The Daily Desk
‘Conscious of Language and Power’: Katie Kitamura on the Physical Life of Words
Katie Kitamura has had quite the year. Her fifth novel, “Audition,” published in April of 2025, became an instant national bestseller, was one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of the summer, and is currently shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize. “Audition” will be turned into a film, with Charles Melton and Lucy Liu as leads and Lulu Wang set to direct.
‘Balancing Output with Input’: Margaret Rogerson on Writing Fantasy, Taking Breaks, and Balancing Inspiration and Hard Work
When a reader opens the pages of a fantasy novel, they might relish in anticipation of entering a new, imaginative world and a thrilling and delightful reading experience. But, what does writing fantasy novels look like? What is the journey and the daily routine of an author who creates these fantastical universes, traveling between foreign places from one novel to another?
‘There Is No Right Routine’: Zoulfa Katouh on Inspiration, Deadlines, and Navigating Growth
Have you ever wondered what the daily life of a writer looks like? What time they wake up and what they eat for breakfast? How many words per day they write, if any? How they get sudden bursts of inspiration after staring at the keyboard for what feels like an eternity?