In 'The Ending Writes Itself,' a contest to complete a manuscript turns deadly

Summary

---

NPR’s Book of the Day – Episode Summary

Episode: In 'The Ending Writes Itself,' a contest to complete a manuscript turns deadly

Date: May 12, 2026
Host: Scott Simon
Guests: V. E. Schwab & Cat Clark (writing as “Evelyn Clark”)

---

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode explores The Ending Writes Itself, a twisty new thriller co-authored by V. E. Schwab and Cat Clark under the pen name Evelyn Clark. The discussion delves into the novel's clever premise: seven mid-list writers are invited to a remote Scottish island to finish a legendary author's final manuscript, only to find themselves embroiled in a real-life murder mystery. Schwab and Clark join Scott Simon to discuss their collaboration, the world of mid-list publishing, and the creative process behind their whodunit.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Genesis of Collaboration (02:18–03:16)

• How the partnership began:
  • Schwab approached Clark with an idea for “a weird thriller,” initially expecting Clark to write the screenplay.
  • Clark, who had sworn off writing novels, reflected on their “solemn oaths” never to write books again or collaborate.
• Quote:
  • “I said to Kat, I have an idea for a weird thriller. If I write it, will you write the screenplay?” – V. E. Schwab (02:30)
  • “We had both made solemn oaths... I had left publishing in 2018... and Victoria had sworn... she would never ever co-write a novel and that she would never write anything without magic in it.” – Cat Clark (02:42)

The Contest and the Cast (03:18–04:08)

• Premise of the novel: Seven diverse writers from various genres are summoned to finish the final, unfinished novel of the late Arthur Fletch, a fictional mega-bestseller known for his plot twists.
• Motivation: Winner gets substantial financial rewards and a lucrative book deal.
• Quote:
  • “So there’s a young adult writer, a romance writer, a sci fi writer, [a] horror [writer]...” – Cat Clark (03:29)
  • “Because these writers will think outside of the box and that way the publisher hopes that they’ll get a mind-blowing ending.” – Cat Clark (04:00)

The Life of a Mid-List Writer (04:08–04:43)

• Depiction of mid-list authors:
  • Once “the backbone of publishing,” mid-list authors now face a precarious reality where stability has eroded.
  • “Mid list authors, they used to be kind of the backbone of publishing… and like so much of the middle system, it’s collapsed over time.” – V. E. Schwab (04:20)

Creating Arthur Fletch and the Setting (05:05–06:19)

• Arthur Fletch, the absent ‘ghost author’:
  • Modeled as a composite of famous thriller writers (“put all the household names of the world into a blender... you would get Arthur Fletch” – Schwab, 05:26).
• Setting inspiration:
  • The story unfolds in a Scottish island castle; both authors live in Scotland and found real estate inspiration from an actual island for sale.
  • “The weather in Scotland changes on a dime... you could have the worst storm of the century.” – Schwab (06:06)

Creative Freedom & Pseudonyms (06:20–07:07)

• On writing as “Evelyn Clark”:
  • Writing under a pen name allowed Schwab and Clark distance and “liberation,” enabling them to channel years of industry frustrations safely.
  • “It’s inherently less lonely working with another person, but also incredibly liberating because it’s Evelyn spilling the beans, not us.” – Schwab (06:28)
  • “If people hate the book, that’s not us. So it doesn’t feel quite so personal.” – Clark (06:51)

Achieving a Unified Voice (07:10–07:43)

• Collaborative method:
  • They eschewed the usual split-chapter method. Instead, they built the book “like a house,” decorating and editing each scene over and over until both were satisfied.
  • “...We made a blueprint and then we went in room by room and we put down the structure, the floor, the walls, and one of us would decorate and then the other one would come in and be like, I don’t like those curtains.” – Schwab (07:10)

The Nature of Endings (07:45–08:44)

• Philosophy on endings:
  • Schwab writes her books “backwards from the ending.”
  • The novel itself has multiple endings in the structure of a magic act—readers are supposed to see two coming, but the final twist should surprise.
  • “I write all of my books backwards from the ending, so I know the ending of a story before I ever begin the story.” – Schwab (07:58)
  • “A good magician will let you see three tricks... and so we kind of wanted to set it up that way... If there are three endings in this book, you should be able to guess two of them.” – Schwab (08:22)

What’s Next for Evelyn Clark? (08:44–09:04)

• Hint at future work:
  • Both authors tease that “Evelyn Clark might not be done” writing.
  • “I think she feels she might not be done.” – Schwab (08:51)
  • “There might be another book in her.” – Clark (08:53)
  • When pressed, they remain coy: “You’re going to get us in trouble.” – Schwab (08:55)

---

Notable Quotes

• “Every book should have a ghost person, should have a person who’s haunting everyone.” – Schwab on absent authors (05:14)
• “It’s inherently less lonely working with another person, but also incredibly liberating because it’s Evelyn spilling the beans, not us.” – Schwab (06:28)
• “A good magician will let you see three tricks... you should be able to guess two of them.” – Schwab (08:22)

---

Important Timestamps

• 02:18 – Collaboration origin story
• 03:18 – Introduction to the contest and characters
• 04:08 – Realities of mid-list writers
• 05:14 – Creation of absent author Arthur Fletch
• 06:20 – On creative freedom with pseudonym
• 07:10 – How they maintained a single narrative voice
• 07:45 – The importance of endings
• 08:44 – Will Evelyn Clark write again? Authors tease the future

---

Memorable Moments

• The playful banter about being “the faces behind Evelyn Clark” and the sense of camaraderie between Schwab and Clark.
• Behind-the-scenes insight into their writing process: blueprints, decorating “rooms” in their metaphorical literary house, and negotiating over fictional curtains.
• Schwab’s analogy between a thriller and a magic act.
• The authors’ hints that the story (and the pseudonym) may not be finished yet.

