Audio Interviews

	Sheila is speaking with Charlie Fleishman, the sound engineer she worked with creating recordings for the program that aired for over six years on KPTZ.org 91.9. They discuss what went into creating the programs and most importantly what it mean to them to work on this show for listeners. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is speaking with Portland, Oregon poet and spiritual director Peg Edera about her work with others and her poetry collection Love Is Deeper Than Distance: Poems of Love, Death, a Little Sex, Als, Dementia and the Widow’s Life Thereafter about the years of her marriage, caring for her husband until his death for ALS and her life as a widow. Listen to Interview
	Port Townsend poet Gerry McFarland reads from his poetry collection The Making, as he and Sheila talk about the collection and about the source of his poems. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with Philip Kenney, therapist and author, about how he came to writing, his new writing, and about his book The Writer’s Crucible: Meditations on Emotion, Being and Creativity. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with Washington State Book Award winner in memoir, Brenda Miller, about her updated third edition of the co-authored classic Tell It Slant: Creating, Refining and Publishing Creative Nonfiction. Listen to Interview
	William Kenower is the author of Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence, and Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion, and the Editor-in-Chief of Author Magazine. In addition to his books he’s been published in The New York Times, Writer’s Digest, Edible Seattle, Parent Map, and has been a featured blogger for the Huffington Post. He also hosts the popular podcast Author2Author. – Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with Los Angeles novelist Robin Page about Small Silent Things, her novel in three voices. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with Everett, WA fiction writer Sue Pace about her short story collection and how those stories came about. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with Mindy Pollack, Boston newspaper feature writer and first-time novelist, about her novel and her transition to writing fiction. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend poet Joanne Clarkson about her poetry and how family and a nursing career have influenced her work. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking to KPTZ radio soap opera playwright Susan Solley about her show the Port Ludlow Project, a zany episodic comedy. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with poet Tess Gallagher, a 2020 WA State Booksellers’ Award winner, about who and what have and continue to inspire her poems and creative life. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with mathematician Virginia Thompson about her book series Family Math, the continuing project she created with others decades ago. We learn how activities in one’s passion area become books that help many more than one can meet in person. Listen to Interview
	Christina Baldwin is a writer and teacher whose work is embedded in community-making and story-catching. She is co-founder, with Ann Linnea, of PeerSpirit,Inc. and The Circle Way Process, bringing modern structure and application to the human heritage of circle. Christina is the author of 7 books, including (with Ann) The Circle Way, A Leader in Every Chair; Storycatcher; Life’s Companion; Calling the Circle; and The Seven Whispers, Spiritual Practice for Times Like These. Now in her vibrant 70’s she is focusing on the legacy of her story work, teaching her autobiographical writing seminar: The Self as the Source of the Story, working on a novel, and supporting the role of story to guide us through troubling times. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with poet Dianne Avey about her poetry, the value it has for those in grief, and her experience directing a small writer’s conference on the Pacific Northwest island she calls home. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with Toni Kennedy about her memoir, Far from Home, in which she explores the family life and personal attributes that led her to become a nun as well as leave the order 25 years later for secular life. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is speaking with the Director of the International Association for Journal Writing (IAJW.org) about her goals for the organization and how journaling helps people heal and transform their lives. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with novelist Molly Tinsley about her new novel, Things Too Big to Name, a literary mystery with a touch of the paranormal, all in the service of the protagonist’s deep self-reflection about a purposeful life. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with poet and book artist Marilyn Stablein about how her travels as a young woman and interest in the visual arts have influenced her career in writing and creating. Listen to Interview
	Sheila talks with award-winning journalist and film reviewer Kirk Boxleitner about his career in community journalism. Listen to Interview
	Shella is talking with poet John Delaney about his writing, both in the 1970s when he was earning his MFA, and his return to poetry now that he has retired from a career curating old maps for Princeton University’s library. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with poet Gary Lilley about his new books, his start in poetry and what writing and teaching poetry means to him. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with KPTZ sound engineer Fleishman about his own writing, his work with authors and his accomplished editing for “In Conversation: Discussions on Writing and the Writing Life.” Learn more about Charlie here. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with L.A. screenwriter Ariadne Shaffer, about her work, how she transitioned from acting to screenwriting, and the best ways for others to enter the field. Learn more about Ariadne here. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with poet Lauren Davis about her poetry and participation in Port Townsend’s literary community. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with writer Amy Hewes about her work with New Times in San Luis Obispo. Hear her thoughts on what makes a good opinion piece and read her columns in the paper’s archives at New Times under Opinion, Rhetoric and Reason. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with Stewert Pugh about the work and connections he made in dismantling the late poet Gwen Head’s famous Dragon Gate Press in Port Townsend, WA. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with new Port Townsend resident and writer Marcia Myers, whose coffee table books include Special Delivery, an interesting, illustrated history of the US Postal service. Listen to Interview.
