WriterCon

WriterCon

Bestselling authors William Bernhardt and Lara Bernhardt, with audiobook producer Jesse Ulrich, discuss the latest news from publishing, offer writing tips, and interview major authors, agents, editors, and other book-world professionals.

Episodes

November 12, 2025 33 mins
Bestselling authors William Bernhardt (The Superman Wars)and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Courtney Psak, author of the new thriller The Tutor.

0:00 Opening Thoughts
The Crew talk about recent travels and debate whether Bill is tragically unhip.

4:23 News
The All-Lawsuit Edition!
1) Judge Declares Texas Book Rating Law Unconstiutional
2) Michael Wolff Sues Melania Trump for ...
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Bestselling authors William Bernhardt (The Superman Wars) and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Sam J Miller and Mary Robinette Kuwal, both award-winning authors of one-half of a new science fiction "Saga Double."

0:00 Opening Thoughts
How are you celebrating Halloween?

05:03 News
1) Lawsuit Over Amazon Prime Cancellations Settled
2) TikTok and Spotify Launch New Joint Hub

12:43...
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October 16, 2025 32 mins
Bestselling authors William Bernhardt (The Superman Wars) and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Shanna Hatfiled, the author of more than one hundred novels about her new Christmas novel, The Bridge.

0:00 Opening Thoughts
Welcome to Season Five of the WriterCon Podcast! We're going to reach our 200th episode in December and we're looking for suggestions on how to celebrate th...
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This episode was recorded LIVE at WriterCon 2025 on August 31, 2025. Our fifth season will begin next week. See you there!

Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Laurie L Dove (Mask of the Deer Woman) and Nova McBee (Calculated), the keynote speakers for WriterCon 2025.

Opening Thoughts
We're recording LIVE from the third day of WriterCon 2025. Lara...
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Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Candace Kade, the author of The Hybrid series, a YA sci-fi trilogy.

00:00 Opening Thoughts
LAST CALL for WriterCon 2025 at the Skirvin Hilton in OKC over Labor Day weekend, August 29-September 1. Over 60 speakers and over 100 breakout sessions, pitching, manuscript reviews, private consultations, etc. It’s als...
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August 18, 2025 32 mins
Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Sydney Pruett, a therapist who helps authors make their characters (fiction and nonfiction) psychologically compelling and consistent.

00:00 Opening Thoughts
WriterCon is almost here! Come join the best writers conference in the Southwest. Over 60 speakers, over 100 breakout sessions covering every aspect of t...
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Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Abigail O'Bryan, who recently released her first novel, Iron Rose—a dark YA reimagining of Beauty & the Beast meets Hunger Games.

0:00 Opening Thoughts
You are cordially invited to WriterCon, our annual writers conference, this year at the Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City over Labor Day weekend, starting Fr...
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Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Nove McBee, author of a young adult action-adventure series called Calculated—and a keynote speaker at this year's WriterCon!

Opening Thoughts
Bill announces his new book scheduled for release in 2026: The Superman Wars: The Battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. And everyone shares their excitement ...
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Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Laurie L. Dove, WriterCon keynote speaker and bestelling author who scored a huge success earlier this year with her debut novel, Mask of the Deer Woman, a thriller set on a Native America reservation with indigenous characters.

00:00 Opening Thoughts
Last Call for the WriterCon Retreat, a five-day immerisve w...
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Note: This episode was delayed for technical reasons, so some may be confused by the opening when William teases his latest book sale. If you follow him on social media, you've already seen The Big Reveal. And if not—check out the next episode. Also, that is indeed William and Lara's dog, Baxter, expressing his enthusiasm for the new Amazon Kindle policy. We could've removed it—but why?

Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt...
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May 21, 2025 44 mins
Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Mark Stevens, author of several crime novels, including Trapline. His new novel No Lie Lasts Forever involves a reporter investigating a cold-case serial killer who may have returned.

00.00 Opening Thoughts
Jesse has returned from Ireland with a new appreciation of books—especially illuminated ones.

04:29 News
1...
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April 30, 2025 45 mins
Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Kaira Rouda, the author of many bestselling novels of domestic suspense, translated into more than a dozen languages. Her new novel is Jill is Not Happy.

Openting Thoughts
NaNoWriMo has shut down—but don't let that stop you from writing. Create a schedule for yourself and stick to it!

News
1) Plagiarism Accusati...
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Errata: William acknowledges that the fifth book in the Douglas Adams Hitchhiker series is "Mostly Harmless," not "Mostly Serious" although he thinks both equally inaccurate. The Faulkner quote he butchers is "The past is never dead. It's not even past."

The title of the Barry Friedman series we didn't say aloud is Jack Sh*t 1 & 2, lovely vignettes of his father's colorful wit and wisdom.

This Week on WriterCon:

Bestselling author...
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March 26, 2025 39 mins
Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Emily Carpenter, a former actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant. She is also the author of the bestselling novels Burying the Honeysuckle Girls and The Weight of Lies. Her new novel is called Gothictown.

0:00 Opening Thoughts
The Oklahoma Book Awards love WriterCon writers!

3...
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March 12, 2025 42 mins
Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Cynthia Pelayo, the author of a new novel, Vanishing Daughters. She is the Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Forgotten Sisters and other genre-blending novels that incorporate fairy tales, mystery, and horror elements. Esquire called her novel Loteria, one of the "Best Horror Books of 2023."

0:00: Opening T...
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Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Lynette Bennett, star of stage and screen, who has written her first memoir, Broadway Dreamer.

0:00 Opening Thoughts
The Oscars are only two DAYS away (my bad) and we ponder why so many Best Film nominess are based on books.

7:12 News
1) Bookshop.org is Now Selling eBooks Online—For Indie Bookstores
2) Cozy Fanta...
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Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Betsey Kulakowski, the author of the Veritas Codex series books—mostly recently, The King's Ransom (Book 7).

Opening Thoughts
Authors Acting Awful

News
1) TikTok/BookTok Survives to Sell Books Another Day!
2) Circana Bookscan 2024 Sales Figures Show Improvement

Craft Corner
Amy M Le explains why you need to be a "H...
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January 30, 2025 38 mins
Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Amy M Le, the award-winning author of the Snow trilogy and founder of Quill Hawk Publishing.

0:00 Opening Thoughts
What are you reading right now? The hosts share their current obsessions.

3:00 News
1) Harper Collins Makes Deal with Microsoft for AI Scanning of Nonficiton Titles
2) Revelations About Cormac McCart...
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Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview Barry Friedman. Barry has been a prominent professional standup comic for decades, but in recent years, he’s started writing. He’s got six books published to date, including his warm and witty series about his father (Jack Sh*t). But he also has a popular humor/political newsletter, and he does…geology writi...
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December 20, 2024 38 mins
Happy holidays! This is our last episode for 2024, but we will be back in January with more news and interviews!

Bestselling authors William and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview DC Frost.

(0:00) Opening Thoughts
Lara and Jesse make New Years resolutions.

(3:26) News
1) Taylor Swift Self-Publishes Eras Tour Book Thru Target. (This segment was recorded before the boo-boo-ridden ...
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