Ted Fox

Cover art for the My Best Writing Tip podcast, with those words typewritten in black over a slightly crumpled white piece of paper. Below, the words The Podcast Formerly Known as Working Drafts are typed in white over a black rectangular background.

Launched in May 2023, my podcast has up until now been known as Working Drafts. Today, I released the trailer for its next iteration. I'll still be talking craft with other writers, but through the lens of a specific question: What’s your best writing tip?

Check it out at www.thetedfox.com/podcast

Definition of slop from Merriam Webster word of the year

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Plotting Through Multiple POVs Podcast Episode · Working Drafts: A Writing Podcast · 11/15/2025 · 42m

Had an awesome time talking with @aliceflorenceorr.bsky.social of Podcast Review for this month's Working Drafts. Because fun fact: She's also a novelist.

We dug into things like multiple POVs, plotting, and overheard conversations as a writing device.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

Blue box containing Trivial Pursuit Master Game – Genus Edition

I just went to Half Price Books to buy a used edition of the original Trivial Pursuit game from 1981. I won't bore you with why I needed it for what I #amwriting, but I can tell you it is absolutely one of my favorite things I have ever purchased for that reason.

I'm still trying to recover from asking you that question.

Writing, One Music Podcast at a Time

had a blast on the WORKING DRAFTS podcast talking to @tedfoxbooks.bsky.social about the perils of writing 9,000-word scripts and the harrowing new definition of "classic rock" (it is "daughter" by pearl jam) open.spotify.com/episode/2yvX...

Thurber House — The Years with Ross (Paperback, 2020 Edition) James Thurber’s celebrated and poignant memoir about his years at The New Yorker with the unforgettable Harold Ross. At the helm of America’s most influential literary magazine for more than half a ...

If you're interested in Thurber, THE YEARS WITH ROSS has long been a favorite of mine. www.thurberhouse.org/bookstore/th...

a screenshot of the top of an email announcing "Judging is Underway | The 2026 Thurber Prize for American Humor in Writing"

the cover of the novel DATE WEEK by Ted Fox, featuring illustrations of a couple walking out of their apartment, a botanical garden greenhouse, a historical home, a boat near a bridge, the exterior of a country music venue, and a pool

How cool to get this note today from the @thurberhouse.bsky.social.

We submitted my most recent novel, DATE WEEK, for The Thurber Prize for American Humor in Writing, and it's humbling to know it's being considered alongside others in what is undoubtedly an amazing field of entries.

New podcast out today with Nishant Batsha, author of the new novel A Bomb Placed Close to the Heart from @eccobooks.bsky.social.

Listen to the clip here and then find the show in your preferred app at www.thetedfox.com/podcast

a clear plastic cup with a lid and straw, filled with a yellow beer

Corona in a cup at the movie theater because Friday.

Dogs hate fireworks. What else do you need to know?

Our kids are BIG fans of your books—and the associated audiobooks. :)

the exterior of Brookline Booksmith, with a red sign of the store's name above a windowed storefront

Back at @brooklinebooksmith.bsky.social, the Fox family's favorite bookstore in the world, after a 12-year absence.

the exterior of the An Unlikely Story bookstore, which is a two-story building with a large front porch and dormer windows above the second floor

a building's exterior wall with a sign reading "Unlikely Picks" and posters of the covers of three promoted books: ATMOSPHERE by Taylor Jenkins Reid, KING OF ASHES by S.A. Cosby, and HAZEL SAYS NO by Jessica Berger Gross

the first floor of the An Unlikely Story bookstore, which has warmly colored wood floors and bookshelves and books suspended from the ceiling to look like they're flying

An Unlikely Story bookstore sign featuring a drawing of an elephant holding an open book in its trunk. The sign is on an exterior wall, and there are two bags with books purchased from the store on the sidewalk beneath.

Used a trip to Boston to stop in Plainville, Mass., and visit @jeffkinney.bsky.social's @anunlikelystory.bsky.social.

One word: AWESOME.

Cover art for the Working Drafts podcast, featuring the show's name above the subtitle "A Writing Podcast." All text is in black and over a background of a crumpled white piece of paper.

Big changes coming to the podcast. Or just one. I changed the cover art.

That's it.

The Working Drafts podcast cover art, featuring an illustration of a computer monitor with the words "Working Drafts: A Writing Podcast" on the screen and, beneath that, a sticky note with the episode title, "It's All the In-Between Time"

No guest this month, so I revisited a previous solo pod, during which I talked about the challenges of navigating the months in between when you submit your final ms and when the book actually comes out.

Well, it's a year later, and I have some notes.

Get the episode ▶️ www.thetedfox.com/podcast

New pod with Jennifer Acker and Emily Everett! Jennifer is the founder/EIC of The Common, an award-winning literary journal.

Emily works there as managing editor and is author of All That Life Can Afford, the Reese's Book Club pick for April 2025.

Full ep available wherever you get your pods.

a hand holding the book MARK TWAIN by Ron Chernow, the cover of which features a photo of Twain

I don't know when I'll read this. But as someone who once spent a year reading every Twain book, I am thrilled to be able to buy it the day it came out.

@shelfbyshelf.bsky.social My wife sent me your Substack post from today. I see you and appreciate you and appreciate the bravery it took to write that,

New pod out today with Maggie Su (@litmagreject.bsky.social)!

Maggie's Blob: A Love Story was published in January to praise from The NY Times Book Review, among many others. Here we talk about what she's working on now.

Full episode at www.thetedfox.com/podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm glad I'm in good company at least. :)

The 2025 Thurber Prize for American Humor The Thurber Prize is back in NYC and funnier than ever!

Tix are on sale for The 2025 #ThurberPrize for American #Humor! 🎟🤩 Join us on April 25 at @54below.bsky.social in #NYC 🍎 for spectacular show hosted by Amadeo Fusca.

Capacity is limited—get your tix! ➡️ givebutter.com/tp25

@petridishes.bsky.social @jasonroeder.bsky.social @janeroper.bsky.social

I also said @shelfbyshelf.bsky.social was a former employee at Annie's bookstore, The Bookshelf, near the end of this episode, which was an embarrassing mistake for a Conquer a Classic listener to make.

New pod out today with the amazing Annie B. Jones! 🎧📚

Annie is the author of Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put, a collection of essays coming from @harperonebooks.bsky.social this April.

Full episode at www.thetedfox.com/podcast and wherever you get your podcasts.

@shelfbyshelf.bsky.social Listening to the first Don Quixote Conquer a Classic episode and greatly appreciating the case for laughter in the books we read, including the classics. :)

One of our kids is currently on a major Jurassic Park binge, so these were some great insights to enhance my credibility with her. :)

Amazing news. Congratulations, @loveleemonicaa.bsky.social!

Blob “There is so much at play in this wondrous novel. Vi, struggling to place herself in any context that makes sense within the world, earnestly leads us into a wild experiment, to turn a blob into the m...

Happy Pub Day to Maggie Su (@litmagreject.bsky.social)!

Maggie and I will be talking about BLOB and what she's working on next for the March episode of Working Drafts. I can't wait. 🙂 www.harpercollins.com/products/blo...

A black Rose Apothecary coffee mug (a reference to the television show Schitt's Creek) next to an open notebook with a page of handwritten text and a pen

Wanted to write but didn't want to look at a screen (except to do this post apparently). Observations: (1) I swear I used to have really good handwriting. (2) This is a nice change of pace from the laptop and usually helps me hit a groove when I go back. (3) HOW IS THIS ONLY 2 SENTENCES?! #amwriting

Life goals.