Fresh Air — Liz Moore on ‘The God of the Woods’ and More

Host: Dave Davies
Guest: Liz Moore, bestselling novelist
Air Date: January 12, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of Fresh Air features an in-depth conversation between host Dave Davies and acclaimed novelist Liz Moore. Moore’s previous bestsellers, Long Bright River and her latest, The God of the Woods, are both literary thrillers that delve into complex social issues through tightly woven mysteries. The discussion covers Moore’s inspirations, writing process, the adaptation of her books for television, themes of addiction and class, her creative struggles, and even her early musical career.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Long Bright River: Setting, Characters & Inspiration

• Kensington as Setting:

  • Moore was drawn to the Philadelphia neighborhood of Kensington through documentary work and community engagement. Its depiction in the book comes from real-world experience running writing workshops and interviewing residents ([02:15]).

    “What I was immediately struck by was how much the neighborhood had been failed in various ways in terms of resources… And also just the incredibly moving and interesting and complex conversations I had with the people I was interviewing.” — Liz Moore ([02:41])

• Her Own Connection:

  • Although not from Philadelphia, Moore’s personal ties (through her husband and family history with addiction) informed the emotional core of her story ([03:15]).

• Main Characters:

  • Sisters Mickey (a police officer) and Casey (struggling with addiction and sex work), who were raised under difficult circumstances by their grandmother after losing their mother ([04:04]).

  • Their relationship becomes a lens to examine societal labels of “good” and “bad” ([04:39]).

    “Mickey self identifies as kind of the good sister who's always made all the right choices, and she has cast Casey into this role of being the, quote, unquote, bad sister. But those ideas become very complicated over the course of the novel.” — Liz Moore ([04:50])

• Book Excerpt:

  • Moore reads a scene that illustrates family estrangement, poverty, and longing for connection ([06:19–09:01]).

2. Writing Process & Craft

• Economy of Writing:

  • Moore writes extensively off the page, then distills material to create concise, impactful scenes ([09:30]).

    “I write and write and write, and usually it's stuff that I know won't ultimately be published, but I really get to know my characters… before actually writing the two page scene that makes it into the book.” ([09:36])

  • Visualizes her process as a "tree," branching out and pruning off what doesn’t fit ([09:55]).

• Drafting Details:

  • Keeps hundreds of Word documents, each tracking major changes ([11:12]).

    “They all have weird names like ‘G Caterer’… then I might do a save as and do ‘Long Bright River G Bank Teller’ or whatever it is….” ([11:17])

3. Adapting Novels for Television

• Creative Collaboration:
  • Moore describes adapting Long Bright River for television as a “team sport,” noting her input was respected but she did not control every decision ([12:12]).
  • Authenticity was a priority: real community members were hired as consultants and actors ([12:48]), though she laments the series wasn’t filmed in Philadelphia itself ([13:54]).

4. The God of the Woods: Inspiration, Setting & Themes

• Adirondacks Setting:

  • Shift from urban to rural, inspired by her own ancestral roots in the region ([14:46]).

  • The novel is set in a fictional “great camp” constructed for wealthy families, emphasizing class divides between rich owners and working class locals ([16:08]).

    “They have this notion that they are very skillful outdoors people, but they are quite wealthy and… have overestimated… their ability to survive in the wilderness.” ([16:08])

• Class Divisions:

  • Central mystery involves the disappearance of Barbara Van Laar, the young “black sheep” daughter of the wealthy family ([17:20]).

• Title Origins:

  • “The God of the Woods” alludes to the Greek god Pan (root of “panic”), the “wood panic” sensation, and the hubris of the camp-owning family ([18:11]).

    “It occurred to me that the phrase the God of the woods referring to Pan could also refer to a number of other characters in the novel, including the Van Lars, who see themselves as the gods of their domain.” ([19:15])

5. The Work & Ritual of Writing

• Discipline & Flow:

  • Moore writes fiction nearly every weekday morning between 5:30 and 7:30am, balancing creativity with parenting ([21:08]).

  • Most writing feels like labor, with rare, exhilarating moments of flow ([21:48]).

    “98% of the time writing is labor… 2%... feels like flying. It feels like it's almost a supernatural experience of being in a kind of flow state….” ([21:54])

• Approach to Structure:

  • She never outlines but tracks chronology to avoid plot holes ([23:06]).

• Emotional Impact:

  • She struggles emotionally when harming characters she loves, yet these moments often spark crucial story breakthroughs ([24:16]).

    “My mind splits in two, and half… goes, oh, no, I have to put this character through this. And the other half is like, oh, yes, this is exactly right for this book.” ([24:20])

• Inevitable Creative Frustration:

  • Every novel requires pushing through phases of hating the work or fearing it's unsalvageable ([25:22]).