	Sheila talks with poet Holly J. Hughes about her poetry and her teaching career as a writer. Listen
	Sheila talks with urban fantasy romance writer Rashida Scholz (pen name Jasmine Silvera) about today’s romance genre as well as her own Grace Blood series which feature an alternate present-day Prague, where a mortal woman draws on the power of gods through dance in solving murders. Learn more at www.jasminesilvera.com. Listen to Interview
	Sheila talks with Young Adult writer Constantine Singer about his first novel, Strange Days, what writing for the Y/A audience lis ike, and his path to publication. You can visit him on facebook. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with CO poet Laura Weaver about her work in Luminous: Poems and Inquiry for the Soul’s Journey. Learn more about Laura at lauraweaver.org. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with CA poet and professor Kevin Clark about his poetry, career in poetry and teaching. Visit kevinclarkpoetry.com to learn more about him. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with William Powers about his memoir Dispatches from the Sweet Life: One Family, Five Acres, and a Community’s Quest to Reinvent the World. You can learn more about his book, his life in building sustainable communities on his website williampowersbooks.com. Listen to Interview
	Sheila is talking with WA novelist Peter Donahue about his approach to historical fiction and writing about place as he authored There Sides Water: Three Short Novels, each of set in a different decade and location on the Olympic Peninsula. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend writer David Cunningham about his career from sports writing to screen writing to his present new novel (What Love Feels Like: The Dawn of Human 2.0) and spiritual writing (Travel Within: The 7 Steps to Wisdom and Inner Peace). Listen
	Sheila is talking with CA poet, novelist and Emeritus Professor Mary Mackey about her writing and her career efforts to advance environmental awareness and women’s opportunities to publish their writing. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with Nahid Rachlin about her new novella published online and her long career writing memoir and fiction. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with Vashon Island elementary school teacher Margie Butcher about the way she facilitates her young students in writing grant proposals for environmental awareness projects in their school and community. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with poet Susan Landgraf about how she came to poetry, how her career as a poet began, and how it culminated in numerous published poetry collections. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend oncology therapist Tess Taft about how counseling her clients living with cancer diagnoses led her to become a writer. Google her name and learn about her talks and books. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with Marrowstone Island, WA’s new romance writer Rachel Fordham about how she started writing and publishing while mothering her own children and fostering other children. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with former Seattle resident, poet and songwriter, John O’Connor about how he came to writing poems and winning a distinguished contest for publication of his first volume. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with Ellen Forney, Seattle cartoonist and graphic nonfiction book writer, about her career, her teaching, and her recent work about bi-polar disorder. Listen
	Sheila Bender talks with Marrowstone Island, WA’s Michael Buschmohle about writing tips and his career in helping writers create and edit effective email, speeches, blogs and more. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with author Robert Devereux McEliece about his reasons for writing a memoir about his boyhood and time in the armed forces Listen
	Sheila is talking with retired Alaska Glacier National Park ranger Daniel Zobrist about the picture book he’s published to help children (and adults) understand glaciers, how they form and how they move. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Jonathan Stratman about his five novels, three for middle grades and two adult mysteries, each set in the Alaska of his growing up. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with Tin House editor and essayist Cheston Knapp and experimental novelist and culture critic Curtis White during their 2018 joint book tour. Listen
	Cris talks with our own poet and writer Sheila Bender, host of IN CONVERSATION about her poetry, teaching and most especially her book A New Theology: Turning to Poetry in Time of Grief. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend author Barbara Sjoholm about her newest book Black Fox, the story of Danish artist and ethnographer Emilie Demant who lived with Sami families in their tents and on migrations. Listen
	Sheila talks with poets Kelli Russell Agodon and Martha Silano about their work encouraging each other’s writing as well as creating The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts for Your Writing Practice. Listen
