Wild Precious Life

Elissa Bassist is an award-deserving author, humor writer, teacher, and speaker. Her first book is HYSTERICAL, a semi-finalist for The Thurber House Prize for American Humor. Her latest, co-authored with Caitlin Kunkel, is INSIDE JOKES: A Comedy and Creativity Guide for All Writers.

In this episode, Elissa and Annmarie discuss hair-care products, female medical symptoms and how they’re often dismissed by male do...

Nathan Batchelor is the author of the collection The Judas Goat and Other Southern Horrors. In this episode, Nathan and Annmarie talk about unlikely midlife friendship, diving into books across genres, and how to keep both the reader and the writer surprised by the sometimes tedious work of drafting sentences.

Bookstore Shout-outs:

Gramercy Books – A locally-owned, independently-minded neighborhood bookstore located in t...

Vanessa Hua is the award-winning, best-selling author of Forbidden City,  A River of Stars, and Deceit and Other Possibilities. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Newsweek, among other publications. In this episode, Annmarie and Vanessa talk about her latest book, Coyoteland, which asks “vital questions ab...

Milan Carter-Gilkey is a writer, a lover of books, and a bookseller. She writes personal essays, articles, creative nonfiction and occasionally, fiction. Her work has appeared in Huffington Post, mater mea, Mutha Magazine, the anthology All the Women in My Family Sing, and elsewhere. In this episode, Meilan and Annmarie talk about favorite books of the past, present, and future, and how to reach for a title to transport you to a wo...

Julie Carrick Dalton’s most recent novel, THE FOREST BECOMES HER, has been described as “a lush, lyrical exploration of sisterhood, rage, and the sacred ties between women and the wild.” In this episode, Julie and Annmarie talk about Transcendentalism, favorite trees, the blessings of mugwort, and how to open our eyes more fully to the beauty of the natural world.

Episode Sponsors:

Porter Square Books: Bosto...

John Searles is the best-selling author of the novels Her Last Affair, Help for the Haunted, Strange but True, Boy Still Missing, and his latest, Single Girls, which is out now. In today’s episode, John and Annmarie discuss the joys and risks of the writing life, and the legendary career of Helen Gurley Brown, the most famous and transformative editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine.

Bookstore Spot...

Whitney Vale is the author of two chapbooks, Journey with the Ferry Man, and her latest, Sermon of Swallows, which is out now. Her poetry and prose have been published in Anti-Heroin Chic, Rogue Agent, Black Fork Review, and The Rumpus, among many others. In today’s episode, Whitney and Annmarie discuss the joy of a creative life, the pain of beginning again, and what it might look like if we committed ourselves...

Sara Lippmann is the author of the novel Lech and the story collections Doll Palace and Jerks. Her fiction has won the Lilith Prize and been honored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and her nonfiction has appeared in The Millions, The Washington Post, The Chicago Review of Books, Lit Hub and elsewhere. In today’s episode, Annmarie and Sara discuss the 80s, the 90s, the joy and pain of writing work...

Jill Christman is a 2020 NEA Prose Fellow and the author of If This Were Fiction: A Love Story in Essays and two memoirs, Darkroom: A Family Exposure and Borrowed Babies: Apprenticing for Motherhood, and The Heart Folds Early: A Memoir. In today’s episode, Jill and Annmarie discuss healthcare, heartaches, and how to make it through when the thing we fear most comes true. 

Bookstore Spotlights...

Priya Parmar is the author of the novel, Vanessa and Her Sister, a New York Times Notable Book, and her latest novel, The Original, is out now. In today’s episode, Annmarie and Priya discuss their shared obsession with movie star, Katharine Hepburn, gender norms in old Hollywood, and how to know when a book is really finished. 

Bookstore Spotlights:

Barrett Bookstore – The oldest and largest in...

Kelli Russell Agodon is a poet, writer, editor, and book designer whose Dialogues with Rising Tides, was named a Finalist for the Washington State Book Awards. In today’s episode, Kelli and Annmarie discuss texting Emily Dickinson, how to write a poem, and Kelli’s latest book Accidental Devotions which Traci Brimhall describes as “the kind of beauty you wish to hold forever.”

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Martha Conway is the author of several novels including The Underground River, which was a New York Times Book Editor’s Choice. Her novel Thieving Forest won the North American Book Award for Best Historical Fiction, and her novel The Physician’s Daughter has been called “historical fiction at its finest.” In today’s episode, Annmarie and Martha discuss multiverses, theater kid...

Annie Hartnett is the award-winning author of three novels: Rabbit Cake, Unlikely Animals, and the national bestseller The Road to Tender Hearts, which won the 2025 New England Book Award for fiction and was named a best book of 2025 from NPR, LitHub, and Southern Living. In today’s episode, Annmarie and Annie discuss parenting worries, janky rental houses, and how to write a road trip book with or withou...

Tara Pringle Jefferson is the founder of The Self Care Suite, a digital wellness community for Black women. Her voice has been featured on New York magazine’s The Cut, Black Enterprise, and Essence. In today’s episode, Annmarie and Tara discuss Bloom How You Must: A Black Woman’s Guide to Self-Care and Generational Healing, and the importance of both self-care and community care as a sustaining force for...

Melody Chu is a writer and attorney. The daughter of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan, she graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School and has practiced as an attorney in Hong Kong, Beijing and the United States. In today’s episode, Annmarie and Melody discuss her debut novel Mathey Girls. They also talk about independent publishing and the power of female friendships across distance, time, and grief. ...

Natalie Haynes is a writer, broadcaster and “rock star mythologist.” Her retelling of the Trojan War, A Thousand Ships, was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and has been translated around the globe. She’s out now with No Friend to This House, a reimagining of the story of Medea. In today’s episode, Annmarie and Natalie poke fun at Perseus, demystify Greek myths, and discuss the rel...

Beth Ann Fennelly is the former poet laureate of Mississippi and the author of seven books, including Heating and Cooling and The Titled World. In today’s episode, Annmarie and Beth Ann discuss her latest book, The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs, and what we can learn from everyday moments observed with extraordinary clarity and humor.

Episode Sponsors:

Square Books – A general independent boo...

Sadeqa Johnson is the New York Times Bestselling author of six award-winning novels, including Yellow Wife and The House of Eve. In today’s episode, Annmarie and Sadeqa discuss her latest novel, Keeper of Lost Children, and how one American woman’s vision in post WWII Germany changed the course of countless lives.

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Fountain Bookstore – An independent, general, full-ser...

Caitlin Vincent is an award-winning librettist, trained vocalist, opera company director and arts commentator. Her librettos have won all three of America’s top opera prizes, her vocal work is featured on the Grammy Award-nominated album 40@40, and her latest book, OPERA WARS, is out now. In today’s episode, Caitlin and Annmarie discuss the riotous world of opera and the battle for its future.

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