---

Tone & Style

Throughout, the conversation is witty, self-aware, and collegial. Schwab and Clark’s rapport is evident—mixing industry wisdom, good-natured ribbing (“here we are”), and genuine excitement about the craft and the fictional world they've created.

---

For listeners: This episode offers fun insight into the making of a modern whodunit and the realities—both frustrating and freeing—of life in publishing. For fans of thrillers, collaborative writing, or industry deep dives, it’s a must-listen.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, I'm Melissa Nadworny and this is NPR's book of the Day. Interested in a smart, twisty and satisfying thriller? The ending rights itself might be just the thing. Here's the Six authors go to a private island to write the ending of a bestsellers novel. Except the famous author is actually dead and everyone on the island is now part of a real life murder mystery. Author V E Schwab and screenwriter Cat Clark talked with NPR's Scott Simon about the whodunit novel they wrote together.

[B]

This message comes from takeoff by IXL. The K5 core math curriculum that continuously differentiates learning everything teachers need to personalize instruction is on TakeOff's digital platform. Learn more at takeoff by IXL.com this

[C]

message comes from Capital One Commercial Bank. Your business requires commercial banking solutions that prioritize your long term success with Capital One. Get a full suite of financial products and services tailored to meet your needs today and goals for tomorrow. Learn [e-mail] Commercial Member FDIC this message

[B]

comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees and free perks, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop [e-mail] Switch taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.

[D]

Hey wait a minute. I thought we were going to interview Evelyn Clark, author of a new mystery. Who are you two?

[E]

We are the faces. We are the names behind Evelyn Clark, aren't we Kat?

[F]

We are Evelyn Clark. We too are Evelyn.

[E]

Everyone is Evelyn.

[D]

V E Schwab and Kat Clark join us from somewhere on book tour They've combined under a pen name Evelyn Clark to bring us the story of seven mid list writers who brought to the private Scottish island of a mega best selling thriller writer named Arthur Fletch. But here's a twist. Arthur Fletcher's dead. His last manuscript needs an ending. Oh, that should be easy. The ending writes itself is the book by so called Evelyn Clark and V E Schwab and Cat Clark. Thanks so much for being with us.

[F]

Thank you so much.

[E]

Aw, thanks for having us.

[D]

Who looked at whom, if I use that correctly to say let's write a novel together.

[E]

Victoria, it's entirely my fault. Kat and I have been friends for 15 years. I've spent many days in her kitchen venting about publishing and I said to Kat, I have an idea for a weird thriller. If I write it, will you write the screenplay?

[F]

Right? But here's what you need to know is that we had both made solemn oaths. I had Left Publishing in 2018. I used to write young Adult novels, swearing never to write another book again. And Victoria had sworn that she would never ever co write a novel and that she would never write anything without magic in it. I think I maybe had an inkling of what was coming. What was coming? Vee.

[E]

I went home and I started to work on it and I came back the next day and I said wait, this is actually way more work. You have to write the book with me too.

[F]

And I said, no, absolutely not.

[E]

And I said, it'll be fun.

[F]

And here we are.

[E]

Here we are.

[D]

Well, thanks for giving me a chance to work in some questions too. So tell us about these mid list writers that are called to Arthur Fletch's Island. All different genres, right?

[F]

Yes. Arthur Fletch as a writer is known for his epic twists, just mind blowing twists. And now that he's dead, his publisher is desperate to find someone who can pull off that sort of twist in this final novel. So instead of just going to mystery thriller writers, they've picked great writers from different genres. So there's a young adult writer, a romance writer, a sci fi writer, horror.

[E]

Help me out V. A debut and crime duo. Yes.

[F]

So covering all the bases because these writers will think outside of the box and that way the publisher hope that they'll get a mind blowing ending.

[D]

Help us understand the life of a mid list writer. I mean Kate. Yeah, Newhouse, one of your writers lives on day old pastry. Doesn't make anyone want to pursue the literary life, does it?

[E]

Yeah, mid list authors, they used to be kind of the backbone of publishing. It really referred to anyone who wasn't a massive bestseller or someone who hadn't been able to make it at all. And like so much of the middle system, it's collapsed over time. And so mid list authors are ones who were making ends meet. Maybe they weren't selling a million copies, but they were selling enough to get by.

[D]

And they're offered a prize. Aren't quite a prize, aren't they?