	Sheila talks with Tucson and Oregon based author Beth Alvarado about her writing, her teaching and the value of writing memoir for political action. Listen
	Sheila talks with poet Elizabeth Austen about her work as a poet and her tenure as WA State Poet Laureate. Listen
	Sheila talks with Bainbridge Island, WA middle grade and young adult author Beth Bacon about what she’s learned about the creative process. Listen
	Sheila Bender talks with Doris Baizley about her work as a playwright bringing the words of communities to the stage. Listen
	Sheila is talking to University of Washington Professor Emily Menon Bender about how being raised by a poet mother impacted her academic writing. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Bellingham poet James Bertolino about writing poetry, teaching others to write it, and living a life in poetry. Listen
	Sheila talks with Susan Bono about her career as a writer, editor, publisher and teacher. Two conversations Listen
	Sheila talks with author Jody Gentian Bower about writing and supporting her book Jane Eyre’s Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine’s Story. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend book publishing consultant, Marcia Breece, about her work with authors and her own writing as a novelist. Listen
	Sheila Bender talks with career journalist and investigative reporter Tony Brenna about his life writing for publications in the US and abroad. Listen
	Sheila talks with Shirin Bridges, middle-grade author, publisher at Goosebottom Books and Executive Director of the Mendocino Writers’ Conference. Listen
	Sheila talks with poet Sharon Bryan about her life in poetry, writing and teaching. Listen
	Sheila is speaking about incense poems with Swami Pranesh Cadman, who practices Zen in Seattle, WA. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with counselor and educational consultant Harriet Cannon about her book on working with people in multiethnic relationships. Listen
	Sheila talks with Patty Cogen, author of nonfiction for parents of internationally adopted children, as well as poet and essayist. Listen
	Sheila is talking with ocean voyager and author Kaci Cronkhite about her book Finding Pax: The unexpected journey of a little wooden boat, the kind of boat she’d promised herself she would never buy and the history she found by owning her. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with Seattle University Professor and Poet Sharon Cumberland about her newest book and her life in poetry. Listen
	Sheila talks with Michael D’Alessandro about his poetry and his small poetry press project, bedouin books. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Idaho resident and frequent Centrum Writers’ Conference attendee and instructor, Sayantani Dasgupta, about her experiences as a creative nonfiction writer and writing instructor. Listen
	Sheila Bender talks with filmmaker and screenwriter Steve de Jarnatt about his turn to writing fiction. Listen
	Sheila is talking with poet and longtime poetry instructor Alice Derry about the source of her poems and work with students. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend author Pam Dionne about her writing and what she’s learned from Goddard ‘s Low-residency MFA program. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Ken Doctor, a Eugene, OR former newspaper publisher and now consultant to national media on going digital. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Eugene OR cartoonist, Jan Eliot, about her strip Stone Soup and women in cartooning. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Tucson novelist Elizabeth Evans about her newest novel and her career as a novelist and Professor of Creative Writing. Listen
	Sheila Bender is talking with Olympic Peninsula author Jonathan Evison about his many novels and career as a writer. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend’s Wren Ferris about the creation of her memoir SOAK and the healing powers of water. Listen
	Sheila talks with Tucson writer Meg Files about her writing and teaching career. Listen
	Sheila Bender is talking Seattle freelance writer Glenn Fleishman, tech columnist for many magazines and publisher of his own venture, the online periodical, The Magazine. Listen
	Sheila talks with former Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken about her poetry collections and her work with students. Listen
	Sheila talks with Ruth Folit, creator of LifeJournal software (which includes an add-on for writers) and founder of the International Association for Journal Writing. Listen
	Sheila talks with Jeannine Hall Gailey about her life in poetry. Listen
	Sheila speaks with writer Christi Killien Glover about her blog and novella. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Toronto writer Leesa Renee Hall about the way teaching Expressive Writing prompts can help us communicate about sensitive topics. Listen
	Sheila speaks with Centrum Foundation’s Port Townsend Writers’ Conference program manager Jordan Hartt about his writing and project of the heart Writing Across Borders. Listen
