction writers exploring novel planning, story development, genre conventions, writing motivation, historical fi...
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September 29, 2026 • 19 mins
Who gets the book thrown at them—and who gets grace?Vanessa Riley examines a turbulent week in American justice through the cases of Crystal Mason, asylum seeker E.L.A., the reopened Cornell University Chi Phi sexual-assault investigation, and Chanel Miller’s case against Brock Turner. What do race, immigration status, privilege, education, and institutional power have to do with who receives second chances—and wh...
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September 22, 2026 • 21 mins
What happens when being a good parent collides with doing what you believe is right?In this deeply personal episode of Write of Passage, Vanessa Riley explores parental guilt, education, learning disabilities, school inequality, and the price children sometimes pay for the choices and ideals of adults.After discovering late in her daughter’s senior year that she had been struggling for years with an undiagnosed learning disab...
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September 15, 2026 • 18 mins
Before She Says A Word : What Jane Austen and Bob Mackie Taught Me About Dressing a Character
What can Jane Austen and Bob Mackie teach us about dressing a character? Vanessa Riley explores how clothes speak before a character does—from Austen’s restrained observations to Mackie’s sequins, feathers, comedy, glamour, and unforgettable entrances. Along the way: Cher, Tina Turner, Carol Burne...
What can Jane Austen and Bob Mackie teach us about dressing a character? Vanessa Riley explores how clothes speak before a character does—from Austen’s restrained observations to Mackie’s sequins, feathers, comedy, glamour, and unforgettable entrances. Along the way: Cher, Tina Turner, Carol Burne...
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September 8, 2026 • 16 mins
What happens when AI writes the book—but a human wants to sell the rights? Vanessa Riley follows the money into one of publishing’s biggest emerging questions: AI-generated writing and copyright. After a trademark lawyer raises questions about AI, authorship, and publishing deals, Vanessa goes down the research rabbit hole and finds a surprising U.S. Copyright Office position: purely AI-generated material does not r...
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September 1, 2026 • 10 mins
What do GPS and rhinestones have in common? Vanessa Riley explores the surprising parallels between GPS pioneer Dr. Gladys Mae West and country music icon Dolly Parton. Born into rural Southern America sixteen years apart, both women confronted stereotypes about class, gender, intelligence, and where they came from—but chose very different ways to overcome them. Discover how Gladys West’s groundbreaking mathematics and ...
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August 25, 2026 • 13 mins
Euphoria: The Joy of Hitting Send
In this episode of Write of Passage, Vanessa Riley talks about the euphoria of finishing a book and finally hitting Send. She shares her writing process, from outlining, character development, historical research, and messy first drafts to working with a personal editor and polishing a manuscript for publication. Vanessa explains why writers should stop endlessly revising their first three chapt...
In this episode of Write of Passage, Vanessa Riley talks about the euphoria of finishing a book and finally hitting Send. She shares her writing process, from outlining, character development, historical research, and messy first drafts to working with a personal editor and polishing a manuscript for publication. Vanessa explains why writers should stop endlessly revising their first three chapt...
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August 18, 2026 • 9 mins
Young, Black, and Digitally Lynched
Professor Jason Arday became the center of an extraordinary media storm following plagiarism allegations at the University of Cambridge. An analysis by NewsCord counted 188 articles about Arday in the final nine days before his death—nearly 21 articles per day.Vanessa Riley examines the media pile-on, race and academia, digital cruelty, social-media amplification, accountability, and...
Professor Jason Arday became the center of an extraordinary media storm following plagiarism allegations at the University of Cambridge. An analysis by NewsCord counted 188 articles about Arday in the final nine days before his death—nearly 21 articles per day.Vanessa Riley examines the media pile-on, race and academia, digital cruelty, social-media amplification, accountability, and...
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August 11, 2026 • 17 mins
What is deadline hell—and how do writers escape it? Vanessa Riley shares a behind-the-scenes look at finishing book #32 while facing an August 15 deadline. From managing daily word counts and limiting social media to outlining, research, revision, and knowing when a deadline needs to move, this episode of Write of Passage explores the discipline and reality of finishing a novel. Learn practical writing productivity tips, how ...
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August 4, 2026 • 24 mins
Receipts Please: The AI Witch Hunt and You’re Already Guilty
Did you write your book… and can you prove it?
