Making It Up with Emily Jon Tobias, author of Monarch: Stories Artwork

Carter Wilson's Making It Up

In this conversation series, USA Today bestselling novelist Carter Wilson talks to writers of all backgrounds in order to find out why they do what they do. He and his guests discuss childhood influences, roots of creativity, luck and loss, tools of the craft, and the highs and lows of publishing. At the end of their conversation, they pick a random sentence from a random book and use it to create an impromptu short story. Visit Carter at www.carterwilson.com.

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Carter Wilson's Making It Up

Making It Up with Emily Jon Tobias, author of Monarch: Stories

January 16, 2025 • Carter Wilson • Season 1 • Episode 166

Emily Jon Tobias is an award-winning writer whose work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and has been featured in literary journals such as Santa Clara Review, Flying South Literary Journal, Typehouse Literary Magazine, and more. Her debut collection MONARCH: STORIES won the American Book Fest International Book Award and an International Impact Book Award. Emily is a mentor in the PEN Prison Writing Mentorship Program and holds a MFA in Writing from Pacific University Oregon.

Among other things, Emily and Carter discuss publishing a book without an agent, how rejection helps to build community, and how writing a book helped Emily through early sobriety. At the end of their conversation, they make up a mysterious story using a line from Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.