Writers’ Rough Drafts – Episode #63 With Audley Puglisi

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Audley Puglisi is a playwright and poet. Cutting his teeth on the acting side of theater, he decided to step away from the stage when he started studying at Oberlin College, where he majored in Africana Studies. After a particularly insightful course on African and black performances, and some encouragement from his professors, he decided to look into playwriting. After school, he worked at community theaters like the Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota, while also working diligently on his own scripts. 

Eventually, he took the leap and applied for The Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (or VONA) fellowship, and was awarded a coveted spot. Since then, he has landed a residency at the Blue Mountain Center in Blue Mountain Lake, New York, and a Lambda Literary Fellowship. He currently is studying for a Master’s in Fine Arts at Yale University, and he had his New York City workshop debut with his show “Blues for Miss Lucille,” a Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award finalist.

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Writers’ Rough Drafts – Episode #62 With Anne Janzer

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Anne Janzer is a writer, award-winning author, book and writing coach, and marketing consultant. With a background in working with over 100 tech companies, her original book, Subscription Marketing: Strategies for Nurturing Customers in a World of Churn, was written to help marketers manage nurture content in the world of SaaS and subscription-based services, an industry that has massively benefited from keeping customers on board rather than constantly having to seek out new ones. 

Working with writers and marketers in this space for so long, she began to realize that what many of them needed was a guide to help them communicate more effectively. Hence her next best-selling book (and my summer of 2019 favorite book read), The Writer’s Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear, which combines her decades of writing experience with a deep dive into the cognitive science behind the writing process, with some great philosophical and mythological takes thrown in as well. 

Her latest title, Writing to Be Understood: What Works and Why, focuses on the craft and science of nonfiction writing. And you know how we love the craft of content and writing around here! In addition to her informative yet super enjoyable reads on the writing process, Anne also has created a number of online courses to help writers communicate and improve their productivity, while also becoming a sought-after keynote speaker and conference fixture.

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Writers’ Rough Drafts – Episode #61 With Cathy Erway

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Cathy Erway is an award-winning writer and blogger, author, and radio host. Starting in 2006, she faced the same dilemma many other New Yorkers have faced—how do I afford to eat in this city while living in this city? For two years, she blogged her recipes, experiments, and experiences on her blog “Not Eating Out in New York.” Eventually, she wrote her first book about the experience, The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove. 

Continuing to write about food and culture, she’s picked up bylines in publications like Eater, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Grub Street, and TASTE magazine—the latter of which published her James Beard award-winning piece “The Subtle Thrills of Cold Chicken Salad.” Wanting to merge her love for culture and her love for food more, she explored her family’s cooking heritage and published the book The Food of Taiwan: Recipes from the Beautiful Island, cheekily marketing it with the phrase “It’s not just about bubble tea.” 

When she’s not experimenting in the kitchen or pouring thoughts and ideas into words on her laptop, Cathy hosts the radio show “Eat Your Words” on Heritage Radio Network and the podcast “Self Evident” in partnership with the New York Media Center. She also co-founded the regular supper club at the Hapa Kitchen, so we know she eats out at least a little more regularly these days!

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Writers’ Rough Drafts – Episode #60 With Jeff Trammell

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Jeff Trammell is an animation staff writer, story editor, and voiceover actor. As a writer for the Nickelodeon Writing Program, he was one of four participants selected from over 2,000 applicants. During his time there, he worked in writers’ rooms and on the content staff for shows like the “Breaking Drafts” YouTube series, Glitch Techs, and Harvey Beaks. He moved on to the Cartoon Network after his time with the program ended, first as a staff writer for the animated program Craig of the Creek, and eventually as a head writer and story editor of the show. 

A former student with the Upright Citizens Brigade improv comedy troupe and Sketch Comedy Writing class, he has been nominated for an Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for Outstanding Writing in a Television, Broadcast, or Video Game.

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