I love to hear authors talk about their work and their craft. It’s a good reminder that everyone has a different process and a different technique, and it’s fascinating to see the work and thought that went into some brilliant, beautiful books. Here are seven podcasts where you can hear authors answer interview questions and read from their work.

1. Vanity Fair’s Writers Reading

This podcast features authors reading through their work. Although it hasn’t had a new show since 2011, the archives are definitely worth looking through. Get to know Andre Dubus III, Woody Allen, Jay McInerney, and quite a few others on this podcast.

2. The Seattle Public Library: Author Readings and Library Events

This podcast records events taking place at The Seattle Public Library, everything from author readings to educational programs on history, self-publishing, or a number of other topics. Some of their distinguished guests include Donna Tartt, Jodi Picoult, and Chang-rae Lee. You can find some of the archives at The Seattle Public Library: Programs and Events.

3. BBC World Book Club and 4. BBC Radio 4 BookClub

Well known authors discuss their most famous novels and read excerpts aloud in these two podcasts from the BBC. They’ve interviewed Maya Angelou, Jhumpa Lahiri, Neil Gaiman, among many others.

5. National Book Award Author Events

This podcast features readings and discussions from National Book Award winners and finalists. It hasn’t been updated since 2013, but there are a lot of great shows in their archives, including a reading and discussion with Junot Diaz.

6. B&N One on One Author Interviews

This series features interviews with famous authors. The show seems to have died in 2009, but the archives are worth investigating. Interviewees include Sarah Waters, Marilynne Robinson, and Isabel Allende. Just be warned, some of these questions border on spoilers!

7. Between The Covers: Author Interviews

The highlight of this podcast is the collection of smart, insightful interview questions asked by David Naimon. In the archives, you’ll find interviews with David Mitchell, Roxane Gay, and Helen Oyeyemi, among many others.

 Those are the podcasts I’ve found so far. Are there any great shows I missed? Leave a comment and let me know!

Earphones image by Liam Dunn (originally posted to Flickr as My iPod earphones) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons