This week, horror novelists and podcasters discuss their craft. Featuring: Quan Barry, Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink, Scott Hawkins, and moderated by A.V. Bach.

The creators and writers of the fiction podcast Welcome to Night Vale, Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink, come together with novelists Quan Barry (The Unveiling) and Scott Hawkins (The Library at Mount Char) to discuss horror in fiction, and how the writing changes based on the medium. Moderated by fellow writer A.V. Bach.

This program was part of the 2026 American Writers Festival. Co-hosted by the American Writers Museum and Chicago Public Library, the American Writers Festival is a free literary event featuring in-depth conversations with diverse writers from across genres and backgrounds. This conversation took place June 7, 2026 and was recorded live at the Harold Washington Library Center.

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More about the books and podcasts discussed during the episode:

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

Populated by an unforgettable cast of characters and propelled by a plot that will shock you again and again, The Library at Mount Char is at once horrifying and hilarious, mind-blowingly alien and heartbreakingly human, sweepingly visionary and nail-bitingly thrilling—and signals the arrival of a major new voice in fantasy.

The Unveiling by Quan Barry

A genre-bending Black literary horror novel exploring abandonment, guilt, and survival in the shadow of America's racial legacy, The Unveiling follows a group of tourists turned disaster survivors on an Antarctica cruise over Christmas Eve. With sharp social satire, Quan Barry questions the limits of human bonds, the masks we wear, and the truths we hide even from ourselves.

Welcome to Night Vale by Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink

Welcome to Night Vale is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events.

About the writers:

A.V. BACH is a writer and musician living in Chicago, IL. Born in Minnesota and (mostly) raised outside Chicago, he attended Syracuse University in 2004, studying under several prominent writers such as George Saunders, Mary Gaitskill, and Arthur Flowers. He graduated SU in 2008 with a BA in English and Textual Studies, with a concentration on Film and Creative Writing. In 2008 Bach enrolled in Johns Hopkins University's Writing Program, receiving his MA in Fiction Writing in 2010. His fiction has been published in the US and UK, including Gargoyle, Fogged Clarity, Gone Lawn, Kerouac's Dog Magazine, a...

This week, Amy Bizzarri discusses her cookbook and travelogue, Route 66 Recipes: A Culinary Cruise Along the Mother Road, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the famous highway. Bizzarri talks about the food history of the legendary road, and the diners, cafes, soda shops, and dive bars that make up the landscape. Moderated by editor and writer Erica Floyd. Discover more stories about Route 66 here!

This program was part of the 2026 American Writers Festival. Co-hosted by the American Writers Museum and Chicago Public Library, the American Writers Festival is a free literary event featuring in-depth conversations with diverse writers from across genres and backgrounds. This conversation took place June 6, 2026 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum.

AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB

More about Route 66 Recipes:

Cook up iconic dishes from all along Route 66 in the comfort of your own kitchen.

Fuel up with the "world's best" coffee and donut holes at Lou Mitchell's in downtown Chicago and then cruise into Doc's Soda Fountain in Girard for a fizzy Green River phosphate. The tiger stripe fudge in Uranus, Missouri, doesn't disappoint, but you best save room for the Big Texan seventy-two-ounce steak challenge in Amarillo. Bop into Midpoint Café in Adrian for a slice of ugly crust pie and then ready yourself for a fiesta of flavors in New Mexico, from prickly pear margaritas to poblanos rellenos. Arizona's Hualapai Lodge serves up piñon stew, rich with tradition, just like the comforting bowl of chili you can dig into at Barney's Beanery in Santa Monica, the end of the road.

Author Amy Bizzarri serves up recipes—each paired with a side of history—that capture the essence of the classic diners, cozy chili parlors, welcoming inns, old-school soda shops, tasty burger joints, and unforgettable dive bars that have fueled generations of travelers.

AMY BIZZARRI is a Chicago-based author whose books celebrate the flavors, stories, and roadways that shaped American culture. Her work spans the country's most iconic routes and eras, from Route 66 Recipes, a culinary journey along the Mother Road, to The Civilian Conservation Corps Cookbook, which revives dishes from one of the nation's most influential New Deal programs. She has chronicled regional food traditions in Iconic Chicago Dishes, Drinks and Desserts and Iconic Hollywood Dishes, Drinks and Desserts, and explored America's legendary highways in The Best Hits on Route 66 and The Best Hits on Route 61.

ERICA FLOYD is the founder and owner of Lake Literary Center, a literary arts hub in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, offering writing workshops, author readings, literary events, books clubs, and open mics. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A former magazine editor-in-chief and marketing director, her writing appears in Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Lunch Ticket, BusinessWeek, and nonfiction books. Floyd is currently writing a second novel, essays, and translations. She lives in rural Wisconsin, where she co-owns her family’s certif...

This week, writers and free speech advocates Jacob Mchangama and Sara Paretsky discuss the importance of free speech today.

Jacob Mchangama is the author of Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media, which traces the riveting legal, political, and cultural history of this idea. He is also the co-author, along with Jeff Kosseff, of the new book The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom. He is joined by mystery writer and free speech advocate Sara Paretsky to discuss this important topic. Paretsky's latest novel, Bad Company, comes out November 2026.

This program was part of the 2026 American Writers Festival. Co-hosted by the American Writers Museum and Chicago Public Library, the American Writers Festival is a free literary event featuring in-depth conversations with diverse writers from across genres and backgrounds. This conversation took place June 6, 2026 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum.

AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB

More about The Future of Free Speech:

The Future of Free Speech argues for a reinvigorated, global commitment to open dialogue. Mchangama and Kosseff advocate nonpartisan, civic-minded solutions that resist both government overreach and corporate silencing. They offer a compelling case for how free speech can meet modern challenges without abandoning its foundational role in sustaining democracy, human rights, and shared understanding.

More about Bad Company:

Meet Lily. Once the CIA's most effective field agent, she's now the target of a Company womanhunt designed to silence her. She's in her 70s. Can she call on her old field skills to save her life?

JACOB MCHANGAMA is the Founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech and research professor at Vanderbilt University. Author of Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Media, (Basic Books 2022) and The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom (Johns Hopkins University Press 2026). He is the recipient of numerous awards for his work on free speech and human rights.

SARA PARETSKY revolutionized the mystery world in 1982 when she introduced V.I. Warshawski in Indemnity Only. By creating a detective with the grit and smarts to take on the mean streets, Paretsky challenged a genre in which women historically were vamps or victims. V.I. struck a chord with readers and critics; Indemnity Only was followed by twenty more V.I. novels. Paretsky detailed her journey from Kansas farm-girl to New York Times bestseller in her 2007 memoir, Writing in an Age of Silence, which was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. In addition, Paretsky has written two stand-alone novels, Ghost Country, and Bleeding Kansas, set in the part of rural Kansas where Paretsky grew up. She has published several short story collections, most recently Love & Other Crimes, and has edited numerous other anthologies.