September Bonus Episode

In part one of this month’s bonus episode, Emily St. John Mandel joins Bianca Marais to talk about Exit Party, the interconnected Mandelverse, and her unconventional writing process. She shares why she writes without a plan, treats first drafts as raw material, and relies on meticulous revision to shape the story. They also dig into complex characters, POV, keeping exposition moving, working with editors, and Emily’s best tip for stronger prose: read your novel aloud. In the second part of this month’s bonus episode, Bianca welcomes bestselling author Chloe Benjamin back to the podcast to discuss her ambitious new novel, Understory. Chloe shares how real-life science inspired the story, the five-year journey of writing her first draft, and how she balanced extensive research with creative discovery. She also dives into crafting complex timelines, maintaining tension across a sprawling novel, working with a new editor, and why even an ambiguous ending should always be an intentional choice. Note: CeCe Lyra is a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates. If you’d like to query CeCe, please refer to the submission guidelines at www.wsherman.com. Carly Watters is a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, but her work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly on this podcast are solely that of her as a podcast co-host ​and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency. Find us on our socials: Threads: https://www.threads.net/@the_shit_about_writing https://www.threads.net/@biancamarais_author https://www.threads.net/@carlywatters https://www.threads.net/@cece_lyra_agent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/ https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/ https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting To sign up for our Substack newsletter, head to https://theshitaboutwriting.substack.com Our Sponsors: * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/tsnotyaw for a great deal: https://www.quince.com * Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code rosettastone.com/today for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.com * Check out The Comprehensive Copywriting Academy and use my code thecca.co/tspodcast for a great deal: https://thecca.co * Check out Wayfair: https://www.wayfair.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands