The Worldbuilder’s Tavern

We've got fantasy author Sunyi Dean with us on this week's episode of the podcast! Listen in as we chat about her 2022 debut novel, The Book Eaters, how to decide what worldbuilding details to include and what to cut, oppressive societies, the goal of your story, and the power of books.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
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Find Sunyi Dean at sunyidean.com
Check out the Publishing Rodeo podcast

Listen in as we chat about how to write comedy and action for different age categories, traditional vs. self-publishing, the "sucked into a video game" genre, and the movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Proprietor's Pick: Rainbow in the Dark by Sean McGinty
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Visit the Tavern: ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠
Access bonus content and support us on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠

In today's episode, we're chatting about bending, magic rules, disability, and how to reveal worldbuilding details as they relate to character via Avatar: The Last Airbender!
Proprietor's Pick: Wingbearer by Marjorie M. Liu and Teny Issakhanian
"Five Tips for Writing Disabled Characters in Speculative Fiction" by Allison Alexander
"How to Escape the Show Don't Tell Trap" by Jeni Chappelle
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Visit the Tavern: ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠TikTok⁠ | ⁠Discord⁠
Access bonus content and support us on ⁠Patreon⁠

Join us for a chat with author Ada Hoffmann about their sci-fi horror novel The Outside. We talk about how to choose narrating characters, writing antagonists, writing nonbinary characters, and making stuff up when worldbuilding.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Visit the Tavern: Twitter | TikTok | Discord
Access bonus content and support us on Patreon
Find Ada Hoffmann at ada-hoffmann.com

Join us for a chat about Over the Garden Wall, the animated series that you have probably never heard of! We chat about dream sequences, leaving clues, over-explaining, and trusting your readers.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: The Horrible Bag of Terrible Things by Rob Renzetti 
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Access bonus content and support us on Patreon

Season Two is here! In this episode, we talk about the TV series Wheel of Time, adapted from the novels by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. We chat about complex worldbuilding and how to distill it, why it doesn't matter if the show is different from the book, and gendered magic systems.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao 
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It's the Season One finale! In this episode, we talk about House of the Dragon, so be prepared for some dark and disturbing topics. Allison gives her top seven horrifying moments from the show, and we give some tips on how to write your own grimdark worlds.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan
Visit the Tavern: Twitter | TikTok | Discord
Access bonus content and support us on Patreon

In this episode, we talk about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with guest Jeni Chappelle! We talk about how to immerse readers in your world, telling information out of order, and how to write interesting puzzles.
Jeni is an independent book editor, a co-founder and editor for Twitter pitch event Revise & Resub (#RevPit); and co-host of the Indie Chicks and Story Chat Radio podcasts. Find her at Jeni Chappelle Editorial.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune
Visit the Tavern: Twitter | TikTok | Discord
Access bonus content and support us on Patreon

We discuss Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer in this episode! We talk about how weird it is, the unsettling narration style, and how to worldbuild according to genre.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: Lone Women by Victor LaValle
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Support us on Patreon to access bonus content

As per Bigolas Dickolas's recommendation, we're discussing the novella This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone! Learn how to use worldbuilding as a backdrop and subtle ways to deliver worldbuilding in this week's episode.
Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi
Proprietor's Pick: Translation State by Anne Leckie
Visit the Tavern: Twitter | TikTok | Discord
Support us on Patreon to access bonus content.