[F]

Yeah, this is the kind of money that dreams are made of. They will get money for finishing the book, whoever wins. And also they will get a new three book deal with Arthur's publisher so they can relaunch their own career. And they will get all the marketing support that they could only have ever dreamed of.

[D]

And how much fun was it to come up with someone readers never meet but is central to this and that's Arthur Fletch, the great writer.

[E]

Oh, it's delightful. The author who's not there. Right. The ghost in the book. I think that Every book should have a ghost person, should have a person who's haunting everyone.

[D]

Who Is there Stephen King in there?

[E]

There is definitely some Stephen King. I mean, I think if you put all of the household names of the world into a blender and you blended them up, you would get Arthur Fletch. He is meant to just be immediately recognizable to even people who aren't readers.

[D]

How did you come up with Arthur's castle?

[F]

Well, it had to be set on an island and it had to be Scotland.

[D]

We both live in Scotland because there's no way out.

[F]

Yeah, yeah, it had to be Scotland. So I found an island for sale that was quite a reasonable price with an incredible old house on it. And we thought that this is what this American author would do. He would buy a house and then kind of amend it to his whims.

[E]

The other reason it had to be Scottish, though, was because the weather in Scotland changes on a dime. And so we could have them arrive on a beautiful sunny still day. And in that 72 hour deadline, you could have the worst storm of the century.

[F]

Yep.

[D]

May I ask, does writing under this collaborative pseudonym give you a kind of creative freedom you otherwise wouldn't have under your own names?

[E]

Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, it began as a kind of shelter for us to take. Kat and I have spent many, many years kind of commiserating through our own publishing journeys. And to be able to give those commiseration a voice. It's inherently less lonely working with another person, but also incredibly liberating because it's Evelyn spilling the beans, not us.

[F]

Yeah, it gives us kind of a level of distance. So, you know, if people hate the book, that's not us. So it doesn't feel quite so personal. And also it's. We wanted her to have like one voice. We didn't want it to seem kind of choppy and disconnected. Cause we have quite different writing styles.

[D]

So how did you manage the one voice?

[E]

So a lot of co authors will actually divide and conquer the work. You take points of view 1, 3, and 5. I'll take points of view 2, 4, 6. And in order to avoid that, because I do think you can usually tell who's writing what, we kind of built book like a house. We made a blueprint and then we went in room by room and we put down the structure, the floor, the walls, and one of us would decorate and then the other one would come in and be like, I don't like those curtains. And then adjust it. And we would adjust over the top of each other until we Were both happy with the scene. And so I think that creates something where you can't tell where the seams are.

[F]

It's definitely more time consuming.

[D]

I remember some advice a great editor once gave me about endings.

[E]

What is it?

[D]

She said sometimes when you don't know what the ending is, it's because you already have it.

[E]

Ooh.

[F]

Oh. Well, Victoria's obsessed with endings.

[E]

I was gonna say I'm obsessed with endings. I write all of my books backwards from the ending, so I know the ending of a story before I ever begin the story. To me, it's kind of.

[D]

But it then reaches the beginning if you're beginning with it.

[E]

Even if you call it it's my beginning. It's nobody else's beginning, but it's mine.

[D]

I just thought I'd bounce that off you. Okay.

[E]

No, I love that, though, because there are multiple endings in this book.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

There's an ending that you kind of anticipate and you're kind of meant to anticipate as a reader. I always like to hearken a good thriller to a magic act. A good magician will let you see three tricks, and he'll let you see how the first two work so that you're convinced it isn't real. And then you'll never figure out how the third one works. And so we kind of wanted to set it up that way with. If there are three endings in this book, you should be able to guess two of them.

[D]

Does Evelyn Clarke feel like she wants to write more books?

[F]

I think she feels that she might

[E]

think she feels she might not be done.

[F]

Yeah. There might be another book in her.

[E]

We are not allowed to say more because we haven't finished writing it yet. You're going to get us in trouble.

[D]

Oh. But it does sound as if you have the ending and now you're working your way to the beginning.

[E]

That would be a very fair assumption.

[D]

V E. Schwab and Cat Clark are as they probably for Evelyn Clark, their new book, the ending writes itself. Thank you so much for being with us.

[E]

Thank you.

[F]

Thank you so much.

[E]

What a joy.

[B]

This message comes from NPR sponsor certified financial planners. Asking the right questions can greatly impact your future, especially when it comes to your finances. So if you're looking for a financial advisor you can trust, Certified financial planner professionals are committed to acting in your best interest. That's why it's gotta be a CFP. Find your CFP [e-mail] this message comes from bombas your feet hit the ground an average of 2,000 times in a mile. Bombas Sports socks are designed to support you every step. Sprint to bombas.com NPR and use code NPR for 20% off your first purchase. This message comes from Jerry. Many people are overpaying on car insurance. Why? Switching providers can be a pain. Jerry helps make the process painless. Jerry is the only app that compares rates from over 50 insurers in minutes and helps you switch fast with no spam calls or hidden fees. Drivers who save with Jerry could save over $1,300 a year. Before you renew your car insurance policy, download the Jerry app or head to Jerry AI NPR.