	Sheila talks with Adrienne Harun about her award winning novel, A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain, and her career as a fiction writer and instructor in the Rainier Writer’s Workshop. Listen
	Sheila talks with writer Jack Heffron and his work and long time position of editor at several presses. Listen
	Sheila talks with poet and essayist Esther Helfgott about her writing life and work building community through writing. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Bainbridge Island writer and adventurer Wendy Hinman about writing her memoir, marketing the book to a wide audience and her current project written in the voices of others. Listen
	Sheila participates in a round table discussion of the writing she, Molly Hollenbach and Wendy Chapman did in playwright Doris Baisley’s workshop Listen
	Sheila Bender speaks with David D. Horowitz, Seattle poet and founder of Rose Alley Press. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend Fisher Poet Vicki Sutherland Horton about her writing and the organization that has inspired her. Listen
	Sheila speaks with fiction writer Pam Houston about her book Contents May Have Shifted, the Port Townsend, WA 2013 Community Read. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend writer Betsy Howell about writing her new novel, a story of women soldiers in the American Civil War. Listen
	Sheila talks with poet Holly J. Hughes about her poetry and her teaching career as a writer. Listen
	Sheila talks with agent and novelist Andrea Hurst about the new aspects of agenting, publishing and writing. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend journalist Dahr Jamail about how he began his career and his current writing about climate disruption. Listen
	Sheila is talking to Patrick Jennings, Port Townsend picture book, chapter book, middle-grade book, and young adult writer about his career writing for young readers. Listen
	Sheila is talking with James T. Jones, Seattle letterpress printer and author of Dear Carolyn, a collection of letters from the wife of Beat icon Neal Cassady. Listen
	Sheila is talking with award-winning Bellingham novelist Laura Kalpakian about about her career and support of the writing community. Listen
	Sheila speaks with poet Gayle Kaune about her poetry collections and writing life as a poet. Listen
	Sheila talks with author Rita Kepner about her memoir Through Fire and Water: True Stories of Rita Marie Matthiesen as told to Laura Callender, which she wrote using a pen name. Listen
	Sheila talks with the Judith Kitchen and Stan Rubin, heads of The Rainier Writers’ Workshop about low-residency MFA programs. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Robert Komishane, who took up rapping in middle age about what he’s learned entering the rap world. Listen
	Sheila speaks with journalist Carolyn Kortge about her nonfiction work, The Spirited Walker: Fitness Walking for Clarity, Balance, and Spiritual Connection. Listen
	Sheila talks with playwright Mara Lathrop about her writing and her career. Listen
	Sheila talks with Bainbridge Island poet Jenifer Lawrence about her poems, many of which stem from growing up in Alaska. Listen
	Sheila Bender speaks with Port Townsend resident Nancy Leonard about writing and publishing her 8-book Relentless River novel series. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Seattle author, teacher and poet, Priscilla Long, about her career in writing. Listen
	Sheila talks with Boston playwright Jeni Mahoney about playwriting, teaching the craft and her life in writing. Listen
	Sheila talks with author and poet Ellie Matthews and her husband Carl Youngman about their work with the Madrona Writers and how prompts facilitate writing. Listen
	Sheila is interviewed by Mark Matousek for his website. Listen
	Sheila Bender talks with poet and poetry reading curator Bill Mawhinney about his writing life and poetry. Listen
	Sheila is talking to Ashland, OR memoirist Karen McClintock about her recent memoir and why she wrote it. Listen
	Sheila talks with Cheryl Merrill about the writings in her memoir-in-progress about several trips to Africa to walk with elephants. Listen
	Sheila talks with creative nonfiction writer Brenda Miller about her work and teaching. Listen
	Sheila talks with Maria Moustakas, who reads from her poetry and addresses the way writing about difficult personal experiences helps others find their voices. Listen
	#1) Sheila speaks with Dennis Must about his long writing career from plays to the novel The World’s Smallest Bible. Listen #2) Sheila is talking with fiction writer Dennis Must about his novel, Hush Now, Don’t Explain. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Kevin O’Brien, Seattle Seven member and author of many murder mysteries set in Seattle, about writing in that genre. Listen
	Sheila Bender talks with author Susan Orlean about her writing career from journalism to feature articles to books. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with author and inspirational coach Cami Ostman about her life experiences and how they culminated in many books of help to women. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Seattle’s book maven, and now novelist, Nancy Pearl. Listen