In this episode of Write of Passage, bestselling historical novelist Vanessa Riley examines the growing wave of AI authorship accusations sweeping the publishing industry. From the controversies surrounding Mia Ballard, Jerry Falade, Olga Tokarczuk, and H.M. Wolfe to the very different treatment of authors ...
Did you write your book… and can you prove it?
In this episode of Write of Passage, bestselling historical novelist Vanessa Riley examines the growing wave of AI authorship accusations sweeping the publishing industry. From the controversies surrounding Mia Ballard, Jerry Falade, Olga Tokarczuk, and H.M. Wolfe to the very different treatment of authors ...
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July 28, 2026 • 12 mins
Stop chasing perfection. Learn why getting your first draft done beats getting it perfect, and how finishing unlocks stronger revisions and publishing success.
Every writer knows the feeling: staring at a blank page, convinced the first chapter has to be perfect before moving on. But what if the real obstacle isn’t writer’s block—it’s perfectionism? In this episode, bestselling author Vanessa Rile...
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July 21, 2026 • 11 mins
More than 55% of the year is already behind us—but your goals don’t have to be. In this episode of Write of Passage, Vanessa Riley shares practical, research-backed strategies to help you reset your New Year’s resolutions, reconnect with your purpose, break overwhelming goals into manageable steps, and create a plan that leads to lasting success. Drawing on the work of psychologists Kennon Sheldon, Andrew Elli...
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July 14, 2026 • 17 mins
Who Told You That Was True? | Can I Believe My Lying Eyes? Can we still trust the news? In this episode of Write of Passage, bestselling author Vanessa Riley explores the growing crisis of trust in journalism, broadcast news, social media, and the information we consume every day. Drawing on Gallup’s 2025 Media Use and Evaluation Report and the Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report, Vanessa examines why conf...
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July 7, 2026 • 11 mins
Making Sure They Get Home explores the true meaning of Southern hospitality beyond sweet tea and barbecue. Vanessa Riley reflects on Fourth of July traditions, community, grief, neighborliness, and hosting a Regency-inspired tea party for the release of A Deal at Dawn. Plus, book recommendations including The Cooking Gene, High on the Hog, and An Infinite Love Story.
Southern hospitality is more than sweet tea. Vanessa Riley...
Southern hospitality is more than sweet tea. Vanessa Riley...
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June 30, 2026 • 15 mins
Access Isn’t Permission
When does fandom become entitlement? In this episode of Write of Passage, bestselling author Vanessa Riley explores the hidden cost of parasocial relationships, author privacy, and doxxing in the age of social media. Using the recent conversation surrounding romance author Kennedy Ryan’s pen name as a starting point, Vanessa examines why revealing someone’s private identity—even wh...
When does fandom become entitlement? In this episode of Write of Passage, bestselling author Vanessa Riley explores the hidden cost of parasocial relationships, author privacy, and doxxing in the age of social media. Using the recent conversation surrounding romance author Kennedy Ryan’s pen name as a starting point, Vanessa examines why revealing someone’s private identity—even wh...
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June 23, 2026 • 11 mins
In this episode of Write of Passage, bestselling historical fiction author Vanessa Riley explores three lessons about joy and messes through a girls’ trip to Nantucket, an unexpected adventure at New York’s iconic TWA Hotel, and a collapsed bookcase that forced her to rethink her writing office, creative workspace, and future goals. Discover how to find gratitude in delays, purpose in disruption, and peace in life&rsquo...
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June 16, 2026 • 21 mins
Hello, friends. I’m Vanessa Riley, and this week I’m coming to you from beautiful Nantucket. Join me for this conversation with bestselling author Dawn Tripp at the Nantucket Book Festival. Our conversation, two fellow storytellers, we talk about the magic behind Fire Sword and Sea. Welcome to our talk
Vanessa and Dawn TrippHello, friends. I’m Vanessa Riley, coming to you from beautiful Nantucket. Join me as I ...
Vanessa and Dawn TrippHello, friends. I’m Vanessa Riley, coming to you from beautiful Nantucket. Join me as I ...
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June 9, 2026 • 18 mins
Everybody Loves Justice Until It Costs Them Something
In a world where silence is profitable and outrage is performative, character still matters. This week on Write of Passage, Vanessa Riley reflects on veteran journalist Scott Pelley’s emotional response after being accused of not loving his country and asks a difficult question: What do we still believe in enough to risk something for? From journalism and free speec...
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