    “I have never written a novel without writing myself into, like, all four corners of a room… I will, at at least one point… feel that the novel is fundamentally broken…” ([25:22])

6. Teaching & Technology

• Moore’s teaching provides her respite from her own writing struggles. She’s candid with students about her process and even brings in her “ancient iPad” setup to avoid tech distractions ([27:11]).

7. Writing Heft and Personal Parallels

• Most Personal Character:

  • Arthur, the 450-pound shut-in protagonist of Heft, reflects elements of Moore’s own psychology ([28:32]).

  • She now acknowledges that giving Arthur a body unlike hers was a way to explore her own vulnerabilities indirectly ([29:34]).

    “Part of the reason that I made Arthur so physically different from me is because I was afraid of exploring my own true neuroses around food and eating.” ([29:39])

• Boundaries of Fiction vs. Memoir:

  • Moore is intentionally guarded about her family’s experience with addiction ([30:30]).

    “There's a reason that we write fiction and not memoir. And part of that is because there's a line past which I don't necessarily feel comfortable going when I talk about my own life.” ([30:35])

8. Liz Moore’s Early Musical Career

• The show briefly plays “Across America” from her album Backyards ([32:19]), leading Moore to discuss the musicality of her prose:

  “I'm obsessed with how sentences end. I love to end with a single syllable word. I think it has a lot of impact. It lands like a drum beat.” ([33:15])
  “Sometimes I'll know the beats that I want a sentence to have before I know what words will slot into those beats.” ([33:47])

9. Genre & Perception

• Moore resists strict categorization of her work—she writes for literary quality and story, regardless of whether critics label her work as “literary mysteries” or thrillers ([34:49]).

  “I don't really care what genre my books are called. I write the way that I've always written. I read very, very broadly.” ([35:03])

• She notes that US publishing is more preoccupied with genre labels than other countries ([35:12]).

10. Looking Ahead

• Moore is coy about her novel-in-progress, preferring not to discuss works before completion for fear of losing creative momentum ([37:09]).

  “If I talk about it before it's done, it really knocks the wind out of my sails. And it's sort of like receiving the gratification before I deserve it.” ([37:26])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If I didn't ever have that 2%, I might not be a writer. But it's sort of like the 2% of the time that's what you live for as a writer, is that feeling of true breakthrough….” — Liz Moore ([21:56])
• “My mind splits in two, and half of my mind goes, oh, no, I have to put this character through this. And the other half is like, oh, yes, this is exactly right for this book.” ([24:20])
• “Every novel requires pushing through phases of hating the work or fearing it's unsalvageable… now, when that moment arrives… I'm not scared of it. I'm just sort of like, oh, there you are. I know you.” ([25:22])
• “There's a reason that we write fiction and not memoir. Part of that is because there's a line past which I don't necessarily feel comfortable going when I talk about my own life.” ([30:35])
• “I just find that if I talk about it before it's done, it really knocks the wind out of my sails.” ([37:26])
• On musicality of prose: “I'm obsessed with how sentences end. I love to end with a single syllable word. I think it has a lot of impact. It lands like a drum beat.” ([33:15])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Intro & Overview: [00:00]
• Long Bright River—Setting & Character Origins: [02:15–06:19]
• Book Excerpt Reading: [06:19–09:01]
• Writing Method and 'Branching': [09:30–11:44]
• Adapting for TV: [11:44–14:10]
• God of the Woods—Setting, Class, and Title: [14:46–20:22]
• Writing Ritual & Flow: [21:05–23:51]
• Creative Difficulties & Process: [24:16–26:52]
• Teaching & Technology Habits: [27:11–27:51]
• Heft and Personal Parallels: [28:32–31:05]
• Musical Career, “Across America”: [31:32–34:05]
• Genre, Perception & Literary Identity: [34:42–37:04]
• New Novel—Keeping Work Private: [37:04–37:53]

Summary

Liz Moore’s appearance on Fresh Air offers a rare window into the mind of a modern literary novelist who fuses empathy, craft, and social consciousness in every novel. The episode covers the genesis and adaptation of Long Bright River, the Adirondack inspirations of The God of the Woods, and Moore’s introspection on writing, boundaries between reality and fiction, and the role of music in her stylistic choices. Moore’s discipline, vulnerability, and refusal to be constrained by genre reveal why her work resonates so widely—and why fans will await her next book, even if it’s four years away.

For further reading, Liz Moore’s novels including Long Bright River, The God of the Woods, Heft, and The Unseen World are available in paperback. Her music can be found online.