Writers, Ink: Your backstage pass to the world's most prolific authors

Writers, Ink: Your backstage pass to the world's most prolific authors

What does it take to succeed as a writer? Join host J.D. Barker and a panel of industry experts as they pull back the curtain and offer rare insights from the household names found on bookshelves worldwide.

Episodes

January 12, 2026 62 mins

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Audible, Robert Munsch, and 2026 social media trends. Then, stick around for a chat with Amy Suto!

Amy Suto: I’ve devoted my life to the art of storytelling. I graduated from USC’s presitigious film school with a BFA in Writing for Screen and Television. I worked my way up the ranks from ag...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about best-selling books and genres, and cultural works becoming public domain in 2026. Then, stick around for a chat with Christopher Locke!

Christopher Locke is the Director of Membership & Member Services at IBPA. He assists the more than 3,000 IBPA members as they travel along their publishin...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about a 70-year-old debut novelist, new names on fiction bestseller lists, and why certain contract clauses are scary. Then, stick around for a chat with Mark Gottlieb!

Mark Owen Gottlieb is an executive vice president and highly ranked literary agent in overall deals and other individual categor...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Kindle, Audible, TikTok, and Barnes & Noble. Then, stick around for a chat with Jenna Blum!

Jenna Blum is the New York Times and # 1 internationally bestselling author of novels Those Who Save Us, The Stormchasers, and The Lost Family; memoir Woodrow on the Bench; audiocourse “The Author at...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Netflix, Entangled, and Kindle. Then, stick around for a chat with Magen Mintchev!

Magen Mintchev helps businesses and leaders grow their online influence through Instagram strategy, LinkedIn executive management, content development, and analytics-driven social media support.


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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, JP Rindfleisch, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Smashwords, Edelweiss, and the word of the year. Then, stick around for a chat with Mark Tavani!

Mark Tavani started his publishing career in 2000 with Ballantine Books and spent over 23 years with Penguin Random House, Bantam, Del Rey, and G.P. Putnam's Sons. He edited best...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about B&T, James Patterson, Bookshop.org, and Barnes & Noble. Then, stick around for a chat with Bob Lingle!

Bob Lingle: https://www.instagram.com/bookstorebob/

Bob Lingle: "I’ve owned Good Neighbor Bookstore since 2018, and despite everything else going on in the world. It’s been the best years of my life. M...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Shein, Sourcebooks, and Anthropic. Then, stick around for a chat with Richard Kirshenbaum!

Richard Kirshenbaum is CEO of NSG/SWAT, a high-profile boutique branding agency. He has lectured at Harvard Business School, appeared on 20/20, was named to Crain's New York Business's "40 under 40" l...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Kindle Translate and Spotify's audiobook recaps. Then, stick around for a chat with James Patterson!

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. ...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, JP Rindfleisch, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about a $50 million fund, Tertulia, and second-hand book threats. Then, stick around for a chat with J. Luke Bennecke! J. Luke Bennecke is a veteran civil engineer with a well-spent career helping people by improving Southern California roadways. He has a civil engineering degre...
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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about a new fund for literary arts organizations, James Patterson's podcast, and how to read a book and feed a neighbor. Then, stick around for a chat with Orson Scott Card!

Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's GameEnder's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about a new report for publishers, Amazon's algorithm change, and Gen Z's screens survey. Then, stick around for a chat with Edoardo Ballerini! Edoardo Ballerini: Called "a master in his field" (The New York Times) and "in a class by himself" (Oprah Daily), Edoardo Ballerini is an award winning narrator of...
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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about the Frankfurt Book Fair, New York Comic Con, and the Pushkin job. Then, stick around for a chat with Thomas Olde Heuvelt! Thomas Olde Heuvelt is an international bestselling author from The Netherlands. His breakthrough novel HEX was published in over twenty-five countries and hailed as 'totally, bri...
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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, and Jena Brown as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about B&T, Ingram Spark, confusing books, and TikTok. Then, stick around for a chat with A.G. Riddle! A.G. Riddle spent ten years starting internet companies before retiring to pursue his true passion: writing fiction. His novels have sold over six million copies worldwide and been translated in twen...
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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, and Jena Brown as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about anxiety, Reading Rainbow, and the publishing industry's gambling problem. Then, stick around for a chat with Ariel Sullivan!

Ariel Sullivan is the author of Conform. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two sons, and their two French bulldogs. Growing up a military brat, Ariel moved every t...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, and Jena Brown as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about PoP, ReaderLink, B&T, and reader community networks. Then, stick around for a chat with Kelsea Yu!

Kelsea Yu is a Taiwanese Chinese American writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and children. Whether through a speculative or real-world lens, her writing explores diaspora ide...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, JP Rindfleisch, and Jena Brown as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about YouTube, Amazon, and a big threat to books. Then, stick around for a chat with Johnny B. Truant!

Johnny B. Truant: I’m the author of Fat Vampire (which became SyFy’s Reginald the Vampire), plus 100+ books across most genres. My books are layered, intelligent, and often funny. I lo...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, and Jena Brown as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about book club scammers, Kindle Unlimited, and BookTok Hub. Then, stick around for a chat with Alma Katsu!

Alma Katsu: NYT bestselling author Alma Katsu’s books have been nominated for and won multiple prestigious awards including the Stoker, Goodreads Readers Choice, International Thriller Writers, L...

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September 9, 2025 65 mins

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, and Jena Brown as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about James Patterson, certifying human-made writing, and ElevenReader. Then, stick around for a chat with Sophia Efthimiatou!

Sophia Efthimiatou: "I am the Head of Writer Relations at Substack. I love words and I love working with people who spend their lives thinking about them.

I live in New York but...

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Join hosts J.D. Barker, Jena Brown, Kevin Tumlinson, and JP Rindfleisch as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Anthropic, Grok chats, and C-SPAN. Then, stick around for a chat with Brian McAuley!

Brian McAuley grew up in Weird NJ on a steady diet of Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes. He received his BA in Creative Writing and Horror Theory from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individu...

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