	Sheila talks about writing and publishing with Terry Persun, author of over a dozen books of fiction and poetry. Listen
	Sheila talks with John Pierce, technical editor for companies such as Microsoft as well as editor of poetry for Copper Canyon and Floating Bridge Press. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Katha Pollitt, poet, writer, and political columnist for The Nation magazine. Listen
	Sheila Bender talks with award-winning novelist, performer and playwright Sarah Pleydell about her work. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with Port Townsend resident and proprietor of The Imprint Bookstore and Writer’s Workshop Anna Quinn about writing, teaching writing and the recent acceptance of her forthcoming debut novel. Listen
	Sheila talks with author and publisher Midge Raymond about her fiction, non-fiction and Ashland Creek Press. Listen
	Sheila Bender talks with writer, writing teaching and writing practice provocateur Judy Reeves. Listen
	Sheila speaks with writer David Reich about his memoir-in-progress. Listen
	Sheila talks with Chaplain Stephanie Tivona Reith about writing contemporary psalms. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Nancy Rekow, Bainbridge Island poet and long-time poetry mentor, about her work fostering poets via workshops, reading series and publications. Listen
	Sheila is talking to local musician and humorist Rex Rice about his reasons for writing. Listen
	Sheila speaks with poet Susan Rich about her collection Cloud Pharmacy and teaching poetry. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Port Townsend poet and former Methow Valley resident Linda Robertson about her poems and her path toward writing poetry. Listen
	Sheila is talking with award-winning Milwaukee poet and community activist Margaret Rozga about her poetry and its intersection with politics. Listen
	Sheila is talking with famed hand press printer Gabriel Rummonds about his career and memoir, Fantasies & Hard Knocks, My Life as a Printer. Listen
	Sheila talks with former Port Townsend resident Mary Lou Sanelli about her professional life as literary reader, essayist and poet. Listen
	Sheila talks with award-winning memoirist Sue William Silverman about her career in writing and teaching and her newest memoir, The Pat Boone Fan Club. Listen
	Sheila talks with Barbara Sjoholm about her work as a novelist, translator, and creative nonfiction writer. Listen
	Sheila talks with poet Judith Skillman about her new books of both poetry and lessons for poets. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Pennsylvania poet Judith Sornberger about her poems of loss and new beginnings. Listen
	Sheila talks with Barbara Stahura about her work as a novelist, translator, and creative nonfiction writer. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Patrick Sullivan, Managing Editor of the Port Townsend Leader, a weekly community newspaper about journalism and serving the community. Listen
	Sheila speaks with Tina Tessina, who as a psychotherapist and author of 13 books, works and writes about couples and romance. List en
	Sheila is talking with New York memoirist Abigail Thomas about her writing career, handling reviews and teaching others to write what is most in their hearts. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Seattle guidebook author Bill Thorness about writing and bicycling for his newest book, Cycling the Pacific Coast: The Complete Guide from Canada to Mexico. Listen
	Sheila is talking with award-winning poet and essayist Alison Townsend about her writing and teaching career. Listen
	Sheila talks with feminist fiction writer Kathryn Trueblood and her work and the publishing world. Listen
	Sheila talks with Port Townsend editor Julie Van Pelt about how editors work and her career and beliefs as an editor. Listen
	Sheila is talking with Israeli-American novelist and nonfiction author Ayelet Waldman about her book, “A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life.” Listen
	Sheila talks with Seattle poet and translator Michael Dylan Welch about the art of Haiku, other Asian poetry forms and longer contemporary American forms. Listen
	Sheila talks with poet, journalist, and memoirist Beverly West about the writing of her memoir Finding My Way Back to 1950s Paris. Listen
	Sheila is speaking with fiction writer, culture critic and retired Illinois State University professor Curtis White. Listen
	Sheila talks with fiction writer Susan Wingate about writing and promoting one’s work. Listen
	Sheila Bender talks with San Francisco author Steven Winn about his career as a memoirist, poet, short fiction writer, and theater and culture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. Listen
	Sheila Bender talks with Seattle poet Carolyn Wright about her life in poetry. Listen
	Sheila Bender interviews Port Townsend poet and activist Sarah Zale about her writing and the creation of a local community arts project. Listen

Sheila Bender's Writing It Real

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Audio Interviews