S1E24 - It's Never Gonna Be Perfect

S1E25 - It's Like Throwing a Pebble into Space

In the final episode of season one, Mona and Courtney chat about their top failures of 2025, self-forgiveness in writing, season one's highs and lows, and what we're thinking about for season two. Courtney decides to host a writing challenge -- it starts today, join here [https://www.pacemaker.press/users/cannfloyd/challenges/unfortunately-podcast-2026-writing-challenge]! We'll send you Unfortunately swag if you hit your goal. Transcripts here! [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q5wPGnli19rUesKjPsHJ8mLR-WXd6iWu?usp=sharing] Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com [https://unfortunatelypod.com/] and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod [https://bsky.app/profile/unfortunatelypod.bsky.social]. We mentioned "Writing Begins with Forgiveness" [https://danieljosolder.substack.com/p/writing-begins-with-forgiveness] by Daniel José Older. Check out Mona's work [https://mona-west.com/#stories]! And if you're interested, subscribe to Courtney's newsletter, Wallowing in Ink [https://buttondown.com/wallowinginink]. Our theme, "Bad Scene" by Podington Bear, is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately [https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately]

S1E24 - It's Never Gonna Be Perfect

Courtney and Mona chat with author Jennifer Hudak about navigating major career shifts, the necessity of fallow periods, negotiating identity as a writer, and finding ways to build resilience. Transcripts here! [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q5wPGnli19rUesKjPsHJ8mLR-WXd6iWu?usp=sharing] Find Jennifer online at jenniferhudakwrites.com [https://www.jenniferhudakwrites.com/] and on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/jenniferhudak.bsky.social]. And check out Jennifer's story, "The Colonists" in Eco24 [https://www.apexbookcompany.com/products/eco24-the-years-best-speculative-ecofiction?srsltid=AfmBOooHIBo-o-282U24_c4euurxznHelmOtc6RQbtp_CSRZ5GUIBSSj]! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com [https://unfortunatelypod.com/] and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod [https://bsky.app/profile/unfortunatelypod.bsky.social]. Our theme, "Bad Scene" by Podington Bear, is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately [https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately]

S1E23 - The Book of Your Heart is Not on Trend

Courtney and Mona chat with debut novelist Emily Zipps about going on sub when the world is on fire, silence around the novel submission process, the debut learning curve (options and deadline juggling oh, my!) and selling sapphic romcoms. Transcripts here! [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q5wPGnli19rUesKjPsHJ8mLR-WXd6iWu?usp=sharing] Find Zipps online at emilyzipps.com [https://www.emilyzipps.com/] and on Bluesky, Instagram, and Tiktok as @emilyzipps. And preorder Alice Rue Evades the Truth [https://www.emilyzipps.com/alice-rue-evades-the-truth] or request it at your local library! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com [https://unfortunatelypod.com/] and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod [https://bsky.app/profile/unfortunatelypod.bsky.social]. Our theme, "Bad Scene" by Podington Bear, is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately [https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately]

S1E22 - If You Force the Zipper, It Won't Budge

Courtney and Mona chat with debut author, Piper L. White, about the debut learning curve, how other types of writing and art inform and interconnect with our fiction, and writing genre in a BFA program. Courtney infodumps about nineteenth-century genre formation. Transcripts here! [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q5wPGnli19rUesKjPsHJ8mLR-WXd6iWu?usp=sharing] Find Piper online at piperwhitewrites.com [https://piperwhitewrites.com], on Instagram, Bluesky, and Twitter as @piperlwhite and on TikTok as @piperwhitewrites. And check out All (Dead) Girls Lie [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/All-(Dead)-Girls-Lie/Piper-L-White/9781955905961]! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com [https://unfortunatelypod.com/] and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod [https://bsky.app/profile/unfortunatelypod.bsky.social]. Our theme, "Bad Scene" by Podington Bear, is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately [https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately]

S1E21 - It's an Economy of Favors

Courtney and Mona chat publishing, precarity, and privilege with debut author Lacey Dunham. Transcripts here! [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q5wPGnli19rUesKjPsHJ8mLR-WXd6iWu?usp=sharing] Find Lacey online at www.laceyndunham.com. [https://laceyndunham.com.], on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/bookbent.bsky.social] and on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/lndhop/]. And check out The Belles [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Belles/Lacey-N-Dunham/9781668084861], which is out now! Learn more about Unfortunately... at unfortunatelypod.com [https://unfortunatelypod.com/] and follow us on Bluesky @unfortunatelypod [https://bsky.app/profile/unfortunatelypod.bsky.social]. Our theme, "Bad Scene" by Podington Bear, is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. Support Unfortunately... by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately [https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unfortunately]