Writer's Bone

Host Caitlin Malcuit and Daniel Ford discuss the recent layoffs at The Washington Post.  Suggested reading and resources: "You Can't Kill Swagger" by Sally Jenkins "He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years" by Erik Wemple X thread from Barry Svrluga "The Washington Post Is No Longer Useful to Jeff Bezos" by Jason Koebler Job Sheet from Washington Association of Black Journalists Then literary agent and now author Alia Hanna Habib joins Daniel to chat about her book Take It from Me: An Agent's Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch. To learn more about Alia Hanna Habib, visit her website and subscribe to her substack Delivery & Acceptance. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm and the Is It Streaming podcast, the newest addition to the Writer's Bone Podcast Network.

Author Kathleen Boland joins Daniel Ford on the show to discuss her debut novel Scavengers.  To learn more about Kathleen Boland, visit her official website. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm and the Is It Streaming podcast, the newest addition to the Writer's Bone Podcast Network.

Author Alejandro Varela (The Town of Babylon, The People Who Report More Stress) returns to the show and chats with Daniel Ford about his latest novel Middle Spoon.  To learn more about Alejandro Varela, visit his official website. Also listen to our previous interview with the author. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm and the Is It Streaming podcast, the newest addition to the Writer's Bone Podcast Network.

Host Caitlin Malcuit brews up the first Friday Morning Coffee of 2026 by discussing *deep breath* Canadian Brass' tuba rendition of "Flight of the Bumblebee," the rad Lowell, Mass.-based, aptly named brass ensemble The Party Band, Somerville's HONK! Festival, and Minnesota's Brass Solidarity, "a band founded in 2021 in response to the murder of George Floyd and the ongoing fight in the movement for Black lives." Author and journalist Sam Quinones (The Least of Us, Dreamland) then returns to chat with Daniel Ford about his book The Perfect Tuba: Forging Fulfillment from the Bass Horn, Band, and Hard Work. To learn more about Sam Quinones, visit his official website. Listen to our past Friday Morning Coffee conversation with the author, as well as our discussion about his book Dreamland in Episode 253. Also check out Daniel's Friday Morning Coffee chat with his high school band director. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm and the Is It Streaming podcast, the newest addition to the Writer's Bone Podcast Network.

Award-winning and best-selling author and journalist Howard Bryant (Rickey, The Last Hero) joins Daniel Ford on the show to discuss his book Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America.  To learn more about Howard Bryant, visit his official website. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm and the Is It Streaming podcast, the newest addition to the Writer's Bone Podcast Network.

We're a week away from launching our 2026 campaign, beginning with Howard Bryant, author of Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America, but we wanted to dust off our feed and take a moment to celebrate a milestone in the Writer's Bone Podcast Network. Daniel Paisner's podcast As Told To: The Ghostwriting Podcast cracked 100 episodes a couple of months ago and we wanted to share it here and have Paisner on to talk about what it means for him. Original show notes: Nelson and Alex DeMille's The Tin Men is an electrifying read and a chillingly timely one," writes The New York Times best-selling novelist Megan Abbott of the third and final father-son collaboration in the Scott Brodie & Maggie Taylor series. "[It's] both a master-class in suspense and a haunting exploration of the dangers and costs of a surrender to technology, an abandonment of the human." Yes, it is. It's also the final novel from legendary author Nelson DeMille, completed posthumously following his death in September 2024, and a follow-up to the duo's first two collaborations in the series—The Deserter and Blood Lines, both immediate New York Times best-sellers.  Its publication offers Alex DeMille an opportunity to reflect on growing up under the influence of one of our finest storytellers—a backdrop that at first inspired Alex to become a filmmaker. A graduate of the MFA program in film at UCLA, Alex's films have won many awards and fellowships, and have played at festivals worldwide, including "My Nephew Emmett, " which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short in 2018.  "I want to thank my father," he writes in an emotional grace note to the new book, "who might be reading this somewhere among the stars with a good scotch in hand. Thank you for all you've given me, all you've taught me, for your love, your encouragement, for making me laugh and making me think. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for showing me the way. I hope this makes you proud." Learn more about Alex DeMille: Website Instagram Threads Twitter Facebook Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters' Gathering of the Ghosts Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Caitlin Malcuit reheats some of her favorite Friday Morning Coffee conversations from 2025 and finishes up her eighth year (!) as our host. Author Tamar Shapiro then joins Daniel Ford to chat about her novel Restitution.  To learn more about Tamar Shapiro, visit her official website.  This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.

