Guest Authors
Each week, we welcome a distinguished guest author for a series we call “The Herculean Challenge,” named for the two-part question that drives our discussion: 1) What was your biggest craft challenge in writing your book? 2) What was your biggest emotional hurdle or morale challenge? Participants then have the opportunity to pose their own questions, perhaps related to their books-in-progress.
We tailor our guest author roster intentionally, according to each cohort’s genre interests and needs, and in 2026 will include a literary agent visit. We’ve hosted a brilliant array of authors in past Incubators for intimate and unforgettable conversations:
Melissa Febos assured us that we’re “right on time,” no matter how royally behind we (all?!) may feel.
Essie Chambers gave us permission to write terrible sentences (edit later, just keep it moving) and spoke so persuasively about how every writer needs to cultivate the practice that suits them best.
Leslie Jamison regaled us with stories about the challenges of writing about others, and the power of revision, in the final stages of editing her memoir Splinters.
Greg Marshall shared how he successfully reframed his book Leg after a disheartening round of rejections.
Sierra Crane Murdoch touched on the formidable distance we often feel between the the books in our head and the writing we see on the page.
Sonora Jha talked candidly about agent representation, and the remarkable way she channeled a male narrator in her novel The Laughter.
Matthew Salesses taught us about finding the courage to put grief on the page, and also daring to start over in a new document.
Rachel Yoder disarmed us with insights about the cruciality of community, and how life after the blazing success of Nightbitch has brought challenges of its own.
Aube Rey Lescure brought us into the backstory of her debut novel’s success—how she at first struggled to find an agent, and how a final revision push made all the difference.
Leah Sotille spoke about her deep dives into book research—what fuels her, and what helps her come up for air when she needs to!
Zaina Arafat addressed the challenges of parenting & writing, and how she fosters both her fiction and nonfiction writing.
