PodcastsFictionNovelist Spotlight

Novelist Spotlight

Mike Consol
Novelist Spotlight
Latest episode

119 episodes

  • Novelist Spotlight

    Episode 201: Novelist Spotlight #201: A conversation about romance novels domination of fiction publishing

    20/04/2026 | 51 mins.
    In the spotlight is Diane Winston, author of the recent report headlined “From bodice rippers to romantasy, romance novels are dominating the book market — and rewriting women’s sexual power.” She is also a professor at the USCAnnenberg School of Communication and Journalism. 
     
    Winston has authored and edited numerous books on the connection between religion, media, American history and politics. She has written for publications such as the Raleigh News and Observer, Dallas Times Herald and the Baltimore Sun, during which time she was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize three times. Her contributions have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Alta, and others.  
     
    You can read Diane Winston’s “boddice rippers” article about romance novels — the basis for this episode of the podcast — here:
    https://theconversation.com/from-bodice-rippers-to-romantasy-romance-novels-are-dominating-the-book-market-and-rewriting-womens-sexual-power-273765 
     
    Learn more about Diane Winston here: 
    https://annenberg.usc.edu/faculty/diane-winston 
     
    Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no 
      
    Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
  • Novelist Spotlight

    Episode 200: Novelist Spotlight #200: Canadian novelist Jane Bow on her new thriller and the writing life

    15/04/2026 | 1h
    In the spotlight is Canadian novelist Jane Bow, who grew up in Canada, the United States, Spain, England and Czechia. Three of her four novels have been award finalists in Canada, the United States and Britain. Bow has also written for literary journals, Chatelaine Magazine and CBC radio, and has presented her
    work internationally. Bow, who lives in Victoria, Canada, is out with a new novel titled The Angels’ Share.
     
    Learn more about Jane Bow here: https://janebow.com/
     
    Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
     
    Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
  • Novelist Spotlight

    Episode 199: Novelist Spotlight #199: ‘Troublemaker,’ the extraordinary life of activist Jessica Mitford

    07/04/2026 | 59 mins.
    In the spotlight is Carla Kaplan and her biography of Jessica “Decca” Mitford, titled Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford. Kaplan is an award-winning professor and writer who holds the Stanton and Elisabeth Davis Distinguished Professorship in American Literature at Northeastern University. She has also taught at the University of Southern California and at Yale. Kaplan is the author of The Erotics of Talk and Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters.  
     
    A recipient of a Guggenheim and many other fellowships, Kaplan has been a fellow in residence at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute, among other research centers. 
     
    Learn more about Carla Kaplan here: https://carlakaplan.com/ 
     
    Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no     
          
    Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
  • Novelist Spotlight

    Episode 198: Novelist Spotlight #198: Tyson Cornell on Rare Bird Books’ new partnership with Simon & Schuster

    03/03/2026 | 53 mins.
    In the spotlight is repeat guest Tyson Cornell, the founder and publisher of Rare Bird Books, an independent press committed to bold, boundary-pushing storytelling. He has more than two decades of experience in publishing, bookselling and author advocacy, and has championed hundreds of acclaimed titles across fiction, nonfiction and music. 
     
    Learn more about Rare Bird Books here: https://rarebirdlit.com/about-rare-bird 
     
    Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no    
         
    Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
  • Novelist Spotlight

    Episode 197: Novelist Spotlight #197: The writing life and the perils of girlhood and keeping memories

    12/02/2026 | 57 mins.
    In the spotlight is Melissa Fraterrigo, the author of the memoir-in-essays titled “The Perils of Girlhood.” She has also written the novel “Glory Days,” as well as the short story collection “The Longest Pregnancy.” 

    Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies from Shenandoah and The Massachusetts Review to  storySouth and Notre Dame Review. She has been a finalist for awards from Glimmer Train on multiple occasions, twice nominated for Pushcart Awards, and was the winner of the Sam Adams/Zoetrope: All Story Short Fiction Contest.  

    She teaches creative writing at Purdue University and in the MFA program in creative writing at Butler University in Indianapolis and also offers instruction on the art and craft of writing at the Lafayette Writers’ Studio in Lafayette, Indiana. 

    Learn more about Melissa Fraterrigo here: https://www.melissafraterrigo.com/ 
     
    Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no   
        
    Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]

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About Novelist Spotlight

Novelist Spotlight is a gathering place for people interested in reading and writing great fiction and literature. This is where you will hear from the authors who write the novels and learn of their motivations, writing process, characters, struggles and successes. Novelist Spotlight is hosted by Mike Consol, a lifelong journalist and author of four novels.
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