Author and Academy Award-nominee Julian Brave NoiseCat joins Daniel Ford on the final show of 2025 to discuss his book We Survived the Night and his documentary film "Sugarcane."  To learn more about Julian Brave Noise Cat, visit his official website. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.

Author Alafair Burke (The Wife, Find Me, The Better Sister) joins Daniel Ford on the show to discuss her book The Note, now available in paperback.  To learn more about Alafair Burke, visit her official website.  This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.

On the latest Friday Morning Coffee, host Caitlin Malcuit discusses AI's continued encroachment into the music business and Warner Music Group's licensing deal with a tech start up Suno that will likely lead to AI-generated music sourced from artists who opt-in. Sounds above board and nonexploitative to us!  Then author Sarah Curtis joins Daniel Ford to chat about her memoir, Daughter of a Song, and her father, the legendary Sonny Curtis. To learn more about Sarah Curtis, visit her official website. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.

Author R.L. Maizes (Other People's Pets, We Love Anderson Cooper) returns to the show and chats with Daniel Ford about her latest novel A Complete Fiction.  To learn more about R.L. Maizes, visit her official website. Also listen to our interviews with the author in Episode 376 and Friday Morning Coffee. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.

Author Gina Chung (Sea Change) joins Daniel Ford on the show to chat about her short story collection Green Frog.  To learn more about Gina Chung, visit her official website. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.

On the latest Friday Morning Coffee, host Caitlin Malcuit discusses Seth Gordon's new book Crossroads in the American Theatre, which explores the current state of the U.S. nonprofit theatre movement. Then, author Robert M. Dowling (Eugene O'Neill: A Life in Four Acts, Slumming in New York: From the Waterfront to Mythic Harlem) chats with Daniel Ford about his book Coyote: The Dramatic Lives of Sam Shepard. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.

Author Yael van der Wouden joins Daniel Ford on the show to discuss her Booker Award-nominated novel The Safekeep. To learn more about Yael van der Wouden, visit her official website. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.

Craig Thomas, co-creator of "How I Met Your Mother" and co-host of the podcast "How We Made Your Mother," joins Daniel Ford on the show to discuss his debut novel That's Not How It Happened. To learn more about Craig Thomas, follow him on Instagram. Also listen to our interview with Carter Bays in Episode 534. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.

In this edition of Friday Morning Coffee, host Caitlin Malcuit discusses the life of David Ruggles, a New York City-based abolitionist who operated the first known Black bookstore and is featured in our guest's book, and his connections to New England. She also mentions the David Ruggles Center for History & Education, located in Northampton, Mass.  Then author and journalist Char Adams joins Daniel Ford to chat about her book Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore. To learn more about Char Adams, visit her official website. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.

In this episode, we celebrate the short story and the recently published The Best American Short Stories 2025 with author and guest editor Celeste Ng and series editor Nicole A. Lamy. To learn more about Celeste Ng, visit her official website. Learn more about this year's Best American Short Stories. This episode is sponsored by The Dark Road by Kathleen Rhodes and Libro.fm.

Michael McFaul, former Ambassador to Russia for President Barack Obama and NBC News contributor, joins Daniel Ford on the show to discuss his new book Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder. To learn more about Ambassador Michael McFaul, visit his official website. This episode is sponsored by The Dark Road by Kathleen Rhodes and Libro.fm.

On the latest Friday Morning Coffee, Caitlin Malcuit, with an assist from the late comedian George Carlin, discusses poverty and homelessness in America (and who is getting rich off of both).  Author and activist David Ambroz then joins Daniel Ford to chat about his memoir A Place Called Home.  To learn more about David Ambroz, visit his official website. This episode is sponsored by The Dark Road by Kathleen Rhodes and Libro.fm.

Author and journalist Jeff Pearlman returns to the show and chats with Daniel Ford about his latest book Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur. To learn more about Jeff Pearlman, visit his official website. Also listen to our first interview with the author and subscribe to his podcast "Two Writers Slinging Yang." This episode is sponsored by The Dark Road by Kathleen Rhodes and Libro.fm.